Is it mold?

No the word is mould. The definition is: Influence the formation or development of. There are situations that you just can’t change no matter how much you want to. This happens quite often in the outdoors. I wish I had made a better shot. Can’t mould that situation into anything but a bad shot. I wish I had planned the wind better. Again not a malleable situation that you can change. Like old Evan Felker says you can’t ask the wind to blow. So what do you do? These are all situations that we learn from. Our past decisions always dictate our future decisions. We can ask for serenity to accept these things that can’t be changed. We can also ask for wisdom to change the things that we can. When you are wrong it’s ok. Accepting the fact that you messed up in a situation is ok too. I believe that it shows more of what you are about when you can admit it and move on and accept the consequences. As as guide I make the best decisions I can in order to make the situation as beneficial as possible. I have to know the land. I have to read the animals and what nature is offering at that moment. I think of others in every situation. After the decision is made it can be wrong. How am I going to handle it? Bitch and moan about the conditions? Whine until I get my way? Then the situation gets moldy. It gets covered with a fungal growth that causes decay. Nobody wins. Undesirable. I was recently faced with a very tough situation. This goes back to one of my earlier blog posts. When you are paying for a hunt it is your hunt. That doesn’t mean you aren’t responsible for what is going to happen on a hunt. BEFORE you pay your hard earned money for a hunt know what you are responsible for. Especially making a good shot on your animal. I can make all the right decisions and put you in a position to take the animal of your choice but it is on you to put him down. Practice, practice and practice even more. The exotics we hunt here in Texas are tougher than you can imagine. Most of the animals I harvest do not bleed even with a heart or lung shot. When I retrieve these animals there isn’t a blood trail. After you shoot it’s your animal. As a guide if I know you hit it and we can’t find it you are paying for that animal. Practice for the animals sake. There isn’t a worse feeling than knowing that animal was hit and is going to find the thickest brush it can find and lay down. It’s going to lay down and suffer. Probably eaten alive by coyotes and ravens. So when you think about moulding a situation just know that as a hunter you have a responsibility. After a month of having a client show his frustration at our hunting policies a certain sika finally showed up to feed with a big old wound high on his back in between his ribs. No blood trail. This time the animal survived. The situation sucks for everyone involved. There were so many times I wanted to change and say “ok he didn’t hit it”. Again it’s a situation I can’t change. Once you fire a weapon at an animal it’s your animal. I’m glad this sika survived. Now we can mould this into a learning experience for all involved. I will have to take the extra time needed to video every single shot. I hope this client will learn that sometimes you are wrong. Practice and practice more y’all. Nobody likes a moldy situation. Now go Get Lost and Found.

Colin