Lessons from the Book Cliffs: On Hesitation and Elk Hunting
There is a specific kind of silence that settles over the Book Cliffs in late afternoon. It is the kind of quiet that makes you hold your breath, not just to stay hidden, but because the landscape feels so vast and unforgiving. I was out there with my dad, hunting cow elk. We had been glassing for hours, moving with that slow, deliberate pace required to keep from spooking anything in that broken terrain. When we finally reached a ridgeline that looked out over the deep canyons, we felt like we were finally in the game.
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I picked a vantage point that gave me a commanding view of the entire drainage. My dad decided to peel off to my right, intending to crest a neighboring hill to check the next pocket of timber. As he started to walk away, he gave me a simple piece of advice: "If you see something, shoot it." I didn't think he was being literal at the time, but he knew the nature of the terrain better than I did.
Within seconds of him stepping away, movement caught my eye. A cow elk popped out of the brush about 50 yards away. It was a perfect opportunity, the kind you wait all season for. I alerted my dad immediately, thinking he’d want to confirm the shot. He didn't hesitate. He lined up his rifle faster than a jackrabbit and started firing toward the ridgeline. The only problem was, he wasn't looking at the elk I had spotted. He had locked onto a different cow, easily a couple hundred yards further out, likely hidden in a shadow I hadn't even accounted for. He sent several rounds downrange, and every one of them missed.
The Reality of Ethical Hesitation
Watching those elk scramble down into the depths of the canyon was a sobering lesson. After the dust settled and the mountainside went quiet again, my dad walked back over. He didn't get angry or frustrated; he just looked at me and said, "Shoot first, talk later."
It took me a while to fully process what he meant by that. In the heat of the moment, it is easy to overthink. You start questioning the distance, the wind direction, or whether you have the perfect angle. But out here, specifically in the Book Cliffs, the window of opportunity is often measured in seconds. If you spend too much time mulling it over, the terrain swallows the animals up.
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Putting Lessons into Practice
Modern hunters have a lot of tools to help us be more effective, and I have found that using the Buckeye Hunter Hub resources has changed how I approach these situations. When I am out in the field now, I rely on the hunt zones and the deer movement forecast to understand the terrain before I even pull the trigger. If I am unsure about the wind, I use the wind and scent mapping tools to ensure I am not giving myself away before the shot is even possible.
However, technology is only half the battle. The other half is the mental game. You have to be confident enough in your practice and your gear to take the shot when the moment is right. You miss every single shot you don't take. That is not an excuse to be reckless—you always need to be safe and precise—but you cannot let the fear of a miss stop you from taking an ethical shot.
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Respecting the Hunt
Whether you are chasing elk in the high country or tracking game closer to home, the lesson remains the same. Preparation is your best friend. I make sure to check the season dates religiously so there is never any confusion about where and when I am allowed to harvest. Using tools like trail cam AI helps me know what is actually in my area, which takes some of the guesswork out of the final encounter. When the time comes to execute, don't let hesitation be the reason you go home empty-handed. Take your time getting into position, trust your training, and when the opportunity presents itself, make it count.
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