WEST FARGO – Are you ready for the 2024 North Dakota deer gun season? Don’t confuse excitement and anticipation with the word “ready.” By the time last year’s season closed, most hunters were probably ready. Others rode the rollercoaster waiting for the 2024 season to set, then applied for a deer license while spending time at the rifle range during the summer months.

Hopefully this involved researching public land, connecting with private landowners, and making sure the vacation schedule for work is appropriate and the list of other fall chores is up to date so you don’t feel guilty for finishing that shed project you weren’t interested in. hot September week.

Bow season, grouse, waterfowl and pheasant season have increased the excitement, and as the calendar finally rolls into November, these plans are ready to be put into action.

Like most things in life, the age-old adage, “You get out of it what you put into it,” will play a role in the success or failure of the actual hunt. The truth is, I can talk about the word “success” for longer than most people want to listen. I started with a quick Google search in the dictionary and smiled at the results: “noun 1.the accomplishment of an aim or purpose.” There is a fine line between success and failure.

It comes down to each hunter’s personal definition of success and failure. A fun and rewarding hunting or fishing trip means different things to different people. It is an ongoing responsibility of natural resource management agencies to strive to meet these expectations. Let’s take something subjective and try to express it with more defined words like success.

During a typical North Dakota deer season, wildlife managers expect hunter success to be around 65%. But even at this high level, approximately 30% to 40% of hunters do not fill a tag.

But if you think about it, not everyone who buys a deer is completely satisfied or thinks they made a quality hunt. On the other hand, some people who don’t get a deer have much more positive experiences than some people who are successful.

I have hunters tell great stories of their friends and family, the excitement of a chase that ended with a missed shot or opportunity, and explain that this is a hunt they will never forget. On the other hand, “Well, I filled out the label, though. …”

If you ask three different hunters and anglers for their definitions of quality and success, it will be very difficult to come to any consensus.

We are fortunate to have enough wildlife and space in North Dakota so that most hunters and anglers can have a reasonable chance of meeting their personal expectations. The challenge of running agencies is to maintain that diversity so that most people are satisfied with their outdoor experiences… most of the time.

Doug Leier is an outreach biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Reach him at [email protected].