BDS dsc 1 Course

[willie_gunn]

Like all these courses, what you get out of it depends to a large extent upon the what you put into it and the attitude you take.

I took my DSC1 back in 2001 in a course organised by the BDS at Cirencester over two consecutive weekends. Obviously my opinion is therefore dated, although I know some of the instructors are still very much involved in the organisation and delivery of the current course. The students had a wide range of skill and experience, from complete newbies to very experienced deer stalkers.

I am fortunate to have a very good friend who has been my stalking mentor for 10 years, but I still learned a lot from the course, met some great people and would recommend it to anyone starting out in stalking. The instructors made a big effort to not just teach the letter but also the spirit of the course. They also took a lot of time to help students who found specific elements of the course challenging or who were out of practice/nervous of the exam. Every question was answered, and answered pragmatically.

As someone who personally undertakes a lot of presentations at conferences, and who delivers training across Europe, I could be nitpicking and point out possible improvements in technique and delivery, but this would be to entirely miss the point. All the students not just passed the course, but came away enthused about deer and deer stalking, which surely is what we are aiming for?

Both the courses and the instructors should, of course, be reviewed and validated, and if there are errors in either case they should be corrected. But the instructors don't need to be professional trainers or presenters - they need to be able to get the message across to a widely divergent audience in a way that generates interest and enthusiasm.

At the end of the day no-one is 'forced' to go on these courses, you pay your money and take your choice. There are plenty of examples on TSD of people who have obtained their firearms certificate without gaining the DSC1.

willie_gunn

 

[snowstorm]

.... But the instructors don't need to be professional trainers or presenters -....

If they are being paid for it, then I'd say they already are, and most probably view themselves as being that whether they have been trained to train or not.

Best,

S.

 

[willie_gunn]

Snowstorm

Good point, well made.

What I really meant by professional trainers or presenters is that they don't have to be people who do this as their full-time job. Certainly on the course I attended we had a vet, a riflesmith, and a couple of semi-professional deer stalkers - I guess representative of the BDS membership, or at least the ones who want to get involved in delivering training courses. They had 'real' jobs to do during the week. Whether they got paid for their training services, or just got their expenses refunded, I couldn't say and hadn't honestly thought about until now.

In my time I've seen some great professional trainers and presenters....and some who got the wrong career advice

I've been paid to do all sorts of things (no, please, this isn't a prompt to start a whole new discussion thread ) but it doesn't mean I'm necessarily a professional at them. It just means that - hopefully - someone got value from the services I delivered.

willie_gunn

 

[Snelly]

Interesting thread with some diverse and intelligent debate on several sub-topics.

That said, my view of the original post is that when you distill it down, it looks like someone wants to have a pop at Chris Howard.

I have done the DSC1 and Chris H was the tutor on the course I passed. I thought the course was excellent, Chris was great and his presentations were designed to get you through the course successfully. I can see how others may feel his manner is a little brusque at times and his delivery of information comes thick and fast which is not suited to all as we all learn in different ways. For me, I enjoyed Chris' acerbic wit and his teaching style suited me just fine. Then again, I am a northerner who moved to Sussex so perhaps a bit more understanding of the "northern way"!

Irrespective of the above, if you concentrate, work hard and arrive prepared then you will be successful on one of Chris' courses. Provided you can shoot straight of course..... and provided you are not thick! And that might be the biggest cause of the issue in this case of course!

As my Grandad always used to say "you can't educate shi**!"

 

[Richard Parsons]

Hooray for Snelly! Im going to get that DVD Chris has just produced as a Christmas present to myself.....looks excellent.

 

[chrismac78]

I carried out my DSC 1 through the BDS in October this year. I passed all of the elements and found the content and information supplied during the course very informative and useful. As a novice to stalking I feel that the course gave me alot of information which will stand me in good sted in the future ranging from the legislative side right through to the species recognition during all seasons.

I can only comment on my experience but would recommend the course to anyone staring out, it is a lot of information to take in during a short period of time but if you read the manual and cram up on the id's of the deer you should succeed!

Chrismac78

 

[bottletopbill]

Started my DSC1 course 4 weeks ago with Chris at Wadhurst some say he can be abrupt at times if you listening to him you will gain a lot of knowledge.
I have done many courses over my sixty five years this is the first one that i can say a thick idiot like me learnt some thing and took it in my brain.
He is one of the best trainers he builds you up for all the test . Just got to wait for my results now but if I did fail it is my fault not the trainers. for Chris 100%

 

[Andy seatrout]

It’s a shame if the conduct or the way trainers present or teach is not up to standard…. However I can only speak as I find….

I have experience of one BDS Level one course at the bridge of Allan last November; it was Alistair Monkman, Tommy and Ed from Edinburgh rifles…. It was really excellent over the two days, we learnt a lot and the presentations and Q&A were hugely valuable. All of the trainers were highly knowledgable, professional and enthusiastic…. I’ve been on loads of courses throughout my career and frankly this was the most enjoyable…

Irrespective of nearly flunking my shooting test ( I think I shot at someone else’s deer target ) my friend and I both passed. It was very good indeed..

 

[Woodsy]

I’ve just read through this entire thread with interest - only to realise at the very end that the first four pages are from 14 years ago!

 

[John Doe]

If it is about the guy that I think it is then he is just as bad as he ever was. My pal was recently on one of his courses and said it was shocking. Don’t think it was a bds course though so maybe he has swapped ends.