countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

Countless hours and is there a pay off? I asked myself that question. My anaswer is Yes and No. I spend countless hours in the woods setting up stands, scouting, buying scents, enjoying nature, and reading hunting maganizes. There is nothing wrong with this its all part of the enjoyment, but I work so hard still havent gotten a deer in the past 2 years.

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

Their is more to the the hunt than just the kill. It is enjoying your hobby and being in the great outdoors. I went through a spell of about four years not harvesting a deer. I still kept going, and enjoying it. Your hard work will be rewarded soon enough. Remember, it's called hunting, not finding. Just my $.02

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

YES, There is a payoff!
Your doin' all of the things you love to do. What more do you want? Be grateful you can spend all of that time doing it. Hey, you get to get away from the ol' lady, get out of town, get away from work, bond w/ your buds, eat as much jerky as you want, you don't have to take a shower if you don't want, play cards, swap stories, sit in the woods, scout, see wildlife. For me, harvesting an animal is the absolute "cherry on top". It just adds to the already great time I've had @ camp.

Yoopper Hunter

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

well you could be at home mowin' the lawn , doin' dishes, repiaring odds and ends.........and you ask is there a payoff, lol.......oh yeah.....youre out of the house:D

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

For me it’s well worth. It’s not just about the kill but the time spent in nature and the peace and quit away from the city. If it was just about the game I would have packed it in a long time ago.

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

My Friend, you're receiving the payoff. Being able to enjoy all that the Creator has given us IS the payoff. The older I get, the more deer I allow to walk away. The harvest seems less and less important. Your luck will turn, have faith.

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

1224: If I read your post correctly, I have to disagree with some other comments. The payoff you're refeering to is putting your tag on a deer. Sure we all take in all the other things that we love while hunting but without a "payoff", it wouldn't be the same. Here's a couple thought for you..We hunt NH, not exactly the place you see deer every time out. We have less than 10 deer per square mile where we hunt, yet out of 6 guys we always hang 3-4 deer. One of my son's has shot 11 deer in 8 yrs (including some limited bow hunting) and in NH that's pretty good. Last year he sat in his treestand for 11 consecutive days from dark 'til dark. That's 11 1/2 hrs a day. On the morning of his 11th day, he finally tagged his buck, a nice 180 pound, big 9 pointer. That's over 120 consecutive hours, now that's countless hours. Hang in there, enjoy all the things deer hunting has to offer and most importantly, Have Fun...'cause that's what it's all about.........Jimmy

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

I would rather hang stands, scout, hunt, clear shooting lanes, sit in the stand for hours even all day if i could, than got to work!!! I wish i could get paid for doing what i love..............but someone else has that job![:@]

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

You've answered your own question. All that you've done is a means to the end which is enjoying nature. To me killing a deer is a bonus if you will. I just love to be out doors and in the woods. Sounds like you do too.;)

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

if you have to ask this imo maybe you should ask yourself why you bother to hunt.....i never looked at hunting as work......i love every minute of it......i got a month of solid scouting coming soon....im going to have alot of leg work in trying to figure out a few deer......then im going to have to carry in ladder stands......the bugs are going to tear me up.....its going to be hot...im going to sweat....but to me its all better then doing anything else.....and when it comes time to hunt i wont have to hear about how my hunting is all luck....though being one of the most successfull in the school i still hear it.....but i know why im bagging game every year.....i work hard to do it....but dont see it as work....when i goto burgerking....thats work...i much rather be in the woods sweating, getting eaten by bugs, carrying a 50lb stand.....i cant wait to do it....right now my shoulder is purple and hurts to move it from shooting my 50cal flintlock.....it has a brass buttplate and it dug into my shoulder somehow.....all this for a deer?? nope....it doesnt matter if i even see a deer......hunting makes me happy....just something about being out there....i rather be there then anywhere else......

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

dh, I normally harvest 4 to 6 deer a year because I like the meat, mostly does. However, back about 10 years a go I went through a 3 year period where I couldn't get near a deer. Finally figured out that my 3 year old liberty overalls were glowing to the deer. Put them under a black light and they looked like white teeth shining. I got me some new ones and started killing deer again. I hope your not glowing when the deer look at you.

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

stay in your stand long enough and good things will happen, provided there are good deer on your property and you are sitting in the right places, you won't shoot a deer in your garage or living room

RE: countless hours and is there a pay off?
 

I have passed on decent bucks on the first day out, only because it would have ended my buck hunting for the year. I seem to remember the years where I spent the most time in the woods, not the ones in which I only tagged a deer. I count the hours spent, not the tags filled, in judging a successful year. My first day ever bowhunting I killed a 5 point. It was the first day of the season and of the year for deer. Man was I miserable for the rest of the year because I had no reason to be out with a weapon.