For two full years, I hunted deer without seeing one.

Not spooking one. Not missing a shot. Not even getting close enough to feel like something almost happened.

In this episode of The Wild Harvest, I reflect on what those two empty seasons revealed — not about technique, but about ego, isolation, and the danger of confidence without correction.

What happens when effort doesn’t produce feedback? When familiarity starts to feel like skill? When patience quietly turns into expectation?

This episode explores:

• Why failure can shape judgement more than success
• The difference between confidence and ego
• The invisible isolation that comes with quiet failure
• The moment of realising you are the fixed point
• Why seeking help is not weakness
• What two empty seasons actually gave back

Before mentors. Before community. Before anything worked.

This is the part of the story that made everything else possible.

Not killing anything for two years didn’t make me less of a hunter. It made me careful about becoming one.

This episode is part of Season 1 of The Wild Harvest, a reflective series exploring hunting, responsibility, food, and the human relationship with the natural world.

Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Wild Harvest

Hosted by Ben McGorm

A reflective podcast exploring hunting, ethics, wild food, and the deeper responsibilities that come with participating in nature.

Topics: hunting ethics, wild food, food systems, responsibility, Australian hunting, deer hunting, philosophy of hunting