I' ve been married for 30 yrs. now and have bowhunted for 36. I am a year ' round scouter and spend some time everyday for shooting a few arrows. Many years ago I decided that I could have the best of both worlds if I spent as much time with my wife & family as I did hunting. I have not hunted an entire day in 30 yrs. During bowseason I hunt every morning during the week but I only hunt 3 evenings due to things my wife and I do together. On Saturdays I' m in the woods every morning before daylight but I' m home in time to take my wife for our weekly lunch and whatever else she would like to do. If I get home in time to afternoon hunt then great, if not...oh well. I happen to enjoy being with my wife as much as I enjoy hunting so this isn' t a ploy to get something out of her. I use this same approach in my fly fishing, bird hunting, 3D shoots and golf.
In case your wondering, I' ve taken more than 50 whitetails, bear, mule deer and elk. Like one of the other guys already said, it' s all priorities.

my wife always has a big list for me the closer it gets to Oct. the larger it gets. But, over the last couple of years i gave her a deadline for adding to it. so needless to say Sept. is a very busy month for me. If it gets done great, if not sorry. Then all i hear is that all you do is hunt, you do not do anything around here! ect. ect. it is the same old thing year after year. You would think that she would figure it out.
as far as scouting and hanging stands i take my 6 year old boy and we have a blast i am buying a blind this year so i can take him. He wants to take his bow, i told him it was not powerfull enough. Then he said, dad, i can take my bb gun i will pump it 10 times. so i do some more explaining. i just cannot weight until he can pull 40 lbs.

To be honest. It is easy now. I scout all the time, killed to bucks ( a seven point and and eight point), and shoot by bow alot. Best hunting season ever. The fishing is getting good and turkey season opens in a week. Of course I failed to mention my wife left.

Like I have always said, " You can always find another women. A trophy buck is once in a lifetime."

My wife actually helps with the list! I think she likes it when I' m gone hunting, etc. I do most of my hunting on our property so I' m not traveling. When I run the dog this time of year, or take my little guy for a walk, this is scouting time. A couple hours a day in the woods after work and a couple hours on the honey do! My wife also knows nothing gets done from the end of August until Jan.

I usually do all my scouting and stand prep on the weekends. I make sure I dont have a honey do list. When my wife comes up with something that needs to get done I' ll get on it right away to keep the list from building. I' ll usually get the house work done during the week which means I' ll sacrifice some sleep but when hunting season rolls around it' s deffinately worth it!

Standing rule around my house.....No Honey Do Lists allowed during bow, duck, turkey, and prime bass fishing seasons......now she can own me the other 2 or 3 months of the year.

Working weekends only and being off Mon thru Fri helps out a bit also.

Man has just got to have his prorities ya know.

Give a woman a fixed house and you have a day to hunt.

Teach a woman to fix a house, and hunt for a lifetime.

Oh, wait, I' m not single anymore, I can' t possibly believe that would work. But it sounds good.

Thats a simple question- you just grow to about 6' 10' and have back surgeries after back surgeries. Then you mix that with a wife that had cancer and cant have kids. Then unfortunately because you cant work and you dont have kids to hold you back you have all the time to yourself.

Enjoy the time with your kids and thank your ability to work a good hard day-I miss it

Good luck this year guys, AND BE SAFE!!!!!!!!

The bigger the HONEY DO LIST I make for him, the more time it leaves free for me to spend in the woods.

I have 35 years under my belt and my secret has been to snore real loud every night then start acting goofy like I have the " here' s Johnny" cabin fever thing going. Work real hard on the house and spit a few bucks for shopping. She eventually says I need to go to Alaska for a week or spend a week out elk hunting. My work has always interfered more than my great wife and I thought I would fix that by resigning from my corporate job and buying my furniture making business. WRONGO! Good hunting.