So many things in life will not happen until you pull the trigger. Having a child, buying a home, making friends, making a move, and so much happens when you choose to make something happen.
When I first started bow hunting, my heart was set on shooting a buck first. It didn’t have to be a big buck, but a buck was my choice to take the shot. I can’t remember how many that does I let pass within bow range. Back then I was shooting a Ben Pearson recurve bow with cedar shafts. We did not use a release but rather our 3 fingers. No range finders were attached to the bow. Practice made perfect.
We were only allowed one deer a season back then. If you didn’t get a deer with archery, you always had gun season. That was a good thing because I failed to tag a bow buck for 2 years, even though I put in the time and practice.
Bow hunting made me a better hunter but I still needed to take the shot. A Mentor took me under his wing and explained that the only way to learn how to shoot a deer was to shoot a deer. He told me to shoot the next big fat doe that was in range. My next hunt produced a 15-yard kill. He helped me learn how to butcher the critter and gave me the confidence to Pull the Trigger.
His quote, that has guided my life, when making choices was, “you know what you will get if you don’t shoot!” How true is that?
Life is about making the best choices but sometimes they don’t always work out. Hunting and fishing are wonderful metaphors for life. The skills needed to be a successful outdoorsman or woman, relate well to all our life choices. These sports teach us ethics, responsibility, regulations, health, and how we can choose to be our best. Even if the choice is a bad one, this becomes the moment when we learn the most. Nothing will teach you how to become a better marksman than a big fat miss. You will learn how to catch more and bigger fish from losing a big fish, rather than catching one. The key is to take the Big Fat Mistake and figure out what went wrong. Now, learn from the mistake.
“Be careful what you wish for, you may get it!”
Montana Grant
