This weekend has presented me with ton of homework and studying for my online Marketing Research class which put a stop to me going out of town for hunting this weekend. However, my hunting buddy Jackson (from elk opener blog) was still going to head out and try to punch his tag. I hadn't heard from him through the weekend which most likely meant he hadn't shot anything. He shoots an older model 270 Win. mag., a well put together cartridge for deer and shorter shots on bigger game like elk. He has always managed with what he has, but is really interested in a new rifle with some more power.

Yesterday I woke up to a text in the morning that said, "Im coming home and buying a new rifle", Needless to say I knew what the problem was. He missed and elk or deer after working so hard through the season to close the deal. I later talked to him when he got home about the situation. The deer was at 280 yards, a common distance for hunting in the west, and he straight up missed. Searched for blood and hair and there was nothing. Being not very confident in his gun before and  extremely upset now, lead him to a quick decision that explain the text he sent me.

I was able to install some truth into him after we talk, but it took some convincing that the gun was not the problem. Regardless of the situation Jackson was in, he was quick to make a rational decision when confronted with a this problem.

Now a gun is not a cheap purchase as if it was Im sure he would have bought a new one before the season, so to make such a quick rational decision to buy a new gun is a bold statement. It was interesting to be a bystander through his problem. I was glad that I could help him make a good choice of holding off on the purchase. Not to mention he just shot it this morning at the range and it was way off, thats another topic, but it was interesting how a serious problem can influence the decision of someone regardless of this financial situation.