Hunt Back Country

Hunting Deer--Basic Info Needed. Help a Writer?

I'm a writer, working on a story in which there's a brief scene with a character hunting whitetail deer in upstate New York's Catskill Mountains. I'm finding the details devilishly hard.

I know most hunters prefer a stand, but might he lie on the ground? (I'd like to establish that he's good at this sort of shot, since later he won't be hunting deer.) If so, would he just lie on ground that's cold and possibly wet? If not, what would he lie on?

Second, and this is the one so basic I can't believe the answer's not easily found online--does your basic unnamed hunting rifle eject brass cartridges, and would the hunter pick up his brass before approaching his deer?

Thanks in advance, hunters.

Public Comments

1. Sure, he could be on a bluff looking down on his target, an exceptional buck.

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2. i hunt different ways, , i some time hunt from a stand,an other times hunt from the ground, it depend on the wind,but you ask about lieing on the ground, ,... of i know i be doing this , i bring a plastice bag to lay on, something that wont hold a sence,,me i am good at huntting, which ,i take pride, in it, i try to make a clean shot,,,the thing is you just dont pick up a gun an ,say well i going to kill a deer,, laying on the ground, you need to learn, how to shoot,, no i dont pick up the brass, before i go look at the animal,,, why, well eather sitting in a stand, an on the ground, i may be their all day, an when an if , i get a shot, i want to look at it,

3. He might take a prone position to ensure a good shot. He would only do that after he has seen his target and ensured that it is the shot he wants. This would normally happen if the hunter had spotted the deer while stalking. It isn't uncommon! A good hunter know how to stalk...take one slow step, look around, take another slow step, look around...etc. When stalking, a hunter will not cover ground quickly at all. In fact he may only go 1/4 mile in an hour or so if that!

Since the hunter would only be getting into the prone position for that shot, he won't be on the ground very long. Alos, since the weather is cold, he will be well protected by his clothing from the cold , possibly wet ground and will simply lay right down to line up his shot. He won't want to make much movement in preping the spot as that might alert the deer to him.

Picking up the brass (cartirdge) is what responsible hunters do but then lots of other people simply leave the brass where it lays. If the hunter is using a semi-automatic rifle or shotgun, the brass is ejected automatically. If the hunter is using a bolt action or "break open" type of gun, then the brass must be ejected manually to load the next round. Most hunters do load a fresh round into the chamber right after a shot so that they are ready for another shot if it is needed.

Since I love technical accuracy in the books I read, I applaud you for asking!

4. It would be most exceptional to be prone. It's the most solid shooting position, so it's preferred on the firing line, giving a solid frame for a shot, but it restricts your field of view too much for hunting purposes, and in most of the woods of upstate NY, there's simply going to be too much underbrush to see through or shoot through. He'll sit. There are a few situations in which he'd go prone for the shot, but you'd never find him lying there for hours like a military sniper. The sniper and the hunter are two entirely different types, and their needs and techniques are vastly different.

5. My husband is an avid deer hunter, but in Arkansas, not in NY- He will always use a stand. But, he's lucky enough to have the OAK trees to sit in, but yes, he would lie on his belly in the wet if he had to.

As for the rifle, it's not an automatic ejection, it's bolt action, so he would have to manually eject the cartridge.

Hope this helps!

6. The prone position is the most stable position from which a rifleman can fire. As noted, it limits your visibility for hunting purposes. If my deer is within 200 yards, I just stabilize the forestock on a limb or rail or fire from the standing position if no rest is available. I like to go prone for longer shots. I'm actually building a treestand for next year that is more of a platform than a stand. It is a 6 foot square which is roughly double the dimensions of a common homemade deerstand. It will have no rail so that I can fire in any direction from the prone position.

I don't know how long ghost has been hunting, but I would never ever lie on a plastic bag while hunting. I don't even carry anything that noisy into the field with me (except my .308, of course). Most quality hunting-wear will keep you dry even if you lay down on soggy ground.

If you are trying to establish that this character is a talented marksman, consider describing a shot from the standing position instead of the prone position. Hitting a moving target at long range while standing with no support is much more impressive than hitting a stationary target at long range from the prone position. Experienced shooters will understand the implied level of expertise even if your character later shoots from the prone position.

ADDED: I forgot to address your question about the brass. A bolt action is generally considered to be more accurate than a semi-auto, therefore the brass would be ejected manually when the action is cycled. Many precision shooters like to reload their brass to ensure that each round will perform exactly the same. At any rate, a responsible hunter would leave the woods cleaner than they found it. That would include picking up brass. I would pick it up before I went to the deer for two reasons. First, the deer has to bleed out. They don't usually drop dead and stop moving immediately after they are shot, so a hunter has time to gather their things. Second, the longer my brass sits on the ground, the harder it is to find. If I go to the deer then come back for my brass, I have done an extra couple of hundred yards of walking, and I may never find that exact spot again.

