Starting over, in anything with life, isn’t a bad thing. I look at it as a challenge. I feel that it can refresh your mind and renew your soul if you take a positive outlook on the experience.

I spent roughly 10 years, as a young adult, learning the “lay of the land” around our family’s new hunting camp in western Pennsylvania. It took those 10 years to educate myself on exactly where the doe were bedding, where they were feeding, their travel routes and where I would find the buck.

During the first 10 years of hunting the property, we didn’t do a lot of shooting. We would get one or two bucks a year, usually, little ones. As time went on, we began shooting more. As we edged towards that 10-year mark, we were taking more and bigger bucks.

That was my second time at starting over.

I am now on my fourth time at starting over. In between, I hunted for 15 years in North Carolina, on prime property, and if I wanted venison, I got it. Actually, since I am on a kill permit currently, if I want venison I can get it. There just isn’t the same challenge in it.

So this year, my 17-year-old twin sons, Robert and David, my sweetheart and I are all starting over again. We don’t belong to a hunt club and we don’t own or lease property that we can hunt.

In reading some of the comments posted about my column, I’m pretty sure that’s the way it is going to remain. I’m OK with that because I’m up for the challenge of starting over.

We hunted public land in Pennsylvania and found deer; I’ll teach my boys to do the same in Virginia.

We are hunting the Big Woods Wildlife Management Area in Sussex County and will eventually learn the “lay of the land.” My boys will be better off for it, and I will have sharpened my skills one more time.

I guess the best part about all of this is that no politics are involved. You don’t have to be invited, you don’t have to know someone and you don’t have to pay dues. The deer are there, they do have a muzzleloader season, and it’s close to home. So far this season, my boys have taken a total of three doe.

The only negative is that we aren’t helping the problem with deer and Highway 58. I had to weigh the good with the bad on this one.

Until next week, stay safe, don’t get angry and try to look at the positives in your life. Oh, remember what you’ve been told: “If you don’t have anything positive to say, keep your mouth shut.”

I think in this day and age we could add “keep your posted comments to yourself.” Wisdom doesn’t come cheap.

Have fun with this one.

BOB RUDZIK is a Newsoms resident. He can be reached at outdoors@tidewaternews.com.