Act of Hope
This could apply in most anything, but hear me out. If you’re a hunter you’ve experienced the act of hoping for something or should I say many things. The entire act of hunting is done in hope. You hope for a thing because you believe it could actually happen, that it is possible. You don’t see it or haven’t attained it yet, but you’re going after it, otherwise what are you doing in the stand? Go home and mow your lawn!
The first act of hope is the purchasing of your gear, whatever it may be. If you bought the Ravin R18 Crossbow, I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t buy it thinking, “I’ll never use it, I’ll never get to harvest any game with it.” If you did, you’ve got way too much money, don’t hold onto that Ravin for it to sit in a closet! Give it to someone who will use it!
Seriously you buy things or acquire things in hope they will be useful, whether or not you use them, that’s a different story, that doesn’t mean you didn’t hope to. What are some of the things a hunter may hope for?
A Hunter’s Hopes
- The next opportunity to hunt
- The equipment is operating properly
- You don’t encounter any snakes on your way to the stand
- You don’t spook any game while you try to sneak through those dry crunchy leaves
- There’s still bait on your bait site
- Your smell is not pungent and the wind is in your favor
- You set up properly so if the target game comes in you’ll be able to take the shot
- You’ll get to watch something and not just the back of your eyelids and the Allen Vanish Camo face mask has you covered
- The target game comes within shooting distance during legal shooting hours
- The squirrels don’t carry all your bait away, after all the bait didn’t say it was for squirrels did it?
- The perfect performance if the target game presents itself
- That the game drops in its tracks
- If it ran off, you hope the shot was a good one not allowing it to go far and your able to harvest the game
Like I said, if you’re a hunter, you know what hope is. I’m pretty confident in saying all hunters have experienced their hope being dashed in one way or another. I will not confidently say every hunter has experienced the greatest hope dashed. There’s one hope that is a tough one to realize and accept the defeat. Some of you know exactly what I’m talking about. Those of you that don’t, you probably haven’t had the experience yet, let me explain.
The Perfect Sit…
You make your way to your stand and all your hopes have been fulfilled thus far, you settle in, and get set up. It’s time to wait, the evening is perfect, there’s a stillness, a quietness that’s not a normal occasion. Off to the right there’s a ruckus, and in comes a gaggle of turkeys, it’s exciting to watch them turkey around. It also adds some spice into the squirrel frenzy.
After the dominant hen leads the gaggle away and the sun begins to set, you still hang onto the hope you began with only at this time it’s more intense.
Here It Comes
A bush cracks, and your eyes automatically turn to the sound, your hope is now a reality. It’s your target deer, you watch in awe as it walks into shooting range, your Ravin R18 Crossbow is cocked and ready. You center on it with your sights, then quietly you click the safety off, while hoping to make the perfect shot. When you believe you’re at that point, you squeeze the trigger, sending the Ravin .003 R18 Arrow into the front shoulder.
The first hope dashed, you’d hoped it would drop in its tracks, your eyes watch as it does the hump jump, then it’s out of sight, but not out of mind. Then comes more hoping, hoping it won’t go far. You sit with your mess of a mind and you’re unsure of what to expect, but you still hope.
The time comes to track the game, you approach the shot sight looking for signs and you find nothing. You continue your search for the next three hours and have no reason to continue to hope for the harvest because there is still no sign.
Trade the Rock for Hope
Now to deal with the rock in your stomach that has replaced the hope that was once there. The best thing to do is learn from the experience, put your hunting boots back on, (don’t forget the rest of your clothes), install your G5 Deadmeat V2 3 Broadhead onto your arrows, take yourself and your gear back to your stand and give it another go.
