Burned Out

S

schoolhousegrizz

Very Active Member
Messages
2,577
I have come to the realization that I am burned out on hunting. It is hard for me to say, but it is the truth. I scouted and hunted around 40 days last year on my tag alone. Then probably another 10 days on other peoples tags. Then I gathered bear bait all spring and summer. Hunted bears in June. Scouted quite a bit in July and August for archery deer, and have been out hunting archery deer. That would have sounded like heaven a couple years ago. Also, the nonstop of shooting and tuning the bow. See my personality is a bit obsessive and if something is not quite right I can not stop until it is perfect. By then I have worn out my bow string and have to start a over, and then I wear out myself. I have turned hunting into so much pressure and work that I am no longer enjoying it anymore. I hate to throw in the towel or slow down but I think it is what I need to do right now. I find myself just wanting to be home with the family and would rather sleep in than go hunting. That is very hard for me to admit. I have always self identified as a hunter, but honestly I am just not enjoying it right now. Sorry to sound negative. I was just wondering if any of you have ever dealt with this. Hunting used to be pure excitement for me even though there were always times that you had to persevere and it sucked along the way I always enjoyed the experience. I'm sure some of you have never feel like this I'm just curious if some of you have. I think I have put too much pressure on myself and turned it into too much work instead of fun. I get that it takes hard work to get big deer I understand all that as I feel like I've done it. Looking forward to any comments.
 
I guess you need to be hunting with family! I enjoy spending time in the outdoors. If it's hunting season that's better. If I harvest a animal then the funs over unless I get to help one of my kids fill a tag. It's not always about the size of the game or the harvest.
 
Big John and tri that is good advice. I have noticed I do enjoy other people's hunts more than my own lately. I am thinking of changing my unit next year to a unit that will be more conducive for a family hunt.
 
First of all your not the only one. My brother in law was just visiting and he is an extreme mountaineer type and could walk 99% of the hunters into the ground. He hunts himself a little and I asked him why he doesn't do more of it. He said there is just to much ego in hunting anymore for him. I had an 8 year extent in the hunting business world and everyone is trying to outdo the next to boost there social media, brand, profile, sales whatever you want to call it. Here is what you do next, turn all the crap off and go out and enjoy the outdoors the amount you want and no more than that, I think the advice about helping others out like kids is a great one. I now enjoy helping others as much as hunting for myself. I've killed lots of game with my bow and have nothing to prove to anyone and neither do you.
 
I get burned out with no hunting. Hunting and messing with rifles is what I do to decompress. mtmuley
 
This begs the question of 'why you hunt in the first place'?

Do you enjoy the flight of the arrow regardless of where it goes?

Do you enjoy being alone without internet and a cam for the sunset?

Do you really like elk or deer meat and what it can provide the year long?

I could go on like this forever, but you get the point. What is it you want out of hunting? What was it that you were expecting out of it that's left you high an dry?

I get it, it's a struggle to be way into it and experience all the negatives that can come your way, but in the end of the day, pack up all the bs that's sucking your enjoyment out of it and get on with why you loved it in the first place.

Like others have said, take a kid hunting or just go to see a sunset at one of your favorite spots. It's very little about the hunting or killing and much more about the experience.

An example, I just returned from a 5 day scouting trip. All I heard were a dozen bugles where I couldn't film the bulls that were going away from me. One heard of 80 elk that were 12 miles from the trailhead and no chance of hunting. Then a few cows on razor alert as I glassed them up with no bulls to be found.

As I was driving home today I was bummed that I didn't have it sorted out for next weekends opener when I realized, I just got to hear and see what most hunters only dream of.

Step back, watch the clouds roll by and enjoy that you live in a place that allows you the free time to do any of this. It really is a one in a million thing we have to behold in our world out here.

Cheers, Pete
 
I have always
>self identified as a hunter,
>but honestly I am just
>not enjoying it right now.
>


Whoa! Use whatever bathroom you like...

