Wanting it bad enough
by John Sloan

"I've been bowhunting for six years." The guy said. "I haven't killed one yet but I'm learning." I hear that or something similar, several times a year. Every time I hear one of these stories, I wonder, with as many deer as there are today, how can a hunter go six or seven or as it was with one guy, 13 years and not kill a deer? 

The first year I hunted with archery equipment, I did not kill a deer. I shot at four or five but I did not kill one. In fact, the first morning of the first day I ever hunted with a bow, I missed a deer. It was not because I was a poor hunter. I had killed over 100 with firearms. I knew something about deer hunting. I knew something about deer. I knew about stand placement and wind direction and such. What I didn't know was how to shoot an arrow accurately under hunting conditions. What I didn't know was about shooting arrows that matched the bow and arrows that flew straight every time. My second year of hunting with a bow, I killed four deer. I learned how to shoot under hunting conditions and I learned how to pick stands to provide good hunting conditions. I learned volumes about my equipment. That was nearly 30 years ago.

But are those the problems of the several hunters, I talk with each year, who have not killed a deer in several years of bowhunting? For some it may be. For others, it may be something else. What causes hunters to leave the woods, year after year, season after season, with no venison? It certainly isn't a lack of deer. We have more deer now than ever before. So what's up with the full quiver - empty freezer syndrome?

After talking with a lot of these hunters, I have come to the conclusion that the largest factor in their lack of hunting success, is that they don't really want to kill a deer. That doesn't make much sense does it? What do I mean by that statement?

You must want to kill a deer enough to practice until you are proficient with your equipment. Included in that practice is more than just shooting at a target on a hay bale in the back yard. Do want to kill enough to go to the woods and hang a tree stand and practice from that? That's hunting conditions. Do you want to kill a deer bad enough to practice shooting from sitting and kneeling positions? That's hunting conditions. Are you willing to sweat in the summer heat while practicing in full camo? See what I'm getting at?

How about this. Are you willing to kill the first doe that comes by? Are you willing to shoot several does? There is one, unfortunate fact about bowhunting. The best practice is shooting at deer. Now don't take that the wrong way. I'm not advocating the reckless loosing of arrows at any deer that walks by. But if you want to be prepared to kill a 150 inch buck, the best practice for that is to shoot some smaller deer, preferably does. If you hold out for nothing less than a book buck, you may well go your entire life and never kill a deer. The odds are pretty good that the first trophy buck you shoot at, you will mess it up. You don't have the experience. You don't want one bad enough. Targets and tournaments are not the total answer to hunting practice.

Are you willing to pay serious money to book a hunt with a reputable guide service? It's hard to find a better way to learn about stand placement than to hunt with top guides and ask plenty of questions. Besides, when you book a quality deer hunt, all you really have to do is shoot. They do the rest for you. But think about this, there are some great spots in the South, that offer you a bag limit of a doe a day, (sometimes two), and the chance for a trophy buck. It might be smart to take advantage of those type hunts. Most of those places are going to put as many as 30 deer a day in front of you. I've seen more.

Are you willing to spend some time and a little money attending hunting shows and going to the seminars? It is a great way to get information. When it comes time to ask questions, ask them. That's how you learn. I get several dozen letters each year with questions about some facet of hunting. Yes, I answer every one to the best of my ability.

I recall, I guess it was 10 or 12 years ago, a hunter came up to me at small, in-store promotion I was doing. He told me about where he hunted and what the terrain was like and bemoaned the fact that he was not seeing any bucks-just does. I asked him if he had any bucks on the place. "Well, I see rubs and scrapes out near the road." He said, "I guess I have some bucks." I asked him where his stands were and he said they were back in the woods etc. I suggested he move his stands out near the road where the bucks were. He just laughed and said something about me being a smart ass. The next year, he came to a hunting show where I was speaking and showed me a picture of his first buck, a nice eight point. "I have to tell you." He said, "I killed him within 30 yards of the road. Just like you said. I owe you an apology."

I am amazed at the number of hunters I talk to each year who do not want to kill a deer bad enough to learn the various, preferred, woodland food sources. They just continually hunt the crop fields or hang their stands on food plots. They never see the deer that are back in the woods. There is more to deer hunting than that. You just have to want it bad enough.

Does your equipment fit for hunting or are you trying to hunt with tournament equipment? Shooting deer and shooting targets are not the same thing. Therefore, the equipment should not be the same. Here is a great example. Do you have one of those single pin, adjustable sights, the ones you set for each yardage as you move from stake to stake at a tournament? Can you imagine trying to hunt deer and adjust that sight as the deer moves? I have had hunters tell me they have tried just that. All they needed was to invest a few bucks in a different sight for hunting.

The fancy, oh so delicate, micro adjustable arrow rests are another area where I have had hunters tell me they had problems. Those are great rests for the minute adjustments needed for tournament shooting. What you need for hunting is a simple, sturdy rest that can stand some abuse.

But you don't want to have to keep changing the accessories on your bow, do you? So why not have two bows. The bow you use for hunting does not need to cost you an amount equal to the mortgage on the farm. Perfectly adequate bows are available for less than $400. Check out the Champion or Buck catalogue. Just how bad do you want to kill a deer.

There are many hunters who truly do not care if they kill a deer or not. They go hunting just to enjoy the hunt, maybe they wouldn't shoot at a deer if one walked by. I know one like that. These guys just enjoy the woods and the camp life. And brother, there is not one thing wrong with that. These guys don't complain about not killing any deer. They really don't care.

But there is another type of hunter who does care … just not enough. I know a hunter or two who have let themselves get in such bad physical condition, they can't get to where the deer are. They hunt the same, easy to reach stands because they can't or won't put out the effort to walk to a good stand. They just don't want to kill a deer bad enough. I see them at deer shows every year.

Look at it this way. The deer are there. The information is there. The technology is there. The equipment is there. If you go hunting a reasonable number of times, you should kill a deer. Unless you live someplace where there just aren't any deer, you should be able to kill a deer just about every year.

If you don't, then I guess it must be because you just don't want to bad enough. A new year starts soon. Do you want to kill a deer? Do you want to bad enough?

Permission for the use of this column is granted by writer John Sloan and Champion Bow Company.