Americans, Canadians, the Irish, and of course the Britons have different terms when it comes to shooting and hunting.

Understanding that concept, I would guess that Australia has some different concepts on what things are called.

Can you please clue me in so I am not totally dumb when I show up in November.

For instance in America and Canada hunting is an all inclusive term. To include birds, small game and big game, of course hounds and falcons are still hunting.

Our British isles forefathers call big game hunting stalking, and hunting small game and birds shooting. Hunting is reserved (as I understand it) for coursing hounds, and mostly foxes.

That didn't mean to sound preachy, just thought I would throw that in for the folks new to the Hunt.

Mostly we say "I'm going shooting this weekend" then its up to the asker to inquire "what are you shootin" you then say what it is your chasing. We also have

Rabbiting- using a spot light or ferrets (going ferreting is the same as going rabbiting in some areas)
Ferreting-see above
Spotlighting- that could mean going after anything from rabbit and foxes to pigs and roo's (where allowed under permit) in the stubble. Not deer however thats illegal in Victoria anyway.
Mate that about covers it really, unless someone else can add to it?

Yes, Bakes, I would agree with that. In Victoria we'd say: deer hunting, buffalo hunting
and maybe crocodile hunting
but
duck, quail, pheasant, pig and rabbit shooting. Unless you ride to hounds we would say fox shooting.

As a rule of thumb, with the exception of hunting deer from a hide, if you wait for the critters to come to you or they are small game, we say shooting, because you don't do so much searching for them. Deer 'stalking' is seen as being a bit pretentious unless you want to make it clear you don't use hounds.

And the term "missed the bastard" can be used by all hunters everywhere.


It is interesting because there are hunters in Canada and I presume the US of A that cannot agree on the meaning of some of the terms they use.

Example: A white-tailed deer with four horizontal tines coming up off the main beams on both sides of his head. Would be called a 10 point buck in some areas. A 5 point buck in some areas. A 5 by 5 in some areas. A 4 point with brow tines by some.

Some define "stalking" as moving slowly through deer cover looking to see a deer before it sees you. Others would call that "still hunting" and say that "stalking" is trying to approach into shooting range of an animal you have already spotted from a distance.

Step, step, step, followed by glass, turn, glass turn and then step step step?

I call that stalking, but some North Americans call it still hunting.

"the stalk" to me is the last part. But sometimes the whole thing is the last part.

I use the glass and track method, but everyone is different.


Yes we can't agree West/South West and East on points. 5x5, 10 point, 4x4.

In the Western USA/Canada here's the scoop. Sometimes Eastern folks count every point no matter how small.

Elk
6 point six points per side in the right place (IE no crown points)
5 point five points in the right place (if it had crown points they would not count)
4 point is a raghorn
First set is a spike doesn't really matter how big they are

Moose
Counted as spread by inches

Caribou
Counted as total Boone and Crockett score with no deducts

Mule deer are counted this way.
brow tines don't count ever
So a 4x4 classic mule deer is a 4x4 plus his brow tines

A blacktail deer's browtines would only count if he had whitetail shaped antlers instead of bicifurated antlers like a mule deer.

Whitetail you count all points greater than ring size on so 5x5 or 3x3 or 4x4. or 7x2? Whatever the number is x whatever the number is.

Now in the Southwestern USA New Mexico and Arizona they don't count a Coue's Whitetails brow tines. So that's confusing. But all the rest of the Western rules apply.

Eastern North American hunters count every point, no matter how big, kind of like Germans.

My German roe buck with 3 points on each side and lots of trash was a un-even 10 pointer. Really a 3x3 with some trash.

But there are lots of North American hunters, and lots of different ideas on how to score things. In Maine moose only count by how much they weigh.

Beer, Rum, Whiskey

Aussies call it "aiming fluid"