Why not try a different hunting method? Try out a muzzleloader or bow, if you haven't already. If you have, try a different type of weapon. For example, a recurve bow instead of a compound, a flintlock instead of an inline, or a handgun instead of a rifle. I'm quite partial to handgun hunting myself.

When I was young...
 

I lost my zeal for playing baseball. Hardly watch a game now. I lost my zeal for playing basketball. Hardly watch a game now.
Lost my zeal for watching football games. Lost my interest in gambling when I was fourteen.
Took up hunting late. Never got too interested in zeal. Just took up hunting. Still interested in hunting.

Your a Corker Valentine...! LMAO :)


I've lost the Zeal on Deer Hunting a few times....the stress of work,getting ready and not having my Hunting Buddy.I learned to step away from it for a while,not get in a big hurry and simply enjoy the Outdoors.I have more fun and enjoyment by going out Coyote and Predator Hunting....even then there's times when We should take a break from Hunting and enjoy other things for a while.

When you lose your zeal for deer hunting, remember that the name of the sport is hunting, not getting. If there was a guarantee that you would be successful every year, where is the challenge? Why would you want to participate in a sport where you know you will win? If there is no doubt, there is no sport.

I agree here but also disagree, as the name of the game in any sport is to WIN, or we wouldn;t keep scores
if your good, and can pick the way you play, you can win all the time, making the game not as much fun as it once was. you then have to pick more challenging ways to play, but once you get very good at them too, it becomes harder and harder to keep upping the challanges

so, yes hunting is hunting, and there is no guarantee of success, but when you do it right and have control over many aspects of it, it can be rather a sure thing

I have properties I hunt that , say deer hunting, I have NEVER sat in a stand and not had a deer close enough I could shoot if I wanted to,(under 20 yards) , and in a typical yr I would pass on about 25+ bucks a yr in archery season in PA, and was like that for the past 20 yrs or so
the challenge became more about picking a targeted deer and then if that showed up early, letting it walk and HOPE something else got my interest, so as not to end the hunt so soon
so again, getting brunt out or loosing ZEAL< is still possible I think, average about 700-1,000 hr a yr in the deer woods for 30+ yrs and even more so you can burn out on things LOl

I for the last 15+ yrs or so, really like taking new hunters out and getting them involved, but even that grows old! and turns into work more than fun HAHA!
I also went thru the weapons game, if it was legal to hunt with I hunted with it! long range, short range, video's and all that, ?
the icing on the cake I think for many is loosing your spots to hunt you enjoyed, or loss of game in them!

I hope to die the same way, watching the sun rise on fee..ding deer or a heart attack dragging him back , as long as it's in the woods ,I lost my hunting buddy when my boys starting coming with me he leased up with another friend of ours and I kept the lease ,have let it go because I believe leases are overrated , all my big deer come of public land or on a farmers or customers overlooked honey hole ,my home has blessed me and my oldest with awesome bucks his was an eleven and mines an outstanding 8 point 3 years ago , I just came home and went out and dumped corn again, hunting at home is a big big blessing and yes she cooks a mean meal and puts up with me and me dog

I was faced with similar feelings 2 years ago...I did not get excited to hunt, and even told my brother-in-law I was finished chasing deer. But then my son, 12 at the time, started hunting....not sitting in the stand with me...but actually hunting. It gave me that spark once more. He got his first deer last year, and I have NEVER felt that way when I got a deer. Having him so excited about deer hunting has allowed me to get my passion back. I love hunting again, and I have my now 14 year old son to thank for it.

It's supposed to be fun and relaxing, if it's not and you lost the "zeal", take a break, simple as that. It can come and go. Take a season off, or if you don't want to get out of bed don't! Our lives don't depend on hunting, why do it if it's not enjoyable?


Take a week or season off, check back in next year.


I know this year my wife and I had a trip to Wyoming early October, our archery season opens in Sept 15. Neither of us hunted before heading West. We were so excited to head west we weren't motivated to hunt local. Now back with a full freezer my wife has been out once and that was opener of rifle when both our sons went.

Done that. I've hunted deer by still hunting, spot and stalk, tree stand, ground blind and even dogs. I've taken deer with scoped rifle, open sight rifle, crossbow, recurve bow, longbow, inline muzzle loader, traditional percussion muzzle loader, flintlock, shotgun with buckshot, shotgun with slugs and handguns.

For me it isn't the method, it is the loss of my primary hunting buddy to lung cancer. As much as it pains me to say it, hunting just isn't the same now and probably never will be.

Gentelman,thanks for input. I'm not done with hunting by any stretch of the imagination.
You guys gave a lot of insight. I think the main thing is I used to regularly hunt with 5-6 guys. We had a couple of pieces of property in up state NY we had permission to hunt so we'd get a hotel room and spend a week.I 'm missing the company, the commoradity.

Now I've got 190 acres to myself plus my own small piece. Don't cost a dime to hunt, sleep in my own bed every night and it's just not as much fun as it used to be.

Well I believe when I get the urge i'll go got until jan. anyway.