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The flame is burning low

I still get fired up but, I used to hunt until the last glimmer of lifting closing day. Now , I'm about done after opening day of rifle season. Thanks for all the replies.
 
Hduke86 said:
We all have seasons in life but I'd have to disagree on the thought of going west to guide being a bad decision. No telling the sights and landscape you were in and all the memories you made for folks.
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I quickly learned the difference in a shooter in Tn and Montana 😂
 
Grill-n-man said:
My 2 cents on the subject is how hunting n general has changed. 30 years ago there were millions of acres spanning most counties in Tennessee that were available for access by the hunting public. Now most is leased. What was lost was the ability to gather family and friends to hunt together or just take someone new. Leased land can't do that for the most part. No more looking forward to swinging by the check station to see what maybe hidden by a tailgate. No more listening to the story in such detail with such excitement that you feel as if you were there. Yes we have a better deer herd statewide now. Yes with social media we have access to more information information, pictures, and stories. But people are meant to be with other people and hunters are meant to tell and listen to stories. For many these things that are for the most part gone are taking fuel from the fire.
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That is well said and I agree 100 percent. The real ingredients to the excitement or fire within are for the most part gone or taken away somewhat.but those days will always be close to my heart. And wish sometimes I could go back in time to sit around the camp fire listening to stories of hunting and kills or almost kills. It is still fresh in my mind as I write this. The setting up camp we only had tents back then. All the laughing yes I'd say all the family friends and laughter was much better than killing anything. Heck we hardly ever seen a deer. But man when one of us did. The story on that could have wrote a book on.
 
At 56 I still love hunting but my knees and legs are no longer in the game. It's natural. I hunt ladder stands and climbers when I can but blinds are my future. I inject testosterone 1ML every two weeks. It keeps my motivation up. I cant walk too far because of arthritis. I drive my side by side close to my stand but walk gingerly. Soon, I will only be able to hunt from shoot houses and my side by side. As long as I'm out there, I'm golden.
 
At 53 I still have a pretty good desire to be out there and am very fortunate to have a good place to go. Hunting is on the topping for all the work done throughout the year. Loosening the straps on ladder stands after the season. Adjusting and moving stands. Comparing notes with neighbors. Food plots. Working up loads for rifles. Camaraderie with others. Taking less fortunate hunters out and putting them on deer. I get just as much of a thrill watching someone else get a good deer as I would because I like to see my work pay off.
 
After 45 years of deer hunting, the passing of my father on Veterans Day changed my perspective. The pleasure of talking in great detail with my father about each hunt is now gone. I knew my stories brought him joy. He would retell some of his old stories then we would talk strategy for my next hunt. I shot a good buck one week after he died. Before I got out of the stand, I thanked God for many outdoor memories with my dad.
 

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Uncle took me rabbit hunting all the time, switched to deer in the late 70's. I now know how much trouble I was to make those trips happen. He was a great man, gone now sure do have a reel full of memories. By the way we never even saw a deer. That night standing in front of his coffin, my whole hunting life flashed in front of my eyes. He lit the spark that is now an ember. I hope I can one day return the favor. I buy all my nephews and nieces life time license. Got a nephew showing interest. Time will tell.
 
In less than a month I will put my 58th trip around the sun behind me. Less than an hour ago I let my target buck walk, an 18-inch 8-pointer with some character. Had him in the crosshairs at 40 yards 28 minutes after sunset. Maybe I'd pull the trigger on a morning hunt, but not this evening.
I started deer hunting a week after I turned 12. It was 5 degrees at sunrise, but I had plenty of "fire" in my belly to keep me warm. I still smile when I think about my dad and his best friend (two Church of Christ preachers) taking shelter in a hay barn trying to stay warm while I stuck in there until they couldn't take it any more. I was still sitting at the base of the massive longleaf pine where they left me before daylight.
I've got a double-dose of slow-down when it comes to deer hunting. It's natural to not be as ardent when our age, but my oldest son's passing three years ago has hammered me. My bow case is under my son's bow case in the garage and I can't bare the weight of moving it. I deer hunt these days more to find and recapture "normal" than to follow a blood trail. "Normal" is out there somewhere, and I'll be out there looking for it again at sunrise.
 
jaybird62 said:
In less than a month I will put my 58th trip around the sun behind me. Less than an hour ago I let my target buck walk, an 18-inch 8-pointer with some character. Had him in the crosshairs at 40 yards 28 minutes after sunset. Maybe I'd pull the trigger on a morning hunt, but not this evening.
I started deer hunting a week after I turned 12. It was 5 degrees at sunrise, but I had plenty of "fire" in my belly to keep me warm. I still smile when I think about my dad and his best friend (two Church of Christ preachers) taking shelter in a hay barn trying to stay warm while I stuck in there until they couldn't take it any more. I was still sitting at the base of the massive longleaf pine where they left me before daylight.
I've got a double-dose of slow-down when it comes to deer hunting. It's natural to not be as ardent when our age, but my oldest son's passing three years ago has hammered me. My bow case is under my son's bow case in the garage and I can't bare the weight of moving it. I deer hunt these days more to find and recapture "normal" than to follow a blood trail. "Normal" is out there somewhere, and I'll be out there looking for it again at sunrise.
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Well written powerful post...thanks for sharing.... sorry to hear about your son passing.
 
I'm just not as mad at them any more, but I've spent 14 of the past 21 days in the woods with friends and family. It's the only thing that recharges my batteries for the real world to get me through to turkey season. And I'm already strategizing tonight for where I'm going to hint in the morning... even though I'm back in MS and 99% of our bucks are still nocturnal.

But I also appreciate the little experiences nature grants me while afield... something as simple as watching a hawk catch a mouse gives me much admiration and respect for how wonderfully made the natural world is... and how much contrasted that is with how we have made a mess of our human modern world. But I guess I've always been a Jeffersonian.
 
trout said:
After 45 years of deer hunting, the passing of my father on Veterans Day changed my perspective. The pleasure of talking in great detail with my father about each hunt is now gone. I knew my stories brought him joy. He would retell some of his old stories then we would talk strategy for my next hunt. I shot a good buck one week after he died. Before I got out of the stand, I thanked God for many outdoor memories with my dad.
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Very well stated post. Nice deer too! Loss of Dad will stay with you every day you walk this earth. Glad you're thankful for the memories.
 

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