Mental Toughness, GRIT, and Hardcore!

[Clarence]

Kinda like when guys are pumping their fists and dancing around whisper yelling that they just smoked a giant, or I just made a perfect pinwheel....when you can see they may have gotten a little liver and guts.

 

[jspradley]

It's good to tell yourself how much you need to stay gritty and be tough, not so good to constantly remind others how gritty you stay.

 

[danarnold]

Ive been noticing how ridiculous some of the titles for hunting videos are. Its always something like “Rough Country Toughest Above 11000 Feet Hunt for Mega Giant Bucks”.

you sure that title wasn't in the porn section?

 

[Hatchet Jack]

 

[Jimmy]

Reminds me from the scene in Anchorman when he yells "hey everybody! Come see how good i look!"

 

[GregB]

People will never know how hardcore and awesome I am if I don't tell them and post it every where. I don't have any social media, therefore I'm neither awesome or hardcore.

 

[Fatcamp]

People will never know how hardcore and awesome I am if I don't tell them and post it every where. I don't have any social media, therefore I'm neither awesome or hardcore.

*click* Following.

 

[Jim Carr]

I have to agree with Ryan who by the way has all those traits. Its in the eye of the beholder . All the terms are really very genaric and dont actually tell us a thing about how tough the hunt really is. Id rather just watch the video and decide for myself on how tough the hunt is.

 

[KurtR]

If you dont take in the nuance of your grittyness are you really even hunting?

 

[Nickofthewoods]

These trends are all cyclical. In a few years it won't be so trendy to be hardcore and people will start road hunting again. Who here doesn't wish they were in a heated truck cab at 5am when they are sitting on a frozen rock in the dark with numb fingers? We just need a hunting celebrity to make eating a cozy breakfast in a camper look badass.

 

[Dos Perros]

Man there's nothing like cruising in a pick-up sipping hot coffee when your poop shows up and you're really debating stifling it because it's 15 degrees and windy out there.

 

[Mt Al]

This is as good a place as any to come clean, confess and start on the long path to recovery.

I'm firmly committed to mid-core adventures, even soft-core. I gaze at a mountain range and my eyes are drawn, as the moth to flame, to the lower elevations, creek bottoms and mild hillocks vs. the crags, peaks white with snow and jagged ridge lines. I seek game only slightly above the elevation of my vehicle to ease my ascent and unlikely game recovery. I pack yummy treats instead of hard tack, sugary snacks in lieu of jerky. My "water" bottle's contents is Mountain Dew. Hauling my ever fatter arse up to where only men are resident is too much for me. There, I've done it.

In reality I do respect dudes who can haul gear up high or in deep and take killer trophies and I wish I had their drive and stamina. I am motivated by it and, when it's done without SOOOOO much drama, gives me drive to do better. I have a great friend who does this regularly and I love that he doesn't make a big deal of it, just does it, loves it and loves to share humbly.

 

[MuleDeerMike]

These YouTube and Instagram boners aren't telling you how tough and gritty they are to convince you, they're trying to convince themselves, which is even more pathetic. If you have to constantly remind and tell everyone how much of a Billy-Badass you are then it probably isn't true. .02$.

 

[Dos Perros]

For me, the toughest part of any hunt is knowing back home my wife is working a full time job and wrangling my two spawn all by herself.

 

[street]

For me, the toughest part of any hunt is knowing back home my wife is working a full time job and wrangling my two spawn all by herself.

That's the winner in my book.

 

[JimCraig]

All these social media employed guys are just trying to make money from attention. Some are more successful than others (meaning they get more attention). But they analyze every metric they can, and then they continue to do what "works" (gets the most views). So yeah, this current craze of unrivaled toughness will hopefully pass because if its stops selling, they'll stop doing it. Another side of it, is much of it is driven by the big brands that are looking for cheap publicity, so of course the aspiring social media hardcore hunting heroes will take any bit of $ or product they are offered. Then they have to produce "content". Its a pretty disingenuous cycle. Maybe some guys motives are pure, but it sure makes it hard to be credible in my eyes. It's basically an individual trying build their own brand, while being owned by another brand. But between the social media hunters and the brands, it's all about the money. But that doesn't necessarily mean that its not about attention either. Some guys just love the sound of their own voice.

