Beyond the Culture & Into the Language

With my ongoing exploration into our country’s hunting culture I have, over the years, been inundated with a panoply of backwoods terms and common vernacular; phrases and expressions that when spoken out of context would seem better fodder for a mythical children’s book than everyday gas station chit chat. But while theses terms are common to all hunters and relatively consistent across the country as a whole, there is often no accounting for regional differences.  And, like any language, confusion and debate are likely to ensue.

The diversity of seasons and regional cultures provide us with a plethora of examples of how across the country a word in one area meaning one thing is the antithesis of a word’s definition in another. We see these differences in New England where a white-tailed buck sporting eight tines would be referred to as an “8-point” or “4x4”, whereas in the foothills of eastern Oregon that same buck would simply be known as a “4-point”. We hear illustrations of these differences on the east coast where the term “spike” simply implies a second year deer. But out west, where elk also roam the landscape, a spike refers to a young elk with a non-forked antler (or just one antler forked). I remember I once ran into a group of hunters along an old forest road and, as is practically law, chatted with them about their hunt. They mentioned they were looking for elk and after some casual banter I told them I had only seen a spike (in my mind a deer) down the road about 15 minutes earlier. They quickly bid me adieu and were off. I never understood their rush but looking back, I could see that I had inadvertently led them on a wild goose chase. Poor souls, ignorant me.

But there are other terms, much more basic in nature that as you become enveloped in the culture you begin to say without even thinking. We see evidence of this when we are out on a bird hunt and a guy asks what shot you are shooting. You quickly holler back, “high brass 6’s” and you have immediately passed on that information, nothing more need be said.   When out on a deer hunt a guy asks you what caliber you rifle is and you respond, “it’s a .308”, again, immediately conveying a single piece of information upon which the questioner can extract a wealth of information. They are basic terms and knowledge but ones which until a few years ago would have had me thinking more about algebra than hunting.

And then, for those moments when talking would only serve to scare off your prey, hunting has developed a sort of sign language. It’s a crude, coarse, and inchoate language that has no universal guide but one which takes many lessons from the phrase, “necessity is the mother of all invention”. Whether through finger signals, Special Forces hand signs or full body gestures, the information to be conveyed is often simple yet highly informative. And when hunting with a partner whom you have spent much time in the woods with, a sort of pattern emerges. Something as simple as making the shape of a “C” with your hand after hearing a disturbance in the forest below; the “C” implying the noise came from a cow elk. On to the more involved signals such as quickly pointing to your ear and following that up with two fingers placed together, pointing downwards, and moving them up and down across the forest floor, implying you heard a deer bounding through the woods. This would differ from an elk in which your two fingers, instead of bouncing, would kick, or scissor, back and forth, as elk aren’t quite as graceful as their smaller brethren. They are very simply gestures but depending on which game you are after, those non-verbal cures can make all the difference in deciding how to proceed.

The language of hunting is no different than any of the other numerous dialects spoken across the globe. The more we immerse ourselves into these worlds the more we learn. We learn not only basic definitions but how they present themselves in speech. This jargon helps us relate to one another and with this knowledge we inch ever closer to a secretive world hidden from the national spotlight. Knowing and understanding this language means that we can go anywhere in the country and immediately connect with another. In a sense it is comforting to know these terms. While many of us may travel the country and visit new states we will find that despite regional accents and indigenous vernacular because we understand and speak English, we adapt quickly. Thus, we can move on to understanding a place, rather than getting caught up in the basics. For hunting, it is exactly the same. Once you get beyond the beginner’s nomenclature a whole new world opens up to you and from there, the adventures begin.