Lost Passion
 

I know many of you have hunted Deer for years if not decades,Have you ever gotten to a point where you did not want to hunt anymore? Have you quit for a time but then had a renewed passion and now hunt again? What was it that caused you to lay down the bow or gun and find a new persuit in life? If you don't mind sharing I would like to hear some of the reasons your passion for the life style of deer hunting died down for a time. This is just my 3rd.year Deer hunting and I think I'm loosing the passion which once filled my heart for the hunt. Thanks

I think I'm just the opposite, I'm 42 and my passion just keep getting stronger. But for me my passion is spring turkeys. Maybe you just need to quit for a while and see if the passion returns or how bad you miss it. Don't really know what to tell you.

I have been hunting for about 20 years. There are some morning during the season when I don't feel like getting out of bed but other then that I have never gone a season without getting into the woods. I am not sure how many deer you have seen or you kill in your three years but that makes a difference. I was hunting a farm for a couple years and was just not seeing much. A couple of does here and there but that was about it. Now I still hunt that farm but have another place that is much better. Having a nice place to hunt really makes a bid difference. For me I like every aspect of the hunt. Last year I hunted by myself due to an injury to my hunting partner and loved it. Dragging the 2 deer I killed, breaking my back to get them into the truck, hanging, butchering etc. Doing it all myself from start to finish is a great time. To me once you kill a deer you are only halfway through the fun part.

The only thing that slowed down my hunting was Pu$$y and/or chasing it. The older I get the less that seems to happen.....I dont know if that is good or bad. Bad for the deer I guess.

Finding a good spot to hunt is what is causing me to lose interest somewhat. So much pressure and the fact everyone around me shoots everything that walks makes it tough to keep my spirits up. Lease prices are through the roof and I can't lay out huge money with a family to raise. Been deer hunting 30 years and I still hunt hard but I am getting very frustrated.

Well for me I realized after last years season I was a stupid hunter and hunted too darn much for absolutely no reason. Frankly burned my stands out and burned myself out. So I approached this season differently. I scouted more and just took my time and enjoyed what got me into hunting. The birds, the falling leaves, blue sky. I found 4 great spots and hung stands and hunt them in a rotation. Not to burn them out. I hunt maybe 2 times a week maybe a little more now that the rut is coming soon. I've been blessed with a 150 lbs doe and a 185lbs 8pt buck this year already. For me just slowing down a little helped me wanna get back out there.

Yes the old saying goes you can't shoot them from your couch, but you can also hunt smarter not harder. Learn to follow weather patterns and dropping temps, or acorns falling. Not just the rush to make it to a stand in hopes this is your night.

Ok I'm done. Good luck!

I'm 56, been deer hunting seriously since I was about 15-16...I've killed over 400 deer...

It's not the hunt, it's being in the fall woods...I love the scouting, reading sign, deciding where I need to set up the ambush site...I've also made my own flintlock, mold my own balls to shoot in it...I hunt with a bow, flintlock, inline, bolt action rifle and recently a pistol...

I've also got a 3 year old grandchild that I can't wait to start hunting...We'll hunt squirrels until he is ready and learns how to handle a gun and learns to shoot...

I also love to cook so we eat deer...I regularly make roasts, vegetable soup, spaghetti, chili, bbq and stews with deer in them....

This is what keeps it exciting, experience different ways to hunt and pass the experience on to others....

I think part of your insight is part of my problem,I've been at it hard since Oct.1 and I like Kybuckhunter have had many frustrations with ruined hunts that have left me asking the question is it worth all the trouble and exspense. I've been out 1 time in the last 9 days and just don't seem interested at the present. Maybe a little longer away from it will help revive the passion. I guess I have lost focus on all the other aspects of hunting that make it a great time.

when you make it a chore insted of a hobby it goes to hell. I get like that about every 3 -4 years, and I have to step back and say to myself, I say self I am just sitting in this tree to forget about life, and relax ,I hope I am in the right tree to see my quarry is a bonus.

