I’m loosing my drive for Deer hunting and I don’t like it.

[M80]

Been hunting hard since I was 10 with my dad. Been bow only since 2006. Killed plenty of deer and one pope and young 2 years ago in Ohio. Been to Kentucky, Missiouri and Ohio. Yet over the last few years it’s hard to find the passion I once had and I don’t like it. I’m sitting in a double man stand with a 300 mag that I killed my last gun deer with in 2006. I would usually carry a stand way back and hunt a prime place with my bow and 44mag pistol but I just made myself go to this stand or I would have went back to sleep. Any of y’all went throw a lull where you just didn’t have the drive and it came back. I guess my biggest problem is I enjoy fishing to much. My 20 year old son is across the ridge and he don’t go but a few times. His passion is Turkey hunting and duck hunting. My 13 year old daughter killed her first deer last year but she didn’t want to go today. I guess I can see why a hunting club and just sitting next to a fire in the evenings is so enjoyable the older I get. Anyways it’s getting shooting light. Good luck everyone and I hope y’all kill a big one.

 

[earlthegoat2]

There are a bunch of reasons for this to happen. Usually it is temporary.

The reasons I suspect or have been told to me can be weird or perfectly logical.

You mentioned one in your OP. A new love or passion. (in your case fishing). If you want to do something else more than hunting, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

You also mentioned your children becoming less interested. Some folks lose interest if their kids are nit interested. Hunting can be a very family centered pastime that is quite enjoyable. If you lose the family to other interests, it may not be as enjoyable.

I think you did a good thing years ago switching to bow and handgun only hunting. Increased challenges make hunting less about killing game and more about the process of hunting and being outdoors. Some folks are the opposite though. They just want to get the kill. I find those folks don’t hunt as passionately as others.

I have seen folks burned out on hunting because they are only ever after the biggest buck they can find. If they settle down a bit and just hunt more casually, more enjoyment can come from it.

I used to be an antler hunter myself until the year I shot my biggest buck. I spent 3 months hunting just one deer and when I finally got it it was so anti-climatic. When I started gutting him to take back to the house, I realized that I don’t hunt for big bucks. I hunt for venison. That evolved into enjoying processing venison into sausages and jerky and how to prepare and cook it for maximum enjoyment. A buck and a couple mature does will work great for me year after year. I see plenty of them during the hunting season but I get to choose when and why I shoot. I don’t know what you do for processing but I have found folks enjoy hunting more if they process their own deer.

Some may scoff at this method but that is fine.

Trophy management is also an enjoyable hunting adjacent activity. Land development can also be quite fun as long as there is a return in time. This is difficult to do with land leases or on any other land which is nit your own. We all hunt for our own reasons.

I am also fortunate enough to own my hunting land and as such, am free of the stresses that occur from leasing year to year and never knowing when you are going to lose it. I also don’t have to ask permission and hope and pray someone else is willing to give me a chance on their land. This is not a gloat. I own a measly 30 acres that has no history of good deer genetics or adequate soil for maximum deer growth like some leased hunting clubs have. It works excellently for me though.

 

[M80]

There are a bunch of reasons for this to happen. Usually it is temporary.

The reasons I suspect or have been told to me can be weird or perfectly logical.

You mentioned one in your OP. A new love or passion. (in your case fishing). If you want to do something else more than hunting, I don’t see anything wrong with that.

You also mentioned your children becoming less interested. Some folks lose interest if their kids are nit interested. Hunting can be a very family centered pastime that is quite enjoyable. If you lose the family to other interests, it may not be as enjoyable.

I think you did a good thing years ago switching to bow and handgun only hunting. Increased challenges make hunting less about killing game and more about the process of hunting and being outdoors. Some folks are the opposite though. They just want to get the kill. I find those folks don’t hunt as passionately as others.

I have seen folks burned out on hunting because they are only ever after the biggest buck they can find. If they settle down a bit and just hunt more casually, more enjoyment can come from it.

I used to be an antler hunter myself until the year I shot my biggest buck. I spent 3 months hunting just one deer and when I finally got it it was so anti-climatic. When I started gutting him to take back to the house, I realized that I don’t hunt for big bucks. I hunt for venison. That evolved into enjoying processing venison into sausages and jerky and how to prepare and cook it for maximum enjoyment. A buck and a couple mature does will work great for me year after year. I see plenty of them during the hunting season but I get to choose when and why I shoot. I don’t know what you do for processing but I have found folks enjoy hunting more if they process their own deer.

Some may scoff at this method but that is fine.

Trophy management is also an enjoyable hunting adjacent activity. Land development can also be quite fun as long as there is a return in time. This is difficult to do with land leases or on any other land which is nit your own. We all hunt for our own reasons.

