My mind did not immediately register what I had seen. Looking to my hard left to investigate the sudden noise I expected to see a squirrel for the 500th time that day. Quickly returning my eyes to the two does out in front of me I realized I had seen a buck creating a scrape less than 10 yards from the base of my tree. Peering back over my shoulder I confirmed my eyes were not playing tricks on me as he started to move. If I was going to capitalize on the opportunity unfolding during the last minutes of shooting light in the 12th hour of hunting I would need to act now…
Some call it sitting all day. Others refer to it as dark to dark. My girlfriend calls it insanity. And I call it “what needs to be done.” I’m talking about pulling off a twelve hour sit in a tree stand. November is a magical time in the whitetail woods. Overall deer activity increases and big bucks are known for cruising during midday hours checking scrapes and looking for a doe that is ready to breed. The “rutting” activity has created a problem for me. Should I sit in the morning, get down for a few hours, and then hunt in the afternoon? Or should I wait to go to my stand until midmorning and see if I can catch a buck cruising? Either option results in missed opportunity during the most exciting time of the year. Over the years I realized the only solution is to sit all day.
Pulling off a dark to dark sit is not easy to do. I like to be in my stand approximately 30 minutes before shooting light to allow me to slip into my stand undetected. This time of the year that means being there at about 6 a.m. Then I like to wait 15 to 20 minutes after last legal shooting light to get down to allow the cloak of darkness to cover my exit. In early November this means sitting until about 6 p.m. If you crunch the numbers this means being perched in a tree for 12 hours. My hang-on stands are not that comfortable. The tree serves as a backrest, but for the most part it is like sitting on a gymnasium bleacher. The platform is big enough to allow me to standup from time to time. My goal is to keep movement to a minimum, so I only transition from sitting to standing a couple times every hour.
This particular Tuesday the plan was not to sit all day. I had put in nine hours on Saturday (five in the morning and four in the afternoon) and nine hours on Sunday. During those 18 hours of sitting I only saw two deer. My morale was down, I questioned my tactics, but kept telling myself it only takes one opportunity to make the wait worth it. My original plan was to sit until 2:00 p.m., then get down and move to a different location. This would allow me to hit the midday, get down to stretch my legs and eat something prior to the evening hunt. Deep down I knew it would turn into an all-day affair. After all, I packed a Gatorade, some granola bars, and antelope jerky…just in case.
Four hours passed and I had not seen a deer. Around 10:30 I received a text from my buddy Tyler asking if I was still out. I indicated my intention of sitting until sitting until 2 p.m. and he replied “If you’re sittin til 2 you might as well keep your ass in there all day.” Reluctantly I knew he was right. Mentally I committed to staying until dark.
Hours of sitting in the wild allow your senses to notice and register every critter that you see. On this particular day I had seen a raccoon, an opossum, a coyote, several species of song birds, geese flying overhead, and plenty of squirrels. I enjoy all of this, but it’s not what keeps me in a stand all day. I still had not seen a deer when Tyler texted after 2 p.m. asking if I was still out. I acknowledged I was still posted up, but had yet to seen a deer. He assured me I would see one at last light.
Time ticked away and I was down to the twelfth and final hour. The sun continued to lower in the sky and eventually I saw a deer working towards me. Relief settled in knowing that I could at least say I saw a deer. I realized it was a doe and could see another animal following her. I remember thinking…maybe a buck is coming, but he better come quick because I am about out of light.
That’s when I heard the noise. Looking behind me I saw a buck making a scrape next to my tree. It was almost surreal. Hours had passed and the next 30 seconds would determine if I would punch my tag, or head home in defeat. Instincts kicked in when he started walking. I drew my bow and he passed behind a tree. When he cleared the tree I grunted…ehhh. He stopped. I settled my pin…and THWACK. As he ran up the ridge I murmured “Go down, go down, go down.” He stopped, got wobbley legged and appeared to crash.
The does busted with all the commotion and suddenly the woods fell silent. Darkness slowly crept in as I waited. I was 90% sure he went down, but there is always a doubt. I decided to wait 30 minutes. That would put me at 6:00 p.m. or 12 hours in a tree.
The track job was short and I found my deer within 20 minutes. I called Rod to help me get him out. As we took photos and I field dressed him in the dark coyotes howled in the distance. I had to stop and soak everything in. Hours of waiting had boiled down to 30 seconds of action. The work. The doubt. The highs. The lows. They all funnel down to one opportunity. I capitalized and executed a perfect shot. The grind is what creates an unexplainable euphoria that keeps me going back. I left the woods with a swagger and a feeling that I was right where I was supposed to be.
How Does This Apply to Business
Successful people make their particular field of expertise look easy. Average people see them at the top and wonder why others get all the luck. The reality is it wasn’t easy. They put years of work to get where they are at. They committed hours to their craft when others had went home.
This particular deer was a mature buck, but his rack was kind of funky. He was a good bow kill in my eyes. And that is all that matters. Very few people I know are willing to pull off an all-day sit. At first I thought the idea was crazy. Especially in my sketchy stands. But I do it, and it’s not that bad. All I have to do is make up my mind that I’m not getting down until dark.
The secret to success in anything in life is to put in the time and have the discipline to do the things that need to be done.
Until next time remember…you’re going to have to earn it.