(Part 2) Best hunting & fishing books according to redditors
We found 397 Reddit comments discussing the best hunting & fishing books. We ranked the 197 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the products ranked 21-40. You can also go back to the previous section.
I wrote a book specifically for people in your situation. Here it is on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Firearms-United-States/dp/1475097301
If you don't want to spend $5 hit me up in a pm and I will send you a PDF version for free. And let me know if you have any questions - I used to live in Westchester County myself.
Where in Wisconsin are you? The driftless region is south west and south Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, and a little bit of Iowa and Illinois. Just about every river and stream settled in the bluffs of southern Wisconsin hold trout.
If you're near the Viroqua area, head in to Driftless Anglers and ask some questions. If you're full on trying to DYI it's tough to just give out spots, especially since most of the spots I know are closer to Minneapolis. I'd suggest checking out the DNR website. They have a lot of info on trout holding streams in Wisconsin. I also really like this book when I'm trying new water: https://www.amazon.com/Trout-Streams-Wisconsin-Minnesota-Anglers/dp/0881504971/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=VSAE87TJYT46SHGYKW55
Finding spots and flies that work will fall primarily on you getting out there though. I think someone came out with an App that pulls all the DNR trout streams and access points for MN and WI but I will need to see if I can find it.
The best thing about Wisconsin is the access laws. Any bridge crossing is an access point and as long as your feet stay wet (or as long as you stay below the high water line) you're in the clear!
I'd recommend getting a copy of Fishing Hawaii Style.. You should be able to get a copy at Walmart.
The book was originally published 34 years ago, but still exceedingly relevant. It's the first in a series of three volumes. Fascinating reading if you're into fishing.
If you live here, it's a good reference. If you're a visitor, it's a good souvenir to take home.
You don't need much gear to get started. I'd suggest starting with whipping or dunking.
If we are diving into history...why forget Fairbairn
Give this book a read: http://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pistol-Shot-Albert-League/dp/1610045718
I've heard .40s are snappy but maybe it's your grip not the gun?
As for more comfortable guns. My G19 is not the most comfortable gun but I'm most accurate with it of my handguns. I have a slim Walther PPS M2 and that feels great in the hand, I'm just learning how to shoot tiny guns well. I've always felt the M&P9c is a super comfortable gun to hold.
Good luck in your quest for the perfect carry gun.
I have a book called Trout Streams of Wisconsin and Minnesota that I look into occasionally, but you can also look on the DNR website for streams that hold trout.
When nymphing my presentation is almost always the same -- get the fly to the bottom and have a drag-free drift. I'm hoping to do a video on beginner nymphing tactics within the next couple weeks too.
When fish are rising I'll try to catch a fly in my hat to better identify it and it's size. Insect hatches change throughout the season. A drag free drift is probably even more important when dry fly fishing.
I have a blog that I update after pretty much every outing. I discuss stream conditions, hatches, flies used, etc. It's also beneficial to visit your local fly shop to get good intel on the area streams.
Hope this helps!
Check out the books Fishing Hawaii Style. I think there are four in the series. Start there and then try to find someone who fishes regularly and hang out with them. Chat up the fishermen you see and offer them a beer or a bowl. You should know how to tie your own lines and you should have your own basic gear before asking for help. Good luck.
Welcome to the fellowship! Just as a note, this sub is pretty quiet lately, so if you don't get what you need here, head over to /r/Fishing and ask again. I throw plugs rather than bait, but let me recommend a couple of books: Fly Rodding Estuaries, by Ed Mitchell, and Fly Fishing the Striper Surf, by Frank Daignault. Yeah, they're fly books, but I think they do a better job of explaining shore fishing tactics than any other sources I've found. Also, StripersOnline is an excellent resource, and can help you connect with people down in your area. Have fun!
Edit: Also, check out this pdf.. You may not be as far from the fish as you think.
Depending on where you live, try this, this or this.
A lot of oversimplification and a few mistakes. Rinker is the best introduction for the layperson (although it has a few trivial mistakes as well) and McCoy is the bible (there is an errata sheet to correct the errors), but is only for those with post-grad mathematical chops.
The ballistic coefficient is a value assigned to a bullet representing it's ability to travel through air.
It is used in various ballistics formulas to predict it's exterior ballistics. (How it travels to targets.)
This book is available at most book stores and online, and is excellent for the layman, and technical person, alike.
