Mental Training

Joined
Oct 9, 2016
Messages
373
Location
Alabama
Lots of good stuff on physical training and that will most definitely help with the mental side, but I think there is another side of the mental preparation that can help when things get tough. I think if the typically easterner only hunts whitetails then western game like elk , especially a diy elk hunt on public could get overwhelmingly tough..tough enough to break you mentally.

To prepare, I think one needs to do as many low percentage frustrating hunts as possible. Calling coyotes and trying to shoot them with a bow comes to mind, and turkey hunting without a blind or decoys is another frustrating hunt, especially with a bow.


Get an few of these in every year and elk might not seem quiet as tough, plus you will get some practice setting up on animals coming to calls and the extra experience learning when to draw comes in handy.
 

tuffcity

WKR
Joined
Nov 2, 2013
Messages
557
Location
YT
The mental aspect isn't only about "getting the shot", or not getting the shot. The killer for a lot of people are the long physical days with reduced caloric intake, maybe not as much water as they should be having and then not seeing animals at all for days at a time... those are the things that make it tough to continually roll out of the sack at o'dark thirty every day and go again.

I think this is especially true for pack trips. A couple of years ago my wife and I did a DIY fly in- pack in hunt for stone sheep and mtn goats. We were on the mountain for 8 days and hadn't seen a thing other than a few nannies and kids, lost a day to a snow storm and covered a ton of miles. It gets discouraging, and you start to second guess if you made the right decision on area, timing, etc. Day 9 we stalked within 30-35 yds of a nice billie and she killed him with her muzzle loader. After a week we easily could have packed back to the lake, spent a couple of days fishing and called the plane in early. But it would have been an opportunity lost.

Stick and stay and make it pay... :)

I don't know how to train for that mental component, other than to keep going back and doing more trips. Easy if you live where you can mountain hunt, not so much if you don't. In this age of faster, easier, instant gratification it's difficult for some people to detach from that environment and not become discouraged and quit early.

On a 10-14 day trip we'll typically take a "mental health day", sleep in, lounge around, and just generally recharge. I find its easier for me to keep going, probably because I've been doing pack hunts since I was a kid, than my wife, who's fairly new to the game. This is when hunting with some one who has been "skunked" on long hunts or had hunts drag on until the 11th hour is a bonus and quiet encouragement can go a long way.

RC
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
I don't know how to train for that mental component, other than to keep going back and doing more trips. Easy if you live where you can mountain hunt, not so much if you don't. In this age of faster, easier, instant gratification it's difficult for some people to detach from that environment and not become discouraged and quit early.
RC

^^^Amen^^^

In my experience there is no way to prepare for mental toughness without experiencing and overcoming mental and physical adversity. Sure, there is some predisposed genetics for mental fortitude but to truly condition the mind you must be challenged - knocked down and knocked down hard to determine if you have what it takes to get back up. No amount of predetermined mental triggers or theoretical conditioning can prepare you for this. You must push the boundaries of your mental and physical limits to know what you can overcome and if you have the mental fortitude to do so.

At the risk of sounding presumptuous I can say that the greatest tests I have experienced come at times of complete physical exhaustion or fear of imminent injury or death – at these times - I have to rely on past experiences to know I have the will and skills to continue on. The more I overcome the stronger my mindset becomes. The more physical adversity I experience the more I can physically endure thus the more mentally conditioned I become to endure all challenges.

For those who have limited experiences I counsel that frustrations are a result of mismanaged expectations. Set realistic expectations of what you are capable of then test those realistic limits until you know that you can endure more. Become more knowledgeable and stronger with each experience and you will build upon yourself a confident mindset.

In my humble experience I have come to know that when you think you are at your absolute limit – you have only experienced 50% of what you can endure. Tap in to the 50% you don’t know exist and you will be blessed with strong will and drive.

Repsectfully – Akicita Tsunkawankan Nu
 
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