Fall is in full swing. Colors, temperatures, daylight length, and the many season-associated traditions are visible all around us. Pictures and stories of wild game hunts and harvests fill my social media feeds as well as my conversations. Recently inquiring about a friend’s hunt, and after using the word “success,” I paused and began to ponder my use of the word “success” and what “success” truly means. What defines success? Is a harvested animal success? Or are there other ways a hunt is successful? My friend talked about time with family in the field, journeys through incredible wild landscapes, and the joy in scouting, observing, and being immersed in nature. For the record, they did not harvest an animal, but their fall hunt was a huge success.

Tony Wasley

As a young game biologist, harvest data discussion and presentations were rife with the term “hunter success.” Success always meant one thing and only one thing, did you take an animal. Simply asking the question if someone “had any success?” places an unnecessary and inaccurate emphasis on the harvest of an animal as the sole or at least primary measure of success. Obviously, success can and should be defined in so many other ways. I have reflected on the variability and subjectivity of the word success in my own journey, and it revealed an interesting evolution in my perception of success and use of the term.

What “Success” Once Meant

I can vaguely remember times as a small child when my dad prepared to go hunting. I can still see the green and black soft vinyl shotgun case in which he transported his Remington 870 Wingmaster and the yellow, red, and white colored boxes of Winchester Super X shells that accompanied it. Success then was maybe being allowed to see the gun or handle it. Success quickly evolved from handling a fire arm to seeing and exploring the game he brought home, then to perhaps being included on a trip, to having the ability to go hunting with friends, then going alone, getting a bird…or two, hunting with a retriever, a pointer, getting a deer, to killing a limit, to getting a big deer, or to getting a limit of only greenheads, to making a great shot over a stylish point. The definition of success changed a lot through my journey and continues to change today, and someday it may even go full circle and return to whence it all began where success may simply be seeing and exploring the harvests of others or just being able to go on a trip.

Certainly, as we age and broaden our exposures and experiences, the way in which we define success changes. 

Regardless of how we personally define success in our outdoor adventures, studies show that all sportsmen evolve through or are currently in one of five identified stages in their hunting careers. The Boone and Crockett Club’s Fair Chase associated writings has rearticulated these five stages and noted that as we age and our experiences accumulate, what we give and get back from hunting changes over time. What defined success or accomplishment at age 14 can be very different at ages 24, 34, and 54. As our experiences and expectations in hunting evolve, so too do our attitudes and opinions.

The Five Stages of a Hunter

The five stages Boone and Crockett’s Fair Chase writings reference include:

• SHOOTER STAGE – In which the number of shots taken or opportunities missed can be the measure of a good day.
• LIMITING OUT STAGE - This stage is very much more than just being a hunter, and more about proving oneself as a skilled hunter who get his or her game every time out.
• TROPHY STAGE - Shooting opportunity and quantity of game are replaced by a self-imposed selectivity in the pursuit, and the quality of game taken begins to trump quantity.
• METHOD STAGE - The chase and a lasting experience move to the forefront over just taking game or only a trophy. The easy route to a quick kill means much less than a hard-fought, tough pursuit. Going home without game increases in frequency and is understood and accepted. The reward now becomes very much proportionate to the challenge and effort expended.
• SPORTSMAN STAGE - All stages are remembered fondly, but the urgency to take game or a trophy fade to the background as the total hunting experience now offers its highest rewards. Planning, practicing, and honing skills are still important, but just being outdoors, reconnecting with family and friends, and taking the time to “soak it all in” happen more and more.

Jodi Stemler

Certainly, as we age and broaden our exposures and experiences, the way in which we define success changes. However, change to the definition of success isn’t solely a personal journey of changing perspective. Society has also seen shifts in how success is more broadly defined and what it has meant through time has likewise changed. People who study such things, changes in the meaning of a word, tell us that the meaning of the term success has evolved from a narrow focus on material wealth and career progression to a broader definition, encompassing personal fulfillment, work-life balance, and societal impact. Modern views often prioritize happiness, meaningful relationships, and flexibility, while also including factors like community contribution, environmental stewardship, and a sense of purpose beyond personal gain. This shift is influenced by societal changes, technological advancements, and a greater emphasis on personal well-being. The shift in the meaning of the term success from a narrow focus toward a broader meaning that includes purpose and personal well-being parallels its meaning throughout my own personal hunting journey. It has been a shift away from personal achievement to the broader impact to conservation and the physical and psychological benefits of extended time outside, and how that has become just as important and more than the “successful” harvest of an animal.

Hoping for What Once Was Deemed Failure

This year, my 31-year-old daughter has a cow elk tag for which I will join her in hunting. The tag is in an area where over the past several seasons, I’ve had the good fortune to harvest five elk over five seasons and in a total of five days, as they were all one-day hunts. Clearly, those experiences were heavier on the personal achievement side of the equation than the societal impact side. And although highly successful hunts by most measures, success to me this year, has me rooting for conditions that will prolong my time in the field with my daughter and frankly, I’m hoping for what an earlier version of myself might have deemed a “failure” early in this hunt. Suffice to say, becoming a parent can also cause individuals to consciously re-evaluate their definitions of success. The memories we create when afield with friends and family are the truly indelible takeaways for me and regardless of how you personally define success, I’m wishing everyone “success,” wherever and however their outdoor pursuits may take them.