The Average Joe: Just Glad to Be Out There

One of the biggest life lessons hunting has taught me is the value of hard work. I’ve never been a stranger to it. It’s kind of all I’ve ever known, so it’s only fitting that hunting would reinforce that work ethic.

When I was growing up, my dad prioritized getting drawn over the quality of the tag. While I’ve drawn more than my fair share of tags here in AZ, only one of them was what you would call a premium hunt. That being my Unit 10 Pronghorn tag from 2018 (and before anyone gets worked up, I waited 22 years for that one).

Over the years we consistently drew low success rate deer hunts in central AZ as well as some low to mid-tier elk tags. While I cherish any tag that I draw, (especially these days) there’s no denying that most of those hunts are brutal, (ahem, 22 North late rifle bull). Those hunts are easy to draw for a reason. Usually, they boast a high number of available tags, so competition is insane, and most of the time, those hunts are in units that aren’t exactly known or managed for trophy quality. This all just boils down to the fact that if you want to be successful, you’re going to have to put the work in.

Needless to say, I didn’t experience a ton of success hunting as a kid. We would typically spend the first hour of the morning glassing, if we didn’t see anything we would make a plan to walk until about 10 AM, sit down and have a snack, and glass some more. Then we would get up again and walk until we got hungry for lunch. Eat, glass, walk, repeat until we made a loop back to the truck at dark. 

We got skunked a lot, but damn if we didn’t enjoy each and every mile. I can’t tell you how many hunts ended with my dad saying, “Well buddy, even though we didn’t see anything, it was a great hunt”. They truly were great hunts and memories that I am so fond of to this day. 

I never really thought about it at the time, it’s just how hunting went for us, but something sort of beautiful happened as a result of that upbringing. I grew to love hunting for all that it is outside of filling a tag. For me, hunting is about much more than pulling the trigger, otherwise, I would have quit decades ago.

I grew to love the work, the quiet, the patience required to keep after it all day when you’re not seeing a damn thing. I saw failure so much that I’ve been able to recognize opportunity and capitalize more easily. 

It’s funny now because even when I’m successful, hunts where I don’t have to work as hard don’t move the needle like those type 2 hunts do. I mentioned that pronghorn tag I had back in 2018, I killed my buck on opening day. While we struggled a bit to get a shot, truth be told, that hunt was pretty easy. We found my buck the night before opening morning, picked him up first thing the next day, chased him throughout the morning, and I killed him in the afternoon. For having to wait so long for the tag, the hunt itself was uneventful and anti-climactic.

To contrast, less than a year earlier, I killed my first elk on one of those late-season, mid-tier unit tags. The difference was I spent most of the summer up there driving roads, making notes, and understanding the area. I scouted so much that I had back up spots for my back up spots. Granted, I was not going to go home empty-handed, even if that meant killing a spike.

I remember first seeing that group of elk filtering through the trees. I was looking at them through my rifle scope, cow, cow, SPIKE. I was out of there, moving through the timber quickly to cut them off, (remember failure helps recognize opportunity). This was my chance. I got to where I thought they were going to be (I knew that spot like the back of my hand) and sure enough, here comes two cows and a 5 point raghorn! I’ll tell you what, elk don’t go very far when you hit em with a 175 grain pill out of a 7mm Mag at 42 yards.

The wave of emotion I felt when I wrapped my hands around that bull’s antlers was profound. All the unfilled tags, the “great hunts,” and hard work came rushing to the front of my mind, putting a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. Nothing compares to that feeling, that sense of accomplishment. Honestly, I felt the exact same way as I did when I walked across that stage to get my master’s degree, except this time, my dad was by my side which made it all the more special.

The way I see it, the effort we put into something will eventually come back around. It’s sort of like the idea of karma, if you put good things into this world, you get good things out of it. That same sentiment applies to hard work and hunting. The more you give, the more time you spend in the field, the more cool stuff you see, the more knowledge you gain. All of that comes back around and when it’s finally your turn, you’ll be armed with a whole lot more than just your rifle or bow. So to all you average Joes out there, don’t let the promise of hard work discourage you from prioritizing opportunity over hunt quality. I guarantee it makes the juice well worth the squeeze.