The next morning, as groups of does and immature bucks pressed their luck by walking close to my stand, Larry kept quizzing me on how far I would shoot with the recurve.

"Would you have shot that one?" Larry asked, after a doe passed by at 20 yards.

"Yes."

"How about that one?" Larry said as a small buck ambled by at 25 yards.

"Maybe." Larry then pointed to a leaf about the same distance away and asked if I could hit it. "I think so," I said.

Jones then cocked his head at me and said, "Mike, you can make that shot. I know you can make that shot." I felt like I was back in college again before a big football game, and Larry D. was the head coach.

The rest of the morning I thought about what Larry had said. At the beginning of the hunt, we had shot some arrows together with our recurves, and I now sensed that Larry had more confidence in me than I had in myself. Larry is a humble fellow and a very enjoyable hunting partner. He described himself as a good shot to me when we were warming up at close range, where everyone, away from the pressure of a camera, is a good shot. Larry wasn't attempting to goad me into shooting beyond my self-imposed limits; he was trying to bolster my confidence within reasonable shooting distances.

THAT AFTERNOON, BACK at the lodge after lunch, Larry called me to the porch next to a cut cornfield. Some 40 yards away in the cornfield lay a grapefruit. Jones was just restringing his bow when he asked, "Can you hit that?" Never one to back down from a challenge, I got my recurve and Judo-tipped arrows, and we began shooting. With his first arrow, Larry centered the grapefruit. Not grazed, rolled, or nicked it -- he centered it. Perfectly. His subsequent shots rolled, bounced, and further maligned the hapless fruit.

My first shot went about two inches right, the next shot two inches over, and the third just beneath, spattering the yellow globe with mud. Larry looked at me. "See, you can make that shot! You have to feel that, and believe it, when you're hunting. If you practice that way, feel good about the shot, and trust yourself, you can make it happen, camera or not."

I didn't get the chance to draw down on one of Buffalo County's giants on that trip. But Larry's lesson in confidence stuck with me through the rest of the season.

At Bowhunter Magazine TV, we are privileged in working with the finest bow companies on the market -- Hoyt, Martin, Mathews, Reflex, and Black Widow -- all of whom offer outstanding traditional bows. Last fall I had my best-ever season with stickbows, taking three deer, all with different recurves. In December, I executed a perfect shot on my biggest traditional buck to date. Confidence was key. I had practiced every conceivable shot diligently, knew I could make those shots, and took that confidence to the field with me.

Camera present or not, the confidence to perform under pressure comes from the same place as the pressure itself -- from within. Confidence is like many of the most rewarding things in life -- you cannot buy it. You have to earn it. Earn it through a solid hunting game plan, proper preparation, diligent practice, thorough knowledge of your equipment, and self-imposed limitations. Add a positive attitude, and confidence will flow through your season as well.