The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Hunting
The Secrets Only Insiders Know
Tanya Drayton
Published by Tanya Drayton at Smashwords
Writer's Rescue #5
Copyright © 2008 by Tanya Drayton
Look for these other titles by Tanya Drayton at Smashwords.com:
The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Fishing
The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Camping
Equi-Wrap: Horse Health, Wraps & Supplies
All rights reserved; First printing 2008; revised 2011
This book is not available in print.
Smashwords Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Text and Cover design: Holly Lisle
Cover Art: Photo image © Tanya Drayton
First printing 2008 with shop.hollylisle.com books
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate this book to my husband. No matter what, he stands beside me and shares the adventure. How truly blessed I am.
I would also like to dedicate it to the readers. Thank you.
Acknowledgements
I did have my husband read this book for me since he has been hunting for almost 45 years but any mistakes found in this book are totally mine. The United States Fish & Game Department provides websites and other resources for both critter hunters and information hunters. I have kept the information contained within in a generalized form and hope if I have piqued anyone’s curiosity that they will start the search for specifics by going to their states’ Fish & Game website to learn more.
Introduction
When I received Holly Lisle’s newsletter informing me about “The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About…” project, it filled me with excitement. I though it was a wonderful idea! What an excellent way for authors to exchange ideas and educate each other on topics of which they are knowledgeable. It is also a tremendous way for new authors, such as myself, to get their feet wet. Writing is not only the result of an author’s latest plot bunny but also the result of hard work, study, research, determination and following through. These are all things that must be practiced in order to improve. It can be daunting and overwhelming for newcomers and seasoned crafters alike. So, when I read in Holly’s email and website informing me, that I, an unknown, untried and untested author could participate in the project, I choose to grasp the opportunity with both hands and see what happened. Guess what? I wrote a book!
I wrote this book with the hope that it would help non-hunters better understand hunters and hunting. Too often people meet or run into the “bad seeds” of one sport or another and it colors their view of the sport as a whole. Alternatively, they happen to see the result of a hunt lying in the back of a truck or strapped to the top of a vehicle and the shock of the dead animal being paraded through the streets as the hunter returns home leaves a bitter taste on the palette of the witness. So many things out there could cause someone to make flash judgments where they normally would not. So I thought that by writing “The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Hunting” I could shed some light on who we are, what we do and why we do it. It by no means covers everything because that would take an encyclopedia set and several forests to accomplish. I openly acknowledge that there are bad people out there who hunt. Moreover, they do bad things. However, the majority of us try to hunt well and do the right thing every time we go out into the fields and woods. It is by the majority that we should be judged, for those who feel the need to do so.
“The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Hunting” is for everyone who ever wondered about hunting but has never tried it. It is for those who hate and despise hunting and hunters, in the hope that through better understanding they can find their way towards acceptance for the things we do. It is for writers that have no desire to ever kill another living thing but would like to write about their characters doing so as accurately as possible.
I believe I am the person who has the information you need because I have walked both sides of the controversial fence. Before I met my husband, I abhorred hunting and guns. I was happy to unquestioningly purchase meat from the super market and blithely go about the business of life. Then, I fell in love first with my husband, and then, with the sport of hunting. For the last eighteen years, we have hunted together for migratory birds, upland game, deer, antelope and elk. When we can, we put meat in the freezer and when we can’t we always have a great story about the “one” that got away or the “one” we chose to let go.
THE MISTAKES
Mistake One
Anyone with access to a weapon can hunt. Nuh-uh, not even close! Well, at least not legally. If your character hunts, at some point in their life, they must have completed a certified hunter safety course before the state they live in will allow them to purchase a hunting license. This course teaches the hunter proper safety and handling of a firearm when out in the field hunting. It is my understanding that military personnel and veterans are the exception to this rule. Age requirements for children vary by state and must be met before they are allowed to take the hunter safety course, after which they can purchase a hunting license.
I started hunting when I lived in California. Since I had never hunted before, at the ripe old age of 26, I sat through an eight-hour course crammed with information with a test at the end.
Your character may have a story to tell about how they completed a hunter safety course at some point in their life to other characters, or maybe they are mentoring a young hunter and are helping him/her to prepare for their tests.
Perhaps your character is teaching the hunter safety course and has suspicions about the age of one of the students. Make sure any children hunting in your WIP are old enough to have taken the hunter safety course for the state they are in.
Mistake Two
Hunting is unregulated. Whoever told you that lied! Writers who have never experienced hunting animals, in any form, may make the false assumption that hunters hunt whenever the whim to kill something hits them. However, hunters are required to carry a hunting license for each type of animal they intend to hunt, when hunting game. They are also required to renew these licenses annually.