I've been hunting for 25 years and still think about hunting everyday. Deer is my passion, but I hunt turkey, hogs, dove, predators. I've also been out west for Elk and Mule Deer (shot a mulie). With the 1st of my 3 kids starting college, I won't be heading out west for several years.

Like someone else said - I used to over hunt my stands. Now I'm for more patient and wait for the right wind and moon. Except for the rut - I hunt all day. I can't imagine every getting tierd of hunting. I can't get enough of it.

O.K.,you may be alittle burned out.Happens! Just remember-if the world doesn't fall apart first-one day you'll look back and remember all those days you could've,would've,should've.I think about those few times I've let slide.You'll be old one day and glad you have the memories so tighten up and enjoy it while you can.

I have been going hunting or to the woods since I was 4 yo. I didnt shoot my first buck til I was 11. When we started in the 60s we would rarely kill a deer then in the 70s I finally shot my first buck a 4 pointer. Then I didnt shoot the next one til I was 15. All the while the passion for learning and being around hunting continued to burn. It was more about being with my dad, uncles and cousins it was truly a family event.

Now that I am 52 that fire still burns. I didnt shoot a buck last year, shot 3 the year before an 11 an 8 and a 9. This year I have passed on an 8 and a 9. You see to me the killing is such a small part of the experience a successful hunt doesnt mean I killed something. Passing a young 8 or a 9 to me is just as rewarding as killing a mature buck.

Like the saying says different strokes for different folks.

I understand that the youth of today want instant gratification. But deer hunting is not a video game.

doetrain... after reading your other post about the dogs and some of the troubles you are having with them. I think you are letting that problem along with spoiled hunts from it bring you down! Sometimes it's easy to get a little dragged down in life! I may be off base but just an observatioin!

Doetrain
I shot my first deer when I was 16, I am 47 now. Never missed a year deer hunting. During the season if I'm not working I will be in the woods. I believe my passion for deer hunting continues to grow not decline. Its something that I truly love to do. For me deer hunting is a year long process, by that I mean I plant soybeans during the spring and scout them during the summer to see what kind of bucks are feeding in them. I bowhunt, muzzleload, and rifle hunt deer. 15 years ago my wife started deerhunting with me and that was the best thing That could have happened. We spend more time together and she is now my hunting partner. I dont know what to tell you about losing your passion for hunting because I have never been in that situation before.

Thanks everyone for your encouragements and helpful viewpoints. I'm almost 56 and would like to think I am a very patient person who knows the meaning of hard work and the rewards it brings. I have had reasonable succes in my short hunting career with deer and turkey. I have pretty good private hunting areas which harbor a good amount of nice deer of which I have seen a good number this year. I have passed on several small Does because larger ones are in my areas,so it's not really a lack of Deer or good hunting locations. I guess I have let some of the disturbences the last 3 weeks anger me and frustrate me to the point that it has like I said got my focus on the negative realities that attend hunting at times. Nothing I have experienced is new,except the motorized parasail guy a few weeks ago,but they have all seemed to come in a consecutive manner. I hope to get out of my slump this weekend and stoke the flames which recently burned in my heart, thanks for your thougthful responses even though I may have needed a" few suck it up mister" and"get over it as well! I'll be the first to admit that at times I fall prey to a negative mind set which sours all of life,when this happens I reach out for support which my wife and all of you have all given. Thanks a bunch!

DT - Have you tried still hunting at all, or do you just stand hunt? If you've never tried still hunting before, dig around a bit to find some articles/blogs about technique and give it a try. I think the change from sitting in a stand will make a difference for you. If you become tired during the hunt, just find a good tree stump nearby and sit awhile until you're ready to move again. Be slow, deliberate patient and observant (and always know the wind direction).

