Originally Posted by
Oldtimr
When you lose your zeal for deer hunting, remember that the name of the sport is hunting, not getting. If there was a guarantee that you would be successful every year, where is the challenge? Why would you want to participate in a sport where you know you will win? If there is no doubt, there is no sport.
I agree here but also disagree, as the name of the game in any sport is to WIN, or we wouldn;t keep scores
if your good, and can pick the way you play, you can win all the time, making the game not as much fun as it once was. you then have to pick more challenging ways to play, but once you get very good at them too, it becomes harder and harder to keep upping the challanges
so, yes hunting is hunting, and there is no guarantee of success, but when you do it right and have control over many aspects of it, it can be rather a sure thing
I have properties I hunt that , say deer hunting, I have NEVER sat in a stand and not had a deer close enough I could shoot if I wanted to,(under 20 yards) , and in a typical yr I would pass on about 25+ bucks a yr in archery season in PA, and was like that for the past 20 yrs or so
the challenge became more about picking a targeted deer and then if that showed up early, letting it walk and HOPE something else got my interest, so as not to end the hunt so soon
so again, getting brunt out or loosing ZEAL< is still possible I think, average about 700-1,000 hr a yr in the deer woods for 30+ yrs and even more so you can burn out on things LOl
I for the last 15+ yrs or so, really like taking new hunters out and getting them involved, but even that grows old! and turns into work more than fun HAHA!
I also went thru the weapons game, if it was legal to hunt with I hunted with it! long range, short range, video's and all that, ?
the icing on the cake I think for many is loosing your spots to hunt you enjoyed, or loss of game in them!