Today I went hunting for the very first time and it’s safe to say I’m hooked.
Instead of beginning our day in the classroom, we rode out to one of the ranges to practice shooting in different positions. Our instructor, Dave, spent some time showing us how to use shooting sticks, backpacks, rocks and other tools to help support and stabilize our shot when out of the prone position. Then we did a drill where we found three different targets at different distances, shot them from a sitting position, then kneeling, then standing. It was extremely windy, which made the shakiness and instability very apparent through the scope. It was almost impossible to have a sure shot, but once we started using our tools, it was easy to see how much of a difference they make.
For example, I was trying to shoot the target from a standing position and propped my gun on a shooting stick. When I looked through the scope, the reticle was still moving all over the place. Dave taught us that your shooting position should always be comfortable and there should be little-to-no muscle tension, so I took another shooting stick and propped it under my arm so that my right arm would be supported and I would not have to strain to hold the gun steady. I looked through the scope again and it was perfectly still, even in such windy conditions. It’s amazing to see immediate results from the tricks we learn at FTW Ranch’s SAAM course.
After lunch, Dave told our group we were going on a mountain goat hunt. We loaded into the Jeeps and drove not to a range but to a more wooded area of the ranch. Instead of shooting our usual metal plates, up in the hills were life-sized mountain goat targets ranging from 350 to 450 yards away. Our task was to shoot the mountain goat, quickly get our gear, move into a different position and shoot another goat target farther up the mountain. This simulates a running animal and how quick you have to move to get a second shot at wounded game.
This added a level of stress and excitement beyond that of our metal plates. We had to get into different positions whether propped up on rocks, backpacks or trees, reload, adjust our scope, locate the target all in a matter of seconds. Needless to say, the “relaxing” aspect of shooting I experienced yesterday was gone. I was on edge, but it was exciting, especially when I successfully nailed the second target on the first shot. 
All of this had me geared up and ready for my first-ever hunt this evening. Another instructor of ours, Fredo, took me to a mountain-top area to hunt for wild hogs. Of course, we saw everything but. We saw two gorgeous ibex, axis deer with their beautiful spots, whitetails, rams and fallow. We hunted until it was too dark to see through the scope and we had to call it for the night. But I’ll tell you, there’s nothing like standing on a mountain top in silence for a couple of hours watching the wildlife, the sunset and listening to the sounds of nature.
We are leaving tomorrow at 6 a.m. to hunt for more hogs and I can’t wait to do it again. And again. And again. I think it’s safe to say I’m hooked.
There’s something about the deer-hunting experience, indefinable yet undeniable, which lends itself to the telling of exciting tales. This book offers abundant examples of the manner in which the quest for whitetails extends beyond the field to the comfort of the fireside. It includes more than 40 sagas which stir the soul, tickle the funny bone, or transport the reader to scenes of grandeur and moments of glory.
On these pages is a stellar lineup featuring some of the greatest names in American sporting letters. There’s Nobel and Pulitzer prize-winning William Faulkner, the incomparable Robert Ruark in company with his “Old Man,” Archibald Rutledge, perhaps our most prolific teller of whitetail tales, genial Gene Hill, legendary Jack O’Connor,Gordon MacQuarrie and many others. Buy Now
