Has it lost it's appeal???

I have just finished my 54th hunting season.
Like Doug, it's just not as vital that I "Tag out" any more.

I no longer suffer from a sleepless night before any hunt. Mornings seem to come too early as well.
However, I still get excited about hunting....Elk being one of my favorites.
Also some of the best table fare, IMHO.

After 55+ moose, and seeing another 100+ harvested, I know what follows once one is on the ground, LOL.

Deer...how many? I really could not say, but way into 3 figures.
Enjoy the jerky and sausages, and best steaks/chops, though.

I guess when I lose the excitement altogether, That will be it.
But I'm not quite ready to hang up the hunting paraphernalia yet.

Regards, Eagleye
 
I was just pondering this idea yesterday. At age 55, hunting doesn't feel the same way it did 40 years ago, but that doesn't mean it is less satisfying...it's just different...in some ways, even better. I missed two seasons, one due to a serious car crash, another due to moving from one province to another, and both years it just about killed me. I still feel withdrawal symptoms during turkey season, now that I don't have'em to hunt.

I am not as gung-ho, take-no-prisoners about it as I once was. In years past, nothing could make me miss the deer opener. This year, I got up early, looked at the 40kph wind blowing, saw the forecast that called for it to continue all morning, and went back to bed. BUT...when I went out that evening, I sat thinking about this question of my feelings toward hunting. As I pondered, I tried rattling horns for a bit, looked up, and spotted a big doe eyeballing me from about 100 yards away. Didn't shoot, watched her watching me, then followed her with my scope as she jogged across the field and disappeared. I was excited...it was great.

I've travelled for a few exotic hunts, and will probably do a few more. Mostly retired, I work in a field/trade that lets me put in some hours when I want to. Don't need to work, unless I want to go on another expensive hunt, i.e. Africa or something similar. I know that right now, the idea of working hard for a few months, instead of relaxing at home, seems like a very fair trade-off to me if it sends me off somewhere to slay some big beastie. I also know that, if for some reason I can't or won't do that work, hunting at home on the back 40 will continue to be something I love for the foreseeable future.

Apparently a lot of older hunters gravitate away from the hunt. Maybe it'll happen to me, but right now I can't see how...and I hope it never happens.
 
I lost my oomph last year with one of the old fudds I was hunting with, got so pissed off I called it an early season.

This year with the shorter season in Manitoba and being busy at work I just don't see that I'm going to get out and it's not bothering me too much.

Next year I want to get jammed back up for it though, change of hunting locals and new methods. THAT I am looking forward too.

Don't worry about it too much, take it easy this year. Start planning next year and get the excitement level back up.
 
I bought a deer tag last year (first time in about 4 or 5 years) and only went out a couple of afternoons. I bought a tag this year and still haven't gone out. I used to live and breath for the fall hunting season. Don't know what's changed.
 
I have had the same feelings. i come from a family of hunters from my grandfather who was a guide for americans,and my father who hunted for food on the table. as I grew up I started to hunt at 10 my father had a camp that had 8 people every season come from other provinces. they had done this for 35 years , but over time death and age have made that number only two my father and I. My father is now 75 and still hunts the complete four weeks of our season, i have one week and i spend it with him but he will stay on his owne for the other three weeks. but as I look at my future for hunting, i notice that once my father passes on what will i have for a push to keep me going.. i guess the love of hunting but we all know that hunting is as much about sharing stories with hunting buddies than maybe the hunt!! It makes me sad sometimes to see the future of my hunting.
 
I used to really enjoy big game hunting....now, not so much. Give me a 12 guage, my German Shorthair and some birds and Im really happy. I also love a good gopher shoot or chasing coyotes in January.

Cheers!!
 
I grew up hunting, and was pretty avid up until about 30 years ago - I was in my mid-thirties & for no apparent reason, I just stopped. Sold my guns (except one 12 ga., kept for sentimental reasons), amd just stopped.

Hadn't given it a thought until last Spring, when , again for no apparent reason, I started to get interested again. So, as an ol' retired gal, I went & got a PAL and a Hunter Ed. course etc etc etc (coz I had LONG since thrown out all my old licences, FAC etc etc) - went out & bought a Browning .308, and well, back in the saddle again.:)

Can't explain any of it. As Mrs. Thatcher said, "it's a funny old world".......:confused:
 
As soon as it starts feeling like work, I change it up - usually the hunts I get bored with are ones that require "putting in time" - stand hunting. I'd rather explore, bump a deer, get my heart going, get lucky once in awhile.

I find the most enjoyment in hunting small game with hounds - no question about it, always have always will.

Lately I am having fun with muzzleloaders and recurve bows. I try not to take it too seriously and keep expectations low, just out to relax and learn.

Oh and a new gun can make things interesting as well.....ummm something like a 28ga Wingmaster, took a cottontail today and the dogs were a bawling!!...much more fun than sitting in a tree "putting in time"...punch in punch out
 
Thanks guys!! I will go on a elk hunt this Saturday and I almost said I wasn't going to my long time hunting partner because I was too lazy to put the quad on the truck and wake up at 5 AM for only a 1 day hunt. I changed my mind - I will definitely go and you know what - It will be a good time.

Sometimes you just have to get a swift kick in order to realize what is important.
 
I really only "enjoy" hunting when I'm hunting with someone to enjoy it with. Going out alone bow hunting for 12 hours really doesn't get me going anymore.
 
I have kids ages 5 and 8 who are busy little boys. Now they do like to come hunting but they never last more than a half day. They also have lots of other things going on, swimming, kung-fu, guitar and piano....so I feel the same as you sometimes but I have gone out 3 times and taken one deer. I just can't get motivated to go out again. Aim going to try harder.:)
 
Hunting is more fun now than it has ever been, and my first hunting experiences happened 60 years ago. Shooting stuff, however, just doesn't seem as necessary to my hunting as it once did.
 
Watched a small doe and a fox while out today. Both could be seen through my scope at the same time. Neither seemed to know the other was there. Neither seemed to notice I was there. After continuing on I woke up a doe and two young ones from a nap. Just watched them for about 10 minutes from 15 yards. Didn't take my safety off all day, but it was a great walk in the woods.

The worst thing about hunting is that it makes me wish away summer. :)
 
Rounding the bend to 50 now and the drive is not the same as it once was. I tend to hunt better weather nowadays than I did in the past opting to saty out of the rainy days that I used to treasure for waterfowling. Snuggling up to the gf and staying warm is a pretty nice option after all at times...LOL!! I still love my hunting but the game is definitely changing for me as I age.
Heading out to the range and meeting up with other club members sitting around the wood stove is also another late fall option I enjoy more and more.
 
I find that if I make detailed plans in advance, I tend to be more apt to follow through on the trip.

Certainly the bag numbers are less than they used to be, particularily when we WT deer hunted alot in South Saskatchewan. But I've added challenge to deer & small game hunting by choosing a hawken style rifle for deer and afterwards, a blunderbuss for rabbit hunting. The Ithacas are used much earlier on, to partially fill the larder and to keep brushing up on my wing shooting skills.

I'm thinking the Fury II recurve deserves some use next year, & I've used the compund bow in the past. But the BP bug has a firm hold on me this year.
 
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