What was I thinking? Leaving my phone in the truck while I go hunting? I was nervous. What the heck would I do while sitting in a stand? Well, I got more out of leaving my phone behind than what I thought I would.
The last couple hunts I have been on my phone a lot. I noticed it was hard to put it down and not want to pick it back up and search for something, or look at social media, or read an article. I have been thinking about leaving the phone in the truck for awhile but hadn’t. Then I saw an article about it and I knew I had to try it. The last couple years I have not been using my phone while Fishing and have enjoyed the experience even more. I always have my phone on me but when I get a text or a call, I usually ignore it til my trip is over. I had been spending so much time on my phone talking to buddies or texting people instead of fishing and it had made me mad. So I simply started sending 90% of my calls to voice mail. I thought it might be a good idea to try it on a deer hunt. Before we got the internet at our fingertips we use to hunt or fish.
At first, I fought with myself about the idea of leaving my phone. I thought about all the things I might miss taking pictures of. I also was a little worried not having a phone with me if something bad happened to me. I thought about bringing it just for that reason but I knew I would make excuses to get on it. I ended up leaving it in the truck.
Right, when I got into my stand my first thought was to get on my phone. Then I remembered I didn’t have it. A few minutes later I did the same thing. Then I slowly stopped thinking about my phone and started enjoying the world around me. So I looked around and watched mother nature work. I let my thoughts wander and resolved issues in my head. I was a lot more absorbent. Then I heard something and slowly looked over my shoulder. Usually, I would make a quick glance and then go back to what I was doing on my phone. It was an opossum. I watched the opossum move around with his nose to the ground. He walked around like he was blind or something. I watched him the entire time. Two days before this same scenario happened. When I realized it was an Opossum and not a deer, I went right back to my cell phone. I then realized usually when I have a non-target deer in front of me, I usually go back to looking at my phone. I had been missing out on the enjoyment of deer hunting. I noticed movements about that opossum that I hadn’t two days before. Being one on one with mother nature. Heck, if I am bored somewhere in society, I go right to my phone to cure the boredom.
While thinking about what I was going to write in this article I realized that maybe I missed out on the whole hunting season. I was on my phone a lot this year while deer hunting. This made me kind of sad. To know that the season is over and I have to wait 9 months before I can do it all over again.
I watched as the sun went down and the season came to an end. The sunset was incredible and the wind was non-existent. I didn’t see any deer to fill my final tags with. That was ok, though. I enjoyed every moment of my final hunt for the 2016 season.
I thought to myself as I walked back to the truck. That was pretty fun. I’ll have to leave my phone behind more next year. It allowed me to disconnect from the world and connect even more with nature. It was a great learning opportunity.
What do you guys do with your phone when you go hunting? Do you take it, or leave it in your vehicle? Answer in the comments below.
Chrome Seekers 