Edit: Oh yeah, the bigger the number, the more efficiently it travels. (Resists wind, and maintains velocity.)
Then this is the perfect time to learn alternative rigging for your soft baits.
I can't recommend this book enough for learning knots, rigging, methods, etc... https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Baits-Rigs-Tackle/dp/0936240245/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
If I were you'd I'd get a book on fishing In northern California. It would have way more info than what a few redditors could give you. This one costs nothing: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0934061432/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_rJVuxb3GDVWH1
I hate to say it, but Wikipedia is a decent source for information on calibers. For example:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62_mm_caliber
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7.62x39mm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.30-06_Springfield
A good book or two would be a wise purchase however:
http://www.amazon.com/Cartridges-World-Complete-Illustrated-Reference/dp/0896899365/ref=pd_sim_b_1
Only round that book is likely missing is the 300AAC Blackout, a new .30 round designed to be fired from a 5.56mm AR with only a change in the barrel.
EDIT: Supposedly the 12th edition of Cartridges of the World isn't as good as the 11th:
http://www.amazon.com/Cartridges-World-11th-Frank-Barnes/dp/0896892972/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324274889&sr=1-2
I don't have any recommenation on guides, but I was in Yellowstone in August of 2017. I had never fly fished before and had 1.5 months before the trip to teach myself.
Some pointers in case you want to venture out on your own and fish.
Figure out where you will be in the park, buy the appropriate flies, profit.
A few pictures from my day there:
https://imgur.com/a/3Xte1?
Happy to share more details if you are interested.
If you're in the St. Louis area, the Meramec river is where it's at. A great book that you might look into is the Flyfisher's Guide to Missouri and Arkansas it has a lot of great detail broken into zones within Missouri.
Handbook of Hatches by Dave Hughes is a good introduction to identifying trout prey and does a great job of recommending flies to use once you've determined what you're trying to mimic.
I think the best instructional books for a beginner are either the Orvis Fly-Fishing Guide or the LL Bean Ultimate Book of Fly-Fishing. For fun reads, you can't go wrong with any of John Gierach's books. Trout Bum would be a good starting point.
I was just there last week and had some decent fishing. While I can't speak to the patterns specifically, I can say from my limited experience, try to avoid crowds as much as possible. That stretch of river through the meadow right next to the road. Looks beautiful, right? Well every other idiot with a fly rod all summer thought the same thing and fished the living daylights out of that section. I found that even walking 1/2 mile away from the road the fishing was better than the obvious spots. If I had the time I would do some serious back country hiking to some underfished stretches of the Yellowstone itself. Or hike up the Lamar upstream from the confluence of Soda Butte creek. If you haven't bought the book, buy the book and be sure to stop in a [Park's Fly Shop] (http://www.parksflyshop.com/index.html) in Gardiner, MT mere yards from the North Entrance. These guys literally wrote said book, and put me on fish both times I went in for advice last week. Good luck.
I was just checking into this subreddit to see if anything had ever been posted about whether folks here do IPDA/IPSC, and I find that something was just posted 18 hours ago. That's great, but I'm really puzzled why you posted two completely unrelated topics in the same post? And with a totally non-descriptive title?
I checked out my local IDPA meet's website and they basically said that before you compete you should (1) come and observe, and (2) have attended a training at something like Front Sight Academy.
A 2-day course at Front Sight is $1,000, so there is no way I am doing that, sorry. I'm sure the course is great, but there is nothing they can teach me that is worth $500/day. Anyone know some reputable yet cheaper alternatives?
I am currently waiting for this book to arrive in the mail. Several types of competition interest me in the long run...3-gun, IDPA/IPSC, bullseye, silhouette. Even some long-range rifle competitions (although I'm really a newbie to that type of shooting). But the first type of competition I'd like to get into, say in the next year or two, is definitely defensive pistol (IDPA/IPSC).
I've read a few marksmanship books, I feel that I am progressing to the point that in the near future I will have sufficient basic marksmanship skills to be ready to move from indoor pistol ranges, and shooting at non-moving paper targets from a non-moving position, to shooting at moving targets and/or shooting on the move. That said, I've only been shooting my own gun for a little over a year, so I'm pretty new to all of this. In his book The Perfect Pistol Shot , Albert H. League III states that the goal of a shooter who has the fundamentals of marksmanship down should be
I do all my shooting within 20 yards...usually within 10. I can't say that I always get three shots in one ragged hole at 7 yards, but when I really focus, I can get pretty darn close to that. But that's with about 10 seconds between shots, so even if that accuracy were good enough for IPSC/IDPA (which it probably isn't...), the speed would have to improve by an unbelievable amount.
