Bow season has a way of humbling a man. You can buy the best bow on the rack, the lightest arrows and the sharpest broadheads money can buy. But nobody fills a tag with gear. You fill it with reps, patience and a lot of quiet mornings when nothing walks by.
The longer I hunt, the more I see the same lessons show up at home, at work and in my walk with God. A good shot comes down to four things. So does a good life.
1. Draw: pick up the weight
The hardest part of drawing a bow is the beginning. The weight fights you hardest right at the start, then it lets off once you commit.
Most of the hard things we face work the same way. The honest conversation with your wife. Praying when you don't feel like it. Walking into another doctor's appointment with your kid. Making the call on a business decision you've been avoiding. The weight is heaviest at the start. Pick it up anyway.
2. Anchor: same spot, every time
Good archers anchor in the exact same place on every shot. Same hand position, same spot on the jaw, same peep sight. Consistency beats talent.
Faith needs an anchor too. Not a big moment once a year, but the same few rhythms every day: time in the Word, time in prayer, and a few brothers who know what's really going on. Paul told Timothy that physical training has some value, but godliness has value for all things (1 Timothy 4:8). Train for both.
3. Aim small, miss small
Every bowhunter has heard it: don't aim at the deer, aim at a spot. When you look at the whole animal, your arrow wanders. When you pick one hair, you hit close to it.
If you're carrying a lot right now, especially if you're a dad raising a kid with special needs or building a business on thin margins, don't try to carry the whole year. Aim small. What does faithfulness look like today? Jesus said it plainly: don't worry about tomorrow, because today has enough trouble of its own (Matthew 6:34).
4. Release and follow through
Most bad shots happen when a guy punches the release. He tries to force the moment instead of letting the shot break clean, and he drops his bow arm to see where it went.
A lot of us live our faith the same way. We do the work, then grab the outcome back. Proverbs 21:31 says, “The horse is made ready for the day of battle, but victory rests with the LORD.” Do your part. Hold your follow-through. Then let God handle what happens after the arrow leaves the string.
The shot is won in the off-season
The arrow you shoot in November was earned on the backyard target in July. Nobody sees those reps, but they show up when it counts.
Brotherhood is the same. You can't build it in the middle of the storm. You build it before, over coffee, in the woods and around the table, so that when the hard season comes, you're not standing alone.
Gear check
Here’s what I’m carrying into the woods this season:
Bow: Mathews TX-5 at a 68 lb draw
Arrows: Easton Axis 5mm Match Grade, 24” carbon to carbon, 75-grain inserts, 455 grains total with a lighted nock
Speed: 276 FPS, and 260 FPS with the full 455-grain hunting arrow
Energy: 68.3 ft-lbs of kinetic energy at 12% FOC
Release: Spot Hogg Wise Guy
Stabilizer: my Tactacam. It balances the bow, and if the shot happens, I get to bring it home and share it with the brothers.
None of it fills a tag on its own. Good gear just takes the excuses away so the reps can do the work.
Questions for this week
What's one hard thing you've been avoiding because the start feels heaviest?
What are your daily anchors? Which one has slipped?
What outcome do you need to release to God this week?
If you want brothers to run with, request an invite to a gathering. And if you're headed to the woods this season, rep the brotherhood.
Work. Believe. Achieve.