But seriously, try something new, a new place, a new species, a new friend to hunt with...
There are several types of fun/happiness but the days you look back in with jubilation are usually the days you hated to do and hurt like hell while you were there...
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-18 AT 06:40PM (MST)[p]Back when I was single and could hunt whenever I wanted and didn't ?need? a steady job, I use to get burned out by hunting every chance I got. I'd hunt 4-6 days a week from August until January. Even if the weather was terrible or I knew the hunting wasn?t going to be very good, I'd still go. And I would be burned out by mid November every year. And it wouldn't be until around Christmas before I could talk myself into finishing out the last couple weeks of waterfowl season, then it would start all over a month after that looking for sheds. And then turkeys, and scouting and then the hunts... Now that I'm married, have a kid and ?need? a steady job, I have to choose my days. I don't go scout every weekend. I put out cams in spots that I know will produce and I'll check them maybe twice before the bowhunt starts. Then I'll plan my hunt accordingly. I only hunt the opener of the bowhunt just to get out, but don't take it seriously until mid week when I've got the mountain to myself and I know I have a high chance of success. Same for the muzzy and rifle hunts. Unless it's opening day, I'm usually home on the weekends and hunt during the week. I hunt opening weekend of the waterfowl hunt and then I won't put my boat in the water until mid November when the hunting actually starts getting good. If it's gonna rain or snow all day and getting fogged out is a high possibility, I just stay home. Try again another time. By doing this, and being selective on when I hunt or scout makes it much easier to get out of bed on the right days and go have a good time
 
Part of the awesomeness of life. Get in to mountain biking, climbing, hiking, boating, skiing. You'll come back to hunting. I was on a solo hunt when I had my 'this isn't fun' moment. I still love hunting, but I do it different now.
 
I've been there, still get there at times, lots of times, but it's what I do! When I'm away from it, it keeps tugging at me to come back. I have many other hobbies and hate to sit still at home. I live deer everyday all year long and have for 20 years with this website, so I know where you're coming from.

What keeps me going is that I know time is limited for quality hunting. The day will come where I won't get to hunt Wyoming every year, Utah will continue to be difficult to find "special" bucks and Colorado will also fade as it continues to get more difficult to get tags. So I feel like I have to give it everything I can, while I can.

The key for me is good balance. If I'm going to scout and hunt as much as I do, I need to balance it out with rock climbing, boating, movies with the wife and other things so it doesn't feel like scouting and hunting is all my life is about. I'm loaded with non-stop energy, so it's not hard to keep going and going.

I agree with others, you never know when it'll all come to an end. My first wife died at 34, diagnosed with cancer at 30. Up to that point, we thought we had many, many years ahead of us. We'd talk about what we'd do when old. Who knew it would be cut so short for her. I was a get-after-it-hard dude before that time in my life, but now I'm really a get-after-it-hard person. I know now that one day I could be planning money to last me until I'm 87, the next day I could be hoping to be alive in 6 months. Got to live life to the fullest.

If you can find other things to do that you enjoy more than hunting, then do it. But for me, I'm always sucked back for more. I obviously really love it, and I'll bet it's the same for you. You might need to quit, or maybe you just need a few more hobbies to balance it out.

Brian Latturner
MonsterMuleys.com
@mm_founder on Instagram
LIKE MonsterMuleys.com
on Facebook!
 
Intertesting post. I have been there and done that with what you are describing. As the kids grew, the costs of them and hunting went up, competition seemed to increase even if only in my mind, etc. I think we take everything for granted in most cases. Not all of us but the majority of us. Walk away for a little while, it honestly won't hurt you or anyone else.

I got into the score craze with everyone else and I think that was a big detriment overall. A 400? bull is awesome and a 200? muley but it also caused me to lose sight in a hurry.

This to shall pass but only if you want to make changes. If you keep doing the same thing don't expect a different result.

