I'm hoping to get help from some veteran hunters here: I'm writing a book called Talk the Talk: Authentic Slang from 75 American Subcultures, and two of the groups I'm working on (and have had trouble finding good terms for!) are hunters and fishermen. The hardest kinds of words to find are the ones I'm most interested in, slang and informal talk and social terms--like if there's a word for somebody who always scares the game away, or for a gun that's more powerful than it needs to be for the type of game hunted, or for a day when no game even shows up.

If anyone can suggest words, phrases, or resources, I'd be grateful--not only for deer hunting, but for any kind of hunting and fishing. And if you know anybody else who might be able to help and don't mind forwarding the message to them too, that's great. You could post information here or e-mail me at luc[-at-]subculturetalk.com. Also give me a holler if you'd be willing to look over my terms when I'm done and/or suggest quotes for some of them.

Thanks,
Luc Reid

Here are some words you can put in your book:

Getting Skunked - going on a hunting trip and coming home empty handed.

Buck Fever - elevated heart rate that occurs when in plain view of a monster buck.

Boiler Room - the area on an animal where you want to shoot to harvest the animal humanely (the heart/lung area)

Ground Shrinkage - what happens when you find the deer that your buddy said was sure to make the record book only to realize that he would be lucky to fill the stew pot because he is so small.

I hadn't realized that youwanted fishing words too

Drowning some worms - a phrase used to describe an unsuccessful fishing trip, "I didn't catch anything, just drowned some worms".

Hog - often spelled "hawg", a bass of legendary proportions. i.e. ole' bucketmouth.

Almost as interesting as fishing slang, would be to find out the "local names" of all your common American fish.

Largemouth bass - black bass, wide mouth

Flathead catfish - mud cats, shovel nose,

This is great stuff. Thanks, Tom!

"that dog will hunt" .... " shoot them where their the biggest"

DD

Here's some I noticed in Florida. I came from Maryland

1. Looky Heah....usually what an older black man calls out to you from a jon boat showing off his stringer of fish with a smile.

2. Good ins........ Little bit better than average keeper fish.

3. Slabs............Serious lunker panfish

4.Fryhards.......4/5inch .Bluegills that should have been thrown back but the fisherman is so hard up that he keeps them. Frys the whole fish.

5. Jumpers....Grass shrimp, used mostly for catching specks.

6. Flippin Stick..long fishing rod for reaching in and jigging worms or jigs in thick cover .

7.Tacked up...When a hunting place has illuminated tacks in the trees or brush to help a hunter find his way in the dark.

8. Quota.......A piece of paper that you get to allow you to hunt a certain WMA.

9. Did you get drawn?..What your hunting friends ask you concerning your signing up for certain WMAs

10. Dropplings....usually pertaniing to deer poop.

11. Buck Fever...Usually so caught up with the awe of the situation ...that your deer walks away as you stand there with your mouth open

12. Long range rifle...Usually the hunters excuse to himnself or wife for buying a another rifle.

DAYLIGHT DUMMY- SOMEONE WHO ENTERS WOODS LATE IN THE MORNING
MAGAZINE MORON- SOMEONE WHO BUYS ALL THE BEST AND IS STUPID WHEN IT COMES TO HUNTING.
A BEER BUCK-SOMEONE WHO NEVER LEAVES THE CABIN,BUT DRINKS BEER ALL WEEK AND THEN BUYS HIS BUCK OFF A LOCAL FARMER

overkill=a gun that's more powerful than it needs to be for the type of game hunted

boogered it up=there's a word for somebody who always scares the game away

head/toad/gorilla= large bass

heavy sak= big bag of fish at a tournament

m.t.hands= no fish at a tournament[:-]

bust up=scatter a flock of turkeys to call/gather back in

roost a bird= locate where a turkey sleeps

flush= jump an animal from cover

birds nest/professional overrun= backlash on a baitcaster

ole man murphy came to visit= anything that can go wrong will (bowhunting mostly[:@])

the man=game warden

broom pole and a well rope=flippin stick

"K-mart hunter"- A city boy who just bought all new equipmet atk-mart and only hunts a few times. Usually only opening day.

"If it brown it's down"- Someone who shoots bucks or does will say this.

"It's veal"-A very young deer.

As others have written there are numerous names for those who buy all of the best equipment and don't know how to use it. The one my buddies and I use is "Bass Pro Mannequin" We use the term "Mo Mo" for big deer and large fish. "Boone and Cricket" for small bucks. When we rib each other for buying a model of gun or bow that we don't think is the best we call it a "Boat Oar". Those are just a few off the top of my head.