As an outdoor writer, I’ve been in a lot of hunt camps—deer camps, duck camps, turkey camps, an assortment of Western camps, and even a teepee camp. They’ve all been very different, but there’s always some common themes that run through every hunt camp. Running afoul of the unwritten rules can make you the black sheep of the group in a hurry and ensure you don’t get invited back for next season. Ask a few questions of whoever invited you to get a feel for the vibe so you’ll know how to approach things. Here’s how to stay in everyone’s good graces and score that second-year invite.
1. Bring Food
Know the food situation before you come. Is there one designated camp cook? Does everyone pack their own lunches but pitch into a fund that covers groceries for supper? Is each member responsible for cooking one night? No matter how it’s handled, ensure you’re participating in the food situation however it’s expected. Regardless, bringing extra homemade sweet treats, snacks or deer jerky always earns you brownie points.
2. Pull Your Weight
Everyone works in hunt camp in some capacity. Don’t get caught sitting on your butt while someone else is hauling firewood, cleaning the kitchen or helping another hunter butcher. The old timers can slack off a little bit, as can anyone who’s been coming for decades, but the newbies had better prove that they’re worth having around. If something needs done, do it.
What you DON’T want to do here is become a doormat. It’s perfectly reasonable to get stuck doing the dishes because you’re a newbie or because it’s your turn. It’s not reasonable to get stuck doing the dishes because you’re a woman and “women belong in the kitchen.” You’ll know the difference.
3. Participate, but Don’t Hog the Attention
Some of the best times in hunt camp happen around the campfire or woodstove, sitting around telling stories. Feel free to participate, but don’t suck up all the energy in the room by hogging the attention and telling story after story, even if they’re good ones. No one likes a one-upper!
Related to this rule is another good one: Don’t get drunk, or if you do get drunk, don’t act a fool or be obnoxious. You won’t get as much leeway on this as the veterans in camp.
4. Just Be a Good Guest
You already know the rules of being a guest in someone’s home, and they all apply here. Clean up after yourself and leave the kitchen cleaner than you found it. Don’t hog the bathroom. Don’t stay up late reading and subject everyone in the bunkroom to the light from your flashlight. Keep all your stuff organized in your own space and don’t be a slob. Are you a snorer? No big deal—hunt camp is full of them. Maybe pack some extra foam earplugs to pass around so everyone can sleep in peace.
5. Know the Hunting Rules
Talk to whoever invited you and make sure you understand what’s expected on the hunt. Are there antler restrictions on this property? Is there an unspoken rule that we only shoot drake mallards or we don’t shoot jakes, etc.? Do we shoot coyotes and hogs on sight, or not until we have a few deer down in camp? Pay attention to language like, “We try not to…” because that’s the real rule, at least for newbies. If someone says, “The rule is we don’t shoot any deer under 6 points, but we really try not to shoot unless it’s 8 points or better,” then you know for sure you’d better not shoot a 6-pointer your first season. (Kids are usually the exception to these rules.)
Ask about field-dressing, too. I typically gut a deer where it falls, but I’ve been in hunt camps where they wanted me to bring it back to camp and gut it in a specific spot to keep from attracting predators to their treestand locations.
6. Respect the Traditions
Every hunt camp that’s been around for a while with mostly the same people has some traditions. Some of them are pretty common, like blooding a hunter’s face after their first deer, and some are downright quirky or superstitious. These traditions might run deeper than you can imagine and are to be respected. If Old Jim doesn’t change his socks until he kills his turkey or Miss Caroline says whoever shoots the biggest buck has to sweep the floors on the last day of camp, just roll with it.
It's possible that a little newbie hazing might be part of the camp tradition. Be a good sport about it as long as things don’t get out of hand (and remember the “don’t become a doormat” advice).
7. Be on Time or Early
If you’re told to be in the truck by 5 a.m. to head out for the day, you’d dang sure better be sitting in the truck at 4:55. No one likes the guy who holds things up, and as a woman, I always feel (whether it’s true or not) that I’m judged extra harshly for not being on time. As a newbie in camp, you definitely do not want to be the reason the hunt doesn’t start on time.
—Jo Deering