I am not as obsessed as I used to be and that is perfectly fine for me. I wish i had more days off of work but I don't and i don't worry about it either.

Take a big breath, relax and enjoy your family. Nothing else matters.....
 
You are indeed burned out. Time to back off. After all, what's the use in doing it if it's not fun any more.

Perhaps the time away will provide a new perspective.
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-26-18 AT 07:34PM (MST)[p]Thanks for the comments everyone. I really think what led me down the path of not enjoying it as much as I used to was social media. I have gotten rid of Instagram. I am not going to listen any Podcast or hunting videos. I always just hunted for my own reasons and on my own terms. It was all about adventure, seeing new places, family, and memories. I'm trying to get it back to that And I will for sure. I'm just gonna take a break for a bit and slow it down.
 
For me as I've gotten older I don't have the same desire to go go go when hunting season rolls around. I'm part of the evolution of the stages of hunting. As mentioned above I'd rather help someone else given the choice but, I still get excited pursuing a respectable buck or bull when I have a tag. My reality is just getting into the hills to get away from technology and the rat race of life is enough to recharge me for the time until I can get back out again and doing it with family makes it better.

I suspect you just need to temper how much or how often you pursue hunting at least in the short term or maybe that's what you need long term just to keep the excitement there. You're already a more hard core hunter than most, don't let it bother you if you cut back and relax right now. Kinda like a woman that has a baby and says she'll never have another one but, low and behold down the road that desire is there and she has another baby. You'll get that excitement for hunting again, I have no doubt.

Smokepole
 
Like Founder, I always feel it pulling me back constantly. I need to take a break in order to feel the want and the enjoyment again though. I know I will feel the urge, but I am going to try and not go unless I really really want to and I'm excited for it.
 
Yep, been there before. One year I hunted so much, my own and others, I got sick of it. Took spring turkey off and went fishing instead. By Sept, I was ready again and did not go on anyone else's hunts that year. Took a couple of years to get the itch again.

I have decided to not hunt this year for me. Normally I go OTC when I don't draw, but not this time. My two daughters have 5 tags between the two of them and I will spend this year "guiding" them.

It's good to take time off from something every now and then. But, as been mentioned, you never know when you won't be able to do it like you do now, both yourself and others included, my kids for me.

A job (addiction) is never a good reason to miss out...
 
Are You Sure You're Burned Out?

Or Just Tired of alot of the BS that goes on in the Field these days?

It Ain't like it was a few Years Back!

The Technology!

The Money!

And The Greed!

Has Changed Things so Much It Sure Ain't as Fun as it Once was!

But I'll Keep Going!

I'll Keep Watching Hunters Pound 20" 4 Points & Claim they are Trophies!

I'll Keep watching TARDS Spend 10's of Thousands just to Pound a PISSCUTTER!

I'll keep Watching Mother Earth getting Shredded by Illegal Activities!

I'll keep trying to Draw a Tag knowing the Time I Pull one it will be JUNK!

The List goes on & on!

I'll try & spend a little Time with Family & Friends on their Hunts each Fall because that's what I Live for!

Like BIGJOHN Said:

If We Shoot something we gotta Quit Hunting!:D:D:D

Anybody add up what a Modern Day PISSCUTTER Cost's you once you get it to your Dinner Plate?










I know so many people in so many places
They make allot of money but they got sad faces

It Ain't Easy being Me!:D:D:D
 
I think it has been well covered above, and agree. I found myself in your same mindset the older I get. I started taking family and friends, or just going on friends hunts to help. As said above the commercialization and ego in hunting is disappointing. JB
 
I was burned out on archery hunting about 10 years ago. All of the tuning and adjusting to get things perfect then needing new strings etc. etc..

What worked for me was getting a recurve. I started enjoying archery again. Watching the flight of the arrow was what got me into archery as a kid and that enjoyment came back to me.

