For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Something GMMAT said in another thread got me thinking. For those of you that are able to hunt a ton of hours during your season, does it get to the point of becoming like "work"? Do you become so obsessed with it that you find yourself losing some of your enthusiasm everytime you head to your stand? If so do you actually think it effects your hunting? Not as in tune to your surroundings? Not as focussed as opening day?

I'm fortunate enough to be able to hunt everyday during the season. And I have and will in any type of conditions. I'll be honest, somedays I drag myself out there and it seems like work. It becomes physically and mentally taxing on the body.Sometimes the excitement and anticipation just arent' there when I get up in the morning to head to the woods. Most days are different though and I'm just as pumped as opening day. Just wondering what your thoughts are on this.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I've felt the exact same way this year.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Sometimes it does since i have gone 2 years on stand (over 70 sits) without killing a buck. But i always end up having good hunts that bring all the enthusiasm right back (even if i dont kill a deer).

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

For me it never really does.

I love the work I have to put into it.. and simply crave to learn more about these whitetail I hunt. I am truly fascinated by them.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I havent got to that point yet. it only took me 5 trys this year. i hope i never do, i guess i never get that way because if i dont want to go deer hunting i dont go. i also dont try to put alot of pressure on my self to kill the biggest deer. and kind of what Simon said i enjoy the hunt when i just see a deer.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I wish I could do it everyday, all day. Can someone pay me to do this? I love it and it consumes me so much I may need professional help..... I think it they could sellit in a can or bag, I would be so broke....

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Well if it ever seems like work it's a better kind of work than the work I get paid for:D. Sometimes when I'm not seeing much for a few days I wonder what I'm doing out here but than I think this is better than anything else I could be doing.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I have 4 weeks of vacation and Sat. and Sun. each week to hunt my best spots. I can hunt close to home in the evenings and on short sits. Saying all that, I still wish I had more time to be in the woods. I just can not get enough of it. Just being out there is, to me, my "peace" of every year.

LT

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I have a seasonal job, where I have off all winter. I've been hunting 3-4, maybe 5 times a week. And everytime I go into the woods I'm excited! Because I know, that I have no idea what's going to happen, the unkown if you will. I may not see nothing....I may see 20 that day. I love it! I get juiced up even when I see a doe! It feels nothing like work to me. Many days I can afford not to be in the woods, due to uncooperating weather or what have you. But, I enjoy being in the woods away from everyone and everything. Solitude and peace.

No work here just enjoyin' life and doin' what I want to do.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Over the years I've trained myself not to get "burnt out", if you will. During the years where I have hunted so much that I was becoming weary, I noticed that I was making small mistakes and being a bit sloppy. The mistakes were small enough that it didn't cost me anything, but a few were close. So for the last 5 years or so I've become better at staying focused for the entire season. I've hunted quite a bit this year and have managed to stay sharp and focused for every hunt. Having confidence and a positive attitude are the major factors that help me achieve this state.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

It can and will wear you down. You have to know your limits. Eating healthy and having a positive attitude helps...and oh yeah, seeing deer helps too. :)

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Be thankful for your jobs. I am currently without one and this season has not been quite as exciting as others. Yeah, it sorta seems like work at times, but like work at a GREAT job. I take(OK, used to take) alot of pride in my job, and at the end of the day I had something to show for it(fixing water main breaks or installing water services). Lately, it's been like one of those days when you work your arse off and don't get the job done. But the good LORD willing, that's gonna turn around today. I'm gonna finish this job and have something to show for all of this hard work!.......then I can concentrate a little harder on finding a job that PAYS:D

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

if i feel like im going to work or have to drag my self outta bed, i simply stay IN bed. ive done it. both deer and turkey seasons. ive done it this season...first week and i hunted a couple days and didnt see a living deer...

i get to hunt a fair bit...3 days a week all day this year for the most part...

i can pump myself up about anything....the sign im seeing...the spot i uncovered...the rutt that never came and "should heated up any day" etc etc...just gotta think posative and think that ALL it takes is 1 second to completely flip your season. i know i dont hunt in heavy deer number areas. i dont setup so i can see deer far away. i setup in thick areas and mostly areas im 90% sure that if i see one, its gunna be a male deer and be in bow range it gets frustrating at times...but i know all it takes is me being in that tree at the right time when the right buck is moving through. just gotta stay posative.

non-hunters often ask me how/why the heck i sit there in a tree, dark till dark...my answer is always "because i enjoy it and love to be out there" if i didnt enjoy it and didnt have fun being out there, i wouldnt do it...plain and simple. noone forces me to hunt. at any point i can up and quit. who knows, maybe one day i will. but the more i push myself the more i enjoy it i find.