I enjoy still hunting or hunting on the ground more than stand hunting but must confess I'm a bit of a bull in the woods if you know what I mean. I have a heavy step at 5 foot 8,220 lbs. I do OK when snow is on the ground or when it is wet from an earlier rainfall like today here in Indiana. I hesitate to still hunt on public land due to the fear of messing up someones hunt,so I tree it when hunting there. But I might just give it a try this weekend because conditions look good for a still hunt. Good suggestion Brother,I'll keep it an option this weekend for sure.

Losing passion is a natural happening
 

With hunters they just disappear from the scene. I still hunt but lost my old passion for baseball and basketball. Haven't watch the world series in years. I use to golf and play tennis, but haven't in years.

The thing that appeals to me about hunting, is I do it. And I can do it alone. I rarely watch the professional TV hunters. Of course, I keep missing the chance to update my equipment and spend money. That spending money never appealed to me. I don't have any passion for spending money.

think of your dream hunt aim for that mine is hunting big horn in the rocky mt and everything right now is just getting the experience to make that one hunt count

rember there is more than one type of animal

I'm in the same boat....this is my fourth year ever hunting and i havn't seen anything i can't shoot at....and to top it off i broke the gun i was using last year....and it wasn't mine...thnakfully it was only the butt that broke off so i paid the 110 it cost to fix it....but this year i've scouted more and I can hunt all three weekend plus a couple days here and there during the week so hopefully my patience pays off.

I been hunting for 13 years never once got to the point of wanting to give it up,been days i would be kicking and cussing my way back to the vehicle but I went home and slept it off and went back the next day.I would pry lose my mind if it wasnt for deer season I love being in the wilds sure beats setting around the house watching tv.

passion, no, but other motivations have happened
 

I am a beginner, got my first deer this week. Had been out 6 hunts before shooting that first one, and it was the third deer I had seen. Until that happened, I had started to worry, was this all a mistake, how many times would I accept being skunked before throwing in the towel. Now, a few days later, I am calmer and can reflect on where I am in the process. I don't feel the pressure, and can't say I feel a "passion," but it is more of a feeling of being at peace with it. I also noticed that I am less irritable with other activities I do, and am more able to "roll with it" when something frustrating happens in my life. That may turn out to be what will keep me coming out to hunt.

seems like i get that way every few years.I usually find a way to keep it interesting depending on my mood that year.First few years with a bow I just wanted to kill a deer and anything would do.

Next couple years I made myself wait for a buck to keep it challenging.After that I made myself wait for a bigger buck than the year before.Finally I pretty much got rid of my stands and started hunting from the ground 90% of the time.Then I decided spot and stalk hunting might be fun so I did that for awhile and got good at it.Then I introduced mine and a couple other kids to deer hunting and was just as happy watching them bag thier first deer as i was shoting my own.

The last couple years I been to busy to get out as much as I like to.This year we got laid off early and I put a few stands out which is something I havent done in a lotta years now and Im just enjoying being out there.When the rut rolls around and the deer get moving good I will hit the ground again and try to kill my best buck to date at eye level with a bow.

Sometimes we turn it into to much work and focus soley on the kill, its part of it but shouldnt be the whole thing.Once I got rid of all the stands, blinds, and gadgets and focused more on the challenge it became fun again.

I think I'm headed in your direction my Brother Hunter, when I think upon my first Deer and how I got him I yearn for a less complicated hunt again. I have been encouraged to still hunt and simplify the process so I can enjoy all that attends a hunt by several on this thread. I think this may be what I need at this time instead of wearing myself out humping my climber and a lot of stuff I can leave in the truck.

Man, that never slowed me down a bit! I just decided that I should take her with me, and it was one of the best decisions that I ever made. It only made my desire to hunt greater because the enjoyment that I get from taking someone new hunting is greater than hunting by myself. Since that time I have taken five other new hunters out, and each time my own interest in hunting increases, even though I never would have believed that I could enjoy hunting more that I did.