Each year, I host a pre-archery game feed where I invite all of my buddies that are into archery over to my house and we spend the whole day shooting bow, eating wild game, looking at trail cam pics, discussing strategy, etc. I love talking archery with other people because I can learn from them. The more hardcore they are into archery, the better! Eventually though, I realized that out of all the people that I associated with locally, I was the most hardcore. I would walk further, hang longer, scout harder, read more books, ask more questions, think about my mistakes, shed hunt harder, write more letters asking for permission, study maps longer, etc. I used to freeze out of the stand on November hunts and so I figured out a way to not do that. In short, like Dan posted about earlier this week, I want it more and I'll do what it takes to succeed.
Here's a post I wrote years ago about planning my first DIY out-of-state hunt that kind of captures the effort I put into my hunting: http://thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=8717&p=90862&hilit=out+of+state#p90862. I enjoyed associating with people that were into archery but if they weren't pushing the envelope, then I wasn't able to learn anything and therefore I'm not getting any better. I remember over the years hearing about local guys that killed monster bucks with a bow and I'd track them down and go to their house to ask them about the hunt. They were always willing to tell their story to me but I never really learned anything because most of the time the lesson learned was "it was November and I was just in the right place at the right time."
Then, one fateful day, I discovered the BEAST and I was no longer the most hardcore hunter I knew....and I LOVED THAT FACT!! Here was a place where I could read about guys doing things that most people would consider crazy but in my mind, it made perfect sense.
Now, I could push the envelope of my own hunting style, learn things that I had never thought of before, and the drive/determination from the hunters on this forum help push me to keep learning and trying new things. Reading about some of the BEASTS that hunt multiple states each year made me think, "why can't I do that?" I live in PA and already spend a week hunting Ohio in November. So I spent this past winter, cyber scouting some public land in New York state. This spring I made 2 scouting trips up there, marked multiple stand locations and if I can score in PA early enough, I'll be zipping up to NY to try and punch a tag before heading to Ohio. How hardcore are you? You have to want it. If you're not the most hardcore guy you know personally, ask yourself why not? What do the other successful hunters in your area do that you don't do? Become the most hardcore hunter that you know and I guarantee success will follow simply because you won't stop until it does.
