Physical or Mental?

[Indian Summer]

We used to sit in the bunkhouse at the ranch and look at client contracts before picking them up at the airport and decide which guide was going to be guiding what hunters.

For the most part the guides would fight over the younger clients. If one contract said the hunter was 23 and his dad was 58 everyone figured the young guy could go faster and further. That didn’t always turn out to be the case. Lots of times it was more like the tortoise and the hare. The young dudes might come out of the gate like a bucking bronco. But I’ve seen lots of them crash and burn. Two hard hunting days without seeing a bull can break a flat lander down. That’s a mental thing. All of the sudden it wasn’t like the tv shows but more like looking for Bigfoot.... on the moon!

We also got our share of surprises. Guys in their late 50s, already old by elk years, and in their 60s and 70s would be solid as a rock. Getting up on time every day and doing their best to stay in their guide’s back pocket with a smile on their face. It wasn’t physical as much as mental. They seemed to know that time was everything and even though they might not be winning any foot races as long as they were out in the field with a positive attitude it could happen at any minute.

But let’s face it if you’re legs can’t get your ass up the hill all the mental fitness in the world ain’t going to help!

I believe that mental and physical are related. The mind drives the body. If your mind is talking to itself saying omg this sucks and we’re probably not going to kill anything anyway you are doomed. Your legs and lungs will give out shortly after your state of mind.

I guess the best answer would be there’s a balance. Being in average shape with a fair amount of confidence probably describes a good many elk hunters.

So the question is, even if it’s close as 51/49.... which do you think is more important? Having a hard body, or being hard headed?

 

[Anozira]

I believe it’s a little of both but more mental than physical. You can be in the best shape of your life but if you don’t have the the mental drive to keep after it then your muscles arnt doing you any good.

 

[bsnedeker]

Most people never get the point where their bodies fail on them because they have quit long before that.

 

[yeti14]

40 percent rule : When we feel like we've hit our maximum effort, we've only exhausted 40 percent of our capabilities. Most people never reach their max capability. Their mind quits long before their body.
Of course being in shape helps to delay that feeling of exhaustion before you have to tap into the mental reserve.

 

[Laramie]

Success isn't likely without either. But, since you put this in the frame of a guided hunt, I choose physical. I guided a lot of different hunters. No matter how mentally tough a guy was, If he couldn't get to where I needed him, he wasn't likely to shoot an elk. On the other hand, I had in shape guys that were plain negative from the start that I was able to get elk for.

For DIY, I would say it is 70% mental, 30% physical. As long as you are in half way reasonable shape, a positive attitude will keep you on the mountain longer imo. It takes me a little longer to get to the top these days but I smile the whole way up.

 

[ilikefunkymusic]

Most people never get the point where their bodies fail on them because they have quit long before that.

This.

 

[mavinwa2]

Being in physical shape is one aspect, mental another. However both can be drastically affected by one thing....

I've been on 2 pack-in horse backcountry trips in the past few years. In my mid 50's back then. Successful both times on bull elk but one variant made a trip more endurable....GOOD FOOD!
Mental, Physical will break down fast without nutritious, fresh cooked food and comfortable sleep conditions.

Trip #1 had a dedicated camp cook, organized & planned. She could put it down on the table big time!
The guide was even better, the owner of the outfit. Wasn't cheap $$$$ trip and the bull was hard earned on the 2nd to last of 7 day hunt. Hot breakfast in the morning, great lunch in pack and a dinner to always look forward to! I was ready to go each morning, bright & early. One time helped her make morning biscuits from scratch.

Trip #2 was a wrangler in camp putting together dinner at his whim. I could cook better and did for one meal for 6 of us after I tagged out on day 5 of 8. On this trip my bull was taken solo. I told my "guide/wrangler" to rest for the day 5, he was pretty useless as a hunting guide anyways. At least he and another brought in the horses to pack the bull out. I'll never forget what he said; "why the hell did you shoot a bull way down in this canyon creek bottom!".

Simple, That's where the elk were, heard bulls bugling down there for 3 days. But wrangler wouldn't go in there.
Trip #2 was a "deal" my hunt partner found.

you get what you pay for. But good food in the backcountry is priceless.

 

[Diesel]

I agree with Laramie on the DIY assessment. If you have to stay out there because it was so hard getting there, so be it. The more time out there the higher the odds. I would add that the pack out is just as important mentally and physically.

 

[Diesel]

I have never been on a guided hunt. Not knocking it just could never afford it. I always want to hunt at my pace using my skills anyway, but the thought of someone having meals ready and packing out my kill would sure make it more enjoyable.

