You won't get the girl or the giant buck if you don't ask permission.
I could have written Garth Brooks' hit song “Life's a Dance.” Shy to the point of idiocy, I never could get the courage to ask girls out in my younger days. “What if she says no?” I always thought.
Sure, it's a stupid way to think about it, but that didn't change the fact that I just couldn't bring myself to risk the rejection.
Fast forward to 2022, and I still have a similar problem. While I'm happily married to a beautiful woman, I can't for the life of me get the courage to ask my neighbor if I can hunt his land. I see him once or twice every week on my way to or from work, but I always convince myself I'm in a hurry and that I'll ask him next time.
I might be able to hunt some great property just a stone's throw from my house, but I'll never know because I'm too scared to ask.
Randy Kukral wasn't afraid to approach several landowners during his quest for a giant non-typical last year. He was getting regular trail camera pictures of the buck, but it wasn't traveling on ground he could hunt.
The first person he asked for permission nearly slammed the door in his face. The second said yes, on the condition Randy also shoot two does.
No-brainer.
Although the hunt didn't go exactly according to plan, Randy ended up taking the 210-inch 20-pointer.
You can read all about it in the fall issue of Rack magazine.
Maybe I'll go read that story again and get enough gumption to talk to my neighbor!
— Read Recent Blog! Change of Plans: How one trail camera photo turned a meat hunter into a trophy chaser.