7. Been there and done that, fortunately the ground wasn't wet but had it been it wouldn't have made any difference. What occured, I was out in the open no cover what so ever and I saw a large buck headed my way. All I did was slowly lower myself to the ground, laying flat on my belly so the deer would not (and did not) see me. It approached to were I could see it and I shot the buck..... It did know I was there..

As for ejecting the cartridge and pick it up... normally I do this after I shoot something..... I have numerous empty cartridges and can associate them to different animals that I have taken.... Hope this helps.... Myself and the people I hunt with would lay neck deep in mud, if it meant the opportunity to harvest their animal......

8. The positions he would most likely use would be, the sitting, kneeling or off hand standing up.* If available he will probably use a trunk of a tree or a small tree to lean, or rest the rifle on or against to steady the rifle to take his shot.* Hunters only pick up brass if they reload their own ammunition.*!! Laying down is very rarely if ever used when Hunting Big Game.*

9. They don't hunt in New york they're too girly it's all the hormones in their water they can't help being gay. Most people hunt in stands or now days they use a four wheel ATV's and tear up the environment. The grown Bambi filled with rage would stalk the dim-whitted turkey lying in the muck. And would impale him before he got a chance to get a shot off. No one ever hunts the real sportsman's way and chase the animal down on foot and bite them in the neck as God intended. But I'm consistently on Bambi's side because it would just be fun to see Bambi stalk the moron hunter down. Or what about a vampire Bambi that would be cool you could call him Bambicula. Well after reading this I'm sure your IQ has fallen a couple points and it's time to take a break Go to the woods try to find a deer run and just put your mind there it might help you with some inspiration. Barring that rent a cheesy hunting film and squat on the couch for a while. Have fun cheers.

10. the basic types of hunting are "stand hunting" which is normally a tree stand, but can be a ground "blind" made up of natural vegetation or synthetic material. These two are usuually set up over a feeding station, or a major game trail. Or "still hunting" which is a miss statement, because the hunter is actually moving very slowly, stopping often to look, or "glass" thru binoculars. If the hunter is shooting from the ground blind or stand, he usually has his back to a tree and uses a natural support like a tree branch etc to rest his rifle on to make a better shot. Yes, sometimes when working up to a shot, the hunter will stretch out on the ground and use his pack, or branch or rock with his hat on it to protect the rifle, to make a good shot. A bolt action rifle, which is the most common rifle used for hunting requires the hunter to open the bolt to eject the spent cartridge and chamber the next round. Most hunters pick up the spent brass case for reloading. A lever action rifle, requires the hunter to operate a lever under the rifle to eject and re chamber a cartridge. A semi auto rifle will eject the brass and chamber a new round when the hunter fires. But again, most hunter retrieve the spent cartridge to reload, or just to keep the area clean.

11. I wouldn't lay on the ground, I would sit against a tree. Also the area that you are talking about is Shotgun only. So it is a empty shotgun hull, not brass that would be picked up. I think most hunters would pick it up there empty before tracking. At least I do.

12. i wouldnt lay on the ground..and i dont think most hunters would. around here there is to many snakes and stuff.

yes my rifle ejects the brass, yes i try to pick it up if i can.

13. If you wanted to get to the point that he's an excellent shot, why not make him a bow hunter - no need for guns at all. Then when he guts the deer to remove the innards, he can pull out the arrow - no casings to retrieve, hence no evidence. Then whoever the detective is, will have a harder time with the evidence (if you are stumped for length, and to add to the plot) when it comes to the weapon of choice being a gun as opposed to a bow and arrow.

All the hunting rifles I've seen have been manually ejected to reload. the hunters I know, usually use a stand or crouch if necessary, they go to PA to hunt, and they try to make sure that they stay out of the wind, so the deer don't pick up their scents in the air and run away scared.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your story.

14. Mid day on cold November day you can catch me lieing on my back in a nice comfortable cozy spot in the sun. Maybe on the edge of a pine thicket. Not during peak times when deer are moving, morning and evening.

I have never taken a shot lieing down while hunting.
If you would watch the Outdoor Channel you would see these kinds of shots every now and then. Especially out west in the mountains.

I don't think you are going to find a hunter carrying something to lie on. They are not going to lie down in the cold and wet.

Sometimes we do pick up our brass.

15. wow thats hard

16. How and where he would position himself would depend on what he is hunting. You are correct in assuming that most deer hunters prefer a tree stand or other elevated position from which to shoot. This is because deer look for danger on the ground. Since the predators of whom they have an innate fear live on the ground, that is where they are wired by natgure to be looking for danger. Ergo, the hunter wants to be in an elevated position. This is not, of course, a hard and fast rule. There are many hunters who will hunt from the ground with blinds that either they build from brush or that are commercially made. In either case, few, if any, hunrters will be shooting from a prone position. This is largly because of the limited vision in this position and the cold and damp ground makes it unpleasant.

