AMEN!

As long as we are defining "great" as an internal self-satisfaction and not some BS "made for the outdoor channel" collection of "trophies"....

...then I wouldn't say "price". I would say additional residual dividends.Using economic lingo, I would compare it to investing in an assett rather than spending on an expense.

Though I would not somehow categorize "whitetail deer hunting" apart from, as a great author once put it, "being purposefully afield", while pursuingANY hunting or fishing pastime. Imo, some other hunting(and even occasionally even fishing)pays off even better!!!

If the term"great" is categorized by "inches of horn",namerecognition and branding, or advertising dollars, then to me, the "assett" turns into a "liabililty" that sucksvalue from what was once one of the most valuable things going.

I think this is a very interesting topic. Life is a huge allocation of resources dilemma. You only have so much time, and money to do the things you enjoy (and the things you don’t enjoy but still need to do) Money spent on hobby A, is money not spent on family, hobby B or other entertainment. Other than the husband & wife duos, many of the TV hunters do have to sacrifice time away from family. BUT how is that any different from say a regional sales manager who is on the road as well for his job?

While bowhunting probably consumes the most time of all my hobbies, I still do other things with family & friends. Yea maybe I don’t live in the biggest house I could, drive the nicest truck I could, or have the best career for what’s “standard” with my background, but I still manage to live life and have fun. Family is first, hunting is second, job is a distant 3rd. I have no complaints or regrets with the decisions I made. I feel that I am fortunate to have found the situation I am in, where I have a pretty good balance of everything. And that’s something that you can’t put a price on.

Asa few others havealready said, yes it can come at a price. I feel that while I push the limit with hunting occasionally, I do a pretty good job at trying to balance it with the other things that are important in life to me. I also think that this may be the reason I don't burn out with hunting...........my 17th season starts tomorrow and I still look forward to it like I did the first year.

I do have an extremely addictive personality and have gotten very wrapped up in many "hobbies" in the past where I probably didn't prioritize things the best. Most I have burned out on when I hit a certain point. I did it with snowboarding, I've done it with jobs, I did it withbuilding and racingturbo cars, I suspect it may happen with competitive archery at some point as well (not quite yet...[8D]). Hunting however is the one constant that I seem to keep around and stay passionate with year after year and don't burn out on, and I feel that is because I refuse to let it get to that point where it detracts from the more important things in life.I could hunt more than I do now, I could spend more offseason time in the woods, I could find better more productive places to hunt and scout out individual big mature bucks, but instead I choose to hunt with a select few friends and family and really enjoy the time I spend out there. I also make it a point to spend quality time with Lisa when I am not in the woods. Next weekend she will actually accompany me on her first time in the woods on a hunt and honestly I can't wait. She may decide she doesn't like it at all, but with any luck we may have a very close encounterand she may get absolutely hooked.......

I wonder what would happen if we polled ALL hunters families.....anonymously.....and asked them the same question?

Fair?

I am as passionate as anyone when it comes to deer hunting, perhaps a little more than some. This year I have been around more people that are only concerned with the inches of a buck and that is how they introduce eery hunting story and experience in the woods. It is never "Wow we had a nice hunt today, saw a couple does but the weather was beautiful." It would sound like "Well, we didn't see anything over 145" so it wasn't even worth going out." To me, this is a statement that I would never say, sure I want to kill big bucks, but for me, it so much mroe about just being outside and not the competition of it. As for a price that I pay to pursue my passion, I think that work is the one area that I feel suffers a little. I want to be hunting every day, but I know I can't, but I think about hunting so much that I lack the focus that I have in the off-season. Not to say that I do a better job in the off season, but I tend to look at work as more of a negative during the deer season, but then in the off season it is more of a positive. My greatest accomplishment is not any of MY deer on the wall, it is my wife's deer on the wall. When we met in 2000, she was a card carrying sierra club member and recieved the PETA news bulletin, now she is just as crazy as me about hunting. I worked my ass off this year to find a spot to hunt for the two of us so she can take her first archery deer.

Wow...that rambled, but it is 3 days away from deer season and I have so many hopes and goals right now that I can't seem to get words wrapped around all of the anticipation right now!

I remember a few seasons when I was so consumed with trying to connect on particular bucks, that it put a strain on my marriage. In fact I was so adamant in taking a Pope and Young class buck that my wife was happily in tears when I took my first one, and I am sure it was mostly from relief and knowing I would spend more time at home the rest of that season. Admittedly back then I spent so much time in the woods, I was planning our family activities around my bowhunting and since she doesn't, never has, and probably never will hunt she couldn't quite understand my addiction. For several years that is exactly what it was.[&:]

Price? All I know is the price is greater should I give up hunting.Being outside as a hunter ismy ritalin and prozac all in one.
(figuretively of course) As soon as as something that you should enjoy becomes that stressful...well...my advice is lay off!

One million dollars...................(Dr. Evil voice)




Seriously, I will spend both time and money to be in the woods. It is something that I love to do and as long as I am out there I fell I am successful. Whether I harvest something or not.

Jeff what is the question you'd pose?? I'll send it to the wife and let her answer..might be educating for all....lol