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Lacking hunting motivation-never thought I’d get here!

TNRifleman said:
There's a lot of bass to be caught this fall and I have an open seat for the 3rd rifle in CO :)
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Davidk!!!! get in the 3rd seat and get to Colorado!!!!! If that don't reignite the hunting fire then we will have a memorial service when you get back… because your dead. As for you TNRifleman, 🙋🏻… here I am, over here!!!
 
Had my first taste of it 15-20 years or so, got Rocky Mountain Fever and got in bad shape, took a few years to get caught back up, now over 60 and if I miss a opportunity to go there is normally another day just ahead, quit bow hunting and don't miss it, to much sweat and mosquitoes at times. At some point I will stop but no dates set and hope to go another 10-15 years. Nothing is a given in life
 
Been thru it all...

Kill every deer you see... only kill bucks. Only kill big bucks... kill all deer with a bow, or ML, or pistol ( something to make it harder than it should be). Take friends hunting, take kids hunting....

Let's face it... killing deer isn't a big deal, it no longer instills a great sense of accomplishment like it once did.

What has made me more connected to the land and hunting has been managing the land and herd as a steward. Knowing I've left the land and herd in better shape after each deer season. Investing sweat and money into improving habitat, and seeing how the herd responds by increase in population and antler quality.

I no longer care if I kill a high scoring deer. In fact i no longer care if I kill a single deer. But I still enjoy the heck out of personifing bucks, giving them more credit than they deserve, double and triple guessing my hunts, and SPENDING TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY while doing it.

I'd rather a kid or a friend kill the best deer on my farms than myself. I've put my time in as a hunter and gotten my fair share of rewards.

I'm also having fun turning tough gamey venison into gourmet meals... deer that were almost inedible into steaks that would be worthy to be served at $50 per plate at a fancy restaurants.

But the real question is... what would you do with all those 100s of hours of free time in the fall? Will you volunteer at church? Will you work on the house/ yard? Or will you sit on the TV/ internet instead of living life? What could you do instead of hunting that would give you the greatest sense of connection to life and our God in place of hunting? (there are plenty of alternatives, just make sure you find one!)
 
megalomaniac said:
What has made me more connected to the land and hunting has been managing the land and herd as a steward. Knowing I've left the land and herd in better shape after each deer season. Investing sweat and money into improving habitat, and seeing how the herd responds by increase in population and antler quality.
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This. It is the management of the land and the local deer population that keeps me excited. Are things getting better? Can I find a way to make them better? How far can I take the land and population? What are the best ways to measure this?

When it comes to the actual hunting, it's the comradery. My land is family land, and family all gets together to hunt it. It is sharing in an old family tradition and telling stories from the past. I always HOPE to kill a good buck each year, but if I don't, so be it. I'm not sure how motivated I would be if were hunting alone.
 
Headhunter said:
Unless there is hard evidence that CWD is causing trouble in humans or killing humans (and yes I have seen some articles suggesting CWD may be impacting humans, just guesses though, a couple even said they believe CWD killed someone they know from eating deer, no factual evidence though) I will not change the way I deer hunt or how often I go. So long there are deer to hunt, I will be hunting them.
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The fire when you get older dwindles to a flame due to less energy . In your mind you still want to go but at times you can't get your body to cooperate. Was getting fired up putting up a new double ladder stand until I fell and knocked the want to out of me 😂 may go tomorrow unless I don't feel like it ☺. Alot of my desire went out when my grandson broke his femur and couldn't go with me last year now I've lost him for good . He was my hunting partner because all my hunting buddies have quit hunting. Not that I don't care to go by myself done it many many times it just that when you are successful there's no one to share it with or help 😂
 
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BSK said:
Last time I killed a nice buck on a solo hunt I found out how empty that experience could be when there was no one to share it with.
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Interesting, I have hunted and fished over the years by myself more often than not. I would never say the experience was empty, not in any way at all. Most all of my life, if I had to wait til until someone else was available to go hunt or fish so I would not be alone, then I would not have went over half the time. Most all my life I have been the "person who does the leg work", I am the person who finds places to hunt, scouts the land, hangs the stands, plants the food plots, put out minerals, load shells, etc. (I became selective about who to hunt and fish with or share information with, because I learned at a young age not everyone shares information equally or they will run you over with the "proverbial bus" to get a place all to themselves when you were the one who found or got access to the spot in the first place), but I hunt and fish with friends and family whenever possible and "my arm has to be twisted" NOT whenever I am called and asked if I am going hunting or fishing or want to go. If I want to go fishing and/or hunting (especially when I think conditions are right for a fish bite, deer moving, etc.) I am going, not waiting for someone else to have time to go.

I don't understand saying how empty an experience it would be to kill a buck because of hunting solo. Don't understand that one at all. Some of the best deer hunters ever spent much of their time hunting solo, I wonder if they would say their hunts and kills were empty?
 
I found the last few years have been this way. I turned 45 this year and have loved to bow hunt since I was 9. I would practiced almost every day year round as a kid and continued into my late 20's. I would hunt 3-5 times a week with my bow. The last few years, I didn't have time to practice with kids activates and the new neighborhood makes it tough to shoot safely in. I found I get more excited with working on my property and managing it for better hunting for my kids and dad. Funny thing this year, I was so excited about hunting till season opened, now I'm like yeah I need to go but not sure when. I'm more excited about gun hunting this year, which is very strange for me.
 
Goals change with age, especially old age. I still enjoy the excitement of the adventure of hunting. Don't try to make it something else, such as kill your limit, kill as many as you can, kill the biggest buck, etc.

My goal this year is to hunt less and help some less experienced or younger hunters be more successful. Enjoy comaraderie of deer camp more and most of all praise God for the tremendous creation He made for us to enjoy.
 
Hunting era's in a persons life seem to mimic that old adage about aging.

You have your "go-go" years.
Then come your "slow-go" years.
And finally, the "no-go" years.

Understandable when folks are in the different phases of life and hunting.

For me the "kill" is of least importance. I enjoy the time outdoors.
However, I have been thinking that either this year or next probably need to be my last "tall ladder stand" years.

Maybe a sportsmans condo or redneck blind box in my future.
 

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