A Bowhunting Checkup
By Kent Boucher
This is an Article Kent wrote for The Iowa Sportsman Magazine. Subscribe to the magazine to see more of Kent’s work in print.
The weatherman is calling for unseasonably cool temperatures over the weekend, the second weekend of the Iowa archery deer season. From the cab of your truck you’ve been carefully monitoring the deer activity at your favorite hunting property all week while driving home from work, and you’ve seen your top target buck three out of the four nights you’ve been surveying. You’ve got the pattern, you’ve got the weather, you’ve got the time off. As you gear up for such a promising weekend of early season hunting, the freshness of the season and the year’s worth of daydreaming motivates you to practice religiously, carefully prepare each item for your hunt, and approach the weekend with the perfect balance of cautious optimism. Then the weekend comes and goes, and the next weekend, and the next and so on until eventually you are sitting on the downhill side of the best days of the rut with nothing but a few missed opportunities and your tag in your pocket. Where’s that optimism now?
The Problem
The crumbling morale that invariably accompanies a long, disappointing deer season will often fan the flames of disappointment into some level of deer hunting disillusionment which will manifest itself as a decline in the effort needed to be in the position to notch a deer tag. Early morning wake ups, constant weather monitoring, long sits in the deer stand, enduring inclement weather, managing scent, and maintaining hunting equipment are just some of the chores that compose the effort necessary for a realistic chance at arrowing a target buck. All of these things get increasingly bothersome as your outlook slips into pessimism, and before long you may find yourself totally checked out of the game. So how does a jaded bowhunter find revitalization in such a bummer of a season?
The Treatment: Take A Break
An ancient adage I found to be true while my wife and I maintained a long distance relationship between college semesters was “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” This same truth that culminated in a nervous 21 year old emptying his bank account for a 1 karat marquise cut diamond, can also provide the freshness needed to breathe life back into a disenchanting deer season.
The most obvious means for creating absence from deer season is to step away and find something else to occupy your time. I recommend shutting down your season for a week to invest the time into family, other interests, or even other game species. I have often found that a couple evenings spent playing with my kids or having a nice dinner with my wife provides the anchor point for a well timed reality check of reassessing what is worthy of my top priority and concern and also takes me away from the loneliness of time spent in the tree stand several weekends in a row.
One common fault of most bowhunters is that we become too obsessive over a singular game species when there is much more to enjoy. One of my favorite deer hunting alternatives is to cut my bird dogs loose for a day of pheasant hunting. The respite from scent management, stealthy approaches and excessively early mornings while still being able to enjoy Iowa’s late autumn beauty where critters abound has me reinvigorated, and my bowhunting focus is renewed by the following weekend.
The Treatment: Change It Up
The first couple of treks to my tree stand each year are clumsy and hobbled by an overabundance of gear that I haven’t yet remembered is unnecessary. But by November my approach is streamlined, smooth and stealthy after a month of practice. Of course a well tuned routine is an important component of finding consistent success, but a routine can also morph into a rut. If you find yourself repeatedly encountering the same frustrations it may be time to alter your tactics. A few all day sits in late November may yield some additional encounters, or taking your hunts from the tree to the ground may allow you to cinch up on a high traffic funnel without polluting the area with as widespread of a scent stream.
Another slight change that can be made to renew your focus is to change the dynamics of your hunting party. If you primarily hunt alone, consider asking a friend to join you. If you have been hunting with a buddy all season, slip out to a piece of public ground for an afterwork solo mission. Sometimes the lonely quiet can provide the much needed opportunity to collect your thoughts and freshen up your mindset just in time to wind down the season and hopefully do what it takes to spend the tag that is still weighing down your pocket.
The Treatment: Reality Check
When I was in high school I had the privilege of being a sophomore lineman standing on the sidelines of a stellar varsity football team. The team wrapped up a perfect 9-0 season with a stunning second round playoff loss to an underdog opponent. The devastation of the loss to the senior players is what I remember most of that disappointing season. I remember the next day telling the pastor of my church about the whole ordeal as if I had just witnessed the greatest tragedy since Romeo first locked eyes with Juliet. He offered some consoling words, but he also made a comment about how the senior football players will be very fortunate if the playoff loss is the worst grief they ever experience in their lifetimes. He provided me with a healthy reality check.
Oftentimes I think we bowhunters get a flawed perspective on what really matters, and how we should prioritize our time, money, and emotions during hunting season. Of course hunting season has importance just like that football game had importance, but compared to our faith, relationships, and work responsibilities bowhunting must always take a backseat in its big picture importance. So when the deer season comes up empty, don’t let your hunting disappointment drown out the other good things life has provided you.
Another reality check that I try to keep in mind is the primary purpose for why I bowhunt: I like it. It’s that simple. We hunt with a bow because it’s fun. If we allow the missed shots, poor stand placement or bad weather conditions to ruin our fun, then we are missing the ultimate target.
The Recovery
Each season of bowhunting offers a new and unexpected drama that holds our interest year after year. Some years the drama unfolds with unforgettable opportunity, and an abundance of fulfillment, while other years bring tremendous disappointment. If you find yourself in the middle of a disappointing season, remember to keep everything in perspective and do what it takes to renew your outlook. You never know how your luck could change, and that’s why we can’t help showing back up year after year.