Ever been in a Funk ?

7 years ago I moved from Alberta to Snaskatchewan, away from my kids, the area I knew growing up in and hunted in,
the new season dates and times was hard on me , all the changes and such,
I am one that is thankful for all the technology, one of my daughters was my best hunting partner
every time she went out hunting she would constantly text me asking me where the best spots were, sending me pics all day long, same when I went hunting
here in snaskatchewan
then she got tangled up with a real control freak and wasn't allowed to text or talk on the phone to me,
I made a trip out there and changed that situation ,
now we both are steady sending pics and msgs back and forth, she makes a Cpl trips out here for spring and fall goose hunts, I make a trip back there more just to be out in wild with her then for deer, cuz we have more and I wont say bigger or better deer here,
but I am thankful for technology and communication,
even her children , my grand kids get involved ,
it does make the season more enjoyable with it
 
SH!T happens... Even to the best of us... The most prepared of us... Keep taking care of the details you can control (to some degree) and live with the results... A fine life principle is to enjoy the "process" moreso than the "destination" (or goal)... I am embarassed to say that a few years ago, I was in a two year funk, and when I finally had a huge buck in front of me, I breached my own "code of ethics" in my shot choice and I paid for it, and so did the buck... I beat myself up a lot after that and vowed to make my outdoors experiences about the journey... NOT whether I took a monster buck or bull or boar...
 
I notice everyone talking about being to stressed to hunt, but for my that's the reason I go!
I've found that I need to get out in the bush, shut off the cell phone and just be alone in nature to recharge my batteries. I come home far more relaxed and easy going, even if I don't shoot anything.

Guiding your son would be a great alterative! As they get older it gets harder to find quality time with the kids. Enjoy it ehie you can.
 
The woods used to remove my stress as well but it just doesn't seem to be working this year. Work is insane and over the past couple of years some good hunting friends have passed on. I know that it will pass but it is very hard getting motivated when you can't even shoot straight.

My goal now is to leave my guns at home and take my boy out as often as I can and forget about myself. Once Jan/Feb hits we'll go out and call some coyotes. On those trips I never really give a crap about hitting something just getting some fresh air.

I've been thinking about all the other hunts I've been on over the years and when I've made some good shots. It seems that when I don't think and just react I've made some really great shots. These days I just can't clear my head.

I am counting on all of you to post your stories and pictures for this year to keep me motivated.
 
I would suggest maybe you need to change something in your hunt? maybe your going to the same ole place and seeing the same ole thing?

But what I really think is the problem, are you getting any good cardio on the heart? I know as us guys get older we tend to become lazy. This brings on alot of stress but also you tend to shake. If you haven't had a good cardio work out in a few years. go for a run or bike ride. you might find it cleans the Funk right out.

But this year, go with your boy, sounds like thats your bright point in your life the way you talk about him, rattle him in a deer, and relax.
 
One thing I've always said is it doesn't matter if you shoot something as long as you have a story to tell.

I wish you and your boy the best of luck and hope I have a story to tell you ina few weeks.
 
I'm sure beginning to feel like it.
Last Tuesday I was out and only spotted this pretty gal.

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Back on the pavement only a handful of K's from home were nine of these same quality on an acreage munching away.
Out the next day and saw diddly sqwat.
Then to salt the wound even more, 19 were harvesting more greens...........19 of the gals.

[URL=http://s614.photobucket.com/user/kamlooky/media/Fur%20and%20Feathers%202013/DSC07032_zps90e9a91f.jpg.html][/URL]
[URL=http://s614.photobucket.com/user/kamlooky/media/Fur%20and%20Feathers%202013/DSC07031_zps30cafeb3.jpg.html][/URL]
 
Powdergun. I was driving back to town last night without even haven taken the safety off after two days of hunting and I thought of you. Hope your boy is doing better than me and you guys are having some fun.
 
powdergun said:
I do not know what is going on this year but after 35 years of hunting and takiing many animals I just can't get my sh*t together. I've been out with the BP gun for about three weeks and have totally f'ed up on two deer. Both deer were in range and standing still broadside( totally text book ) . I've flat out missed twice.

I know they were missed because they ran of without o much as a trace of being hit and I scoured the woods up down and sideways and found no blood and I've even gone back days later looking for ravens. I just flat out missed. The gun is fine so the fault is just plain me.

Tonight my son told me that when I was shooting my hands were shaking WTF. Neither deer was anything to brag about. Have any of you fellows ever hit such a funk. The only thing going for me is I can still find and pattern the deer. Tonight the one I missed was right were I'd thought it would be and I was set up just right.

I feel like hanging up the gun for a year and focusing on guiding my kid.He showed me last year he could shoot. maybe it is time to pass on the freezer filling duties.
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Certainly, I've found myself close to swearing it off on two occasions due to nasty situations. Good news is you get over it, for sure.
 
