What is the meaning of life? Why are we here? Are we alone in the universe? What is the greatest treestand snack of all time? You’ve pondered these and other great mysteries, but they all pale in comparison to the toughest, most perplexing question in all of human existence.
Where Are You Going to Hunt?
It is asked every morning and afternoon of every fall in deer camps all across America. Deer hunters climbing from bunks and sleeping bags, off of old sofas, out of tents, or through the hatches of truck-bed caps are already consumed by it. Gathered around coffee makers, campfires, or in booths at diners, they are all thinking it. They ask each other: “Where you going?”
We gather around wall maps, pin-in boards, WMA check stations, and trail-heads, and we look at each other earnestly: “Where you thinkin bout goin?” We ask each other because we are seeking the answer ourselves, and the answer is always the same: “I don’t know yet. You?”
We step outside to feel the wind and look up at the stars, finding no answer written there. We dial the radio to the weather forecast. In more recent years, we turn on the Weather Channel or thumb open a smartphone. We check wireless trail-cameras, hunting forecast apps, the barometer, the daily devotional. Even the Lord replies with “LOL.” No matter what, you still can’t find the answer.
You prepared a number of stand sites so you could shift as food sources, wind direction, the rut or weather changed. And at the critical time, when all those indicators are suggesting a particular stand or location, you still can’t seem to commit. You could always take your climber or that new tree saddle and go mobile into that other area you’ve been thinking about, giving you even more options and a way to surprise deer in a first-sit area. You picture deer out there circulating in their home ranges, agonizing over how to put yourself in the place and time inside those home ranges where your paths will cross. It’s not a random encounter, because the deer get to vote, too. They can pattern you as well as you can pattern them.
See Anything?
Eventually, you must end the agony and make a decision, because daylight is either on the way soon, or on the way out. You weigh all the information and make a call, relieved to have landed on a plan of action. And as you settle at last into your chosen stand, it becomes clear: You chose wrong. The deer are all hanging out over there by that other stand you decided against. Nothing to do now but stick it out and wait until you can head back to camp and discuss the second most important question in deer hunting: “See anything?”
Deer season is here again, and I can’t wait to find myself struggling with that old dilemma. I think back on all those times I chose wrong. I wouldn’t trade those days in the woods for anything, and you wouldn’t either. So, rejoice. It’s time to savor the struggle!