Tag Archives: resolutions

Zen Hunting

Happy New Deer’s 2019

3 Comments

2019 New Year’s Resolutions

Hooray, we lived to see another year! Anyone who values the infinite miracle of life will appreciate a shiny new year.

Now is a great time to reflect on the future, and ensure mistakes of the past don’t interfere future opportunities. More specifically, I’m talking about new deer’s resolutions.

Since bowhunting is my life’s passion and purpose, I set the same goal each year: shoot a 200″+ buck with my bow. Sometimes I get close, but it’s been a while since I’ve actually done it.

This year I’m aiming higher.

Goal #1: Shoot a 220″ buck with my bow.

Yeah, 220-inches sounds lofty, but given enough time and scouting, I know I can find a 220-class buck. Maybe he’s in my general unit, or perhaps outta state, but I’ll find him.

Goal #2: Stay healthy enough to hunt big bucks.

You can’t hunt if you’re dead, so health is priority #2. I’m not talking about fitness and exercise, but overall wellness. As the years fly by, wellness is quickly becoming a major hobby of mine. Here’s what I’ve learned:

Here in the far-flung future, we live in a toxic environment. Our air, water, and especially our food is full of toxins and devoid of nutritional value. This will inevitably break us down and kill us.

Avoiding disease and death is product of a healthy immune system. A healthy immune system is driven by three major factors: diet, sleep, and stress.

My advice: Grow your own food, harvest your own meat, drink clean water, and avoid environmental toxins. In the mean time, get 8+ hours sleep per night–come hell or high water–and avoid chronic stress at all cost.

My plan is to put off the inevitable by becoming self-sufficient and living off the land…hopefully a land far away from all this toxic sludge!

Goal #3: Make enough money to afford time afield.

Work is the great necessary evil of life. Most unsuccessful hunters think they can blame their job for failures afield, but it’s really misplaced priorities.

If hunting is your passion, and your job doesn’t allow enough time to hunt (say a week or two), then you have a crap job and severely misplaced priorities.

Don’t get me wrong, I love working. Work affords hunting, food, and shelter. But in a hundred lifetimes, I’d never allow the almighty J.O.B. to shave off even a single day afield. And it doesn’t…

…but at what cost???

…probably millions of dollars. I earn about 1/4th what most of my family and friends do. I don’t have dollar one set aside for retirement, and most times I feel like I have nothing to show for a whole year’s worth of work.

But I wouldn’t change a thing. I have a room full of fantastic trophies and trophy experiences, all worth billions to me, and all afforded by time afield, not time at work.

Conclusion

What are your new year’s resolutions? Is there a big buck in your future? Well, it’s yours for the taking, assuming your priorities are in order.

My advice to fellow hunters:

Dream big, avoid distractions, stay healthy, put in the time, and be grateful for past accomplishments.

Good luck this year!

Zen Hunting

New Deer’s Resolutions 2018

Leave a comment

HAPPY NEW DEER!

Have you set your New Year’s goals yet?  It’s not too late. Maybe I can help.

Everyone has different priorities in life:  health, career, education, family, etc. For me, bowhunting big bucks is priority one. Nothing in this ridiculous life brings me more satisfaction (and venison) than bagging a big buck with a bow. Therefore, everything must either support that goal, or be discarded. Simple.

My New Year’s goals:

  1. Harvest a 200″+ buck with my bow.
  2. Be healthy enough to hunt giant bucks in giant places. This includes eating healthy, avoiding sugar and processed foods, regular exercise, reducing exposure to environmental toxins, and reducing daily stress.
  3. Earn enough money to take the entire bow season off work.
  4. Avoid distractions as much as possible (TV, Facebook, unsupportive people, loser jobs, unnecessary projects, etc.).
  5. Help others accomplish their New Deer’s goals through education, study, writing, etc.

That’s it folks. Nothing more; nothing less.

The best way to accomplish your greatest goal is to keep it present in your mind at all times, keep it simple, and make sure all other people and activities in your life also supports that goal.

What are your goals???

Zen Hunting

New Deer’s Resolution 2017

1 Comment

New Year’s Resolution 2017

WOW, a brand new year is upon us, and that means new goals, opportunities, and resolutions.

After months of soul searching, I finally settled on my number one new year’s resolution for 2017. Can you guess what it is? That’s right: a 200+ inch monster muley with my bow.

I know, I know, it’s the same every year. But there’s nothing more challenging and rewarding than pursuing the ultimate prey with your bow (even if you come up a few inches short).

Keep in mind that accomplishing such a feat not only requires tons of work in the off-season, but a major change in lifestyle. Basically, every decision you make concerning life, work, and relationships MUST support the ultimate goal or you will fail! This kind of dedication is not for everyone because if you can’t commit to the goal, then you can’t set the goal in the first place.

As a result, my three other resolutions are to:

  1. Maintain my health and fitness necessary to conquer steep mountains.
  2. Make enough money to live in the mountains all season long if necessary.
  3. Study and meditate daily on the hunt.

Last year I came out of the woods with a veritable wealth of new information and now I’m going to share it. Part of my New Year’s resolution is to write at least one new article every week. In doing so, I believe it will help both you and I to advance closer to our lofty hunting goals together.

Stay tuned for exciting new information. It’s gonna be an amazing new year!

Zen Hunting

Happy New Year 2016

3 Comments

Happy New Year

Thank good golly goodness 2015 is over!

Actually it wasn’t that horrible, but I sometimes I get accused of being overly critical. Call me a pessimist, but accepting mediocrity with a smile can only be detrimental to my lofty goals.

I entered 2015 with one goal: to shoot a 200″+ mule deer buck with a bow. It didn’t happen. I failed for three primary reasons:

  • First, because there are too many hunters vying for too few tags, I drew my last choice unit and lost hope from the outset.
  • Second, because of my busy work schedule I didn’t bother to scout my 5th choice unit. Work should never be an excuse for failure!
  • Third, I spent half of the general hunt helping my lovely wife with her Limited Entry elk hunt in Southern Utah where I didn’t even carry a bow.
  • Last of all, I entered the Wasatch Extended Hunt, where I’ve never even seen a 200″ deer, and failed there too.

So 2016 will be different. I’ve mentioned many times here that SUCCESS IS A DECISION. Last year, while wandering endlessly down an empty game trail, an annoying inner voice insisted that success is NOT a decision; that there are simply too many variables working against me, and so I can’t make that decision. By the time the season ended, a stronger voice confirmed that success is in fact a decision, but only if you are willing to do whatever it takes. That means putting in the time and effort worthy of a 200″ buck. I realize now that I didn’t do this.

So, this year I have only one resolution: to harvest a 200″+ muley buck with my bow. Here’s I will make it happen:

  • I will decline any and every job/work/responsibility that conflicts with my deer hunt.
  • Whatever crappy unit I end up drawing, I will scout every single week starting in summer and leading up to opening day. I’ve always believed there’s a huge,  200″ buck living in every single unit of the state; you just have to find it.
  • And finally, I will hunt out-of-state. The problem with Utah is you only get one tag and one opportunity. Giant bucks require more opportunities.

That’s all folks. I hope y’all are setting high sandards for this coming hunting year. Remember, success is always a decision, but only as long as you are willing to do whatever it takes.

P.S.  You can expect much more new and exciting iformation here in 2016. Last year I received tons of hunting insights and revelations. All of this will be shared here in 2016.

HAPPY NEW DEERS!