Just last year I got back into compounds and am loving it again. I bought a new bow this year and have enjoyed the setup without excessive, obsessive tuning.

I would say try something new in hunting, a new species or a new method.

Bill

People who work for a living are quickly being
overwhelmed by people who vote for a living.
 
Since you mentioned social media as being part of the issue here is something that might make a difference to you. Like I said I had an extent in the outdoor biz. During that time I gave away product to at least half a dozen folks with TV Shows and only one made their full time living being an outdoor celebrity the rest all had day jobs. The one that made it full time said that it took the TV show, writing articles and writing books to make a decent living at it.
That means the other five did it for the fun and status. The one guy told me that there are less people that make their full time living as on outdoor celebrity than there are players in the NBA.
So again turn it all off and enjoy the hunt not the hype.
 
I took my 12yr old(1st year) and 7 yr old elk hunting this weekend.

Right at dark a cow and calf came out into a meadow. I chirped at her, she stopped and came our way. I chirped more she kept coming. My 7 yr old was so excited he was literally shaking. My 12yr old didn't think I could "talk to elk".

I forgot the money. The time spent, etc. My 7 yr old was shaking, nothing else matters.

My boys will remember that cow, some mtn house, and laying in a tent listening to coyote all night. Ill remember that night for what it was, not what it wasn't or never has been. Its about nature and people, not inches, velocity, fame.

Like others, you need a perspective change. Kids in the outdoors help do this.

Good luck


From the party of HUNTIN, FISHIN, PUBLIC LAND.
 
Maybe volunteer to work with kids who have it rough...share your knowledge of the outdoors with them...I guarantee you will get fired up again...hth
 
Looks like most everything has been covered. One other suggestion is help someone who is disabled get out on a hunt. It will make you realize how truly blessed we are to have good health and be able to enjoy the outdoors. We need to really enjoy the whole hunt and not get so caught up with the end results. If that's all there was to hunting I would be disappointed a lot of years. Time spent with family and friends away from the every day grind is what's important.
 
Great post and responses..

I often think of what hunting meant to me as a kid and how great it would be to be able to 100% feel all of that again. I was able to get a lot of that commercialized BS out of the way early on and in my early 30s realized again what hunting is all about for me. Working hard and making memories with family and friends. I am now easily able to laugh at those that take it WAY TOO serious and try to 1UP the next guy. I just shake my head. Although we do take hunting seriously, when I'm on a trip with my buddies I'm just as excited for a pitstop for some gas station pizza on the way as I am for the 3rd morning of our hunt.

Good luck out there fellas.
 
Interesting situation and place to be in.

My job is stressful, and family life is busy. Hunting and fishing is my release. I can't get nearly as much of it as I'd like, so it would be hard to get burned out.

Don't spend your free time doing things you don't enjoy. Best wishes as you work through it.
 
This thread is a great reminder to all of us to remember what hunting is truly about. Thanks for posting.

-Hawkeye-

My Favorite Expo Tag Quotes:

"It is fair to ask how much comes in with the five dollar application fees and how much went onto the ground.? Don Peay of SFW during 3/31/2005 Wildlife Board Meeting.

"There will be a full accounting of how the applications fees are spent.? Don Peay of SFW - 9/26/2006 - Monstermuleys.com
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-18 AT 12:08PM (MST)[p]From your description of this years hunting agenda, you have made hunting a "job". We all get burned out on a job.

Find something else you enjoy doing, and when you get an urge to scout, shoot, get on the internet, go do that instead. So you don't know where all the big ones are, so what. You need to enjoy the hunt.

All the prep you are doing puts undo pressure on you to "perform" on the hunt. Back off the prep work and I bet you enjoy the hunt more.

Hunting for me is not knowing what is around the corner or what game is in the area. If you already know what animal will be where and when, what is "hunting" (or exciting) about that?

txhunter58

venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)
 
Try something new.

