On my first deer hunt I learned a lot of things.

What follows is a list of things I learned. It’s in no particular order. It’s probably far from comprehensive. But it is a list of things I learned. And while some things are specific to hunting or shooting, some things are just applicable to anything in life.

• When adjusting the power on your scope, go for the lowest setting that still allows you to get a good hit. It’s a balancing act for sure. I found that, at least shooting at a deer 100 yards away, that going up to 9x on my 3-9x-40mm scope was a little too much. Yes it was better in terms of pure accuracy, yes that’s nice for benchrest shooting. But I can go a little lower in the field and still get an accurate shot. Sure I can see all sorts of fine detail about what I’m shooting at a higher power, but do I need that detail when I’m shooting? I only need as much detail as I need to shoot accurately enough to take the deer. And by going a little lower power I get a wider field of vision, which is also important, especially if you have to search for your target through the scope. I ended up using 7x most of the time. I could probably do something even more different. I’ll certainly play around with using even lower powers at the range.
• Stick with your goals. Be sure you really know what your goals are and stick to them. You can refine them if that refinement is actually refining and staying true to the goal, but don’t disguise a fundamental change as a refinement.
• Remember your fundamentals when shooting, especially follow-through. Yes, it’s well likely the deer will run off after hearing the crack of gunfire so it’s natural to want to look up quickly to watch where the deer goes. But the reality is if you abandon your fundamentals and don’t follow through you may miss and thus the only thing you’ll watch about the deer is him running off never to be seen again. If you follow-through and get a good hit, don’t worry about him running off because you’ll get the hit and he won’t go far. Do all things to ensure a good hit.
• Visualize your success. See every detail. See the buck, yourself shouldering the rifle, slowing your breathing, seeing the exact point of entry in your crosshairs, slow trigger press, regaining the sight picture, working the bolt, follow through. Visualize every exact detail, especially of the “pressure situation” of taking him. That’s the situation where you don’t want bad things to happen, so by using positive and detailed visualization of your success you can help control those “bad things” (e.g. rushing, being tense, etc.).
• Know anatomy. Always shooting broadside was like a script for me, “this is how you do it.” But why does it have to be? So long as you know anatomy and know the concepts, that provides you more options because life isn’t a script.
• Know thyself. Know what your are capable of, and know your limitations. Be honest with your skills. Know your tools (rifle, ammo) and what it’s capable of.
• Don’t quit, at least until you are forced. “Being forced” would be things like the sun has gone down so you can’t see and it’s past legal hunt times. Keep going right until the last possible moment, because you never know.
• Dress warm. Conditions are likely to be worse than you expect, so plan accordingly.
• Control peeing. I know, sounds gross to talk about. But you can’t let yourself get dehydrated nor can you have yourself needing to pee all the time. There’s debate about the impact of pee scent, but why take the chance? As well, it risks creating noise, it makes you have to get up and move and you could miss some action. For me, I’d drink a lot of water a couple hours before I’d be in the stand. About an hour later I’d have to pee, then just before I got to the stand but well away from the stand (e.g. where I parked my car) I’d pee. That held me well for hours. I always took a water bottle with me tho, and as soon as I was done hunting I’d chug the whole thing thus maximizing my ability to rehydrate yet get all peed-out before I’d be back in the stand.
• Eating? Meh. Sure I ate, but not much. I thought about some snacks in the stand but no, that’s risking noise, distraction, smells… who knows. I just skipped it. I ate light but good in my “off times”, but overall didn’t eat much and didn’t miss it. The cool thing? After 3 days of hunting I had dropped about 4-5 pounds, only 1 of which was likely water weight. So hey, nice diet! 😉  Bottom line is you do need to eat and drink, but just be aware of how it affects your hunting.
• Always be open to learning. There’s always something to learn, every moment you’re out there. Always be willing to learn and improve yourself. And hey, having the iPhone and decent 3G coverage while in the stand was useful too, because as I’d have questions I could easily look things up and read and get answers. Geeky me.
• Ask questions. I made no bones about being a n00b. I asked every question I could to anyone and everyone I could.
• Anti-scent? Dunno, but why not. I have no idea if anti-scent stuff actually works or not, but I see zero harm in using it. Speaking with my father-in-law (long time hunter), he thinks based upon the buck’s behavior (the one I tagged) that he was probably smelling something different but couldn’t make it out. So hey… anti-scent? I’ll keep trying it, but I don’t feel a need to go nuts with it. For instance, to wash everything in anti-scent soap, keeping it in a bag and only wearing it for the hunt, and so on. The simple field spray seemed good enough.
• If he won’t move, you move. That is, if he’s in such a way you can’t get a clear shot, instead of you waiting for him to move, instead you move. Of course, this isn’t always possible, but just don’t allow yourself to freeze and wait only on him. Keep it in mind that you can move, then read the situation and play it as best as you can.
• Don’t rush. Be Decisive. You can’t rush anything, but you also cannot dawdle. Sometimes executing a 90% plan is better than waiting to get a 100% perfect situation that may never come. Those 7 Habits of Successful Hunters (patience, perseverance, flexibility, decisiveness, physical conditioning, field shooting skill, determination) are really good advice. Worth memorizing.
• Hunt your own hunt. That’s a play on a motorcycle saying of “ride your own ride.” That saying means many things, but basically that you should ride at your own pace and not try to keep up with others that may be in a different realm as you. For instance, if it’s some group ride and the ride leader is “speed racer” and you’re a novice, there’s really no way you can keep up with him, nor should you because it would be unsafe riding for you. So, hunt your own hunt. Do what works for you and is right for you. This is especially true when it comes to judging a trophy. To me, that buck with the broken antlers? He’s a great trophy to me, not because it’s some great set of antlers, but because of what it represents (first hunt, and all that I learned and experienced). To me, that’s the trophy; the antlers will be on my wall merely as a memento. To someone that’s been hunting for 20 years, they may have passed up my buck because of his antlers, wanting to get that big elusive monster. I made the mistake of using someone else’s yard stick to measure what my “trophy” would be, but I learned my lesson and it worked out well for me.
• Always give thanks. Give thanks for the hunt. To the animal. To Mother Nature. To God. To your supportive friends and family. To whomever was involved. Never take things for granted. Always be thankful.