 

[trophyhill]

Only one time have I failed to kill an elk for a physical reason. My 2 herniated discs caused so much pain that I could not move 2 yards to take the shot. On the contrary, I’ve screwed the pooch on many elk because I was not mentally prepared. I prefer to refer to those moments as growing pains. Chalk it up to experience. I voted mental.

 

[Indian Summer]

I’m not referring to guided hunts. That was just a story about how we used to pick hunters. I’m talking about DIY elk hunting.

 

[4rcgoat]

I also voted mental without even scrolling down to see others responses. Great idea for a thread by the way. Ive thought a lot about the difference in mental vs. physical. I believe there is a certain amount of "grit" that one must possess at times,i know of 1 individual that fits this bill, he is in his 60's,old iron worker,skinny as a rail and has been pretty busted up,but he is as touch as leather.

 

[4rcgoat]

Sorry"tough"

 

[4rcgoat]

Uhhhh....i mean "tuff"

 

[mtnbiker208]

both

 

[old school06]

Mental is key in my opinion. If you are physically out of shape, it will affect you mentally though.
Hard thing is preparing yourself mentally - even the best “mental plans” made in the office at a comfortable 70 degrees in the Midwest in June can evaporate quickly in the cold mountains on day 5 of a DIY elk hunt when you haven’t found elk - it’s easy to quit.

 

[Bubblehide]

I am currently 58, looking at 59 in under 6 months. I have in the very recent and distant past walked 20 something year olds into the ground. I have also seen their enthusiasm drop to nothing after day 3 of a 7 day hunt, due to not seeing animals of the appropriate sex. In short, some things come with experience; call it wisdom if you like. But, there are a lot of factors that come into play when it comes to animal behavior, and when and if they show in a given hunt area. Over the years, I have learned and experienced just this; meaning that I know the animals will be there, it is only a matter of when. As such, I know that I need to be out there well before sunrise and still actively hunting until that 1/2 hour after sunset That means I am hiking to and from spots that I believe will produce, in the dark. It is fortitude that allows me to keep doing it on day 1 through day 14 of a 14 day hunt. It is fortitude that keeps me from pulling the trigger and settling on an animal I would have not harvested on day 1.

As for me, I have always been willing to just grind through it, even as a child. Hell, I remember breaking my ankle as a teen. I was skateboarding a dam in a debri basin. When leaving I climbed the same fence to get out as I did entering the place (yes I was trespassing). My sweater got caught on the barbs at the top of the chain link fence. My landing was very ungraceful to say the least. I hopped on one leg for 2 miles to get home. Granted, that was not the smartest thing, but it is just a single example of the type of kid I was, and what I was willing to endure, when necessary. Well, now, as an adult, well at my age, I appreciate comfort. But I am still willing to suffer for some things, to a degree. If that means getting up well before sunrise and hiking 2 hours in the dark to be at a particular spot 1/2 an hour before first light so the place has a little time to settle, I do it. I also do the same going back. That is just a part of harvesting mature animals, consistently. Some just have it in them, others do not. Some can learn it, some can not.

However, currently I am medically eligible for knee replacement, for both my knees. Considering that for the past 5 plus years my hunting and scouting has involved considerable pain in which I just grind through it, swelling and all; I am rather looking forward to my upcoming appointment with my ortho surgeon to get some dates set, discuss the recovery process and timeline. I am hoping to have the surgeries not impact my cervid hunting season. However, as at my age, I can expect a maximum level of recovery, I really do not want to put the surgery off. What I mean is that I have a few friends that have put off knee surgery until they were in their early 70's. They literally suffered more and more every year. They lost muscle mass due to simply not being able to do as much, to the point on one, not being able to walk more than a couple blocks. Their recovery, well, they can walk, but they are unable to handle a jeep trail, let alone backcountry hunting. As for me, I will get the surgery, and recover to continue backcountry hunting.

My point here is that guides see it all, and experience all types. And, we hunters, are composed of all types. But as for me, I am a firm believer that if a person is hunting public land, unguided, their success rate can tell you the type of person they are. However, I also believe that there is so much more that goes into consistent success than "hardheadedness"/mental and physical abilities/limits.

 

[justin84]

My first elk hunt this year and I hate to say I gave up mentally with a handful of days left. One of my buddies had to leave early and I just couldn’t muster up the motivation to hunt all day anymore and go in as far as I knew I needed to. I totally regret it now, but it was a good lesson learned.

 

[KeatonMullenix]

80/20 mental/physical


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[MTSasquatch]

Mental toughness. An unconquerable mind will take your body places you never imagined possible.