Right now, I’m sitting under a blanket downstairs in front of a Christmas tree. It’s my favorite time of year. Not only do I cherish these times spent at home with family, but right after the fact, I’ll be heading into the field with my bow. Bowhunting coues deer during the month of January is like a second Christmas to me.
If I’ve learned one thing about bowhunting, it’s that mindset is huge. The technical aspects of it all are important, but if your mental game is off, none of that matters.
The 2023 archery season was one of those seasons that served as a reminder of all of this. My backpack may not have been heavy throughout much of it, but my mind sure was. The takeaways were monumental for me and I want to share this shift in my bowhunting mindset with you here.
High country mule deer hunting with my bow is something that I have really grown to be passionate about. It always takes me into the gnarliest places both in terms of ruggedness and looks. This past 2023 early season was one for the books. Now, I know that is a cliche way of describing something, but to me, it really was. It served up not only adventure and good hunting, but a healthy amount of perspective that I needed in my life. Hence the title of this film that I am so excited to share with you.
I had dreamed all year long about my archery elk hunt in Arizona. And now that I sit here, 12 hard days of hunting are behind me. Time feels like it has been swept right from under me. The hunt had it all. Good weather, bad weather, moments where I felt unstoppable, and moments where I felt incapable.
Right here, I’m going to just say, I didn’t get an elk. I did shoot one though. More on that later. What I wanted to do here is lay out my thoughts after the hunt and some major takeaways after spending so many days in the field. All of those days gave me a lot to think about. Most are hunting-related, but I even was put at peace with something I struggle with in life.
Gear for backpack hunting is something that gets no shortage of attention. It’s for good reason too. What we bring with us into the backcountry are items that we need to have full trust in. Finding one system is time-consuming enough. The different seasons though, being early, mid, and late pose different conditions, which can call for different choices in gear. This is especially true with sleep systems. This past early season I found what I believe is my best early season sleep system yet.
We learn by doing. It’s the only way to find out what works and doesn’t work for us individually. Archery has been an enriching journey for me. It’s also been humbling, especially on the bowhunting side of things. That has a way of truly bringing you back to zero, which in my opinion is healthy. It urges progression because it brings to light any issues that may be present in your game. The key in these instances to getting better is owning up to these archery issues.
Since the beginning of my bowhunting pursuits, there has been one thing that has been a constant in the archery issues category. Waiting on my shot. What I mean by that is I wait too long at full draw before my shot breaks. This causes my form to break down, which degrades my aim, and nothing good comes of it.
When this happens it’s one of two things. In my early years, I’d overaim. The perfectionist in my mind battled with the natural pin float we have and I’d want my pin to be rock solid on my target. This would cause me to hyperfocus on what I was aiming at, all the while my form would start to crumble trying to get everything perfect. Not ideal.
The second thing, and the more relevant of the two at this time, is engaging my trigger, or the lack thereof. Sometimes, I’m a bit light here and don’t put that much pressure on the trigger. The shot always breaks, but a lighter pressure means it won’t break as soon. When I’m cognizant of this, I’m fine. It’s when I’m not it catches me off guard. Again, not ideal. Especially with a buck behind your pin.
Like it? SUBSCRIBE to the Youtube Channel!
This is just me being open with you and taking a bit of my own medicine. I always urge people to own up to their faults to get better. What I’ve gone through above is me doing just that. The only way to squash this stuff is to be proactive about it. Be intentional. And that’s something I’m currently tackling to better myself as a bowhunter and honestly a person. This line of thinking can be applied to all avenues in life. All of it with the same end goal. Be better.
Show me a bowhunter that enjoys missing and I’ll show you a liar. Especially after so much effort, it is crushing to watch your arrow sail harmlessly passed an animal. It’s damn near debilitating mentally. While there is no shortage of suck that comes from missing, I will say that there is a lot to gain.
This past early season in the high country was one that I won’t soon forget. I’m a guy that prides himself on his shooting ability. And while I’m no professional archer, I do consider myself to be a good shot and a dedicated one too. So, when I miss, it really hurts. And I did plenty of that this past August/September of 2023.
We’re sitting less than a month out from the 2023 Fall hunting season at the time of writing this. Along with my uncontrollable excitement, e-scouting, and focus on fitness, there is one other thing heavy on my mind. That thing is accuracy. To me, it doesn’t matter how fancy your bow is, it doesn’t matter how good the hunting spot is, and it doesn’t matter how in shape you are. If you aren’t accurate behind your bow, none of that other stuff matters.
It’s been a while since I did a more personal post on here, so I figured I’d give it a rip before hunting season kicks in. A sort of pre-season personal assessment if you will.
Bow season is something that I look forward to literally every single day of the year. I fell in love with archery hunting many years ago and it was for several reasons. Some of them are the sheer difficulty involved, intimate encounters with animals, and honestly just the act of shooting a bow and arrow. Along the way to each bow season, there is an immense amount of preparation. This is what I want to share with you. The Road to Bow Season if you will.
Copyright 2019 Dialed In Hunter
Design by NXNW.
