What does it look like to fail or lose during hunting? (Hint: You can’t)
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Do you ever think you are losing when hunting, e.g. you just can’t get it done, they keep getting around you, you just can’t find your prey? We may feel like we aren’t good enough to kill a deer, turkey, or duck, but that’s what I’m going to help you understand that we can make a seemingly bad hunt have a positive outcome.
Many times I feel like I am losing when hunting because I don’t get an animal. But, it’s never a loss. Here are some reasons why:
You get to spend time in the great outdoors
You get to learn about the animal better
You get to know the property better.
I always try to look at every hunt through a lens of positivity and learn from it.
Spending time in the outdoors
There is no better place to be than the outdoors. I can’t tell you how many awesome things I have seen outdoors. I’ve seen things from Fawns, and Turkey Poults, to Big Bucks. There is just so much to see when outdoors. That’s why even when your hunt doesn’t go as planned, it can still be a good day, especially when you see something that you wouldn’t have seen if you weren’t outside in nature. It’s also just such a great feeling being out in the woods, mountains or on the water. You get to just be there and try and forget about the stress of life for a little bit. It’s also nice to just be sitting there on a crisp cool November morning waiting and wondering if that target buck will step out. Because if you’re not out there, you never would have known if he’d have shown up. If he had, you’d have missed your chance.
Getting to learn about the animal
You can learn a lot from an animal by just watching them. It doesn’t matter what you’re hunting, or when you’re hunting, you will get to know that animal better. If you are hunting deer, you may find that certain deer prefer certain things. One buck may like to take a certain path or make a scrape that tells you that you need to move closer to that path that he takes. It could also be that deer prefer a certain food source at a certain time of the year which means you should hunt over that spot. This doesn’t just apply to deer, it can apply to any animal you are hunting.
Another animal that you may hunt is turkey and we all know there are some days when it seems like they will never cooperate. But many times that is when we can learn the most from them. You can learn that he doesn’t like that certain call, or that the hens take them straight away from you when you start calling because the hens want him just for themselves. You may have a morning where you sit in the wrong spot and find out they were roosted on the other hillside. But, you know what that tells you, it means that the next morning you know where they will be roosted, so you can sneak in there and try and get a bird on the ground. I like to use my hunts as a scouting opportunity as well because that helps me discover where those animals are going. It also helps me understand where to set up my stands and blinds.
Learning the area
One of the best things to be able to turn a bad day of hunting into a good day is learning more about your property or the area that you hunt. You may be able to find things as you’re walking that you never knew were there. You could stumble upon a watering hole, or sign that tells you where the animals are traveling. It is also just to search the area to see if someone else is hunting around where you are hunting or on your land. You may also be able to find something on the property that needs repaired, updated or changed.
Another thing you may be able to look for is dead deer or other animals telling you that there is a sickness in the area. Just like today, I found out that EHD hit the county where I hunt, so that makes me think maybe that is why the bucks disappeared. This weekend I will be hunting/scouting to see if I can find any dead deer in the area. You can also find ridges that they travel, or where the oaks are that they are feeding on. Once you can find the oaks or ridges, you can then set up there and have a better chance at filling a tag and getting it done.
Oftentimes we think we just aren’t any good because a hunt doesn’t go as planned. But the next time that thought crosses your mind, just remember the things that I shared above and how you can turn a hunt into a learning experience by seeing things in the woods, experiencing the presence of wildlife and being in nature, and learning about the area that you hunt. Because there is never a bad day of hunting, it’s just a good day of learning.
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