“The Three P’s”: One Hunter’s Story of Success in the Pennsylvania Big Woods
Most who follow the Big Woods Bucks crew have heard them preach about the three “P’s” - practice, patience, and persistence. Hunting is hard. However, in the age of social media, sometimes it doesn’t look that way, especially for new hunters like me. We see videos and TV shows that highlight giant antlers, pleasant sits, and seemingly quick and efficient days in the woods. You would think that killing a deer was just a matter of carving out a few hours of time on a Saturday in October. As I would learn the hard way, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
My hunting journey began nine years ago. I shot my first buck, a beautiful eight point, four hours into my first sit with a bolt-action Winchester 70 30.06 on the third-to-last day of Pennsylvania’s rifle season. I thought to myself “Wow - that was easy!” In hindsight, the lack of effort required to kill that deer was one of the worst things that could have happened to me in my young hunting career. Between that experience and most of the hunting media I consumed at the time, I thought shooting deer in the woods was a slam dunk. Nature would soon provide a harsh reality check.
Four years later, I’d gained a lot of weight. I didn’t practice much beyond checking the zero on my rifle. I’d get too little sleep, pack my gear the morning of the hunt, walk into the woods having only fired 10-20 shots all year, and expect to kill a deer. After four seasons of failing to kill another deer and missing a few along the way, I was confused, discouraged, and embarrassed. I saw pictures of others holding deer with a grin from ear to ear while I hadn’t seen a thing. I wondered what they knew that I didn’t. Soon, I became painfully aware of the truth - there was no magic strategy, property, weapon, or clothing that would put meat in my freezer. It wasn’t like the TV shows. It felt like I would never kill a deer again.
The reality is, my expectations were incredibly unrealistic. I thought all I needed to do was go sit in the woods and deer would come to me. I was out of shape, didn’t scout, and didn’t practice. I only hiked as far as I thought was absolutely necessary. Heck, there were places I didn’t go altogether because I knew I couldn’t physically get there, let alone drag a deer back with me. Where I did go, I’d be huffing and puffing along the way, struggling to keep up with my mentor. By the time I’d sit down, I’d be shaking so badly I wondered how I could shoot a deer at all. At my lowest point, I caught myself hoping I wouldn’t see a deer, so I could be spared the experience of missing again. After the 2019 season, I seriously considered putting my rifle away for good. Maybe hunting wasn’t for me. But, I decided that I owed it to myself to get in shape, learn to shoot better, and work harder before I decided to walk away for good. If I wanted to become a better hunter, I had to work for it. When 2020 rolled around, it was time to apply the three “P’s.”
Practice:
One of the most challenging parts of my journey was looking in the mirror and admitting that I wasn’t very good at shooting. Sure, I could put decent groups on paper from a bench. But when your heart is thumping through your chest, and you know that deer in your sights could take off at any second, it’s a whole different ball game. I started shooting - A LOT. I went through boxes of Core-Lokts throughout spring and summer with my late grandfathers Remington 700 30.06. More recently, as I’ve gotten into archery hunting, I’ve shot hundreds of arrows through my Bear Resurgence compound. If I missed, I’d know it wasn’t because I hadn’t practiced.
Patience:
While most of us have an experience or two where luck is on our side, success in the field is most often associated with time spent in the woods. It’s cliche, but you really can’t kill them from the couch. For most of us, hunting must fit around the rest of our lives - jobs, spouses, kids, and the litany of other responsibilities we have. Sometimes, you just have to be there. I expected that a few sits in the woods should be enough to put a deer in my freezer. Sometimes, it is. Most of the time, it isn’t. If I had a free Saturday (Sunday hunting is still a work-in-progress in PA), I was deer hunting. If deer wasn’t in season, I kept my legs in shape by hunting for birds, squirrels, or chasing native brookies with my fly rod. If I didn’t kill a deer, I’d know it wasn’t because I stayed home to sit on the couch.
Persistence:
Those places that I couldn’t physically go? That’s often where deer are. As hunters, we owe it to the game we pursue to give them our best. They certainly give us theirs. A lot of hiking, bicycling, and dieting later, I’m 85 pounds lighter than I was when the 2019 season ended. Climbing in a tree saddle no longer seemed overwhelming. Hills are a welcome challenge, not an intimidating obstacle. If I wasn’t going to fill a tag, it wouldn’t because I was physically limited by my own lifestyle anymore.
I won’t belabor you with the details, but long story short, since then, I’ve been blessed to put seven more deer in my freezer over four seasons (five with a rifle, two with a bow), including two more bucks on my wall. This past season, I was especially fortunate to kill my first archery buck. That long drag back to the truck was a reward, because I felt privileged to be capable of doing it at all.
It might sound as though I’m espousing myself as some expert, as if I figured out some magic formula that I’m now sharing with you. The truth is the exact opposite. I’m a regular guy, a “weekend warrior” like most of you, who just loves to be outside and enjoys backstrap on a grill or Venison Bolognese with homemade pasta. However many tags I do (or don’t) fill over the remainder of my hunting career, I’ll be able to take comfort in knowing that I’m giving it the absolute best effort that I can. If killing a deer was easy, it wouldn’t be special when it happens. It’s supposed to be hard. It’s also supposed to be fun!
My hope is that anyone feeling discouraged about their hunting progress can learn from my experience. I could have spared myself a lot of growing pains by making the decision to work hard sooner. If my personal experience taught me anything, it’s that persistence usually wins in the end. Don’t compare yourself to others. Hunting is a personal journey - you versus you. Did you learn something from your hunt today? Are you a better hunter than you were last year? If so, then you’re doing it right. I often think about how much worse my life would be if I’d decided to quit after that season. I thank God every day that I didn’t. Get outside, work hard, have fun, and the rest will take care of itself.
As Hal would say…good luck on the trail!
BIG WOODS BUCKS CONTRIBUTORS: Big Woods Bucks is dedicated to promoting woodsman skills by showcasing the best filmmakers and writers the Big Woods has to offer. If you have a film or article that you believe showcases the Big Woods well, has educational value, and promotes woodsmanship and hunting skills, email content manager Brian Connor at bhconnor@bigwoodsbucks.com with a link to your video or a copy of your article, and BWB may publish it!