I hunted waterfowl 35-40 days a year for a decade. A couple trips to Argentina shooting several hundred birds in a session has tempered my enthusiasm for a 15 bird dove limit or a 6 bird duck limit. I will still go a few times a year and enjoy it and smile but it's different now.

I hunted turkeys pretty hard for 10 years and got burned out on them. My father retained his fervor and we completed his slam this year and I am satisfied. I still enjoy it and will one day complete my slam, I'd just rather burn my vacation doing different things these days.

Hunted deer in Texas growing up and cannot sit in a blind much anymore.

Got pretty burned out on all of it and switched to hunting out west. It ain't old yet, part of that is the distance involved, it is so hard to get out there and hard to get decent tags that I could NOT possibly burn myself out on it. I can really only go at most 2 weeks a year, so I just don't see it happening.

I AM getting burned out on the draw process. This year my interest dropped to all time lows. I was writing a newsletter for about 50 people telling them where and when to apply for free and I think I'm just going to handle my own and my families applications now. It's enough to keep up with .

I have a 7 year old who is just about ready to start himself, I look forward to spending time teaching him everything I have been obsessed with at some point.

SO - spend some money and book a hunt far away from your home land. It will be new and different and will get you fired up about going all over again. Go fishing in Latin America, do something you haven't done before. You may find a new passion or it will help you appreciate the things you are blessed to be able to do close to home.
 
>This thread is a great reminder
>to all of us to
>remember what hunting is truly
>about. Thanks for posting.
>
>
>-Hawkeye-
>
>My Favorite Expo Tag Quotes:
>
>"It is fair to ask how
>much comes in with the
>five dollar application fees and
>how much went onto the
>ground.? Don Peay of
>SFW during 3/31/2005 Wildlife Board
>Meeting.
>
>"There will be a full accounting
>of how the applications fees
>are spent.? Don Peay
>of SFW - 9/26/2006 -
>Monstermuleys.com


That's exactly why after 65 years in the field I still can't get enough of it and it will always be that way as long as I'm in good enough health to get out!
 
Put everything away and go full circle to where it all started. Pull out your old 22LR and go out on a cool morning chasing rabbits. Ignore all the noise associated with big game hunting for now. Jump a cottontail and bring your inner child back to a time when everything was simple. No house payment, no insurance, no job deadline. No cell phone. No iPad.

Just you and the sound of silience.

Walk slow, smell the sage, enjoy the sunrise, take a bird guide book with you, pick out the insects crawling on the ground and just watch. Watch the hawks. Enjoy the clouds. Feel the fresh air and be glad your health still allows you to enjoy these endeavors.

Back to basics! :)

?There is a power in nature that man has ignored. And the result has been heartache?. - Anasazi wisdom
 
LAST EDITED ON Aug-27-18 AT 07:25PM (MST)[p]I've been there too, and at a young age. I let my ego and need for more get the best of me to the point that going hunting became stressful and more about having to uphold a reputation that being out there to cleanse myself and enjoy it for what it is. I spent a lot of time in my younger days hunting solo and being selfish over my spots, intell and sharing any sort of spot with a friend. A lot of lonely and rough days on the mountain led me into guiding. Which is what I thought my true calling was at 19/20 years old was. Turns out it caused me to put even more pressure on myself doing something that I was supposed to love and made it feel like a job i dreaded going to at times. Meanwhile I missed out on a lot of quality time I could of spent hunting with my family, girlfriend (now wife) and my close friends. Ultimately I finally figured it out in my mid 20s and I went back to hunting with my dad, brother, wife and friends. I still hunt hard, I still scout hard, and have actually became a better hunter and have taken bigger animals in result of slowing down. Finding balance is key, I used it to be the guy that spent my entire year and free time doing something in correlation to hunting. It made me forget how much I enjoyed fly fishing and playing softball with my brother and wife in the spring and summer. I encourage you to not to give up on something that essentially defines you as a person. But perhaps approach it in a different way. We all progress and degress as hunters throughout our lives.

