Countless articles have been written about how to be a successful whitetail hunter. These articles tend to focus on the tangible things that we need to have, do, or be.

We need to “have” – a good bow or gun, some effective calls, the proper clothing for the conditions, etc.

We need to “do” – habitat improvement projects, extensive scouting, trail camera surveys, etc.

We need to “be” – scent free, quiet, proficient with our weapon of choice, etc.

These items and activities prepare us for the season, but they certainly don’t guarantee any sort of success. That is the funny and often unbelievably frustrating thing about hunting whitetail – one guy will work his tail off and not have success, while another guy won’t prepare much at all, yet he will stumble his way into luck.

There is no question that disciplined preparation will lead to a greater level of consistent success in the field, but I don’t think the formula for success is simply, preparation = success. All of the preparation that we put into whitetail hunting does stack the odds in our favor, but this preparation does something inside of us that is equally important. There’s another variable in the preparation/success equation, which we often fail to recognize…

I believe that… preparation = confidence = success.

In other words, the key to frequent success is confidence, and a key to building confidence is preparation.

When it comes to hunting confidence there are two sides of the coin. There is confidence in what can happen, and confidence in what will happen.

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