Tom Brown Survival Guide

silenthunterstudios

silenthunterstudios

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I picked this up and am almost done with the shelter section. Gonna try to make one in my fathers woods.

Been flipping through the book, and one thing that kinda makes me want to take the book back, is something I read by Tom. I'm paraphrasing here, but he mentioned how he thinks it is better sport to hunt a deer with bow and arrow or spear than gun. Okay, no problem. Then he goes on to relate how he jumped out of a tree and stabbed a deer with a knife. Kinda negates all of his expertise for me. I will relay the exact quotes when I get home. I really like the book so far, but when I got to that passage about killing a deer with a knife, and jumping out of a tree onto its back. I just think he lost a lot of cred. If he did in fact do that, then I will gladly eat crow. Even if he did do it, I have no idea why he would put himself in harms way, although it does sound fun. If anyone can confirm or deny this, or if Tom is a member here, I would like to hear some feedback on this. I am not trying to flame or anything either, just want some honest replies. The rest of the book is straightforward, entertaining, informative, and well written.
 
That was the very first book on survival I ever bought, and I have bought most of Toms other books as well. I believe he is one of the most knowledgeble people in the entire survival field. But I also think he is a little eccentric, and is also a very good story teller. I'll leave it at that ;)
 
For someone with my limited outdoors knowledge, he definitely knows his craft. Just a little suspect after reading the deer hunting story.
 
If you are in good shape it's possible to run down a deer. I have been hunting and held still to the point where deer have come close enough to touch so I would assume if you were on a low branch you could fall out on one.

Not saying that's what HE did but I think it's possible.

I personally think a gun is way more humane than a knife or bow. I'm sure that it is more "sport" with a knife or bow, but if ones reason for hunting is venison a gun is much more humane and easier.
 
If you read his other books in the Tracker series, he gets deep into out of body type stuff, mysticism etc. Not my cup of tea, but again, he is a great storyteller and there are lessons to learn in all his writing.
 
I first started reading T.Brown as a kid, and boy oh boy did I think he was the man. I find his tracking and bushcraft advice to be sound...his stories are far fetched at best...in his book the "Tracker" he descibes punching a cinderblock building into pieces with his bare hands and swatting a Bear on the ass and running. Bad ideas in my book, and I call BS on the pair of stories. I have the book you are talking about, and the story you are recounting is in the preface IIRC. I had a hard time reading more.....its like I'm reading a book on survival that stars "Harry Potter" or something. I guess you have to take him with a grain of salt. Like I said, lots of his woods skills are GOOD, its the sifting through the crap that annoys me.
Gene

EDIT: I will say that his books had a big impact on my sense of connection with the outdoors as a child, I also grew up in the woods and spent all my time there...as a young guy reading his stuff, I really liked it. So I guess its not THAT bad, I feel like I was harsh in my first writing.
 
I have killed a deer with a spear(not thrown-deliberate stab from a treestand), so I can believe he could have done it with a large knife, like a CS Laredo or similarly shaped. I have read the book(been a while) and I agree the way he tells it makes it suspect.

I also agree that a gun is more "humane" having taken several with bows of diff types and a spear. There is just so much less room for error with a bow shot etc. While a bullet or slug causes alot more damage quicker and the shock alone usually puts them to their knee's.
 
Tom's a big guy.

I have no doubt he could have taken a small deer with a deformed left rear leg from above with a knife, when he was in his prime.

He purposely chose a deer that wouldn' t make it through a hard winter.

Clint Hollingworth
The Wandering Ones webcomic
http://www.wanderingones.com
 
Whether or not Tom Brown did or didn't take a deer with a knife after jumping out of a tree, one thing is for certain:

Bear Grylls could do that! Adding in a triple gainer with 2 full twists yet!

Hi-yooooooooo!



Sorry, I couldn't resist! Although I've never met the man, I'm pretty sure I like Tom Brown Jr. Sure, he has been rumored to do some things a little differently, but hey, don't we all at some point? Anyhoo, I find his manual-type books to be outstanding reference materials. I have The Tracker, and have tried to read it at least 3 different times. For some reason, I just can't get into it. I don't understand this, as I have always enjoyed reading about Native American history, stories, spirituality, and so on, and Tom obviously touches quite heavily on that theme. It is time I picked up another book, so perhaps I'll give The Tracker yet another whirl.

Regardless if he drives a Hummer or tells occasional tall tales, Tom Brown has done a lot to put the notion of survival in the minds of many. I would think that most of us here have been touched by Tom Brown Jr. in one way or another, whether it was through a book, a class, or the idea of the WSK.
 
If anyone thinks I am bashing Tom Brown or his skills, I am not. I just found his account a little too hard to believe. Like I said, if I am wrong, I will eat crow. I have American indian heritage, and I'm learning a lot. I appreciate his writing style, and his tales of his friend and his friends grandfather. While jumping out of a tree onto a deer and killing it with a knife is entirely possible, hell, I don't really think he couldn't've done it, but just relaying it in the introduction to a book? I don't know. I am trying very hard to put that excerp out of my mind, and get back to what he is teaching. Let it be known that I very much appreciate his relaying his knowledge, and if I had the money, I would take a survival course, probably one of his.
 
I believe that it is accepted as historical fact, that 1. indians stalked and killed deer with spears, from close range. 2. That indians also could run a deer down, they are very fast sprinters, but if you can track them, they will tire and you will find it exausted sooner or later. I have read of these skills many times, from different sources. I also believe it very possible to kill a deer, bear or hog from a tree, I have even seen it done in video, as to the bear with a spear. I know that Tom Brown IS very knowledgable, and I trust his teachings. I am just a mean sour bastard, and when someone proclames they have some kind of "magic" or "untapped" skill set, I become skeptical. As to the earlier claims he made, that I mentioned, from the Tracker book, I still think its BS. And trying to explain that you are doing anything a favor by stabbing it, instead of a sudden quick death is also BS, no matter how you spin it. Stabbing is going to take longer than a few seconds, and its bound to suck pretty bad while its happening to you. I was accidentally stabbed in the hand going through 2 fingers, glancing over the bones and cutting a major nerve in my hand....it sucked. I also had a landscaping spike go through my inner thigh when I was 10, while "borrowing" wood for a fort, it stopped when it hit my femur, this also sucked..although the hand hurt alot more, the feeling of a foreign body going into your inner thigh and hitting the bone...well, its creepy. Anyways, I guess I'm sticking up for his teaching, and wondering about his methods??? It makes for some good reading, and I did buy his books, so whos the one full of BS:D
 
Read his non-fictional but non-survial books and you'll find that he killed the deer while he was young.

While young...that explains a lot about many of us, good or bad :)
 
I bought the same book a couple of weeks ago and have found that it has some pretty good stuff in it. I really liked the breakdown of the plants and their uses, with pictures even. He is very knowledgeable on the topics he discusses. That said, I think one has to be careful not to 'drink the kool-aid'.
 
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