frustrating day but a revelation...

Superbrad

Superbrad

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Glengarry Ontario
I read the "are you in a funk" thread and tossed my two cents and more in there and I really never gave it more thought until today...

Last day of gun hunting for whitetails in ontario and I had already passed up a small buck and countless does... The buck due to having no "decent" shot and the does knowing I could make an easy harvest during black powder if needed...

At 8 am a very nice 8 point made his way past my stand in a brisk walk... I raised on him but could never get a clear shot at the boiler room and had to let him go...

As I stood up on my stand to get the gun ready and use the grunter in the hopes of bringing him back the unimaginable happened... There was a twelve point (my guesstimate... It happened fast)... Standing back on the trail... He heard my movement and made for the deep woods without offering an ethical shot...

Now, I am more shot picky than most on shots but, when all was said and done I felt pissed... I felt that after 90 plus hours on stand and god knows how many on stalk I deserved to harvest one of those deer...

The zen I gained from being on stand and enjoying nature turned to anger... After I got down from stand and home ov er a nice hot coffee I got to thinking...

Why was I upset?... I saw two great deer... I had a nice sit and enjoyed nature and really loved my hunt up until the bucks came...

I guess what I am driving at here is why do we put so much pressure on ourselves to make the harvest happen rather than seeing things like the view of a great buck as a priveledge?... Is it really worth getting upset over?...
 
Because Superbrad, the harvest is part of the hunt and the culmination of all that we do in order to harvest an animal. If it weren't we would just walk about the bush and sit in stands with binos to enjoy the view. I would be somewhat down trodden as well, but a lesson is to be learned here, make sure you look everywhere around you before you decide to shift your position..........next time...........
 
Even after many years of hunting and taking my fair share of deer I still get angry at events like you are talking about. The last few trips out we've been trying to get one for my son and so far frustration. The frustration still kicks in but I find I get over it a lot faster and it turns into motivation. ( Although this year has been a little more challenging) It is the countless frustrations that make success that much sweeter.

In a way it is an addiction caused by what B.F. Skinner called variable ratio reinforcement. You know you will be successful as long as you keep at it. The day I no longer feel frustrated from lack of success or the joy of success is probably the day I'll give it up.


Lets be honest. We can be as philosophical as we want but some days we just get p*ssed off at things and there is no way around it. At the end of the day we put on our big boy shorts and go back at it.
 
Brad,

I've passed on a ton of good deer because they weren't ethical shots and I've messed up on some magnificent animals over the years. That's part of hunting and if I know you half as well as I think I do, then you enjoy every moment of being outdoors. While harvesting an animal is nice, it's not the only reason that we hunt.....
 
I hear what you are saying.

I put the emphasis on the "hunt" not the harvest.Also have seen many, been busted by many and passed up many shots.I would still like to get a wall hanger but that hasn't happened yet and though not the reason I am very quickly loosing my interest in hunting.

We all have expectations of our performance whether it be getting close to game or harvesting game, etc.........but we do beat our selves up more than we should when things don't go as planned or predicted.
 
A few years back I had gotten so fed up I did not even hunt and took a year off and probably would not of started again had it not been for conversations with other hunters. By the time August came I was chomping at the bit to get back at it. It may sound silly but that year off did wonders in terms of motivation and understanding why I hunted in the first place.

Hunt hard for your muzzle loader season and see how you feel in the spring.
 
Just for the record, I have never thought of giving up... Douglas, you are right, the goal of the hunt is the harvest... I am not out to watch woodpeckers and squirrels...

I saw two great bucks and should be happy and excited that they are in the area and available for my black powder hunt...

All I am saying is we shoukdn't get so frustrated to the point we kick ourselves in the ass when we did nothing wrong... #### happens and we can't control nature... That's what makes the hunt a beautiful thing...
 
You are there to harvest game and enjoy nature when you are in the stand, but the idea is still to harvest game, and when you come back without results it kind of sucks.
 
When it comes to hunting, you only win the game when you have an animal to gut....everything else is enjoyable, but to win you have to pull the trigger.
 
Obviously, different people hunt for different reasons. Some hunt for meat. Some hunt to enjoy the hunt, and the possibility of success. I'm in the latter group. Not a great or terribly successful hunter, but I go out with expectations of a great experience ( which I almost always have) and hopes of a harvest ( which I sometimes have).

I try hard to look at the totality of the hunt, and not be frustrated by a bad day or annoying experience like the one you had. Meat in the freezer isn't the thing that defines satisfaction for me. It's the icing on the cake, so to speak.

I actually enjoy the time in the stand without gizmos and distractions, alone and quiet in the fall woods. Alone with my thoughts, alert but relaxed. It is literally a Zen thing for me. Fantastic, and I always come back from a hunt more at peace with the world.
 
I had a similar situation to you Brad...spent the full 2 weeks hunting, but came home empty handed.

Was I disappointed I didn't get anything...a little. I passed on shooting a basket 8 point, because I had seen much bigger on trail cam.

Also got to watch a couple of fawns forage for food within 25 yards. The excitement is always still there, knowing that at any second, your luck could turn 180 degrees and you could shoot the buck of a lifetime.

I guess that's what gets me out of bed at 4:30am. The thrill of the hunt. The connection to nature.

What I need now is for the corn to be harvested....some snow on the ground...and muzzleloader season to roll around.
 
Superbrad - That's why they call it hunting and not killing :)

The only rule I have in hunting is that I have to have a perfect shot, one that I know that I will get the animal dead to rights with one shot and minimal suffering. I have even waited for animals to drop their heads to eat so they don't see anything coming, just lights out for them.

I commend you for not taking risky shots, its good for the animal and it shows integrity as a hunter on your part!
 
Thanks guys... I wanted that harvest bad... As much as I enjoy nature, I was pissed that I wasn't able to make the harvest... When I sit on stand I mentally prepare by picturing deer coming down my trails and picturing what they would look like in my shooting lanes... I guess I was just frustrated by the fact that the deer activity never met my mental preparation...

I am trying to look at it in the light that this means I get to hunt black powder season...

I just love the hunt but I guess it pisses me off that I did all I had to do and the results didn't happen...

That being said, I am still glad I didn't take the shot...
 
Superbrad said:
Thanks guys... I wanted that harvest bad... As much as I enjoy nature, I was pissed that I wasn't able to make the harvest... When I sit on stand I mentally prepare by picturing deer coming down my trails and picturing what they would look like in my shooting lanes... I guess I was just frustrated by the fact that the deer activity never met my mental preparation...

I am trying to look at it in the light that this means I get to hunt black powder season...

I just love the hunt but I guess it pisses me off that I did all I had to do and the results didn't happen...

That being said, I am still glad I didn't take the shot...
Click to expand...

Brad, I've seen the trailcam pics you've posted.... You'll do fine once it gets a bit colder.
 
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