Coloradoboy
 
I felt myself get like that as I progressed as a whitetail hunter, solely hunting in Wisconsin. The pressure to be seen as a "great bow hunter" was real and trying to keep up with every guy shooting 15-160 class whitetails took the fun out of it. I started to hunt other states, both near and far and since they were new experiences, whatever I shot was a huge success. It put the FUN back into hunting. Going out and enjoying the outdoors without the pressure of what other people thought. It's your tag, on your terms for the reasons that YOU want to fill it. I hope you find exactly what you are seeking :)
 
leave the camo, phone, camera, weapons, and the rest of the ad nauseaum nonsense at home.


Go out and see if you can sneak up on a deer and slap it on the ass. Any foking deer will do.


That will put the identity back in your life.
 
Yes, it's pretty well been covered.

My take on it, being one of the old dogs; hunt when you want, how you want and shoot what you want and to he!! with the petty internet experts.
Get OUT of social media as for many it makes them hunt for inches and ego while lusting after the accolades of strangers. Be willing to stay home when you feel like it and sleep in every once in awhile! You?ll start to appreciate hunting for what it has to offer rather than what others expect from you!

Zeke

#livelikezac
 
Ever heard of fishing? :)

Just kidding...kinda.

Quit with the self-put pressure. The biggest is not always the best.

Maybe you do need a break?
 
When I was a teenager, my hunting opportunities were limited and I couldn't wait to spend time in the field. Not long after I hit the jack pot and ended up with a job that afforded me a lot of time to hunt ducks and geese. I shot the heck out of them--and they quickly lost the mystique they once held for me. I still enjoy the smell of the marsh and the sound of wings in the pre-dawn, but I just didn't care much about dropping another goose. I took up fly fishing--and burned out after another five or six years. And so took up turkey hunting, deer hunting, etc.

After several decades I am circling around again. I am carving my own wooden decoys and want to give the marsh another go. I have returned to fish streams I haven't waded in years. All in all, I am nearly as excited about each trip as I used to be.

But, let's face it. It is hard to recapture that feeling of complete decompression that one feels as a young man with a full tank of fuel and a long weekend's worth of food and camping gear heading out to explore new places. Perhaps it's the responsibilities of a job, or family, or just knowing that you don't have forever to get it all done anymore. It's not the same, but it is still damn good--especially if you seek out new places to explore--or maybe return to places that you haven't been since you were a kid. Find new species to hunt, or new ways to get after them. Slow down and enjoy the experience with a kid or an older person whose company you may not have much longer. Listen.

After forty years I still look forward to my next "good" tag as much as I ever did. But, if the truth be told, I am hoping that I will eventually burn out...not soon, but before my aching bones make decisions my brain has yet to accept.
 
Grizz, I have been there. My funnest hunts were with Littlebuck. She liked to rifle Deer hunt, I liked to Muzzle load for Deer. But We both Archery Hunted together, for over 20 Years. After her Accident, Many on here may remember, She fell from her tree stand and broke her neck, she made a comeback and archery hunted for 7 years.Two years ago she decided it was time to hang up her Bow. I hunted the next year for a week and just didn't enjoy it. I didn't hunt Hunt Elk at all last year,. And didn't really Miss it. Thanks to some folks here on this sight, We built a rifle she could shoot, and now, when we can draw a tag we rifle hunt together and now that is OUR hunt. She gave my grandson, who is 12 all her Archery hunting gear. This was his first Year and after not Drawing anything. Littlebuck was able to get him a leftover archery tag for the area we used to hunt Elk. I bought an any season Elk Tag and a Mentoring certificate. just so he could have plenty of opportunity.
On opening day after hiking only 1/4 mile from camp we spotted a small buck, it wandered down to 31 yards away from us. I whispered are you going to shoot him, I didn't need to ask again. He made a perfect shot and the buck was dead within 30 yards.I COULDN'T WAIT TO GET THE BUCK TAKEN CARE OF AND GET TO ELK HUNTING WITH MY NEW ARCHERY BUDDY!!!!! It took me 30 minuets of Deer hunting with him, never thinking about Elk once, But the minuet that buck was down i couldn't quit thinking about ELK. We have had Elk withing 30 yards 2 times so far but haven't had an opportunity for a shot. we are going tomorrow for 3 days and I honestly cant decide who is more Excited myself or him... Littlebuck is planning on taking a different grandson on his first Grouse hunt while we Elk hunt..... Dont worry my friend, It will come back. You will find excitement in Hunting again, It might not happen the way you think it will, but it will. Someone ask why you hunt. I might say its a Family thing, And that wouldn't be wrong. But the main reason i Hunt is simpler.... I'M A HUNTER
 
