WHY I STOPPED LOOKING FOR A DEER LEASE

By Steve Schwartz – MeatEater

On a brisk weekend in October, I had an epiphany. After three seasons of shivering, sweating, waiting, watching, and throwing the occasional hissyfit—I was standing over a mature, nine-point deer. Was it a record-breaker? No. Did it come at a high price? Yes and no.

This particular instance worked like perfection. The arrow hit right where I wanted it, from about 25 yards. It was a quick, clean kill. I even had the self-control to resist shooting a doe moments before so I could hold out for what I hoped was a buck behind it. This was more than a buck; it was me growing up as a hunter.

Of course, that’s not the whole story. As any public land bowhunter knows, for every successful hunt, there are probably 10 to 20 (or more) unsuccessful hunts. In fact, I spent the previous evening sitting through a thunderstorm in my tree saddle, eventually realizing that it wasn’t going to let up until well after dark. The deer were bedded before I even got up in the tree.

The previous season? Zero deer with my bow. The season before that? Zero deer with my bow.

But this deer lying in front of me was different. It wasn’t dumb luck. I wasn’t relying on insider information. I scouted this area, picked the perfect conditions, and played it to a tee. There’s no feeling like it, and I would give up anything to get there again—including my search for a deer lease.

This is not an anti-hunting-lease manifesto. It’s also not a pretentious “doesn’t count if it’s not on public land” rant, either. If I do my job right, I’m hoping more hunters can simply know what they’re looking for, even if that search leads to a lease. CONTINUE READING