DSC1. Slightly humbled . . . and a good deal wiser!

[Woodsmoke]

I sat the DSC as an assessment-only candidate recently, and I have to confess to having completely revised my opinion on the qualification. I had to obtain it as a prerequisite for membership of a syndicate I've been on the waiting list for, and previously considered it a bit of a no-brainer . . .

I've learned different! I've stalked for a few years now, and while I'm no expert, I'm certainly no rookie. The assessments put me firmly in my place though, I don't mind admitting. I had access to the course material and the questions, but other commitments prevented me from attending the entire course. I wish it had been otherwise, as the course leader was absolutely brilliant, and I'm pretty sure I missed out of a lot of valuable information that didn't relate directly to the course.

I'm posting now as I received my certificate only today, and I honestly wasn't blase about having passed.

All I can say is I've gone from being ever-so-slightly dismissive of the DSC, to realising that there was an awful lot I DIDN'T know, and that my knowledge and experience certainly wasn't all-encompassing!

Should it be a mandatory qualification? No, certainly not. But I would HIGHLY recommend it to anyone, regardless of your experience levels. I've certainly gained a great deal from it, and I'm actually very glad I took it!

 

[TomT3]

I done the whole course a few weekends ago in Essex and must say despite the negative comments from some people I thoroughly enjoyed it and learnt from it , it was light in the carcass prep but I’ve taught myself that anyway . As you said it definitely shouldn’t be a must and people who pass shouldn’t automatically think they are experts because without any experience they certainly are not! Both lecturers were great blokes and it was a pleasure spending the weekend with like minded people. Exams do not bother me in the slightest but I revised quite heavily for this and I’m glad I did because some questions on ecology I just wouldn’t of known with my experience .
I’d definitely recommend it to any body who is interested in deer in general -you never know you may learn something!

 

[Free range rob]

I also done it and learnt a lot, I reckon I learnt as much from the other attendees and general chat with the instructor as I did from the course itself. Am pleased I done it.

 

[Dexter]

Well done guys. You're never too old to learn something new.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

Wonder how long it took to complete?

 

[Woodsmoke]

Wonder how long it took to complete?

Ooh, harsh

 

[Dexter]

Wonder how long it took to complete?

Less than an hour give or take a couple or three days I would imagine.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

Less than an hour give or take a couple or three days I would imagine.

Sounds entirely doable

 

[Dexter]

Sounds entirely doable

To some I'm sure!

 

[hendrix's rifle]

Ooh, harsh

In all seriousness, how long did it take to complete? Jimbo will be along soon and he wont be happy

 

[CarlW]

In all seriousness, how long did it take to complete? Jimbo will be along soon and he wont be happy

Jimbo will be busy submitting a few retaliatory 'bullet heads' adverts to the classifieds section...

 

[Woodsmoke]

In all seriousness, how long did it take to complete? Jimbo will be along soon and he wont be happy

Lol! As I was assessment-only, I attended on the Saturday for the range and safety sections, then again Sunday afternoon for the deer ID, meat hygiene, and main assessment. The rest of the guys attended from the Friday morning.

All kidding aside, I was surprised at just how nervous I was. I don't usually get flummoxed, but nerves got me so wound up that I managed to get the cartridge follower on my bolt out of line, and it took about five minutes for me to figure out why I couldn't get the bloody thing into the rifle. Then I thought my first zero shot was high as my mind had gone blank and forgotten I zero 2" high at 100 yards Thankfully though, a mental slapping sorted my head out.



The main thing I took away from that was that it doesn't matter how experienced you are, doing even familiar things under assessment conditions is very different to doing them without any external pressure.

 

[Dickie]

Fair played Woodsmoke you could have done the course and said nothing about attending or result.
Every day is a school day as they say.

 

[Woodsmoke]

Fair played Woodsmoke you could have done the course and said nothing about attending or result.
Every day is a school day as they say.

Thanks mate. I was gobby enough to have a honk about the negatives, so I thought it was only fair to follow up on how I got on. Truth be told, I was bricking it at the thought of having to 'fess up that I'd buggered it up

Thankfully though . . .

 

[Sampo]

Having completed the DSC1 for the last 4 days, I can definitely recommend the amazing learning opportunity I had along with having an instructor who was happy to answer any questions about deer, its conservation, guns/ ammo etc. The shooting assessment was on a league of its own with a fairly windy day in the valley especially when trying to shoot straight while standing.

Keeping my fingers crossed and look forward to hopefully receiving my certificate in about 6 weeks times. Nice that you got your Christmas presents early

 

[Woodsmoke]

Keeping my fingers crossed and look forward to hopefully receiving my certificate

Best of luck mate. Although I'm sure you'll have done just fine

 

[Sampo]

Best of luck mate. Although I'm sure you'll have done just fine

Thanks. It is just the wait thats kills but shouldn't complain as a stalker. The 'irony'

 

[Woodsmoke]

Thanks. It is just the wait that kills

It sure does! I was completely confident about the shooting, safety, meat hygiene, and the main assessment questions. I was a LOT less confident about the deer ID section as I've only ever had experience of red and roe.

That big brown envelope will drop through your door in a couple of weeks!

 

[TomT3]

It sure does! I was completely confident about the shooting, safety, meat hygiene, and the main assessment questions. I was a LOT less confident about the deer ID section as I've only ever had experience of red and roe.

That big brown envelope will drop through your door in a couple of weeks!

Yes I received mine today funnily enough!

 

[TomT3]

Having completed the DSC1 for the last 4 days, I can definitely recommend the amazing learning opportunity I had along with having an instructor who was happy to answer any questions about deer, its conservation, guns/ ammo etc. The shooting assessment was on a league of its own with a fairly windy day in the valley especially when trying to shoot straight while standing.

Keeping my fingers crossed and look forward to hopefully receiving my certificate in about 6 weeks times. Nice that you got your Christmas presents early

Good luck mate mine only took a couple of weeks so hopefully will be with you soon!