Would be interested to hear the feedback of anyone who has competed.
So, I travel to NW Arkansas for work quite a bit and just got into fly fishing recently. There's a great fly shop in Fayetteville called McLellan's and they pointed me to the Beaver Lake tail waters. I also bought this book off them and I would definitely recommend it. Hope this helps!
This book helped me out a lot when I first started. Covers a broad range of topics, a good primer.
https://www.amazon.com/L-L-Bean-Ultimate-Book-Fishing/dp/159228891X
As some one already suggest The Art of the Rifle, I will suggest another Jeff Cooper book, To Ride, Shoot Straight, And Speak The Truth.
Also Shooting To Live by W. E. Fairbairn and E. A. Sykes is also a interesting read.
EDIT: Also if you are interested in reloading, start with The ABCs of Reloading.
Take a look at Rifle Marksmanship with the M1 Rifle.
Also if you can find a copy of Practical Marksmanship it's worth its weight in gold. I was able to get it through inter-library loan.
Very Informative book and excellent for entry level. I'd recommend the hatch guide for western streams too. It's great a field resource when you're out exploring new waters.
http://www.amazon.com/Hatch-Guide-Western-Streams-Schollmeyer/dp/1571881093
I'll shill a bit for a fellow Redditor and suggest Nick Leghorn's book "Getting Started with Firearms in the United States". I've been shooting for a little over 10 years now I have a copy that I loan to people who are interested in getting into shooting/guns. It's really a great primer on the subject.
This is a good book that i started with. I found it dealt a lot with trying to get the "big" catches, bluefish, red drum, and sharks. You will have a lot of variety to catch from the surf in your area. You could def pull in some nice flounder on your 7' rod. I agree that theres nothing better than talking to someone at a local bait shop. Try to go on a weekday when they arent too busy and they will help a ton. They usually have books that they can direct you to as well.
I have the Handbook of Hatches, but I did not like the way it was organized. I'm not sure if subsequent editions are better.
It's not a book on patterns. In the 450 so pages, I don't see one full pattern. What it does is describe, and introduce techniques and dressing styles. But it shouldn't be looked at as a beginners book. There is alot to it.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1571881263/ref=sib_dp_pt#reader-link
Check out the table of contents.
I was going to pick it up from amazon.co.uk but its £58 on there. How much did you pay?
Practical Marksmanship: The Technique of Field Firing by M. M. Johnson suggests this. It also goes over some on pistol firing, field maintenance, external ballistics and adjusting by strike (Kentucky windage) and using adjustable sights. very useful.
Here you go: http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Guide-Freshwater-Fishing-Angler/dp/1589230094/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372725464&sr=1-2&keywords=freshwater+fishing
There are a few books out there for an "everything" guide to fishing. I know that BASS and the North American Fishing Club both had books out, and I have seen some other ones at outdoors stores. I did a quick search on Amazon and found "The Complete Guide to Freshwater Fishing. Know though that all of these books are pretty much the same. Most go through the types of baits, reels, rods, knots, and fish (including their range, how to fish for them during different times of the year, etc.). There may even be one at your local library. You can also find old versions of books on Amazon as well- this is an old edition from the NAFC.
As for a rod/reel, I would go to a store and ask someone. When I first started out I would ask what they would recommend and have never been disappointed (just know what fish you want to go after and a price range).
EDIT: I just found one of the books that I own, which in my opinion is the best beginner's book out there (it helped me out when I started). It's by the NAFC and it's called "Catch fish anywhere, anytime". You may be able to find it on other websites besides Amazon as well.
Here is the mobile version of your link
No, I'm not from there, but it is literally the home of surf fishing. Almost any surf fishing book out there is going to say, "This is how we do it in Long Island, and it might work where you fish too."
Here's two books I enjoyed:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0811732835
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005ZHTRK2
Any of John Skinner's videos. I would assume that his books are great as well, and I plan on buy one some day:
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=john+skinner+surf
Then I suggest you either purchase or borrow from the library this book: Complete Book of Baits, Rigs & Tackle