Avid Hunters...I need your help.?

Question

I'm a writer and I'm writing a short story. I'm stuck on a scene where the main male character is out in the woods at a deer camp. I've never gone hunting so I need to know what happens at deer camps and such. Specifically, what goes on with the men when the women are at home wishing they'd come out of the woods. Because that's the general gist of the scene. The main character's newlywed wife misses him while he's out hunting with boys...

Answer 1

you can't explain deer camp...start writing a new book maybe where the main charecter goes to poetry readings....words cant explain what it is like to be in the woods and in a deer camp...you have to experience it yourself

Answer 2

I'm shocked at how many of the answers included drinking. The last thing I want is to be in the woods with someone who's mind is clouded by alcohol. There's never been any at my camp and there never will be. It's sad that people think they need alcohol to have fun. No that my rant is over...Deer camp is a place where friends and family can spend time together while doing something they enjoy. We tell stories about old hunts, talk about what we saw in the woods that day, go out and admire the animals the others have taken. Play some cards, of course we eat, often what we've harvested on earlier hunts. It's just a place where people can be with people that mean something to them.

Answer 3

Lots of great descriptions of deer camp. To truely understand what it is all about, you have to be there. Probably one of the most anticipated times of year for the "real" outdoorsman.

To reflect on a few of the previous descriptions... camp does not include woman or children and for that matter, religion. The food is fantastic, the beer is cold and the stories are hilarious.

As for the anti alcohol policy at Geobert24's camp...be real. It is not like we are in the woods with a 40oz in one hand and a rifle in the other. It is all part of getting away from the everyday stress we all deal with.

Answer 4

Well my wife and I kind of have this same problem I belive you are looking for. I hunt as much as I possibly can this time of the year. I have also went to I guess you call it camps. When we go hunting Everything talked about relates to hunting. where the deer or your animal is moving through. Where they are bedding. Where they are feeding. and they do the same thing everyday. We plot the movement on ariel photos. Plan the hunt according to what we think will work the best. We most of the time are trying to remain scent free using masking scents like scent killer that comes in a spray bottle that smells like dirt. some people use fox pee. There is not any talk of love ones, no talk of anything but the hunt.we leave all that for when we come home. Much like having 2 lives I guess. Also we spend a lot of our time looking for sign of where the animal is moving through which I have already mentioned. For the most part it is very uncomfortable to be hunting in the manner you speak of there is no showers, no hot food because why would we go through all the scent free stuff just to light a fire? But it is well worth it all. It is the away time that everyone wants. Time to think to yourself. Time to make hard decisions. It is very much so not just hunting it is a soul cleaning time. everything is so natural. no motors running no bothers of the city, no boss, no wife, no kids, no nothing but you and nature kind of a spiritual thing. And when you get the animal into shooting range the feeling is like no adrinaline you have ever felt it is like the feeling from right before a car wreck and lasts as long as the deer is in front of you. and even after it is over for a while. Well I could go on and on about the subject all day if you need anything let me know I would be glad to help. PS whats the book called

Answer 5

Deer camp for us was in a Winnebago, parked back in the canyons of the East Douglas Pass of Colorado. Well, we took a 3/4 ton Pick-up and over-cab camper a couple of time.
Talk related to what movement we had seen prior to opening day and where we would spend the first morning hunting. Then debated where the afternoon hunt would start. Other small talk was dependent on who was in camp that year. One guy liked to remember past hunts, another what he used to do during the war (WWII), and another what the differences were between where we were and what it was like in the Nam. A couple of the guys liked to talk cars, trucks and engines. And one guy like to tell storied on my wife, who he had know as she grew up. Some of it was pretty funny. (didn't share with wife on return home though).
After Opening morning the talk was about where deer were seen, what they looked like (racks) how the shot was made or taken, or when we planned on dressing out the deer for traveling and when to break camp. Which way was the best to take to head back home, would we have a problem getting out of the canyon if the weather turned bad.
One of the thing we rarely talked about was women and wives, heck that's one of the reasons for deer camp, to get away with the guys. So why drag along the women as conversation. We left that up to the women.

Answer 6

You've already got a lot of answers here and one of them is bound to give you some fodder for your plot, but I strongly recommend going along on a deer hunting trip, even if it's just as an observer, to get your own point of view.

Also, if there are any sportsman's' club near by, you might ask to sit in on a few meetings or shoots and speak to the members while you're there; they might provide some helpful insight.

Good luck and keep writing!!!

Answer 7

I have seen my daughter and her husband tear doors off pickups, fights in front of the whole neighborhood and a few stitches involved all over deer hunting and deer camp. Thank god their boys are old enough to go with their dad and there's peace now!!!

Answer 8

A lot of talk about past hunts, who will be hunting where, guys that aren't there this year for one reason or another. Eating home made chili or venison stew, or maybe the tenderloins of the day's kill fried up with onions and mushrooms.
Oh, by the way. My wife hunts too, and both of my daughters have hunted as well. My youngest daughter is planning on going again this year.
If you want someone to proof read the story for you, let me know.
Good luck and have fun.

Answer 9

Well, it can be a lot of things and some of the points have been hit already.

There are no set rules or activities and they vary greatly by the people there. Some see it as a adolescent-minded getaway from the wife and kids, some are single-mindedly focused on the hunt and the prey and for many it's a social time spent with good friends or family that we don't get to spend time with often enough.

Whenever I'm out in nature, be it hunting or overnight hiking, etc. I cannot help but be humbled by it. In many ways for me it's a soul cleansing that gets the dirt of our overly-stimulated society off and gets me back into the primal nature of our souls as humans. It's a step away from our lives that give us the peace and silence to think about how our lives are going and what we are doing and what we need to do next. It's a chance to get perspective on our lives and our relationships.

As a religious soul (in thought if not always in practice...), it's also a chance for me to think about our Creator and his plan for us, in a pure communion with His creation. No matter what flavor of religion a man or woman practices, I have found that many people share a similar experience while hunting.

I also come home from a hunt tired and dirty, but ready to face the human world with a renewed vigor and optimisim. I'm also very happy to see my wife as I remember how dear she is to me.

Answer 10

This is impossible to answer in a few words. If you'd like, you can e-mail me, and I could call you. I'm a married old fart, and have ZERO interest in playing around, but would be happy to speak to you. Truthfully, your best bet would be to actually join a hunting group in deer camp.

Answer 11

Lots of different things happen.

Older guys normally sit down with a glass of whiskey for an hour or so after returning and then they go to bed.

Younger guy's are more apt to stay up until 1am drinking beer by the campfire talking about random things and getting 3 hours sleep.

Seems like you always have one wife/girlfriend there. Always a few younger kids 12-17.

In general, it's all about goofing off with the guys.