Hunting Journal

  Success is measured in different ways, and as I’ve been scrolling through the pages of social media recently, I’ve realized that most hunters feel the need to heat up their pages by posting pictures of their kills. 

  While I’ve been guilty of that over the years, I’ve tried taking a different approach the last few years. Although many people follow me to see these photos, the monster got created through different outlets on social media. I wrote a book and needed a way to promote it, so I took the social media route to do that. In hindsight, I almost wish I never wrote any books and remained an anonymous face in the crowd of deer hunters. However, I began getting asked to speak at shows, and I got asked to appear on podcasts. Although not many people had ever heard of me, people began referring to me as an expert. I still laugh about that. I have piles of experience, probably more experience than 95% of the people who give advice and are considered experts, but I’m the furthest thing from an expert. I fill tags because I work extremely hard at my hobby – my passion. I’m not a great hunter, but I do spend more time in the woods than anyone I know, which leads to a little luck now and then.

  The use of social media for hunting has sickened me in many ways. I see things that make me shake my head and cringe. I also have a hard time listening to 20-year-olds giving people advice about hunting. Great hunters gain knowledge through years and years of experience. They don’t gain knowledge from kids who are trying to make a living on YouTube. I’ve heard the same regurgitated information for the last handful of years on social media, and viewers eat it up. I’ve witnessed people who didn’t have much knowledge about deer hunting suddenly become some of the most respected people in the whitetail world due to their ability to promote themselves. People just can’t see through the BS because the presentation is done so well. Kudos to those people for being able to pull it off. That’s a special skill in and of itself. When I witnessed that happening firsthand, I realized some people can convince anyone to believe them. After all, I would’ve believed the individual too if he hadn’t been asking me so many questions about how I kill big deer every year in big woods and on public land in different states. I’ve seen this guy on a few YouTube shows, and I can’t do anything but laugh and shake my head. Anyone watching should be able to pick up on the miscues that show the guy’s lack of experience and knowledge when it comes to whitetail deer hunting. It’s mind-blowing to have watched his success from afar, and he fits right into the clique. I also like how I never in my life read anything in an article or heard anyone on a podcast say the wind doesn’t matter until I said it. In all reality, deer cannot constantly walk with the wind in their face. It’s merely impossible. I’ve shot plenty of big deer that were walking with the wind at their back. Now, it seems as if every other guy says it. It makes me laugh.

  Many YouTube channels give the perception that hunting is easy. Most people lose touch with reality and forget many of these characters don’t have real jobs. They make their living off from clicks and commercials. Yes, they do work hard at what they do, and they are good at giving the viewers what they want. However, comparing yourself to them is a far cry from the way an average hunter will ever approach a hunt. The average guy only gets a week of vacation – or maybe less – to get it done. That week of vacation might require two or three days of travel to hunt out of state. Then, once you are in the area where you want to hunt, you must deal with any unforeseen circumstances you might encounter. You might get bad weather the entire time. The place might be inundated with people. You might find certain areas closed due to flooding or fires. However, if you have the entire season to come and go as you please, your likelihood of success will be far greater if you define success by filling your tag. 

  As with anything, you will gain tons of followers if you’re good at what you do. Ultimately, you become friends with a few followers along the way, and your circle continues to grow. As the circle grows, you become more opportunistic because people help you save time doing the things that most others must do on their own. You are introduced to good data, and you are pointed toward areas where it is easier to fill tags and see more deer. You become part of a clique and breaking into the clique is all but impossible for anyone who doesn’t fit the bill. The hunting industry is not big, and it is all interconnected. These things are never seen by the viewer. Instead, many of the viewers (you) eat it up and don’t look at the reality that sits behind the curtain of the show – and it is all a show because more cliques mean more sponsors, more advertisers, and more money. 

  I feel fortunate to have learned the most by talking to successful people. Instead of gobbling up things on TV shows and on YouTube (once that became a thing), I sought out people who had been there and done that. I spoke with old-timers who nobody had ever heard about. I listened to stories being told in hunting camps. I listened closely to local people as they shared moments of their lives with me. I have always kept my ear tilted in the direction of people who have lived a life pursuing the same passion that has allowed me to realize November is the most magical month of the year. I watched my mentors closely, and I made sure to choose good ones to watch and learn from.

  You can listen to podcasts until God calls you home, and you can watch YouTube videos to learn things, but you cannot replace in-the-field experience. Instead of wasting so much time and energy staring at a TV screen or computer screen, maybe you should spend more time in the field during the off-season and gain more experience that you will be able to use next year. While a few guys step in the ring and dominate right from the start, the most seasoned fighters are the ones who know how to navigate the 10-round fight and succeed when they don’t have their best stuff. Instead of idolizing people who make money to grab your attention and keep it, try walking around the block and meeting a new neighbor who has many years of experience in the woods; try driving down a dirt road and finding a farmer who hunts; hang out at a camp and listen to the old-timers tell their stories; call up one of the lesser-known people you have learned about and see if he or she is willing to help you reach your goals; form relationship with people who share the same passion and have the same level of enthusiasm for it. 

  After you do these things, send me a message next year and tell me how much further ahead you are than you were this year at the same time. Those old legends nobody has ever heard of will teach you more than your brain can store. Pay attention and listen closely. They will get you where you want to go. The greatest ones are almost always the quietest ones who stand back in the crowd and smile while the clowns pile out of the clown car in the middle ring of the three-ring circus. 

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 8th, 2021 at 8:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.