Lets talk about patience (or maybe a little bit of stupidity on my part! ). I started to go deer hunting with my dad when I was 13 years old, started actually really hunting myself when I was 16 and shot my first deer when I was..... drum roll please..... 37 years old. Now I didn't hunt every year and I moved to NY in that time which greatly increased my deer sitings but I went 21 years with no deer being shot by myself. What kept me going was the time spent with my dad in the woods, seeing him shoot a few deer during those years, and again, maybe a little hard-headedness on my part.

I have shot a lot of deer since that first one. I have learned a lot over the years and now that I have had several freezers full of venison, as well as my first wall hanger this year, I am convinced that I could go back to where I hunted all those years with no success and harvest a deer now.

I do get fidgety in a tree stand just about every time I go out though. I just can't sit still for more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time. I just have to stand up, stretch and move around a bit. I have always been one of those people who is always moving around in church! Too much un-burned energy I guess. When I get very bored, I get down and walk around a bit. It really does help a lot. Not only that, but I have snuck up on a couple of deer that ended up in my truck just by getting out of the stand and walking around. It has paid off for me.