Good luck Grizz finding yer happy place in the woods again. I am inspired by all these comments as i' m sure you are. Going hunting with family, a kid, an older person, disabled or disadvantaged individual or a newbie are all great ways to see your treasured activity, hunting, through new eyes. Pass along your wisdom to someone else, it was hard earned and is valuable!
 
Going back to cow elk hunting really helped me: no stress, can draw a tag most years, and I'm always happy when I have a successful hunt. Can't say the same when I had some premium bull elk permits.
 
Low T maybe.

I find myself in a similar paradigm that increases with each passing year. My thing is more that I don't have a lot of enthusiasm to fill a tag. I really find it more appealing to have an excuse to be out in he mountains with a nice model 70 and decompress. I get as much satisfaction seeing and watching the game as I do harvesting. Maybe I'm older and wiser and realize the fun ends and the work starts when I pull the trigger. Also I get a certain level of unpleasant anxiety now that I have a busted up back and ponder packing meat back to the truck.
4abc76ff29b26fc1.jpg
 
Being a native Utard, and getting well along in years, I have seen hunting in Utah go from an exciting proposition to a ho-hum experience at best. The DWR has done everything they possibly could to take all the fun out of it, with the pick you weapon and pick your ridge hunting restrictions now in effect and still p-poor hunting all over the state.

The only exception is the limited entry hunts, but with all the point creep, they are pretty much becoming a once in a lifetime proposition. One decent hunt in a lifetime doesn't quite cut it for me.

The DWR has pretty much put a squelch on family hunting, unless you consider 10 family members together on a hunt with only one or two tags in the group.

I am at the point where I would a lot rather tag along on a Wyoming hunt with my Wyoming resident kids/grandkids than anything Utah has to offer. They not only have a lot better hunting, but the residents can still hunt with multiple weapons and hunt all over the state, the way Utardia used to be back when it was still fun to hunt here.

It used to be that if you couldn't find good hunting you could at least try a new spot and add a little excitement that way. So I would have to say I am burned out on Utah's version of hunting.
 
I am going into my 51st hunting season. I almost quit hunting twice. Once in the 80s when the pressure to kill something every time I went to the woods got to me. The pressure was self-imposed pressure because I felt the need to keep up with my friends who really did kill something every time they went afield. I finally had to stop hunting with certain people. The 2nd time was due to a combination of family pressures. I backed off the hunting but quickly realized I missed being on the mountain. Then a major illness caused me to miss an entire hunting season. The prospect of never being physically able to be on the mountain drove me to get better. Now, I count every day in the woods or on the mountain or fishing or trapping as a special blessing knowing full well that every season could be my last. I love to be in wide open wild places. I will never stop hunting. I don't care as much about the killing as I used to, but I can't get enough of the hunt. My hunting season starts next week and will hopefully last till February. I will take a short break and then get after spring gobblers, God willing. To each his own. Good luck to each and everyone and stay safe. I hope you get the trophy that makes you happy
 
