Luck or Skill?

Well, today is Monday. 1 week ago the guys left to go moose hunting and last Wednesday they got their first moose. Now, 5 days later, nothing. I wonder how it feels to be out there, eating MRE's for 5 days, hunting, and not get a moose. Well...actually,I know exactly how it feels...

The year was 2005, My first time hunting in Nevada.+

It was deer season, about 35 degrees and 5am. We loaded up in the argo and headed out. It was a dirt road taking us over mountains and through the sage brush. Along the way, we passed by numerous camps where hunters were just getting started with their morning. But not us, we started before them. Tiffany and Jeff were behind us about 10 minutes and I just remember it was sooo cold! I couldn't get warm and probably complained a little more than I should have.



Then it was the hunting part. The sun was just coming up and all you could see was the breath coming out of your mouth. We walked up this ridge and the guys pulled out their binoculars to look. Then continued on. There was a lot of stop and go. A couple more feet in front of us was a buck! That soon? I didn't know what to do, so Tiffany asks "Can I shoot it?" Apparently, in that amount of time we could have got it but we "took too long"(according to Andy). Hey, I had no idea. I didn't even think it was going to be that soon.



So, we continued on and by now, the sun was up and we could see. In Nevada, you can see everything for miles. The guys pulled out their binoculars and looked again. I just stood there waiting..carrying my gun...wondering how they can spot these deer because all I see is rolling hills. Tiffany and Jeff walked down the draw to see if there was anything down there. AND THEN, there it was..2 bucks walking up the side of the mountain we had just came down.



Andy set up my shooting sticks and this was the point where I take over. I looked through that spotting scope, and I couldn't find the deer. I knew I didn't have much time, but with the pressure of Andy, it made it impossibly hard. But then, I FOUND THE DEER, he was right there...cross hairs on the deer. All of a sudden I hear Andy say "Shoot him in the butt!" I'm like, why would I do that? I've watched hunting videos and they never do that. So, I lined the cross hairs up on his front shoulders and just like in the videos, pulled the trigger....BOOM!



At first I didn't know what had happened. I think the adrenaline was pumping because it all seamed like a dream. I asked Andy "Did I get him?" He stood up with a big smile on his face and said "You got him." Then he shook my hand. (Let me remind you that we had just got married like 1 year before, and he shook my hand like I was a business client). I didn't get the buck fever they all talked about. it was not a big deal. The deer was 380 yards away, and I got him with one bullet. Not bad.

On the flip side, Tiffany had to hunt the whole season! Andy took her to some crazy extremes, and nothing...then, on the last day of the season, right at dusk, with a car filled with Toddlers, she got a little buck. She worked harder than me, I think she is actually more of a hunter than I.

Then, once Elk season rolled around, I had 1.5months for the season. I had to go out there, in the middle of Winter for a 1.5months, and finally got one on the last day of season, right at dark. It turned out that he was a sick Elk, so I was actually doing it a favor.

My point is, hunting does take skill, but it also takes alot of luck. Luck to be in the right place at the right time, Luck to have the right light, and Skill to be able to shoot like me :) hahaha.