pushed myself on longbeards this spring. wanted a big ole bird...a big boss tom. i hunted darn near every day...passed some birds i thought i may been crazy for not taking. walked away from birds that i just KNEW were jakes and 2yo birds...down to the very last day, i gave it 1 last shot...had the most exciting hunt of my life and killed the biggest bird of my life. it was the sweetest success ever. a couple days of that season, i hit the ole snooze button and never went out. i had 6 hunting days a week...the days i was tired or it felt like i was going to work, i just stayed in. if i cant have fun doing it, im not gunna do it

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I used to do the everyday you can routine, but as I grew older it's become not necessary. I never got to the point it felt like work, but I have been obsessed at times. Anymore I'm between flyfishing, golf, hunting etc. I no longer care if I really kill anything, but when I go my intentions are to stick something. Like this past week. Our gun season in the Northern Tier where I live was in full swing. I lamented all week about not having gone to the Southern Tier to bow hunt.... but I had things going on. Nothing important... but I wanted to do them. Plus I'd just come back from Ohio where I'd killed a ncie buck. My brother ask me down to his hunting camp to gun hunt with them starting Saturday. So I didn't want to kill a deer here if I was leaving town. I decided to get in at least one hunt in the Southern Tier. Packed all my gun stuff and bow stuff Thursday, drove down Friday AM. Got lucky and shot a nice 6 point Friday at 1 PM with the bow, last day of archery season. I did the social hunt with my brother and his gang on Saturday, packed it up and came home this morning. Right now I'm taking a break from butchering. There is more to life than hunting. I'm trying to enjoy it all. :D:DGive me the sack punch.... no pictures. So be it.

[Deleted]
 

[Deleted by Admins]

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

It is hard to keep the enthusiasm up for me. Motivation is more the word I think. It helps that I always have one of my friends along running a camera though. This saturday was a good example. Wind was roaring again (just like every day this month) and though I know it doesn't effect the deer, it has been wearing on me. We almost decided to sleep in. Long story short, we motivatedourselves and got going, but late. Made it to the stand a half hour after shooting light. Lost count of how many bucks we saw, literally. Saw 3 bucks I wanted to shoot but they were just all frantically searching for does and could not get it done (judge size, get footage, pull trigger) before the shot disappeared. Still, a great morning hunt and a good reminder of why it pays to push yourself.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I will say this, I had to make myself set until 9 am this morning.... I just dont "feel" it in the mornings.

Evenings, it gets dark so quick, It keeps my enthusiasm going.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I can most definetely do it as long as I am not hunting from home. Too many distractions and such. But when I hunt out of state, I don't have to worry about too much. Everyday is then spent hunting. ;)

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

Short answer- Yes, it does.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I farm and I'm also going to college right now, but the way i have my work and class schedule set up, i can hunt morning and evening seven days a week. been doing it for years. sometimes its a trial to drag yourself out of bed, especially when you've had a dry spell of seeing nothing fora week or two, but i always tell myself this- if i go out, i might not see that big buck. if i lay in bed, i know for sure i won't see him. thats what gets me going. i've found that the biggest bucks i've killed showed up when i least expected it and was wondering why i wasn't at home with a cup of coffee and a sandwich. keep at it and it will pay off, i have a wall lined with mounts to back up that statement. the more hours you put in on stand, the better your chances of tagging a monster.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

It depands where you work:D
It's not taxing when your seeing deer, it's not frustrating when your on a buck you want to kill.

Lets put it this way. What if you did not see any deer(mature bucks)? Would it still be fun?

I was as frustrated as I have ever been in the woods, I did finally see a mature deer this year, in Ohio[&:]on the way to my daughters swim meet.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I feel the opposite. I feel like my job is getting in the way of my job, so to speak. It feels like I should be out there and I'm stuck in my office. I alway s enjoy being outdoors and love the anticipation of the next moment. I've taken 23 days off to hunt this year and feel like I should be out there more.

RE: For those that have a LOT of time to hunt....
 

I kinda feel the same way. This year was my first year hunting archery in Virginia. Opening day I was pumped. I knew exactly what deer I was going to shoot and what I wasn't. I passed on a 3pt. that day that I then nicknamed "forky". Then after about 2 weeks of hunting maybe 4 times a week, I lost all the "focusness" and the excitement of being out there.
And on opening day of M/L here in Va, was one of those days for me when I wasn't focused and I wasn't excited about being there.As soonas Igot into the stand, I saw a deer and realized that it had horns. I shot. Ididn't even take the time to look at it. I didn't take the time toeven see what it was. I had shot"forky". I feel bad now, because that was the oneand only buckthatI had ever passed up on, andI had planned on letting him grow old and big. ButIhad failed on my little mission. I feel really bad now.....
I had shot himsoI could get out of the stand early,so thatI wouldnot have to sit through the cold. I feel so bad.