Late Season “ATM” Earns Big Bucks

Millions of hunters scour the woods and the internet looking for a golden nugget of advice that finally propels them to successfully harvesting a deer before the curtain falls on another season of failure. And while plenty of digital late season hunting advice drowns our internet’s outdoor world, the money talk is all but lost in Google’s thoroughly explored pages. So, without further adieu, here are the passwords to my late season ATM!

Attitude

Of all the advice hunters need in the late season to turn failure into success, attitude tops the list; however, good decision making is also critical. For millions of inexperienced hunters, late season can make or break a hunter’s will to carry on with hunting at all. The opportunity to share knowledge and experience with fellow hunters is more than a kind act. It’s a responsibility we share as hunters purposed in passing our heritage and legacies on to those who come with open hearts and minds.

Tenacity

It doesn’t grow on trees but is available to all who seek it. Tenacity is the combination of determination and desire that propels us forward in the face of adversity. Hunting in the late season can be maddening! This is when tenacity becomes more than a tool; often, it becomes the lifeline to success and is defined, mostly, by the varying degree of adversities we face season after season. Tenacity is spending hundreds of hours in a stand or blind waiting to take a single shot, hit or miss. Tenacity is the will to keep walking into that unforgiving wilderness year after year knowing all too well, success is stacked against you. Tenacity is 13 miles down a game trail in -20 temperatures and still smiling. Tenacity is as much a part of hunting as attitude and mentorship; in fact, many would argue that tenacity is attitude.

Mentorship

If there was ever a single resource tapped that encapsulated attitude, tenacity and overall ethical hunting it would be mentorship. Most of what I have learned from hunting was taught, either purposefully or by watching shining examples of the hunter I aspire to be. Mentors taught me to stay positive in every situation (Attitude), instilled a never-give-up approach to hunting amidst adversity (tenacity) and to pass on my experiences, lessons and passion for out outdoor heritage to others (mentorship).

Withdrawals = Riches!

Making a withdrawal from the late season ATM does not guarantee the buck of a lifetime. It does not guarantee meat in the freezer or even that your season won’t become the perfect example of Murphy’s Laws. However, a visit to the ATM does guarantee riches beyond measure in terms of the lessons learned, memories made and examples set for others to emulate. It’s often said success is measured not by the reward at the end but the journey itself; your ATM simply enriches that journey. Hunt hard, hunt often and make regular withdrawals from your ATM.

Kevin Reese

I am a freelance outdoor writer, photographer, columnist, seminar speaker, former archery technician and the host of the Global Outfitters TV's "GO Tips" segment airing on Pursuit Channel.

Contributions include Global Oufitters, Remington Outdoor Foundation, National Shooting Sports Foundation, Indiana Outdoor News, Navarro County Times (outdoor columnist), Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, Union Sportsmen's Alliance and others, both electronically and traditional print.

The vast majority of my work has been focused on traditional sports, i.e. hunting, fishing, archery and shooting. I also write a fair amount of outdoor event copy, product reviews and occasional outfitter reviews.

I am the founder of www.Just-Hunt.com, a website and forum dedicated to appreciating the outdoors regardless of personal hunting preferences, focusing energy on celebrating our outdoor heritage together instead of dividing and weakening a heritage that is always under attack.

I operate Just-Hunt a Blog, http://blog.just-hunt.com, as a means of sharing articles, outdoor news, press releases and other great content related to our outdoor heritage.

I am an avid bowhunter but love and appreciate virtually all legal forms of hunting; my favorite animal to pursue is the feral hog. Most of the time my bowhunting begins when the sun goes down!

Hunt hard, hunt often.