PROMISES
By: Dave Tuttle
Just last week I was with a few hunting buddies and we were planning a North Dakota duck hunt for this fall. Filled with excitement and anticipation, we started discussing ways in which we could be better hunters. Maybe it was time to change things up and do things differently. Maybe by thinking outside the box we might experience more success, and maybe by saying goodbye to old ideas and tactics and embracing new ones we might become better hunters. This would not only benefit ourselves, it would benefit those we hunt with as well. We are always looking for ways to be better and improve on the water and in the field. To be complacent in anything in life means to stay average, we as duck hunters never settle for average. We should always be challenging each other to be better, always encouraging each other to think outside the box and embrace new ideas. And so with this in mind we sat at the roundtable and made promises to not only ourselves, but to each other. This may sound a bit odd, maybe even a little crazy, but we vowed to hold each other accountable for the promises we were about to make. These promises were our attempt to make each other better hunters, ensure ourselves more success, and it would help all of us be more aware of the safety issues we all face out there. I would like to take this opportunity to share the promises I made that night with you.
Promise One was easy. Anyone who knows me or hunts with me knows that I am what most people call a chronic "Putzer". I putz around endlessly. I can have everything ready for the hunt the night before and it still takes me an hour from the time I get out of bed to the time I leave the driveway. While my buddies sit there waiting for me to get my act together, prime spots on the lake or in the field are being taken. This is completely unacceptable. They deserve better than this. No more will prime hunting spots be taken due to my inability to get my crap together. No more will they wait in the driveway while I try to decide what I should wear or what flavor of coffee will taste best that morning. I hereby promise to be the first one out of the house. It will be me who will be waiting on you this year.
Promise Two will not be so easy. I admit it, I am about as impatient as they come. I was born that way. I have cost my buddies and myself many successful hunts because I got too excited and shot too early. When they said "wait" or "hold up", I said "go" or "now". If looks could kill I would have be a dead man a hundred times over. Maybe I think I am too good of a shot and will drop them at ridiculous distances. Arrogant I am not, impatient I surely am. Dont get me wrong, I am not talking about skybusting here. I find nothing more inappropriate or unsportsman like than skybusting. What I am talking about is letting the ducks or geese actually decide if they want to land in our decoy spread. I don't like to give them the choice most times. If they are close enough I will try to take them, and it has cost us many times over. No more. I hereby promise not to pull the trigger until told to do so, or at least until I can get this issue of impatience under control.
Promise Three could be a challenge. You have all made me finally realize that I am leaving for a duck hunt, not a month long vacation to Italy. I will pack lighter. Maybe I don't need to pack for the impending tornadoes, hurricanes, and tsunami's that never seem to come. Chances are I won't drink that case of Mountain Dew on a three hour duck hunt. I suppose I can leave the portable charcoal grill and lawnchairs at home, they never seem to make themselves useful in the boat anyway. You are right, suitcases are not acceptable duck hunting gear. I hereby promise not to weigh us down with useless gear. I now realize it only slows us down.
Promise Four should be a walk in the park. I love decoys, some say I have an addiction to them. Maybe eight decoy bags packed with decoys really is overkill. Not only does it weigh us down, which in turn slows us down, but I have come to the realization that we never use every decoy in those eight decoy bags. Maybe I really don't need to throw out ninety-five mallard decoys in a marsh the size of our public swimming pool here in town. I now see the light. I hereby promise that my new policy has become "Less is more".
Promise Five will be like pulling teeth. Cell phones have their purpose, let there be no doubt about it. They have saved lives in certain emergencies and they are useful in many different circumstances. I think you should always have it on you, I don't believe they should always be on. It's okay to leave them off while hunting, I get that now. My cell phone has cost us ducks and geese. I now realize that texting my wife about what we are going to have for dinner while a flock of mallards are approaching is not very smart. I also realize that downloading music and ringers to my phone can be done at home. You are right, playing Guitar Hero and Space Monkey on my phone while hunting does not help us in being successful. I need to stay alert and watch the skies, I know this now. I hereby promise to leave my cell phone off while hunting. I will give it my best shot anyway.
Those were the five promises I made to my hunting buddies that night at the roundtable. Will they make us more successful? Only time will tell. I do think they will help me become a better hunter and more safety conscience. I need to do this not only for myself, but also for those I hunt with. We can always take steps or set goals that help us become better out there. We walked away making many promises to each other that night and we will hold each other accountable, you can be sure of that. I have never been a big believer in making promises simply for the fact that they can always be easily broken. We are talking about waterfowl hunting here, and for that I can and will make an exception.
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