Success is Not Guaranteed So Enjoy the Journey

The Ones that Got Away

By R.G. Bernier Photo by the Author

’ve coursed many miles and worked too hard to be at this hallowed place. Still I know there is no guarantee, when entwined in the whitetail chase. Success can be measured in many ways, a fallen buck you’ll not always find. The true blessing is being Mother Nature’s guest, the solitude and peace of mind. — Hart L. Daley

In the dying embers of a deer season, I sit in reflective thought asking, “What could I have done differently? Should I have taken the buck on opening day? It seemed so easy — too easy, in fact — but he was not the caliber of animal I was hoping for. At least not during my first morning out.”

I’m convinced no hunter sets out to fail. Regardless of how many trophies line our walls or the number of animals we’ve taken, each time we set out to capture another, it’s with the attitude of fulfilling that desire. If this were not true, why would we carry a rifle? John Madson expressed this in his article The Hunters: “Remove the conscious intention of shooting something, and a hunt is simply a walk in the country.” Although there will always be people who prepare for the hunt with more precise detail, envision loftier expectations, plant better plots, endure greater hardships and spend considerably more time pursuing their prize compared to their counterparts, the ultimate goal remains the same: to bring home venison.

For many, the season will end with no buck on the pole, no venison in the freezer, no trophy to place on the wall and no story to share with pals. The unfortunate hunter facing that dilemma finds little comfort in words of encouragement, because of a cloud of disappointment. That disappointment can be a bitter pill. Many of us can probably still remember the Saturday afternoon ABC program Wide World of Sports. It began each week with footage of extraordinary athletic performances and then switched to the painful misfortune of a ski jumper falling off the ramp. I have never forgotten the verbal monologue accompanying that clip: “The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”

Make no mistake, winning is a thrill. Achieving what you set out to accomplish is gratifying. When you shoot an animal that surpasses the norm, it creates an even higher level of excitement. Rising above mediocrity attracts attention, and if left unchecked, it can even indulge our vanity. People naturally gravitate toward successful people. We only need to visit the newsstand to recognize that fascination with triumph. Hero shots dominate the covers of most outdoor publications. Why? When the consumer sees such a portrait, it stirs the imagination into thinking, “That it could be us.” We’re a society of stargazers fixated on hero worship.

Nobody is looking to photograph a slump-shouldered, dejected hunter who only has a tired body and a weary mind to show for his efforts. Equally dubious will be the sympathetic ear of any interested party hearing our woeful excuses. Hunting whitetails has become a paradoxical activity. It will always be a solitary effort, yet in our quest to gain recognition, intentional or otherwise, we set ourselves up for the eventual fall. When we excitedly show off the rewards of our labor — a feat that understandably was not so easy — the door of judgment is opened, and everyone can comment on our efforts. Initially, wellwishers will be genuinely happy for your success. In time, and you continue a string of successful seasons, the sentiment changes from congratulatory to one of expectation. Knock over a couple of exceptional bucks and you’re classified as a professional or viewed in suspicious contempt.

No matter what plateau we reach in our deer hunting career — green neophyte or insightful seasoned veteran — each of us will face

The Rewards

There are far worse things that can happen than going home emptyhanded. It might not seem like it at the time, but trust me, it’s not the end of the world. That’s not intended to trivialize the matter, nor is it written out of passivity. Disappointments are inevitable — no more so than in hunting a wild whitetail deer. But ultimately, are we satisfied with how our hunt was experienced?

In Col. Michael A. Abell’s recent piece Detour on Public Roads, he expounded on our modern hunting culture: “… The new whitetail hunting culture where we build our hunting areas from the ground up. We cut timber. We landscape. We plant food plots. We hang multiple stands to hunt the best spots in any wind conditions. We use minerals and bait to attract deer and inventory them on camera. We even put up blinds so well built we don’t even have to sit out in the elements anymore.”

Look and sound familiar? Many die-hard deer hunters ascribe to most of the above and find great resolve and satisfaction in the process and result. Abell continues, not to lament this culture but extol its virtue: “I have no problem with our new whitetail culture. I have no problem with using every possible legal advantage to help win, in every endeavor. I understand it. I get it. I have done it. Yet, [for this season] I wanted to get away from it. I wanted to see if I could still get it done with just the woodsmanship I learned as a boy.” In reality, he needed, required and yearned for a new and much different challenge.

I believe the sentiment of Henry David Thoreau: “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” Or hunting, in this case.

With our maturation as hunters, we experience times when changing things up and viewing them from different angles can sharpen our senses and provide new insights and fresh experiences. These accumulate into deeper whitetail wisdom and add adventure, as Abell wrote: “He was only 12 yards away when I sent an arrow through his chest. …I heard him fall. He was dead in seconds. I had just taken my first public land whitetail buck. Woodsmanship, calling, knowledge of deer behavior, aging deer on the hoof, playing the wind, reading deer sign, reading terrain, being willing to hike deep, knowing when to draw and making a good shot were all required in some measure, large or small, to harvest this buck. I was so proud.” patiently at the best trail in suburbia. They are hunters who derive the greatest insights and the most pleasure from their hunts despite the lack of a guaranteed opportunity to shoot a big deer every year.

In his book, Whitetail Magic, the late Roger Rothhaar described what I believe to be the proper temperament for each of us on our deer hunting quests: “All the attributes normally accredited to good hunters such as patience, perseverance, and knowledge, while important, do not seem to be the real key to which level of success one achieves. Instead, all these seem to be the end result of another more important aspect of hunting which is, once again, the attitude with which it is undertaken. In my opinion, the desire to hunt should be the result of fascination, curiosity, and deep respect for the natural things and how well one does at it is directly dependent upon those things.”

In the End

Regardless of what is or isn’t riding home in the beds of our trucks, enjoy the memories. Sometimes, even the best-laid plans do not come to fruition. We did everything possible to make deer season a success, from supplemental feeding, the perfect food plots and scouting every inch of our property. But sometimes, it doesn’t work out. There are numerous variables in the whitetail woods. We think we can manage some, but we’ll never be able to control others. Weather, time off work, equipment failures, health limitations, family matters and other factors can affect our days afield. Never forget to enjoy the journey. Though every hunter’s dream is to kill the buck of a lifetime every season, it’s just not reality. Sometimes, you have to tip your cap to Mother Nature and thank her for the journey, and “the solitude and peace of mind.” ^

Not A Job

Hunting whitetails is not a job, although it can seem like it at times. Most of us go to work because we have to; all of us hunt deer because we choose too. That should mean that deer hunting, though challenging, should be fun. Don’t get into a rut. Leave that for the deer. Make each hunt exciting.

We often get caught in the trap of getting to the end of our hunt, trip or goal and lose sight of the enjoyment to be had along the way. We become so focused on the outcome that we miss subtle high points in the journey.

The most successful hunters are not necessarily those that we hear or read about. They are those that can plant a food plot, hang a stand in the right tree, locate deer in the wilderness, “run one down” or wait

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