 

[Jordan Budd]

And I think some of that “hard core” perception that some people give out can overwhelm a newer hunter. The newer hunters are looking for people to look up to, and social media is where they’ll find those people typically with the largest following. Where it can hurt the newer hunters, specifically with fitness, is looking at some of these big names that are pretty fit and they see how far and how hard they claim they’re going. The newer hunters can think that if they aren’t in the place to do a 19 mile day with 21,000 vertical climbed that they aren’t going to be successful so they don’t even try.

I’m guilty of getting swallowed into it. I used to look at some of these guys and be somewhat worried about hunting with them because I felt I wouldn’t be able to keep up or meet their standard of “going hard”. I also used to feel like I wasn’t doing the mountain hunting serious enough because I wasn’t backpacking in 7 miles by myself, instead I was going 2. But then I started hunting with some of these guys that are fairly well known and put those illegitimate “fears” to rest because they just go hunting. It doesn’t matter who gets to the top first and how far you go, as long as you get there and your where the animals are the rest doesn’t matter.

Disclaimer: Obviously I’m a firm believer in getting in some kind of shape for mountain hunting, otherwise it can be miserable.

But it does take grit. And it’s important for guys getting into mountain/backpack hunting to know that having grit and being in peak physical fitness are 2 separate things. I’ve been able to film a lot of hunts with a lot of people and there have been times that the guys that are fit and claim they’re going to sail all over the mountains are the ones that want to go home after the first day. Not because they aren’t physically able to stay but because their mental game just isn’t there for what reality can be back there.

I hope I didn’t just hijack this thread for a rant. But my point is 1- if your planning a trip out west for the first time, do it how you want and not how the badass on social media does it. 2- focus a little more on how your going to make yourself stay back there for the entire hunt, over how fast your going to get there.


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[Montana Slim]

People will never know how hardcore and awesome I am if I don't tell them and post it every where. I don't have any social media, therefore I'm neither awesome or hardcore.

Not being on any social media (does RS count??), I'm not certain that anything I do ever really happens... I have these great personal memories, and some truly excellent shared memories with friends, wood/blued rifles, a complete lack of camo, and full freezers - But no digital media to validate any of it (or me)...... must be failing as a modern hunter

 

[Ryan Avery]

And I think some of that “hard core” perception that some people give out can overwhelm a newer hunter. The newer hunters are looking for people to look up to, and social media is where they’ll find those people typically with the largest following. Where it can hurt the newer hunters, specifically with fitness, is looking at some of these big names that are pretty fit and they see how far and how hard they claim they’re going. The newer hunters can think that if they aren’t in the place to do a 19 mile day with 21,000 vertical climbed that they aren’t going to be successful so they don’t even try.

I’m guilty of getting swallowed into it. I used to look at some of these guys and be somewhat worried about hunting with them because I felt I wouldn’t be able to keep up or meet their standard of “going hard”. I also used to feel like I wasn’t doing the mountain hunting serious enough because I wasn’t backpacking in 7 miles by myself, instead I was going 2. But then I started hunting with some of these guys that are fairly well known and put those illegitimate “fears” to rest because they just go hunting. It doesn’t matter who gets to the top first and how far you go, as long as you get there and your where the animals are the rest doesn’t matter.

Disclaimer: Obviously I’m a firm believer in getting in some kind of shape for mountain hunting, otherwise it can be miserable.

But it does take grit. And it’s important for guys getting into mountain/backpack hunting to know that having grit and being in peak physical fitness are 2 separate things. I’ve been able to film a lot of hunts with a lot of people and there have been times that the guys that are fit and claim they’re going to sail all over the mountains are the ones that want to go home after the first day. Not because they aren’t physically able to stay but because their mental game just isn’t there for what reality can be back there.

I hope I didn’t just hijack this thread for a rant. But my point is 1- if your planning a trip out west for the first time, do it how you want and not how the badass on social media does it. 2- focus a little more on how your going to make yourself stay back there for the entire hunt, over how fast your going to get there.


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I agree with all of that.

I watch way too many youtube hunting videos. But one thing is clear I am drawn to the more amateur videos. Not the way overproduced videos.

 

[kabarNC]

Not being on any social media (does RS count??), I'm not certain that anything I do ever really happens... I have these great personal memories, and some truly excellent shared memories with friends, wood/blued rifles, a complete lack of camo, and full freezers - But no digital media to validate any of it (or me)...... must be failing as a modern hunter

Same here. I can't stand social media. This and one other forum are it for me. Nobody can say anything about the InstaFace hardcores if they're keeping tabs on stuff like that, they're only enabling them!