My fall was a busy one, but that is no excuse for the events that follow. It was 7 am on November 15, the ever-coveted, much-anticipated opening day of rifle season in the great State of Michigan. Just as daylight was creeping in, along came the monster 10-point buck I’ve nicknamed OD. I’d been chasing OD since the start of the bow season a month and a half prior. He walked into the field broadside to me at 100 yards. I quickly slid my rifle into position, took aim and fired. Much to my surprise the animal acted untouched and began to run for the woods. Putting him in my scope, I fired again. Shockingly, he acted as if he were not hit at all. I was dumbfounded.
I waited three hours before going out to survey the scene as I had scanned all of the woods with my binoculars in hopes of seeing the beastly 10- point laid up somewhere. During those three grueling hours, I played it back time and time again in my head. The exact buck that I wanted had come to me in perfect position as if out of a dream.
I walked across the field and saw nothing other than some white belly hair. I had shot underneath him; I was sick to my stomach. What in the hell just happened? At first, like many things in life that don’t go the way we expect, I wanted to blame that missed shot on something outside my control. I took a practice shot at a target in the field and knew I had made a rookie mistake – I did not double check my weapon as I headed out that morning. My failure to ensure preparedness had caught up to me and cost me the trophy of a lifetime.
There are many times in life where we go into big situations thinking we’ve got it in the bag, not following through on reliable checks and balances that ensure success. Whether is it having a co-worker read through a presentation or charging your phone, if you are not prepared for your hunt, you are going to miss your mark. We must always check our weapons; we must always do the scouting work necessary to put us in a place for when the moment of truth presents itself. I had not followed my own advice in this situation and paid the price.
That afternoon, I sighted in the rifle for my evening sit and in another stroke of good fortune, one of the other bucks (named Chaser, clever, I know) I had spent much of bow season came along and offered the shot. It was a quick, on-the-move shot through the cedar trees about 150 yards from my blind. Chaser gave up the chase.
During bow season, I had a bow that was not seated in properly. During gun season, I had a gun was not sighted in properly. The responsibility was all mine. The only way to fix mistakes is to get back on that bike or sight in that rifle, tighten up your strategy and double check the plan and get back out there and start hunting again. This time prepared to take what you were after.
