Honing Your Mental Edge

In recent years especially I’ve come to believe that the sort of mental outlook a person has can have a tremendous bearing on whether or not they will be a successful deer hunter. As I wrote in my book, “Proven Whitetail Tactics”, keeping a positive attitude throughout the entire season can sometimes be a real challenge—especially for bowhunters!

Let’s face it, there’s often a world of difference between seeing a big buck and getting that deer to walk by within bow range. While this might not be such a big deal if it happens once or twice, it can be a different story if it happens repeatedly. Sooner or later it’s natural human tendency to start second-guessing ourselves–which seldom is a good thing.

Of course, it can be even harder to keep a positive mental outlook if, despite hunting to the point of exhaustion, we can’t even lay our eyes on a big buck that we absolutely know for certain is lurking literally right under our nose. Even though he routinely walks in front of our scouting cameras, the deer remains a no-show. At a point a person has to wonder, “Am I doing something wrong, or is the buck doing everything right?”

You know, I’ve been bowhunting whitetails for over 40 years now. I can’t begin to tell you the roller-coaster range of emotions I’ve experienced throughout that time. There have been tremendous highs and depressing lows. And what have these experiences taught me? Well, I’ve learned to keep my successes in perspective and not to take my failures personally. For I know that tomorrow will bring a new day—and perhaps another chance.

Hey remember, hunt hard, but always hunt safe!