dsc1

footu

Well-Known Member
Well i've finally applied after considering it after 3 years or so of looking around game fairs and online browsing. I wonder how hard is it to remember all that stuff, it looks a fairly chunky read.

My exam is in May, over 3 days so I have lots of time to try and get it into my head.
Im self employed and wonder how many days off work is it worth booking pre course to get it in place, if I fail it had better not be because I didnt read enough.

Panic sets in already and Ive only just opened it!
 
You'll be fine mate, just do lots of mock tests ! That's what's put me off the dsc courses, there quite expensive and you have take time off work. Comes to a few quid if you work it out !! Good luck :D
 
Depends on a few things really. Your current knowledge, who you booked with and their teaching practice both pre course an on the course days. Common sense and practical experience.

All the above help but reading and testing yourself bearing in mind the bank of questions does not change.

Get some shooting practice in for the different ranges and styles also as this can be almost the hardest part even for experienced rifle users.
 
Is there anything online as far as mock tests etc? For the German hunting license there are quick courses that are full time for 3-4 weeks. The test includes shooting, gutting, and a whole bunch of questions about dogs, disease, and so on... Just wondering how the dsc1 and dsc2 compares.
 
Footu

Not looking to tread on your course provider's toes.

Best advice is just take it steady. I don't know what study material you have, but we've found it very effective to read through one of the good manuals - we use David Stretton/ BASC. Dont treat it like swatting for an exam - read it like a book. Then and only then start to look at the question banks in the back. Do bite size chunks and make a note - almost disregard right/ wrong answers - concentrate on those areas where you had to stop and think or take a best guess - that will give you a list of areas to re-read or reference elsewhere.

Online systems can help - its an individual thing. Obviously I'll mention DSCtraining.org - but declare that we do have a business tie-in to them.

Taking it steady, its unlikely you'll need to take time off. Things like shooting practise can be done dry at home with very good results. Concentrate on 'unusual positions' - by which I mean the standing and sit/kneel shots - these tend to give the most worry, but a little practise pays dividends.

Have a PM chat with someone like Stratts who has been through the mill on this.

Harking back to my first line above, if you are worrying over anything specific and you either dont want to talk with your course provider or have some issue with that, drop me a PM and I'll be happy to help.

From long - and actually that's looooooooonnnng ( :D ) experience a little bit of 'nerves' is a good thing. 99.9% of the time that simply ensures you put the effort in and that's what see's you through. Its the guys that dont take it at all seriously and just drift along believing the award is purely attendance based that come in for a nasty surprise. From just what you've said, I 'd bet you'll be fine.
 
I did my course with John and Andy at the Stalking School. During the study stage i worried i would fail it. I did the course with a friend and we would happily have cancelled many times. However when we called up to discuss our concerns our minds were put at rest, we realised everyone feels like this. Some have stalked forever and dont want to be shown up as inexperienced after 50 years and others are new and are worried by the boys with 50 years experience. We were kind of in between. We did a few evening sessions studying, and then spent a couple of evenings on the range practising. We decided to treat it as a learning experience, and did not study to pass the assessment. We found anything to do with reds and roe really interesting, Sika and Fallow kind of interesting and Chinese water deer and muntjak just a chore. The diseases were interesting, and we actually found a deer with pleurisy symptoms some months after the assessment, so for this alone it was worth it!

Our man worry was seasons and identification of species we had never seen, that live in a country we had not stalked in. To make matters worse iain is very colour blind and species identification was going to be an issue. We only stalk roe and reds, and getting them confused is not an issue!

Well we actually enjoyed the course a lot once we got started. Our studying had us in a reasonable place, but Johns easy training style made remembering the details easy, i still remember them now! It had the feel of a few friends chatting about a series of subjects rather than a stalking course and so worked for us.

For us the three main worries were the species identification, the safety test and the shooting test. Not because we felt we did not know them, but more because we would be embarrassed by failure. The identification test always had a point that defined the species in it, it was never a patch of brown in a forest! i would not say it was easy, but it was not difficult. If we had actually seen all the species i am sure it would have been easy.

The shooting test was easy. We had practised all the styles, and had practised them at longer ranges than the assessment, so we knew that as long as nerves did not get to us we would be fine.We used our own familiar equipment. Knowing that we had done and passed the test ourselves at way more then the test requirements gave us a lot of confidence.

The safety assessment was new to us, and we did not really know what to expect. We had read the detail of it, and spoken to friends, but we were still concerned. It was done like a real stalk, but with each of the stages you knew that you had to make a decision about the shot, and they were set up so it was clear what the hazard could be. The questions during the walk were easy enough, and we only had one problem. iain did not see a red piece of kit on the green grass, it was invisible to him. It was part of the assessment, and once it was pointed out to him he made the correct decision / answer.

Overall on the way home we agreed that it had been a really enjoyable learning experience, and not what we had expected, we had expected a far more stressful experience and it simply was not like that. We will do our DSC2 in time, probably starting this season.

Dave
 
When I done mine I had Zero deer knowledge as did half of the course. Some had zero shooting experience too! I/we had read through the manual prior to starting the course at Sparsholt. Those who hadn't done any shooting before were taken into their indoor range for an hour after lessons on day one for some rifle shooting instruction. We all passed! If you're more experienced than those that I describe then you're worrying un-necessarily. The instruction these days appears to be very good. The fact that most people who take DSC1 are actually interested in it obviously helps the intake of knowledge greatly (I've done many courses through work that I struggle to stay awake in before they even start!).
Enjoy it and you will be just fine.
Baguio
 
I have the Tiroler Jagdschein which the Austrian test and like you say Daven it was 4-5 weeks with 2 evenings snd a full day on saturdayd followed by a shooting test and then an oral exam infront of. 3 examiners who question you on all the aspects required.

The level 1 I would say comes fairly close in terms of info provided in the book but the exam is probably a little easier and multiple choice. Having daid that I learned plenty of new things from the dsc1.

Like anythingbif youre interested you will want to learn and will pass.
 
Thanks for your replies, I finally got my head into the books and am scared but excited at taking this on. I'll let you all know how I progress (or not) !
 
Hi footu
I'm in the same boat with my exam in April. I've found that working through the course notes using a highlighter pen on keys points, has helped me focus on my learning.
Already put it to work by identifying a Red from a Sika stag who's heads were hanging on the wall of a local pub:lol:
 
Hi mate feel free to PM me whenever you like as I did mine earlier in the year and may be able to help out.

If you check out my blog there's one there about a mock shooting test I did. One of the best things I did was buying a DSC deer target and inserts from the BDS to practice on. Breezed through the shooting test because I was ready for it even with the estate rifle.

http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/entry.php/104-Mock-shooting-test-Fail

And you really need to study the manual and go through the questions methodically as the test is more intense than you realise, maybe because it means so much more than your GCSE's, lol!!!

Stratts
 
Its been a few years but i did mine at minsterly ranges it was a Friday Saturday Sunday so you would only miss Friday of work hope that helps.
 
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