Seven Tips for Writing about Hunting

Three Things Writers Tend to Get Wrong: Forests, Fainting, and Hunting

I remember watching Hunger Games for the first time and getting goose bumps as Katniss stalked the deer. Then she suddenly she was not patient enough to wait for it to move out from behind a tree (because apparently, she was not good enough with her bow to take a head shot?) so—not only did she throw a rock at it—but she launched the rock using her bow. And what was that with her crumpling a leaf into the wind?

Writers rarely write a proper hunting scene—honestly, I have never read a book which got it right, though perhaps I am not reading the right books (if you have read a book with a good hunting scene, please comment below, because I would definitely want to read it!) Anyways, I have been hunting for the past three years and just killed my first elk this October (2014). So I know a little bit about hunting large game (don’t ask me about birds because I won’t have an answer.)

So here are seven things writers don’t know about hunting.

1. Hunting with a Bow: Though I have never hunted with a bow, my neighbor is very successful and has taught me a little bit. There is this terrible thing called “string jump” where deer hear the bow string when the hunter releases the arrow, and the deer jump instinctively making the arrow miss them completely. It sounds like fiction, but it is completely real. To combat this, hunting bows have these two things which look like balls of feathers on their bow strings (I am sorry I don’t know what these are called; I riffle hunt—not bow hunt.) I’m sure if you want more information you can look this up.
2. Frightening Animals: One of the more experienced hunters in my group taught me this wonderful rule about animals: one warning and they freeze, a second warning and they are gone. Now a “warning” can be them seeing you (which will probably only happen if you are moving; deer and elk are color blind,) smelling you (watch the direction the wind is blowing,) or hearing you move (fabric rubbing against anything, a twig snapping, a candy wrapper unfolding.) Once they get a first warning, they won’t move until they are sure you are gone. After the second warning, they don’t just walk away—they flee at high speed, and unless you are an expert sniper, you won’t get a shot off. One more note: sometimes only one warning will scare away the animal like throwing a rock at a deer, snapping a larger branch, waving your arms, etc.
3. Finding Animals: Now, of course, this will vary for the type of animal and how you are hunting, but if your character is hunting big game and just going into the forest for a day, then here are some tips. I know it sounds ridiculous, but the first sign of an animal coming toward your character will not be them seeing it. In fact, in my experience, I’ve always smelled the elk before I saw them (phew! do they smell bad!). But it could also be a sound because, contrary to popular belief, animals are noisy! You can hear them thudding against the ground, breaking twigs, and brushing against trees. Also I’ve found it is best to find a good spot and just wait for an animal to come by instead of romping all over the forest. As mentioned in my previous post, forests are loud, so it is most likely that you would scare off animals before they came close enough for you to shoot (though this is not always the case).
4. Long Range Shots: It is pretty rare to find a longer (100 yd +) shot at an animal while you are hunting in a forest. Now if you are hunting antelope on the plains, then you will most likely have a to take longer shot. Just be aware of the area where your characters are hunting. If it is a forest, then most shots will be only 50 yds or shorter because of the trees which limit how far you can see.
5. Field Dressing: If your character has killed a big game animal, then they will want to field dress it before they carry it out (I mean, who wants 100 pounds of gut lying around in their backyard?) Now, a lot of people think there is a ton of blood which it squirting everywhere when an animal is being field dressed. While there is some, typically there is not much blood (unless the shot hit the heart or a major artery.) It is mostly gray, yellowish organs which tumble out. Also your character will need to skin the animal which is a lot different than many people imagine. I won’t go into detail, but if you want to write a scene like this, you should really research it (or you can ask me directly for some help on the Contact Me page).
6. Shooting the Animal: So different shots affect the animal in different ways, and some shots are more difficult to take than others. So here is a little chart below to guide your writing once your character shot the animal (you can also shoot the animal from behind or in the head, but I am not covering that below):

Where?	What organs were hit?	How quickly does the animal die?	How does this affect field dressing?
Neck (this is where I hit my first elk)	You probably hit some major arteries or veins (I hit the jugular vein)	It will drop within seconds	This makes for wonderful field dressing! Some of the neck meat is ruined, but most people don’t collect that since it is tough. There might be some blood depending on where the bullet went after it passed through the neck.
(Front on) Chest	Most likely the lungs, but there is a chance you hit the heart	A few minutes tops before the animal dies. The animal will bolt, but then quickly lie down to die.	If the heart was hit, then the field dressing will be really bloody. Otherwise, it should be pretty good.
(Side shot) Just behind the front shoulder.	Lungs	A few minutes tops. The animal will bolt, but then quickly lie down to die.	Field dressing should be pretty good. Some rib meat (brisket) will be ruined, but most people don’t take that.
(Side shot) front shoulder	Lung and perhaps heart	A few minutes tops. The animal will bolt, but then quickly lie down to die.	You will probably lose the meat from the entire front quarter which you shot through, but field dressing should not be very bad.
(Side shot) Anywhere on the body more than a few inches behind the front shoulder	Congratulations. Your character got the gut (ya know, the intestines and stomach and such?)	It could be anywhere from an hour to several days before the animal dies. Your character will have a long chase ahead of you.	This will be nasty. You will have all that liquid from the stomach or the feces from the intestines to deal with. The intestines would probably ruin some meat, and it would be completely repulsive. (Unfortunately, I have experienced helping someone with an animal shot like this…)

Finding your (dead) animal: WAIT BEFORE YOU GO CHASING AFTER IT! This is a major issue. Your characters should wait before they go chasing after their animal. If they don’t, then the animal will know it is being chased and will keep running. If they wait, then the animal will lie down and die close by. Once the character is ready to go after their animal, they should first look for blood where they shot it. They may have to look hard, but there will always be blood if your character hit the animal. If they can’t find any blood, then they need to start looking for another animal to hunt.

I like to list exceptions, but unless you character is a magical, animal enchanting fairy who lures animals to their death or can magically control blood, then you probably shouldn’t break these rules. Of course, you don’t have to write in a field dressing scene in your novels and can just skip over these details, but hopefully, this information helped you if you do want to write a hunting scene.

Did I miss anything or do you have questions about the tips? Please feel free to comment below with either your favorite hunting scene from a movie/book or one that made you wince!

God bless,

Gabrielle