I am also fortunate enough to own my hunting land and as such, am free of the stresses that occur from leasing year to year and never knowing when you are going to lose it. I also don’t have to ask permission and hope and pray someone else is willing to give me a chance on their land. This is not a gloat. I own a measly 30 acres that has no history of good deer genetics or adequate soil for maximum deer growth like some leased hunting clubs have. It works excellently for me though.

Perfectly said. I went 5 years just letting all deer walk cause my son would kill a couple each year. I killed that big 10 and a doe 2 days apart and processing them myself. The meat was great and yes I enjoy the scouting as much or more than the hunt. When I killed that big 10 it didn’t give me the emotions I thought it would. I actually was going to let him walk cause we had a 170 on trial cam but slapped myself for about letting a 135” 10 walk with the bow. I grabbed the bow and made the shot. After the shot I thought it was just like “oh well that just happened” as I watched him fall. I’m trying to just get the gun and enjoy just the hunt again. I haven’t ran any cameras this year so we will see what happens. Thanks for the reply sir. Great words.

 

[transfixer]

I started losing the passion for the hunt a few years back, I let many walk, I enjoy the meat, but would normally only shoot something that I knew would provide a decent amount of meat, I have never been a horn hunter, antlers mean little to me. My Dad passed away in 04 and I always hunted with him, I lost some interest after that, started dating a lady in 08 and her two sons liked to hunt, so I got back some of my excitement, then after a few years they got older, their lives got busier and they didn't have time to hunt, I lost interest again, I enjoyed the time in the woods and camping, sitting around the fire in the evening, much more than I did sitting in the stand, then a fairly new member in my long standing club began to cause problems, and the guy running the club wouldn't address the problems, the peaceful time in the woods and at camp was no more, I dropped out at the beginning of 2022, didn't hunt last year, and likely won't hunt anywhere this year, I miss the time in the woods, and camping, and I'll miss the venison, but the majority of hunters today I talk to or meet, are not like the deer hunters I grew up with, today its all about killing a stud, how many inches it scores and posting on social media, they don't seem to actually enjoy the outdoors, or the experience of sitting around the campfire listening to the older guys tell stories of years past,

Another 10yrs and I seriously doubt deer hunting will be affordable for anyone except the rich, and deer populations will be very low except in the suburbs and cities

 

[Danuwoa]

I see these posts ever year. And I don’t understand them.

 

[Big7]

50 degrees at Civil Twilight this morning.
Not near cold but seemed chili after being in the 80s just last week.

Not my excuse tho. I either didn't set my clock right or didn't hear it because it was a little after 6am when I woke up and to late to get started.

Might have worked out good though. I got time to pack better so I can stay a few days if things are going good..

And... I won't be going into a new place with lots of other hunters way before daylight.

Prolly headed out right after 12 noon. About a 50 minute drive. Find a place to van camp and get set up. Got almost 2 mile hike to the stand.

Hunt this afternoon/evening and stay as many days as I want to.

 

[bullgator]

I see these posts ever year. And I don’t understand them.

You most likely will someday.
This will be my second year not hunting. There was a change that lead to it. I’m not going to be renewing my GON subscription next time around. I could join a club and hunt with folks I don’t know, but I have no desire for that. If I took a 150” buck in a camp of strangers, it would be as anti climactic as the OP. The situation may change and I could be back at it where I was, but I’m not sweating it.
I don’t live in an urban environment. Deer are everyday visitors to my property…..hogs too . My trail camera regularly has coyotes, bobcats, and foxes passing through. If I want to get out and watch the day and nature come to life, I can do it in my skivvys with a cup of coffee from the back porch. At some point the kill drops down the list of reasons you hunt. Until then, enjoy the passion of it.

 

[Danuwoa]

You most likely will someday.
This will be my second year not hunting. There was a change that lead to it. I’m not going to be renewing my GON subscription next time around. I could join a club and hunt with folks I don’t know, but I have no desire for that. If I took a 150” buck in a camp of strangers, it would be as anti climactic as the OP. The situation may change and I could be back at it where I was, but I’m not sweating it.
I don’t live in an urban environment. Deer are everyday visitors to my property…..hogs too . My trail camera regularly has coyotes, bobcats, and foxes passing through. If I want to get out and watch the day and nature come to life, I can do it in my skivvys with a cup of coffee from the back porch. At some point the kill drops down the list of reasons you hunt. Until then, enjoy the passion of it.

Maybe. But Kawaliga loved it right up until the day he died. I believe I’m gonna be the same way. I sure hope so.

 

[M80]

Maybe. But Kawaliga loved it right up until the day he died. I believe I’m gonna be the same way. I sure hope so.

