September used to just be another month that stood between me and the general hunting season. Now September is only the beginning. My life changed the first time I released an arrow and September quickly became something very special.
As the late summer months finally arrive, the grasses cure and the nights cool. Western bowhunters feel a different chill though. When August finally gives way and the calendar rolls on, September is greeted with anxious hearts and focused, determined bodies. Ready or not!
I always sleep much better in September. I lose sleep thinking about September the other 11 months, but I rest easy when its bow season.
September is the reason I include “sets” of arrows into my morning workouts, the reason I run before work, shoot before work, and try to shoot an arrow or two as the sun goes down after long days.
September is the reason I taught myself to tune bows, fix bows, string and restring bows, etc. This got me a job at the local shop and September is the reason my debts vastly outweigh the extra income.
September is my motivation to finish all my summer chores and projects by the end of August. I know that if it came down to hunting or cutting firewood in September we may be a little cold come winter.
September is the reason I don’t take any vacation days the rest of the year. And the reason I “bank my hours” of family time. My wife and kids know that I’m a better, happier, and more content father and husband if I have my time to hunt. Once the kids are old enough to tag along things will get really exciting!
September is incentive for me to check and double check all of my gear. And have back-ups for my back-up. No excuses in September.
September is the reason my rifles are collecting dust. My sidearm is part of my everyday hunting gear, but my rifles are lonely. I bowhunt well into the rifle season and usually only pull out a long gun if a tag really needs filling or I am going in the company of other rifle hunters.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, September is the reason distant friends stay in touch. Selfless hunting partners with common goals learning together. Their success is mine and I would sooner offer to man the camera and make memories for a buddy then ask him to take “hero” pictures for me. I’d forsake my hunt (for a while) to help a friend blood trail, butcher, and pack out an animal. Especially if they’re so shaken with adrenalin and emotion that they can’t safely handle a knife!
In my opinion, September is also the best “character reference” imaginable. Life is hectic and everyone’s is different but September levels the field. When good friends endure the ups and downs of September together, they grow in ways that non-hunters cannot appreciate.
Hunting is not a team sport by definition. And bowhunting is even less so. But when we work together and consider any success a shared one, good things can happen. And in September, they can happen in a hurry. You better have someone you know you can count on nearby to bat clean-up if the wheels come off on your end.
Bowhunting has become a lifestyle for me. Every year when September finally rolls around it’s a new beginning. 11 months of preparation all comes down to these few precious weeks. I believe that if I prepare all aspects of my life meticulously, September (or maybe October) will reward me with an opportunity. Then it’s up to me. If I weather the lows and capitalize on the highs and put myself out there every chance I get, I will earn an opportunity. When that moment arrives and the world stands still in perfect focus, the last 11 months will all be riding on the scary-sharp point of a 100 grain broadhead. When that broadhead silently spills lung blood the spirit of September is alive in me.
Is it September yet?
-Kirk T. Norris