I will be turning 60 this year. I have been guiding since I was 20 and been on a lot of hunts all over North America. I here where you are coming from. There are a lot of pressures on us hunters theses days and none of them are cheap. Having the best equipment, optics, finding or paying for the best places to hunt. Or just following social media where everything is at the touch of your finger tip. I do not want to be a hunting poster boy. I started a new program with my girls ( Back to basics ), I got rid of all the fancy b.s. hunting gear in my pack, no 4 Wheeler?s, no fancy r.v.s. We do our homework with real maps, make our own tent camps,and we put boots on the ground, and we hunt and harvest mature animals. I have been having the greatest hunting of my life with my 2 daughters and my wife and they are really having fun. The time spent with my family and good friends around a camp fire on a hunt is a big peace of mind for me. It also reminds me of where I came from, exploring the woods,streams and mountains,with a couple of buddies when I was 14. This is supposed to be fun,I highly recommend getting back to basics. Good luck,and look at the outdoors for what they mean to you not the social media hunting world.
 
Good subject. I personally have taken a few years years off of hunting Big Game. This will be my first year back after only one or two hunts in 7 years. I have spent pretty much the prior 30 years hunting muleys, antelope and elk every year and bear, often, but not yearly. I guess I was kind of burned out. Or it could have been having child after child graduate and go a long ways away to college and not being able to come home for hunts. I have kept building their in- state and out-of- state points each year. So when they do get out of college, or can get away from work, they'll have a good number of points to draw tags with. It was so much fun to guide them while they were growing up, watch them fill their tags, the sweet camaraderie, that I lost the fire for solo hunts. So this fall I drew a Colorado buck tag and a couple WY doe speedgoat tags and can't wait to get back out.

Hiker

Proverbs 3:5-6
 
If it wasn't for my family liking to eat wild game I'd quit too...Elk...it's what's for dinner...
 
Topgun you sound like you are around my age, I will be 80 next year - I have been hunting ever sense I killed my first squirrel when I was 12 in Kentucky. I have to admit I don't hunt like I use to but still love to get out there - I have a buck tag and a cow tag for this year.
 
>Low T maybe.
>
>I find myself in a similar
>paradigm that increases with each
>passing year. My thing
>is more that I don't
>have a lot of enthusiasm
>to fill a tag.
>I really find it more
>appealing to have an excuse
>to be out in he
>mountains with a nice model
>70 and decompress. I get
>as much satisfaction seeing and
>watching the game as I
>do harvesting. Maybe I'm
>older and wiser and realize
>the fun ends and the
>work starts when I pull
>the trigger. Also I get
>a certain level of unpleasant
>anxiety now that I have
>a busted up back and
>ponder packing meat back to
>the truck.
>
4abc76ff29b26fc1.jpg


There aren't many 70 year old models available around here, but that would be nice, I agree.
 
Last weekend, I backpacked gear 4 miles into a good spot for a spike camp in region G. During the night, I dreamed that I had inherited a large amount of money. I thought great, now I will never have to backpack my gear again. From now on, it will be fully guided hunts only for me and the family. I was busy lining up an outfitter when my son woke me up and said "it's time to get up". Crap, back to real life.
 

Similar threads

devobrodie
Reloading?
Replies
34
Views
1k
BroadHead
B
callsalot
Best Western Big Game State To Retire In???
2
Replies
118
Views
5k
Wyo_Roadhunter
Wyo_Roadhunter
money
26 year dream comes to a close!
Replies
42
Views
3k
joesikora
joesikora

Click-a-Pic ... Details & Bigger Photos

Member Gallery Photos and Videos!

IMG_8734.png
IMG_8735.png
20220811_164800.jpg
Scan0027.jpg
Screenshot 2024-01-05 150750.png
IMG_5100 copy.jpg
Monster Mule Deer
DSC00376~2.JPG
PXL_20240308_224909381.jpg
Atypical.JPG
IMG_3692.jpg
IMG_5055.JPG
Back
Top Bottom