I, like all new Soldiers, was taught to trust my equipment. This lesson is taught in the context of land navigation training which teaches Soldiers to use a map and compass. It is common for Soldiers who are struggling to convince themselves they have a defective compass. The compass is seldom defective, but the land navigation skills probably need work. So the lesson is to trust your equipment.
A couple years ago we were hunting elk just a few miles south of town. The good part of this was that I could leave work at 4:30 in the afternoon, change clothes, grab my bow and make it to my favorite spot in time for an evening elk hunt. If I didn’t see any elk, I got to see an amazing sunset.
One evening I managed to get away from work and steal away for an evening hunt. I had a new cow elk call. Being a new hunter, I wasn’t exactly skilled in using the call. As I was walking to my spot I pulled out the call and wondered if it would really work. I hit the call a couple times as I was walking in.
Suddenly I heard something walking around in the trees. Thinking it was a deer, I kept walking, completely unprepared. Then, there he was. A nice bull elk came crashing through the trees and ran straight toward me. As I was out in the open, the elk saw me about the same time I saw him. He stopped about 40 yards from me and stood broadside watching me. It was a perfect shot. I crouched down in the sage and we just stared at each other. I tried and failed miserably to get my bow loaded. After a time he snorted at me and ran back into the trees. He was magnificent standing there right in front of me with the sun shining on him. But alas, I was unprepared. Why? Because I didn’t trust that my call would actually call in an elk, so I used it before I was set up, while still walking to my spot. The lesson?
Trust your equipment.
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