I didn’t start hunting until retiring from two robust careers, yet in a relatively short span of time it has produced some of my most profound memories. Here’s a favorite — I was bowhunting for hogs one evening, and a Great Horned Owl landed on a branch three feet from my head. Scared the living daylights out of me, but he was patient enough to wait till I gathered my composure. We spent the next hour or so together intently watching the bait pile. Didn’t shoot a hog that evening, but it didn’t matter. Communion with a fellow hunter — how do you top that?
A story I bet you'll remember long after you forget those days spent working! Owls are incredible. I don't run into them often, but when I do it's always an experience. Sometimes my goal during spring turkey season is to call in owls rather than turkeys because they're more likely to stick around and have a conversation.
Your grandpa is a wise man. I've hunted since I was 14 and didn't shoot my first buck till I was 30. It was with a bow on a property I scouted from a stand I hung myself. First season in the woods without preseason effort with my dad. Many seasons have passed without seeing an animal, let alone taking a shot.
I've worked in the hunt/fish industry awhile and have seen firsthand what social media does to the psyche and culture of being afield or on the water. It's exceedingly difficult to separate the nature and reality of one's experiences from those of the curated few. I mean, there's always been a level of lust in our sports (otherwise F&S and OL would never've existed), but it's stupid that there is a need to do so in the first place.
Even when I worked in the industry I always felt like a majority of the content revolved around such a small percentage of what actually happens. Hunting media often makes it look like everyone has the resources to spend a month hunting for Western big game in the backcountry. I have a strong hunch that the average American hunting experience looks nothing like what we see on our feeds.
I love this so much. I work in the outdoors industry, and the pressure to shoot big bucks every season as some sort of validation is very real. I've been guilty of letting that steal my joy.
Congratulations on the deer. I look forward to reading about the next.
Congrats on the success and thanks for sharing the important message that “big bucks” aren’t everything. Lots of bad pressure — especially for people just getting into hunting — that can lead to hunters of all experience levels feeling bad about taking good deer… or worse, taking bad shots on “target” animals.
I didn’t start hunting until retiring from two robust careers, yet in a relatively short span of time it has produced some of my most profound memories. Here’s a favorite — I was bowhunting for hogs one evening, and a Great Horned Owl landed on a branch three feet from my head. Scared the living daylights out of me, but he was patient enough to wait till I gathered my composure. We spent the next hour or so together intently watching the bait pile. Didn’t shoot a hog that evening, but it didn’t matter. Communion with a fellow hunter — how do you top that?
A story I bet you'll remember long after you forget those days spent working! Owls are incredible. I don't run into them often, but when I do it's always an experience. Sometimes my goal during spring turkey season is to call in owls rather than turkeys because they're more likely to stick around and have a conversation.
Your grandpa is a wise man. I've hunted since I was 14 and didn't shoot my first buck till I was 30. It was with a bow on a property I scouted from a stand I hung myself. First season in the woods without preseason effort with my dad. Many seasons have passed without seeing an animal, let alone taking a shot.
I've worked in the hunt/fish industry awhile and have seen firsthand what social media does to the psyche and culture of being afield or on the water. It's exceedingly difficult to separate the nature and reality of one's experiences from those of the curated few. I mean, there's always been a level of lust in our sports (otherwise F&S and OL would never've existed), but it's stupid that there is a need to do so in the first place.
Congrats on the successful season, bud.
I appreciate the kind words, Matt!
Even when I worked in the industry I always felt like a majority of the content revolved around such a small percentage of what actually happens. Hunting media often makes it look like everyone has the resources to spend a month hunting for Western big game in the backcountry. I have a strong hunch that the average American hunting experience looks nothing like what we see on our feeds.
I love this so much. I work in the outdoors industry, and the pressure to shoot big bucks every season as some sort of validation is very real. I've been guilty of letting that steal my joy.
Congratulations on the deer. I look forward to reading about the next.
Thanks, Alice! Congratulations on your recent buck as well!
Congrats on the success and thanks for sharing the important message that “big bucks” aren’t everything. Lots of bad pressure — especially for people just getting into hunting — that can lead to hunters of all experience levels feeling bad about taking good deer… or worse, taking bad shots on “target” animals.
100%. Its an easy trap to fall into, and a problem that didn’t even exist a few years ago.