An Open Post to Cade and ALL Youngsters

[Terry Green]

Cade,...and all Youngsters.

It wont always be 'that good' as it was on your 1st hunt to The Bacon Strip....just remember, during those slow hunts...is the time you learn more, and become a better hunter.  You make your self work harder to find the animals, what they are doing, the pattern, and how to capitalize on the opportunities that are afforded to you. Its NOT a time to get frustrated, but a challenge for you to rise to the occasion.

When the action isn't fast and furious you have to use your mind to figure out the puzzle.  And those are the hunts that sharpen your skills.  

If you are successful on those hunts, they are even sweeter.  If you aren't successful in a kill you have still learned from the experience whether you realize if or not.  You will ponder on after the hunt of 'what could I have done' and clues will reveal themselves.

Then there are times when an occurrence keeps us coming back.  Numbers are nice, and they will come with perseverance...but remember...its all about 'The Chase'.

Here's an example, even though Cade took two hogs on his 1st hog hunt....no doubt, this is what's 'calling him back'....
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[stringstretcher]

Not only to the young ones Terry, but there are a lot of us elders that hope to play this game some day.  Great advice.

[Froggy]

I imagine he thinks about that one just about every night before going to sleep.....  good stuff        

Froggy

[xtrema312]

[magnus]

Very good advice! As I look back over the years and the hunts that I didn't get a shot or see anything I now realize what I learned on those hunts. It might take awhile to realize but it seams I always learned something.

[stringstretcher]

LOL....just thinking back on what Cade said about hydraulics...if that had been me, not only my hydraulics but other personal and clothing parts would have had to been washed sooner than later....lol

[kbetts]

X2 that you learn most when you fail.

I "failed" yesterday.  Made an awesome open field stalk on a ghog in a blustery 20-30 mph breeze.  Crawed up behind the only cover (irrigation tire), got the arrow nocked, collected my thoughts, focused, and released a perfect arrow at about 40 yards that he slid under into his hole at the last second.  I can still see that arrow arching across the field......if he was standing an inch higher, he would have ate it.  Wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

[Brianlocal3]

GREAT post, I'm still a youngster by alot of standards and it is all so true. But there are always small game to hunt!

[Bowhunter4life]

Absolutely!  Nail on the head with the truth!  Success is nice, but the chase is what grabs a hunter by the root of his or her being...  Fooling the natural instincts of an animal or trying to fool them, and delivering a perfect shot is the stuff that keeps the hunter in all of us alive.  

Our best weapon is our mind, using our higher intelligence to get ourselves in the right position at the right time is what it is all about.  Moving or not moving at the right time, minding the wind, knowing the terrain, knowing the habits of our prey, getting the angle, and inevitably making the shot...  Good stuff!

Win, lose, or draw... young or old... we learn from every encounter, or should learn from every encounter...

[Steve Clandinin]

Young Fellas,Terry hit the nail on the head.As you mature as a hunter,THE one thing you will find that will burn into your soul more than anything is the friendships and Comradie of the people you hunt with and the bonds that are created.Ther is no finer way to spend time with your friends and loved ones than bowhunting.
I've hunted Moose and Elk for 40 years and I've yet to shoot one.Has the flame diminished,No way I look more forward than ever ,because of who I share my camps with,My son,son-in-law and best friends.Its so much more than just pulling a string.
I've probably stalked and shot more big Mule deer than most ,because of where I live They have taught me more lessons than any animal.To me,now it has become a science,you'll learn alot from your mistakes and what the animals will teach you.

             

Bisch

[awbowman]

Great post Terry.

And i might add that it's like that in life too. Take  it from an old timer.  I've learned way more from my failures and slow times than my successes.

[ARCHER2]

       

[tuscarawasbowman]

Good post Terry. Interesting enough I went shed hunting the other day where I had a shot at a real nice whitetail buck this past fall. I didn't get him but when I stood back in the spot where I saw him and thought about that encounter I couldn't help but smile months later.

[Trumpkin the Dwarf]

Thanks for the reminder Terry! I have learned a lot about the terrain I hunt from the slow days. You never seem to remember how many bowls and finger ridges you pass when you are pursuing a bugling bull, but on the silent days it all sticks in your mind.
The "failed hunts" are always what drive me back to hunt the next year.

[BDann]

Great insight!  I struggle to keep my kids thinking along those lines.  Keeping them interested in the slow times can be challenging for sure.

[Big Ed]

   

[elkken]

Oh to be young again and have guys like Terry and Curt to teach me about bowhunting, and then there are the other thousands here on TG that can all lend their knowledge too .... what a great future all the youngsters have the opportunity to grow into !!

       

[mcgroundstalker]

Ya Gotta Love It! ... I can write a book on "Almost!" ... This close-in stuff gets my heart rate up... Hope to hunt piggies some day.

Oh! I Forgot... When I hold a Trad Bow I feel like a kid again.  

... mike ...   :D   ...

[Burnsie]

Right on Terry
I've always thought it is a fine line with youngsters.  You want them to have some early success to keep their interest high,  but you don't want everything to come too easy too soon. Because when the slow times come (and they will) young'ins can become disallusioned very fast.  They need to understand it won't always come easy.
On the otherhand without some early successes,  a kid will loose interest real fast. It takes a special kid who will sit for hours, maybe multiple seasons before gettting an opportunity. Especially with all the things competing for their time these days.