Become a doer rather than a procrastinator

Hey! If this buck keeps coming closer, are you going to shoot or think about it?

Those who have taken a Dale Carnegie course come out of it with an attitude. This 'tude is what some bow and turkey hunters need. They must think positively and act.

Some people develop a false hunting attitude where they think they can shoot a buck or gobbler. Those with the right mindset don't think they can; they know that when a shot is imminent, they will kill that critter.

There is a huge difference between thinking you can and knowing you can. Thinkers are doing just that. They think too much, and by the time their mind solves the issue, the deer is gone or offers only a low-percentage shot. They miss an opportunity by thinking too much.

Shooting game means doing so without thinking. Just develop an attitude.

How can a bow hunter go from being a thinker to a doer. It's really pretty easy.

They practice constantly on targets at distances consistent with their skill levels. They have confidence in their ability to shoot straight without having to think things out before drawing their bow.

They size up the opportunity, and have enough confidence in themselves and their arrow shooting ability to come to full draw at the right time and deliver a killing shot.

Confidence is the key word in this whole discussion. Confidence comes from knowing you can do it and then do it right. Any questionable thoughts just eat away at your confidence and a shot is usually missed. Good hunters, if faced with a questionable situation, won't shoot.

Good hunters know that a familiarity with deer or turkeys, and especially bucks or gobblers, is important. A sizable whitetail buck steps out within easy shooting distance, and the decision is made and the arrow is released in much less time than it takes to read this sentence.

Establish a buck has antler big enough to suit you and shoot at the right time.

The thinker, if he were sitting side-by-side with the confident doer, would still be evaluating the situation while the hunter has shot the animal. Thinkers deliberate and procrastinate, and doers shoot.

This doesn't mean the doers don't think. They size up the animal, raise the bow, aim and shoot in one fluid movement. Their mind, because they have a large amount of self confidence, instantly knows this is a shooter. The doer, if the animal switches positions, also can stop and wait if necessary.

This type of positive thinking comes from looking at a great many deer, learning to size them up, and being able to draw, aim and shoot without consciously thinking about it. Shooting becomes second nature.

Some people have enormous amounts of self confidence and some do not. Those who lack this confidence building skill must spend more time outdoors, and spend more time in close proximity to game.

Think of it this way. The wind is your greatest enemy because it allows deer to smell you. Your next worst enemy is the inability to sit still. Learn to conquer both items, and you'll have gained a large measure of self confidence.

The next step is to have a buck or gobbler within easy shooting range. Things change dramatically from when the deer is 100 yards away to when it is within 15 yards. The closer a buck gets, the more a thinker starts concentrating on the antlers than where the arrow must go.

A lack of concentration is the hallmark of the thinker. The doer is five steps ahead in his ability to draw, aim and shoot in a second or two.

The thinker also procrastinates. Learn deer body language, and a hunter can often tell if a deer is about to walk or run off or stay in the area. The longer a deer stands nearby, the longer the thinker studies the antlers, and the longer it takes to shoot.

Let's go back to high school exams. It's easy to tell the right answers, but some questions are more difficult. Often, studies show, the person's first instinct is right in a yes-no or multiple-choice question. It's when students begin to second-guess themselves, deny their original instinct and thought, that they often provide the incorrect answer.

Develop an attitude that allows an instant decision to be made and act on it.

Bow hunting is similar in many respects. Dawdle or think too much, and the opportunity walks off into thick cover while you dither about. This doesn't mean that hunters must rush their shot, because in most cases, they have more time to draw, aim and shoot than they think.

The doer recognizes that ideal moment, and instinctively reacts to it without conscious thought. Ninety-nine percent of the time, when the bow comes back to full draw, a shot quickly follows. The entire shooting experience becomes instinctive.

Deer act on instinct as well. There is no reason a hunter can't develop the same style of instinctive reaction to a quality shot opportunity. Shooting a deer with a bow should become instinctive, and mind you, learning how to do it doesn't come overnight.

Only consistent quality practice, being near deer or gobblers, being able to read a buck or gobbler's 's body language, and doing these things often, will lead to becoming a better hunter.

An old friend had a saying that seems to sum up this hunting philosophy: "They don't ask 'can you?'; they ask 'did you?"

The doers can, all the time, and the thinkers can, only on occasion. The summer months are a great time to work at becoming a doer rather than a thinker. In the long run it will pay off.