As hunters who have jobs with some company provided vacation time. Or maybe self employed guys who risk the loss of income when they are not working. Combine that with the family responsibility to see the kids at soccer, visit Disney land, weddings, barbeques. There is a whole gamut of “stuff” that eats into your weekends and vacation time for hunting trips.
The days a field for so many folks that hunt seem to have a priority that is very little understood by spouses, employers, or your business customer base. What this means is that many guys have a week to plan a trip away or maybe just intermittent weekends during a short season. Because of this most outdoorsmen have a lot more time to study the most recent catalogs then they do to spend time in the bush scouting and hunting. The time spent mentally on your hunting activity can be overwhelming and it will tend to preoccupy your mind, and much of your time. How many times have you been sitting with your wife across from you while she is talking and asking questions but it’s just a drone of mumbling that is more like waves washing up on the beach then an actual language you hear? Then all of a sudden you snap out of it with a........“sorry honey what was that you said?” She thinks you’re an idiot and has to start all over again. The same can be said with your kids, they ask you stuff but your reply is “I’m not sure, check with your Mom first” You had no idea what it was they asked but entrust the wife with that before admitting you had no idea what was just asked of you because you were off in never never land again thinking of how you could pack your tree stand in with your other gear in a single trip. Or what was needed to prepare the camper before you leave Friday morning. This is common with your employer too. You really needed to get on line to check on the parts for a big job coming up and the delivery is critical. While on the computer you take a few seconds to check on the weather where your going to be hunting. Then you see about the tracking number from UPS for the hunting gear you just ordered. While your there you decide to check in with your favorite hunting forum just to see what’s new with the guys and catch up. By the time you walk away and go to the next responsibility you realize you never did check on those parts and never again recall that effort until hours later when the boss asks about it.
Driving home from work with the days getting shorter and the leaves falling you stop at the local sporting goods store to pick up a few things and see that new jacket or rain gear and of course you will need this stuff for the trip. You stop by the counter and drool over the Leica and Swarovski glasses wondering if you had a pair if you would actually see those animals that escaped you in the past. When you arrive home your lovely bride asks for the bag of groceries you were to get on the way home so she could complete the family’s dinner. Yep forgot that completely. Oh well back to the store now. Not all bad because you can collect the additional snacks and food for your trip.
The pattern starts again after dinner with the family talking in the back ground and the television flickering with a monotone hum you pay no attention to at all. You toss and turn all night with the thoughts racing through your head about all the things you need to get together and checks needed on the camper and truck or ATV or the boat. Oil, tires, grease the wheel bearings, etc, etc, In the morning you walk out the door with your coffee to the truck. It’s too hot to drink so you stick it in the cup holder and head off to work. The cold morning air is like some kind of drug this time of year. It puts your mind into hunting mode. There is something about the fall’s cold crisp mornings that changes your metabolism and your bodily functions because you are so completely focused now on only one goal. You have now consumed half that cup of coffee and realize it’s so bitter and strong that it’s disgusting. During the drive you have consumed half this coffee and only now realized you forgot to add sugar and cream . Furthermore you are nearly at the jobsite and you have no recollection of the trip here. You never saw a stop light, never recalled using a turn signal, heck you don’t recall any part of the 20 mile drive! How the heck did you arrive at this point with absolutely no recollection of the past thirty minutes?
This evening you get your gear together and lay it out on the garage floor. Rifle, which was about $1000.00 bucks. This took a lot of nickels and dimes that you worked and scraped together for a few years. You had the local gunsmith tune this thing into the finest shooting machine of all time. Your Expensive Vari X III scope to match the quality of the rifles capabilities. You have your new field glasses, boots, camo goretex, dry plus, fleece outerwear and the GPS, knives, rangefinder, pack frame, rope, chapstick, bug spray etc etc. The truck is fueled up and air pressure in the tires checked ready for launch at 5AM tomorrow for the 8 hour drive to camp!
Arriving at the camp you can sit back and finally relax. Your hunting partners are clearly impressed as you even remembered to take the family coffee maker from the kitchen and the jiffy pop for the campfire. That night when you try to sleep even with the comfort of knowing you remembered everything you still toss and turn with the anticipation of first light and what you might see this year. You are up way before the alarm and dressed and ready to go. Belly full of donuts and coffee and you hit the old logging road leading up into the hills. The frost is heavy amplifying the early morning light, just enough to see clearly without a flashlight. The cold breeze in your face makes your eyes water a bit as you begin the uphill climb. About 100 yards later you feel nice and warm inside that high teck clothing you sprung for. You slow down just a bit so reduce the potential of getting cold later from being sweaty now. Sitting on the ridge glassing the area you see game but nothing to shoot. The day goes by with lots of game but no legal animals seen. This pattern continues for the next several days. One of the guys sharing camp has tagged out and another has had a shot but missed or could not find his game. Then one morning several days later you glass across the canyon and see one exceptional animal. You have to clear your eyes and mind then find someplace to rest the glasses for a steady hold because you cannot believe that it’s that good. You know the area and decide to get to the location before it leaves or another hunter sees it from a different vantage point. You will have to strip off the heavy coat and leave all excess gear behind. You get across that canyon in near record time, up hill, cross country, and find that you are now within the functional and comfortable range to shoot. You study the area and see the game right there. You actually feel a bit of shaking and you’re nervous about the whole event now because of all the effort you have put into this trip. Your not thinking about this right now, but the concept is running in the back of your mind with little flashes of thoughts like “you have got to make this count after all the effort you put in ”don’t screw this up you don’t have many hunting days left....…..If you blow this chance you might not have another one”. Why is it that your own brain screws with you at the moment of truth?
You settle in and force yourself to make this shot count. One more look at the trophy quality through the glasses to be sure it’s good. Line up the crosshairs and settle in trying to control your breathing and steady your hold. Push off the safety and slowly squeeze the trigger...............….
None of the expensive gear you bought for this trip is of any use at this moment. The effort of preparation is meaningless now. The weeks of running, working out at the gym, on the exercise bike, planning and anticipation, the stress with your job and family over your lack of attention is behind you. Everything you have done to get to the point of pulling that trigger seems like slow motion as you watch the next split second to see what the results will be.
The question now is........Do you really trust the bullet choice you made? It's the one single thing that ties the success of the entire event and all the preparation and planning with your anticipation. It has just left the barrel of your rifle at 3000 feet per second and has a retail value of about 25cents. Was this a prudent choice? Think now, you have at least many thousands of dollars involved in this trip including the gear. Yet your only link to the success of bringing the whole trip together is that little piece of copper and lead streaking through the air towards the trophy you have been dreaming of for a year, or maybe a lifetime! Isn’t that bullet worth more then a few pennies? I have heard countless times that premium bullets are too expensive and plain old bullets have been working for years. Well to that I say hand carved wooden arrows were used successfully for far longer then bullets but you are using a rifle! There is only one thing that connects the hunter to the trophy, it’s not the $1000.00 binoculars, or the $1000.00 rifle, or the $20,000 camper, or the $40,000 4X4 diesel pickup truck or the goretex outerwear and boots, the rangefinder, and video camera, nope it’s just that little piece of lead and copper you just send away at 3000 fps! Worth a dollar a shot?
To me they are!