In the state of Montana, the hunting license is comprised of the conservation license and a license (or “tag”) for each animal and/or bird type we wish to hunt. There are also differences in licensing requirements, fees and application deadlines between resident (in-state) and non-resident (out-of-state) hunters. For “special draws” if you don’t apply by the deadline for a particular license you are interested in, it becomes a case of “you snooze, you loose”.
When addressing hunting licenses in your WIP make sure the licensing requirements for the state your character is hunting in are covered. On the other hand, maybe they are purposefully poaching game for the antlers.
Some states require anyone guiding a hunter to game to have an outfitters license. Your character may inadvertently hire an unlicensed outfitter, or maybe they received the wrong tags for an out-of state hunt.
Mistake Three
Hunters care only about the kill, not conservation. Untrue! With the purchase of their licenses, your character is contributing a portion of the proceeds to a conservation license. In fact, although in most states the licenses are all purchased at once, the hunter must first have their conservation license before they can purchase any of the other licenses. The proceeds from this license go towards wildlife conservation.
Every year I purchase my hunting licenses in March, which is the start of the “new” hunting year in Montana. So, every year I contribute money towards wildlife and habitat conservation and preservation for future generations. Hunters are one of the biggest contributing groups to wildlife and habitat conservation and preservation in the United States.
Your character, through a school project, may come to a new understanding of how hunters, through their conservation licenses and honorable hunting practices, are responsible for the preservation of numerous wildlife species and their habitats.
You antagonist could be discovered breaking hunting regulations by other hunters. The bulk of hunters belong in the majority that care deeply about the preservation and conservation of our natural resources. This could lead him to be arrested or go on the lam.
Mistake Four
Hunters can do what they want when they want. Not! Every state that allows hunting has regulatory rules and guidelines every hunter, including your character, must follow. They include when and where hunting can occur, and the number (or bag limit) of critters a hunter can harvest. The regulations are updated annually and made available to the public around the same time that licenses are available for renewal. It is a hunters responsibility to know the regulations inside and out before they hunt and regardless of what they are hunting.
My husband went hunting with a friend on the east side of Montana one season. Once there he was able to purchase over-the-counter tags for doe antelope. A couple of days later, after a peaceable “run-in” with a game warden, he discovered he had inadvertently been hunting in the wrong area. The game warden let him off with a warning because he hadn’t harvested any animals, nor even shot his gun, but it effectively ended that hunting trip for him because he was afraid to risk accidentally breaking another regulation and the permanent loss of his license.
Is your character a conscientious rule follower who is following the hunting regulations for the state in which they are hunting? Alternatively, are they the type that never opened the free annual regulation book to check for changes in the district for which they applied?
If a game warden stops your character for breaking a regulation, make sure that the said regulation actually exists in the state where you have them hunting. In Montana, rabbits are considered vermin due to over population and may be hunted without a license. However, in California you must have a hunting license and a special tag to hunt rabbits.
Mistake Five
Hunter aren’t held accountable for their actions. You bet they are! Every state that allows hunting has officers called game wardens to enforce their regulations. If your character meets one while hunting, they had better be following the rules or they risk punishment for not doing so. Game wardens can fine and/or arrest a hunter, confiscate the game a hunter has harvested or even permanently revoke their hunting license. In severe infractions homes and vehicles may be forfeited.
My husbands’ friend harvested a doe antelope during antelope season. Unfortunately, where he harvested the doe and where he had a license to harvest the doe were two different places (he had misread the map and was about a five miles on the wrong side of the hunting zone line). Due to his cooperation with the game warden, his punishment was a $135 fine, confiscation of the doe antelope and a severe warning. He could have been fined up to $1000 and lost his license for up to seven years in thirteen states.
Game wardens are there to enforce hunting regulations and have an incredible amount of territory to cover. They are allowed to ticket hunters and confiscate game for regulation infractions, which can be dangerous since almost all of their encounters are with armed individuals. When you consider that element, it is amazing there are so few “shoot outs” between game wardens and hunters.
Your character may learn that a game wardens scope of work can include everything from educating the public about responsible hunting to running a sting operation on poachers. Maybe your character goes on a ride along and discovers one game warden can be responsible for hundreds of square miles of territory.
Mistake Six
The ecosystem would naturally find it’s balance if there were no hunters. Wrong! Hunters are part of the ecosystem and so is your character. Without regulated hunting, many bird and mammal populations would become overpopulated. There are not enough natural predators to keep game populations in check and not enough natural habitat resources to support overpopulations. Hunting allows for a regulated number of birds and mammals to be harvested each year. The US Fish and Wildlife Service, through annual harvest goals state to state, work to promote healthy game populations and healthy habitats.