I had this happen to me in the first week of a 28 day hunt in RSA............it really rattled my confidence. It is very hard to get back on track and rebuild it. Only advice I can give is head to the range and reconfirm your sights and then back to basics, mentally, when the next opportunity presents itself. Concentrate on exactly which HAIR you want to hit and forget about the whole animal, focus.....focus.......focus!! I missed a fabulous warthog standing at less than 50 mtrs, a gimme shot if ever there was one. He took off running in fairly open country and my instinct took over and I managed to bowl him over at 150 mtrs on the run........things picked up considerably after that and I managed to finish out my hunt with resonable confidence thereafter. I will say I've made some truly amazing shots and missed some unbelievably easy shots while hunting, it's just the way it goes. Don't beat yourself up too bad, your next shot will probably be amazing and completely bring you out of this 2 misses in a row funk. My own failings come because I have been doing this for a long time and I tend to get sloppy and just expect the animal to tip over when I pull the trigger. I fail to concentrate enough and do the basics that I know all too well, and voila, another one runs away. I suspect this is exactly where you are and like I said, focusing on a particular spot on an animal, a rib line or dark spot whatever, helps me to refocus and brings me back to basics......sight alignment, trigger control, breathing and follow through.
 
On the opening day of rifle season here I had a deer at 80 yards. I son told me to relax so I did. I carefully lined up squeazed and the deer just bounded off. THREE F*ING TIMES !!!!!!! and this time with a scoped rifle shot from a rest at 80 yards. Fortunately I found it stone dead 40 yards down the trail with the entrance wound right where I aimed. I was two seconds from wrapping my rifle around a fence post but fortunately a cooler head prevailed. My boy just looked at me and said " See Dad you got your mojo back"

For the rest of the season we are out trying to find him a good buck and my rifle is staying at home. I am looking forward to shooting coyotes though:)
I guess I'll see if the funk is broken or not.
 
powdergun said:
On the opening day of rifle season here I had a deer at 80 yards. I son told me to relax so I did. I carefully lined up squeazed and the deer just bounded off. THREE F*ING TIMES !!!!!!! and this time with a scoped rifle shot from a rest at 80 yards. Fortunately I found it stone dead 40 yards down the trail with the entrance wound right where I aimed. I was two seconds from wrapping my rifle around a fence post but fortunately a cooler head prevailed. My boy just looked at me and said " See Dad you got your mojo back"

For the rest of the season we are out trying to find him a good buck and my rifle is staying at home. I am looking forward to shooting coyotes though:)
I guess I'll see if the funk is broken or not.
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Sounds like you got it beat to me! Glad to hear it.
At least you had the opportunity to even miss a deer. I haven't even flicked the safety off except to unload back at the truck. I've seen some pretty country though, and all with the cell phone shut off! That may be the best part!
 
I have had no less than 30 deer in front of me so far and only one buck which did not present a shot... It gets dicouraging but thenm again, if it was easy I likely wouldn't love it so much...
 
Boomer454 said:
Sounds like you got it beat to me! Glad to hear it.
At least you had the opportunity to even miss a deer. I haven't even flicked the safety off except to unload back at the truck. I've seen some pretty country though, and all with the cell phone shut off! That may be the best part!
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Truth is I am very lucky. Considering I've only got time for short close outings near a large city with no chance to head out to much better areas a couple of hours away there always seems to be deer where I hunt. Bucks are scarce but every few years a good one makes a mistake so for the most part I end up with a good doe for the freezer.This year however, numbers are way down due to the harsh winter.

Funks come and go but if we don't push ourselves to get over it before you know it you're an old pot bellied couch potato that only has stories rather than sausage to share with friends.
 
I like the honesty in this thread, I wounded an animal recently, you'd think I didn't know which end I was shooting at, at the time. Tucked it into the wrong armpit. Got him down, but he was out there while I tracked a faint, and ominously dark blood trail. Found him, fixed it, but I felt lower mid-track than I've felt on any hunt, rattled me for a good bit. To this day no good explanation for why I could be so far off on that shot, it wasn't even rushed.
 
Ardent said:
I like the honesty in this thread, I wounded an animal recently, you'd think I didn't know which end I was shooting at, at the time. Tucked it into the wrong armpit. Got him down, but he was out there while I tracked a faint, and ominously dark blood trail. Found him, fixed it, but I felt lower mid-track than I've felt on any hunt, rattled me for a good bit. To this day no good explanation for why I could be so far off on that shot, it wasn't even rushed.
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The shot takes place so quickly.... Before a shot we need to focus and ensure good shooting practices are employed.... Lucluckily you made the harvest...

I agree with you... Too many perfect 300 yard shots and not enough true admissions... It's the missed shots we could all truly learn from...
 
In a bit of a funk myself. 2011 was a high-point getting my first elk. A fine 6X6. Then came 2012 elk hunt and two day's in a full on seizure knocked me flat on my ass. Unable to drive or work for six months was a real drag. Then this year..had to return home from the interior 3 days into a hunt as my mother had a medical scare. Everyone is ok now, but looks like I can't get off this friggin' island for the rest of this year! Man I gotta get my "mojo" back.
Geoff
Victoria,BC.
 
A 'funk' as you described it is a form of depression brought on by unrelenting stress which you cannot escape ( your job is a necessity). Hunting should be a stress reliever but your stress has invaded even this area of your life. Exercise and diet can relieve a lot of this stress induced depression. Sometimes our perspective gets skewed by our complicated lives and situations start to run us not the other way around. You recognized the situation for what it was and are dealing with it, things will turn around. Good luck.
 
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