My dad is 72 and we still go out of state each year on a weekly adventure. We can’t go to our normal spot in Ohio this year so we might go back to a place we hunted in the early 2000’s in Kentucky on a bow only wma. I’ve got the second week of November off and I’ll do that with my dad until one of us ain’t here no more.

 

[M80]

Maybe. But Kawaliga loved it right up until the day he died. I believe I’m gonna be the same way. I sure hope so.

I guess it’s mainly hunting GA that I’ve lost my drive for. To many hunters and it cost to much to lease prime land with good hunting on it.

 

[bullgator]

Maybe. But Kawaliga loved it right up until the day he died. I believe I’m gonna be the same way. I sure hope so.

He had you!…..that makes a difference.

 

[Danuwoa]

He had you!…..that makes a difference.

I we’ll see. I can’t remember imagine getting tired of being out here.

 

[bullgator]

I we’ll see. I can’t remember imagine getting tired of being out here.

Me either at your age.

 

[Danuwoa]

Me either at your age.

Well I hope I’m never like y’all. Never given a crap about playing golf and such.

 

[Ruger#3]

I have never tired of being outdoors but I have changed priorities in my interest. I was a hunter who like to fish. I believe I’m more of a fisherman who likes to hunt these days. I still really enjoy the woods. If I had to chose between smallmouth fishing or deer hunting I’d be floating a stream.

 

[transfixer]

Well I hope I’m never like y’all. Never given a crap about playing golf and such.

Its not that I'm tired of being in the woods, I miss that part pretty bad, its that the kill doesn't mean much to me anymore, and I am an aggressive person by nature, always have been, if the club I had belonged to for over 40yrs had remained the peaceful calm place it generally was prior to a new member causing disruptions, I would have stayed in the club, and I'd be in the woods this morning, Deer camp was my "downtime", my way of recharging my batteries so to speak, pulling the trigger on one meant the work started, I field dressed my own deer, where they dropped, sometimes skinned and quartered them at camp to put in cooler, the new breed of hunters don't even field dress their own deer ! they let the processor do it ? that isn't a hunter, or a woodsman. they're shooters

If I had my own property I'd be out there till I couldn't physically do it anymore , would I kill one every year ? probably not , but i'd enjoy watching their movements, studying them, and I'd enjoy my coffee in the peacefulness of the morning, and my bourbon by the fire at the end of the day

and I don't watch sports of any kind, and never saw the allure of golf ! hunting or fishing have been my main pastimes, other than riding my Roadking a few years back

 

[bullgator]

I have never tired of being outdoors but I have changed priorities in my interest. I was a hunter who like to fish. I believe I’m more of a fisherman who likes to hunt these days. I still really enjoy the woods. If I had to chose between smallmouth fishing or deer hunting I’d be floating a stream.

I still love the lure of being in the woods, venison chili, and a crisp Fall morning. Footsteps coming through the woods still makes my heart race. I also seem to enjoy my time at the gun range and loading ammo more.

 

[Ruger#3]

I still love the lure of being in the woods, venison chili, and a crisp Fall morning. Footsteps coming through the woods still makes my heart race. I also seem to enjoy my time at the gun range and loading ammo more.

Yeah I’ve gotten into reloading and it holds my interest well. I enjoy all you mention, but I also enjoy floating a stream, seeing the fish go by and the fight when I get lucky.

 

[NCHillbilly]

I started losing the passion for the hunt a few years back, I let many walk, I enjoy the meat, but would normally only shoot something that I knew would provide a decent amount of meat, I have never been a horn hunter, antlers mean little to me. My Dad passed away in 04 and I always hunted with him, I lost some interest after that, started dating a lady in 08 and her two sons liked to hunt, so I got back some of my excitement, then after a few years they got older, their lives got busier and they didn't have time to hunt, I lost interest again, I enjoyed the time in the woods and camping, sitting around the fire in the evening, much more than I did sitting in the stand, then a fairly new member in my long standing club began to cause problems, and the guy running the club wouldn't address the problems, the peaceful time in the woods and at camp was no more, I dropped out at the beginning of 2022, didn't hunt last year, and likely won't hunt anywhere this year, I miss the time in the woods, and camping, and I'll miss the venison, but the majority of hunters today I talk to or meet, are not like the deer hunters I grew up with, today its all about killing a stud, how many inches it scores and posting on social media, they don't seem to actually enjoy the outdoors, or the experience of sitting around the campfire listening to the older guys tell stories of years past,

Another 10yrs and I seriously doubt deer hunting will be affordable for anyone except the rich, and deer populations will be very low except in the suburbs and cities

Deer hunting can be expensive as you want it to be, or it can be basically free.

 

[DAVE]

Most hunters are outdoorsmen at heart and love to be out but I also believe as most men get older, seeing the end of their own life, they start to see living things in a more personal way and as something more than food and loses the desire to kill unless necessary.