Sunday, April 16, 2006
Develop A Hunting Attitude
Anyone who has ever taken a Dale Carnegie course comes out of it with an attitude. This ‘tude is what some bow hunters need.
Some people develop a false hunting attitude where they think they can shoot a buck. Those with the right mindset don’t think they can; they know that when a shot is presented, they will kill that buck.
There is a huge difference between thinking you can and knowing you can. Thinkers are doing just that. They think too much, and by the time their mind solves the issue, the deer is gone or offers only a low-percentage shot. They miss an opportunity by thinking too much.
How can a bow hunter go from being a thinker to a doer. It’s pretty easy.
They practice constantly on targets at distances consistent with their skill levels. They have confidence in their ability to shoot straight without having to think things out before drawing their bow.
They size up the opportunity, and have enough confidence in themselves and their arrow shooting ability to come to full draw at the right time and deliver a killing shot.
Confidence is the key word in this whole discussion. Confidence comes from knowing you can do it and do it right. Any questionable thoughts just eat away your confidence and a shot is usually missed. Good hunters, if faced with a questionable situation, won’t shoot.
Good hunters know that a familiarity with deer, and especially bucks, is important. A sizable whitetail buck steps out within easy shooting distance, and the decision is made and the arrow is released in much less time than it takes to read this sentence.
The thinker, if he were sitting side-by-side with the confident doer, would still be evaluating the situation while the hunter has shot the animal. Thinkers deliberate, and doers shoot deer.
This doesn’t mean the doers don’t think. They size up the animal, raise the bow, aim and shoot. Their mind, because they have a large amount of self confidence, instantly knows this is a shooter. The doer, if the animal switches positions, also can stop and wait if necessary.
This type of positive thinking comes from looking at a great many deer, learning to size up the animal, and being able to draw, aim and shoot without consciously thinking about it. It becomes second nature.
Some people have enormous amounts of self confidence and some do not. Those who lack this confidence building skill must spend more time outdoors, and spend more time in close proximity to deer.
Think of it this way. The wind is your greatest enemy because it allows deer to smell you. Your next worst enemy is the inability to sit still. Learn to conquer both items, and you’ll have gained a large measure of self confidence.
The next step is to have deer within easy shooting range. Things change dramatically from when the deer is 100 yards away to when it is within 15 yards. The closer a buck gets, the more a thinker starts concentrating on the antlers than where the arrow must go.
A lack of concentration is the hallmark of the thinker. The doer is five steps ahead in his ability to draw, aim and shoot in a second or two.
The thinker also procrastinates. Learn deer body language, and a hunter can often tell if a deer is about to walk or run off or stay in the area. The longer a deer stands nearby, the longer the thinker studies the antlers, and the longer it takes to shoot.
Let’s go back to high school exams. It’s easy to tell the right answers, but some questions are more difficult. Often, studies show, the person’s first instinct is right in a yes-no or multiple-choice question. It’s when students second-guess themselves, deny their original instinct and thought, that they provide the incorrect answer.
Bow hunting is similar in many respects. Dawdle or think too long, and the opportunity walks off into thick cover. This doesn’t mean that hunters must rush their shot, because in most cases, they have more time to draw, aim and shoot than they think.
The doer recognizes that ideal moment, and instinctively acts on it without conscious thought. Ninety-nine percent of the time, when the bow comes back to full draw, a shot quickly follows. The entire shooting experience becomes instinctive.
Deer act on instinct as well. There is no reason a hunter can’t develop the same style of instinctive reaction to a quality shot opportunity. Shooting a deer with a bow should become instinctive, and mind you, learning how to do it doesn’t come overnight.
Only consistent quality practice, being close to deer, being able to read a buck’s body language, and doing all of these things often enough, will lead to becoming a great hunter.
An old friend had a saying that seems to sum up this hunting philosophy: “They don’t ask ‘can you?’; they ask ‘did you?’”
The doers can, all the time, and the thinkers can, occasionally.