Why Short Term Success Can Mean Longterm Failures Part 1
On the first day of an out of state hunting trip I found myself parked in a pull off we had marked on google maps. We had some intel from guys that had hunted this stretch of public land in the past but we also knew most of the work would have to be done by ourselves. The goal for the first day was to scout and learn the area and to have things in place for the next four days. Anticipation was high and the daytime temps were forecasted to be in the low 40s, perfect for early November deer movement.
Barely getting the truck in park, our anticipation carried us quickly across a small seasonal stream bed and passed a mixture of hardwoods. The tight lines spacing on the topo map did not lie,as we struggled to maintain conversation while working our way towards the top of the first ridge.
Almost halfway to the top Adam came to an immediate stop. 50 yards ahead of us I could see the white of a mature bucks antlers and simultaneously I heard the familiar sound of a deer rising from its bed. He was as surprised as we were but didn’t turn to run. Amidst our stare off I regretfully remember the number one rule-don’t leave you bow in the truck! Moments later he turned to trot off and all we could do was observe. Worried that we had caused irreversible damage by bumping that deer we turned and hustled back down the ridge the way we came. It was exciting to see a good buck that early in the trip but our overly cautious thinking had gotten the best of us.
What we initially thought was success would turn out to be a limitation. Because of that encounter we did not scout the entire area that we had planned on, instead spent the next three days hunting the area where we saw the buck.While this strategy could have panned out hindsight tells me that we would have been more productive had we continued to gather intel. If we hadn’t been as worried about bumping that deer we could have become familiar with the land and saved ourselves a year’s worth of experience.
The following season we were back in the same area but pushed further into the public land. A full day of scouting later and we had a much better grasp on the property and how deer were using it. Each year that we return we use the first day of the trip to re-learn the area and this has proven worthwhile. Gain as much information about an area as you can, and then keep learning. Scout, scout, hunt!
