something to discuss.. attitude while hunting.

[Boom]

i love my brother.  he is fit, dedicated, and gets after it.  he keeps me motivated to unzip that damn sleeping back at dark-thirty every morning.  we hunt hard.  and he is always willing to go on any far fetched hair brained hunt i come up with.

but he has one downside.  his attitude when something goes wrong.  he gets absolutely pissed when he blows a stalk, misses a shot..etc.

i miss a shot i am stoked about the opportunity.  not happy about wiffing the shot over a great deer,but i am stoked about doing everything right to get within bow/rifle range of him.  happy i'm hunting and seeing deer..and not sitting in my office..working.  i clearly focus on the bright side.

my brother is horrible to be around when he misses..he gets so mad.  i now just hike away.  everytime he does it..i ponder about hunting without him. 
input?

 

[DTP]

I think everyone is different in that situation.

Given what you said I see two different people.
One is out there just enjoying the whole experience, the other one just saw his potentially only chance of getting a deer go down the drain.
It doesn't mean he isn't having fun or enjoying the whole thing.

It honestly sounds like you know how to deal with him when he misses (by hiking away).

Given the fact he is "fit, dedicated, and gets after it.  he keeps me motivated to unzip that damn sleeping back at dark-thirty every morning.  we hunt hard.  and he is always willing to go on any far fetched hair brained hunt i come up with."  and the only down fall is he gets angry when he misses... I'd say you have a pretty good partner. I could make you feel a lot better about him if I told you about some of my horror stories.
Just tell him not to miss as much  :tease:

If you ever want to try hunting with someone else in NM...... you know who to call

 

[Ol Arky]

I'm 70+ years old and have shot and killed a lot of different critter... I've also missed a lot too...

My attitude now is "just don't miss" since that last shot just my be the last one I ever get...

Do I get mad if and when I miss????

Nope... I get even!!!!! :-D  :-D

 

[Elk101 Admin]

It sounds like his ego gets in the way of enjoying the hunt and the opportunity. There is a certain realization that must occur. Being grateful and mindful of what surrounds you, along with the big picture of the hunt. Appears he is very critical of himself, you should provide him with a gift, and invite him to read, THE EGO IS THE ENEMY. Possibly have him first check out the podcast Corey did with Gritty Bowman and check out this article; http://www.elk101.com/gritty/ego-is-the-enemy-booknotes/


A lot of valuable information to take away from this. His outlook might change the next time he misses, but hopefully with a little more practice and luck... he wont.

 

[backcountry_hunter]

Before I left it for my current career (much happier now) I was in the LE field and specific to natural resources. 2 things that really opened my eyes were:


1) good people will make some really poor choices to kill an animal.


2) (the one that is pertinent to you) is some people cannot mentally handle the fact that they might be unsuccessful or go home with an unfilled tag.


Success sounds like it is one, if not the, most critical elements to your brothers hunt. When you're young and have a certain upbringing you see the world through a narrow glass. I just always assumed (mentoring from my dad) that everyone enjoyed being outside, hunting (regardless of success) and camaraderie. It wasn't until I saw how others reacted to realize how privileged I was. I've since hunted with folks like you described, often they suck to be around. Does it make them bad people? absolutely not.... Most I could grill out with and watch a football game every Sunday afternoon, but when the switch is turned and you're in a hunting situation they get so focused on success that it controls them. I suspect it's worse than when I was working in that field with the addition of social media and "bragging rights".


If you relate your hunting career to maturing as an adult you're just beyond that and a little more grown up while your brother sounds like he's stuck in an adolescent phase. Here's to hoping he grows out of it.....

 

[cnelk]

Cliff
Sounds like you?ve put your own thoughts into this matter and have come up with what may work for you

Maybe or maybe not, your brother will get the drift when you start going alone

It may be best for both!

 

[Don K]

Have you sat down and talked to him about it?  Explain your thoughts, let him know you enjoy everything with him except when this happens.

 

[toadmeister]

We should have a entire thread in hunting with brothers

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk