Greetings, folks! I'm currently writing up the first draft of a fictional book and i'm in need of your expertise. I've spent several months researching various aspects of the story whereby I have no experience, and with regards to hunting, I'm at some loss. If anyone knowledgeable enough could help answer some of my questions, I'd sure appreciate it.A part of the story is set somewhere in the great outdoors of America, this area is home to Roe, Fallow, Red deer, and bears. The deer are predominantly the chosen diet of the hunters and my questions revolve around them. A good place to start would be:

How many days/weeks could you live off a killed adult male Roe? Assuming you carry out all the required prep of the meat after the fact?

Any tips or links on how to appropriately store your kill? Assuming that you have very little access to modern tools.

Another question I'm indecisive on is what calibre rifle weapon is best for shooting deer and bear? It should be understood that the hunters only have 1 weapon and so being at disadvantage isn't necessarily a bad thing, so long as they could hunt deer successfully and defend against a bear maul.

I have an instance where the rifle misfires, though the primer is dented. Can anyone technically explain why that could happen? Excluding the rifle being cleaned properly.

On average, how long might it take, in terms of shots fired, for a person to begin to go deaf if they didn't use any ear protection? I understand that people generally follow strict safety precautions but somewhere in the ball park would be good as an educated guess.

I have more questions but I'll leave these up for now. Again, I appreciate any wisdom this community may have around these questions. Cheers!