I have read a few thread on here about Level 1&2, all are a carbon copy of each other.
I dont know how the Level 2 is run elsewhere but from my experience and that of other professional stalkers I fail to see how you can "gain knowledge" from it?
I was under the impression the AW/CW's were there to WITNESS and ASSESS your level of knowledge and competency rather than TEACH you?
I gained nothing from my Level 2 bar a bit of paper and a posey badge!
Absolutely right Dan, we are only there to witness nothing more or less as I have said before on many a occasion ,this is NOT a test, the test is within the level one certificate this is however a assessment of your competence of the level one certificate where you put what you have learned into practice which you have three years to put the portfolio together with your new if found skills and complete the level two.
Originally Posted by
shootingduckdog 
Widows Son/John (yorkshire roe)
I am curious if you could answer the following question.
One of the arguements repeatedly used against the DSC2 is that stalkers of "years and years" experience have nothing to prove and are perfectly capable without the assessment.
The question I ask of you both is wether in doing levels 1 and 2 you learned anything practical or useful? It is an honest question. I took my level 2 with only 4 years experience but I am certain that there were elements of level 1 and 2 that I would have performed very differently if I had simply carried on with what I had learned from my mentors and certain knowledge I may never have picked up.
many thanks
Shootingdogduck: I firstly started doing the the BDS stalkers test , not knowing it was £12. to change it over to the level one until everyone on the course was ask if they had done any other deer management of which I had only to be told I had no requirement to do the level 1, I also completed the Jadgschein whilst living in Germany which took me two years at the hunters school, the hardest thing about that was learning to speak German ,the level two came along just as the started them as did the AW.
Did I learn something of course you'd have to be deaf, dumb and blind not too. It is impossible to retain everything you see or are told about thats where the continual personal development comes in, every time I go out ,just like the dog who put his nose in the air he know theres something coming .
I enjoy seeing people succeed at something one of the only reasons I still AW, the system is way far to elongated now , I have copies of all the portfolios from the start of the system till now, some of what that is being asked is nuts in my opinion.
As for learning the game I'll always be learning, theres something new with every sun rise, I started this as a long apprenticeship with my old man ,I'm still learning from him yet, he taught me to gralloch in 1970 Ive been doing it the same way since without any one saying you can't do that , the very same way I show people Ive not had any complaints thus far .
Ive taken hundreds of clients out, I learned from them all, I'm that laid back I'm horizontal ,when it comes down to level two ,watch look and listen is all thats required ,I tell all the people that I witness for, to enjoy there day ,do what they always do if its wrong I'll ask them what they done,and why they done it , the last thing I want is for someone to be that up tight that they shoot me or someone else including a wild animals, I really don't want to be crawling over a hill, forest or anything else looking for wounded animals because Ive put pressure on someone for a piece of paper after they are tucked up in bed or driving home .
There are far to many people that make this into a test of which it is not , we all stalk for enjoyment professional or weekend warrior lets keep it that way .
There are plenty of the people on this site that are new to stalking that will at some stage take a level two, the process is made far easier by everyone pulling in the same direction of course we all have different out looks on the level two, your questioning may differ from mine and the next witness, if we were all to ask the same thing it wouldn't be worth looking at, i look at every portfolio to see what questions have been asked by others so as not to fall into that bracket causing further problems else where .
Every days a school day .
