RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

yea, every year i start to get burnt out, still will hunt once or twice a week, but all it takes is a cold front or some snow to get me back at it heavy again. i like to film a lot in the late season and get some good footage and spend time hunting with friends. i have taken it easy lately, havent hunted since last weekend and am heading out in the morning to hopefully bag a thanksgiving day buck!!

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

try traditional bowhunting ........ carrying a real bow into the woods makes you FEEL different, theres no other way to explain it .......

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

Sometimes I get burned out, but it's because I'm holding out for a big buck and not seeing anything but does and small bucks. I really don't hunt as much as I used to because it has gotten so easy to fill tags, it doesn't take nearly as many hunts. Sometimes in early bowseason the heat is discouraging and sometimes I don't kill a doe when I have a tag because I just don't feel like cleaning one that day.

Unlike a lot of you, I thoroughly enjoy the firearm seasons. It gives me a change of pace and a different variety of ways to hunt.

One thing that has helped me beat the burnout is to have multiple stands. Every year I put in a couple more stand sites so when I'm not seeing anything in one stand, I start thinking I need to try another stand. It even makes the hunting better not hunting certain stands so much.

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

I feel that way all the time. At the beggining of the season I live in the woods butI loose the passion when Ihaven't seen any deer for a week or so. During this bow season there was about 3 days straight that I did not feel like going. I also feel that way after I get a deer. I can go shoot another but I just loose the enthusiasm thatI have at the beggining of the season.

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

That's one of the key components to success or failure IMO. Those "burnout" times is where you have to dig down deep and keep the enthusiasm. Personally I never get the burned out syndrome. I get frustrated at times when things aren't coming together as planned but that just drives me more than anything. I never lose the passion to be in the woods. I could go a week without seeing a single doe and still be heading to the woods with the same possitive mindset. Patience, persistence, and determination.

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

I get burnt out by the end of the season most years. I go just about every day that I'm off and, during the rut, that canmean all day sitswhere [sometimes] nothing that draws a breath ventures near your stand. When it's abnormally warm at that time of year and you KNOW that you're not likely to see anything, it gets increasing hard to drag yourself out of your warm bed to go sit in a tree. I almost always find the resolve to get up and go anyway, but it can get difficult and I hunt for enjoyment.

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

Yeah I did a couple of years ago. Shot a deer with a gun as it was running down through woods. And thought, wow, my hunting season is over now. I like the thrill to bowhunt. Got that thrill back this year when I got a new bow. Told my wife, I could care less if I ever go gun hunting again. But now that the season is only days away, Im a little excited about going. Especially since I saw a big buck on the last day of archery. I too am starting to hate the cold, I guss it just sucks to get old.

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

No, I never lose the drive. Actually the drive just seems to intensify with each year. You see, I'm on a mission. This being, to kill a great buck, a truely mature buck. I have learned that I really need to let smaller one's walk if I'm going to kill a big one.;)
I messed up in Pa this year, and killed a smallish 7pt that I thought was a good 8pt close to dark. I learned a good lesson about judging deer with less than ideal lighting!This was the week before the rut was to really kick in. All I could do was think about what I might have gotten a chance at, had I let that buck walk. I know I would have gotten a shot at a bigger one. It's things like this that keep the fire burning. I did lettwo 8ptsgo while hunting in Alberta. Saw 3 shooters, but no shot opps. I'm pumped for next season, and this one isn't even over yet. I have 3 doe tags left.:D

RE: Have you ever lost the drive??
 

After a month of every evening hunting and Saturdays, I get burnt out a few days off and I am ready to rock again. The last week of bowseason, I have had years when I felt like I was just putting my time in, but a few days off before the last two weeks will fix that. It just gets obsessive, when you are out there you wonder about if you are in the right spot and when you aren't out there you just know that big one is under your stand.