At times we get so focused on achieving “the goal” during our hunting pursuits, we forget about the “little things” that help to make the overall experience. I’m talking about the important little elements that perhaps are not vital toward achieving success in the field, but nonetheless are crucial in developing a total satisfaction from the outdoors experience.
A good example for me is coffee. I’m probably not what you would call a big coffee drinker—particularly during the warmer summer months. But when the nights start taking on a chill and the fall draws near…that attitude completely changes. I think it hearkens back to memories when I’ve killed certain animals such as deer, antelope, or even have a game bag heavy with pheasants. Before I field clean the animals I like to sit next to them, admire their beauty, and reflect upon the recent experience all while sipping
A steaming cup of coffee enhances the outdoor experience for this blogger
a hot cup of coffee poured from my thermos. This practice all happened by accident…but now whenever I take my first sips of coffee it evokes those fond memories of precious time spent outdoors. The same goes when I reach into my backpack to satisfy that mid-morning hunger pang. One of my favorite snacks to pack is a bag with oatmeal raisin cookies. Again, this particular food item takes me back to memories of a particular cold January morning when predator hunting in the snow just prior to a big storm. This list goes on such as bringing chocolate brownies to the duck blind, eating granola bars while grouse or squirrel hunting, or perhaps even eating raisins in the deer stand.
Yet, not all memories are enhanced by food or drink alone. At times it can even be the equipment a person chooses to bring to the field or woods. One tradition I started several years ago was bringing my Dad’s old Winchester Model 97 out into the field with me during the pheasant opener. I lost my father when I was just 10 years old, so we never got to hunt with each other in-person. Yet, for at least that one single day now each year we still hunt together in spirit—and by using his old shotgun as the catalyst to make it happen.
Now, maybe I’m odd in this regard, but I’ve developed a passion for knives. I like my trusty old Buck Folding 110 for deer hunting, my Schrade Old Timer Sharpfinger for skinning furbearers and pair of Fiskars game shears for my upland birds and ducks. At other times the “little things” that make the hunting experience might be nothing other than a special routine or wearing a certain item of hunting clothes. Do you put on fuel at the same gas station or always purchase your hunting license from a particular vendor? I think you get the idea. As a hunter grows older it’s easy to see how tradition plays a big role in the satisfaction associated with the hunting experience. Moreover, as a hunter matures, they begin to discover and better appreciate that sometimes it’s those “little things” that helps to make the hunting experience oh so great. How about you…what are some of the “little things” that help to make your experience hunting so special? Please leave a comment below.
Guest post by Jim Braaten of Sportsman’s Blog. Follow Jim on Twitter and sign up for the RSS feed on his blog: Sportsman’s Blog
One of my young dog’s first ever retrieves, dawn creeping into the marsh while ducks whistle overhead just prior to legal shooting, intensity of my lab sitting next to me in the duck blind scanning the skies for incoming, sharing the bed in a motel with both my labs in South Dakota after chasing roosters most of the day, the moment you decide on “Your Pick of The Liter”, the moment when you realize you have one fine bird dog, the first time you realize you and your dogs are a pretty darn good hunting team and seeing your dog run down a winged rooster half way across a section field. Hearing your first elk bugle high in the Rockies is music for the soul as well.
My most treasured “little thing” is the time shared with my wife in the field! With a 3 y/o it doesn’t happen like it used to, but we still try to make it happen. I have seen the biggest whitetail with her, was at a full draw with a 6X6 elk facing us(on our honeymoon). I remeber seeing my wife with her first deer, soesn’t compare to anything I have bagged!Hopefully it will grow as my son grows and wants to start going with us.
James – you and your wife went hunting on your honeymoon? Perhaps you could share with the rest of us how exactly THAT happened! Thanks for the comments!
My kids are grown, gone and have their own lives to live now so I have taken it upon myself to get as many youth into hunting each year as possible. This season I will break the fifty mark on youth hunters. I am taking eight out next weekend for their first deer hunt. It is my passion and my life to see first time hunters harvest their first animal or bird. It’s a life changer and an experience they will NEVER forget. No matter how old you are, you never forget the first harvest and I get to experience that through these young men and women each and every year. Take a youth hunting this season and pass on the heritage.
Love the honeymoon story! That’s great. Just a wonderful article. Being from Wisconsin, naturally for me, it’s munching on string cheese on my bow stand! Lots of little things evoke memories or trigger sentimentality….the smell of damp earth and pine needles, woodsmoke in the air, sandhills and geese flying overhead. Hearing the Whoopers flying over…a rare but treasured sound. Coffee on the back deck of our cabin after our morning bow stand while swapping stories of the morning sightings. Wearing my lucky turkey hat. Cleaning my TC or changing out barrels. Dogs: Labs, Golden Retrievers and English Setters. The smell of coffee brewing and the glow of lamplight at 4am as you layer up for the morning stand. Family walking around the cabin in their long underwear and hunting socks. Packers and Brewers both winning!!!!!!! (sorry, i couldn’t resist)
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