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Hunting when you’re short on time

Snake said:
Very nice buck , congrats . On a side note we when working try to pave out a living using what time we can conjure up to hunt . Gripping because we just can't spend enough time in the woods . Parlaying our time between hunting and obligations trying not to pizz off our better half . Well I could say alot more but to not bore you .... be thankful of your time you've been able to spend in Gods creation and being successful is just a bonus plus enjoy your youth !! If God allows you to be able to grow old gracefully and you are able to put away enough money to be able to retire think back on your youth even when you were gripping of not having enough time to hunt because if able to retire you'll have the time but your youth will be a thing of the past. You may have the time , money and resources but you may not feel like going as our bodies wear out !! I know I think back about hunting from daylight to sunset and covering many steps but now just trying to feel good enought to push my body to go hunting and walk a few steps to get in that stand becomes a chore . And as you age chores get put off 😁


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Very true, Snake. I do hope God blesses me with the chance to grow too old to hunt!
 
Andy S. said:
Congrats on your hunt and your buck! I can relate all too well to "squeezing hunts in" when one can, and trying not to focus on all of the "other commitments" I am responsible for. Here lately, I find myself "considering" all kinds of creative ways to squeeze a hunt in, on the best weather days, to increase odds of deer/mature bucks sightings. Of course, with such a short notice of when I will be available to run to the woods with favorable weather, I hunt alone 99% of the time. It also means I do without adequate sleep a lot more than I prefer. Congrats again on your buck, and thanks for sharing him and your perspective with us. Much appreciated!
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Thanks! Yeah I find myself checking weather forecasts a little obsessively to maximize that opportunity, but every good deer I've killed the last three years has been right in the middle of an unseasonably warm day oddly enough.
 
Ive had a couple hunts before work here locally that were successful, yet had to be at the office before 8a.

Literally just pull the truck onto a gas pipeline, set up in the bed of the truck with rifle on cab, shoot a buck, drive to it, skin and quarter, put in the cooler, and make the 15 min drive to work. All before 8am. Wash hands at the office before starting.
 
Nice!...Congratulations!

I love to deer hunt...but other things should and do take priority in life....sounds to me like you have things in the correct order...for starters your ending comment is great advice for us all:

"if I can learn to focus on the opportunities I have instead of the ones I don't, it'll still be a success"

Glad your hunt worked out....great buck!
 
That's a great deer! Thank you for the story. It's right where I am this year. I haven't been a handful of times, haven't seen a deer yet, except in my yard 😆 , and struggle with the thought of not being able to put some meat in the freezer this year. That being said I plan on going this afternoon and tomorrow, and as many times as possible. Your post really help me. Thank you!!
 
Apostolic Outdoors said:
That's a great deer! Thank you for the story. It's right where I am this year. I haven't been a handful of times, haven't seen a deer yet, except in my yard 😆 , and struggle with the thought of not being able to put some meat in the freezer this year. That being said I plan on going this afternoon and tomorrow, and as many times as possible. Your post really help me. Thank you!!
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Good luck!
 
notgreg said:
Many of us here, I'm sure, have had years or stages of life where other responsibilities kept us out of the woods more than we'd prefer. Some seasons, we can count on one hand how often we'll climb a tree. It's a stage I'm in right now. Comparison is the thief of joy, as they say, but it's tough work avoiding envy. I'm not always able to. This year in particular.

It can be frustrating trying to pack a season's worth of excitement and expectation into a few hunts—hard not to put an unrealistic amount of pressure on any individual sit. Even when you know that you should just enjoy the solitude of nature, a morning or afternoon with no action weighs on you when you only have a handful available. That's where I found myself a few days ago.

I was able to wrangle a couple of days to muzzleloader hunt this past week; an all-day sit on Friday and some time Sunday afternoon. I hung a stand Friday morning in a prime spot and only saw a spike. That afternoon I hit some nearby public and didn't see a thing. That just left Sunday.

Sunday afternoon I got out of the house late, much later than I hoped. The spot I was planning to hunt would take too long to access and set up. I considered staying home and trying to find another time to hunt, but ultimately decided to sneak into a spot that I could get to quickly and quietly enough to make it worth my while. I hadn't hunted this area in over a year, but hey I already had a babysitter. No small feat these days.

Before I even had my muzzleloader hauled up, a spike came out of a thicket and slipped by at 40-50 yards. Thankfully I saw him and froze until he passed, because moments later, just as I'd gotten my gun settled and a shooting stick up, a bigger deer came cruising from the direction the spike had gone. I had just enough time to grunt him to a stop in a shooting lane, but his vitals were covered. After 20 seconds or so he took a couple steps and I squeezed off a shot. He tucked tail and ran quickly out of sight.

After waiting a while, I got down to check for blood. Nothing. Went to where I thought I lost sight of him, nothing there either. I searched the general area for 20 minutes or so, then decided to back out and call for some tracking help. As I was walking out, I caught sight of a tail by a dry creek a few yards away, and there he was. 50 yards from where he was hit. He never bled til he got about five feet from where he fell. I know I don't have to explain the relief I felt.

Later that night, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that my attitude still needed adjusting.

There are many places in this world where people don't have a fraction of the hunting opportunity we do. There are many people who would be thrilled just to have the five or six days in the woods I catch myself complaining about, or the job and family that keep me busy.

This year I got lucky. Next year, who knows. But if I can learn to focus on the opportunities I have instead of the ones I don't, it'll still be a success. View attachment 203347
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Holy Cow great buck!
 

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