If your character is hunting a human, he would take into consideration that a human is smart enough to look for danger an all directions and wild take special care to conceal and camoflage himself. If you wish to write about something like this, you should find a book in the library about snipers. A couple of titles that come to mind are "One Shot, One Kill" and "Marine Sniper". Both are factual accounts of military sniper operations and will give you some insight into how a sniper thinks and acts and how he plans his shots. There are other titles out there, these are only two.

Most hunters hunt with a bolt action rifle. Spent brass is ejected from a bolt gun when the bolt is operated. Because I reload my spent brass, I will always stop and pick it up immediately while I still know where it landed. One does not immediately go chasing after a deer after it has been shot because a deer will almost always run a short distance before falling. If one were to immediately jump up and start running toward the deer, it will cause the deer to dig deeply within his remaining energy and run even further. This can cause the deer to fall in some place where the hunter may not be able to find it and retrieve it. Therefore, he will take time to pick up his brass, smoke a cigarette if he smokes, etc to give the deer time to lay down, which it will do within a few yards if he is not pursued. As an aside, I don't understand how a deer with its heart shot out can run 50, 75 or even 100 yards before fallng but they can. The knowlegable hunter never immediately pursues his deer after shooting it.

If you have any other questions with which I may be able to help you, please contact me and I will be glad to work with you. Many an author has gotten egg on their face by allowing themselves to take their character into a situation with which the author is unfamiliar. If I can help you avoid such a pitfall, please feel free to contact me.

17. First about ground or behind blind, much of the time this depends on state hunting regulations. Like in Tennessee it is illegal to use blinds where as in Texas most people use them. Most commonly the people who don't use blinds or tripods in Texas are archery hunters or people hunting on stocked ranches. (Like on intro to No Country For Old Men) As far as laying on the ground, deer season is usually from Nov. - Jan. He is going to be doing something that works for at least a couple of hours of slow or no movement.

Yes, all rifles eject the cartridge. If bolt action (more accurate) then ejects when you reload. If semi-automatic then ejects at the same time you fire.

These are my two deer hunting experiences. Both with blinds.

My first time I was waiting and not expecting anything. As you freeze your butt off waiting and the sky gently gets light you hear someone else's success first off in the distance. Especially hunting during beginning of rutt, the breading season. Since I didn't get anything from my last hunting trip I go to sleep. Then I hear something, a crunching. The deer is eating the corn up ahead from the feeder. Slowly, very slowly, I get my rifle in place. I want a clean shot. Makes you feel like you are in the wide open, the slightest hint and the deer might leave. After what feels like a minute of slowly raising my rifle I look through the scope. The crosshairs shake because the adrenaline is pumping so much. I wait for the deer to show me his full side so I can get the best I can at a heart shot. Sometimes my stepdad, an excellent sniper, will make a sheep noise to get the deer to perk up. I'm not that confident. Finally the deer shows its broadside. I aim. Stop breathing. Slowly squeeze the trigger, not pull. (Or you send the bullet to the right.) BOOM! Being an amateur I close my eyes from the surprising loudness of the shot. I quickly open and everything is happening too fast to see if I actually shot anything. THere's no convenient push back on the creature or big blood spray like in the movies. THe deer jumps like I would after seeing a roach on my foot. It pounces off. Dammit! But like my stepdad said I wait a couple minutes to let it lay down and die if I did shoot it. I collect my shell, snack, and book. I then open up the blind and see where it went. No further than 30 yards away across from the creek bed I find it panting under a tree. It's already really bloated from internal bleeding so I see I got a good shot. I say a pray thanking the Lord for the meat and pray the deer will die quickly. In a minute the deer appears to be dead. At the end of the morning hunt I swap dragging it by the antlers or the hind legs back up the heel to the track where I throw it on the trailer attached to the ATV. We take our kills a little down the way where we wouldn't mind coyotes getting leftovers. We gut the deer and then put them back on the trailer and take them back where we can hang them and wash them out and let them bleed some. Then we take them in town to a freezer.

My second time hunting I didn't such a good shot as the first one. First one I nicked the heart and got the lungs. Second time it had gotten further and we had to track it by the blood trail and the scent of the blood and musk. Easy to track on rocks but harder in tall blades of grass. But unfortunately when we finally found where it laid down it was gone: either a predator had gotten it, someone else, or it got better and walked off.

My stepdad was a seal in vietnam. He never misses a good lung or heart shot. If the deer is still moving when he finds it he will pull out his pistol and finish the job for mercy.