Quit hunting

I used to whitetail hunt from Oct 1 till Jan 1 every year here in Indiana. Bow, slug, muzzleloader and then late bow. After having kids that declined. Then my boys went with me for several years and it was more about eating candy and having fun in the ground blind. Neither of them want to hunt anymore (both are teenagers now). I found myself sitting in the woods last year on a perfect morning the day before Thanksgiving. In years past I would have hunted all day, but on this day I found myself looking at my watch, thinking that my wife and boys were home that day (no school), and I could be with them doing things and being a dad, instead of being in the woods alone.
I really enjoy hunting in Wyoming with my friends and our outfitter. After several times hunting with our guides, we have become friends with them too. Our guide even came out to Indiana last summer and hit the links with us. The camaraderie amongst our gang is what keeps me hunting. I may not hunt whitetails here in IN, due to my desire to be with my family. I am just holding on to the hope that someday one or both of my boys will want to go hunting with dad again.
 
I grew up hunting with my Dad, Grandfather, Uncle, Cousins, and a few family friends. At the start, we had a cabin that we would all hunt from. Family obligations changed and the cabin had to be sold. After that it was downhill for many of the members of my "camp". I think for some of the older folks it was mostly about the camaraderie, and much of that felt lost when the cabin was no longer an option. We carried on for a few years hunting either close to home, or out of hotels, but it was never the same. The experience changed. No more telling stories around the fire, cooking a big meal together, the "roughing it" aspect. Tradition was lost, and I think that's what many of those guys valued the most. Granted, the ones who quit were generally casual hunters(2-3 days during rifle whitetail season), but they were "hunters" none the less. I think that age and health was a factor for some as well, but mostly it was the experience.

For me personally, I've "quit" or paused some hunting pursuits simply because I didn't have anyone else to go with. Friends moved away, or lost interest, and that has effected my hunting. Who wants to set up a bunch of goose decoys and a lay out blind on their own? Without the obligation of having to meet someone in the morning, I have found myself sometimes just hitting the snooze button.
 
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I have had friends in the military that quit hunting after they PCS'd to a new duty station, and never got back into it. I have one friend that I got into hunting while in Alaska in 2013, and he really enjoyed it. He hasn't been back out since 2014, but he texted me a picture yesterday of his niece's muley she took. He informed me he misses hunting and is going elk hunting next year in his new home state of CO.

That being said, while I haven't quit hunting, the last three seasons I have had to cut way back. My last two years in the military, we were minimally manned in my section, and I could not be away from the base outside of a 30 minute drive. I got to go on three 1 day moose hunts last fall, and one or two grouse hunts. This past spring my son and I ran a bear bait station, though we did not get a bear, we hunted quite a bit. I retired from the AF recently and I just knew this hunting season was going to be great. Well, I haven't hunted since June, as I took a contract job in the sandbox and that's where I was two weeks before season opened. I've informed the wife, at the end of my contract in July, I am coming home to Alaska for good. If she feels we still need the money that bad, she better find a better paying job. She assures me we will be alright though.
 
I don't hunt as much as I used to. Time with family and my kids and the things they are interested in takes a priority.
Perhaps when my youngest, my boy, gets older and if he wants to hunt I'll do it more.

I don't and never will let hunting define me, and that is something I perceive on hunting forums. Maybe I'm off base, but without hunting some would have no existence.
 
I don't hunt as much as I used to. Time with family and my kids and the things they are interested in takes a priority.
Perhaps when my youngest, my boy, gets older and if he wants to hunt I'll do it more.

I don't and never will let hunting define me, and that is something I perceive on hunting forums. Maybe I'm off base, but without hunting some would have no existence.

Interesting perception.
The only reason I for one, come on this site is to talk hunting (and all directly as well as indirectly related to) stuff. I also have a very full life filled with many and various things other than hunting. I choose not to discuss those things on an internet forum about public lands hunting.
To make the assumption that because all that many expound about on here is hunting and they would have no existence without it is, I think, decidedly narrow minded.
That being said, you CAN count me as one whose life would be much smaller without this stuff.
Maybe I could come on internet sights and blather about stuff even though it ain't that big of deal to me.......
 
I love hunting & thank about it all day everyday, but I do find myself not being able to go as much as I would like. There are
lots of reasons we quit hunting. I think most peoples life change and they have other priorities. Hunting is not cheap by any
means especially if you hunt out of state. License fees, tag fees, fuel, food, loss of work it all adds up real fast even if you
camp out.
 
Interesting perception.
The only reason I for one, come on this site is to talk hunting (and all directly as well as indirectly related to) stuff. I also have a very full life filled with many and various things other than hunting. I choose not to discuss those things on an internet forum about public lands hunting.
To make the assumption that because all that many expound about on here is hunting and they would have no existence without it is, I think, decidedly narrow minded.
That being said, you CAN count me as one whose life would be much smaller without this stuff.
Maybe I could come on internet sights and blather about stuff even though it ain't that big of deal to me.......

Did I specify this site?

It's easy to Monday morning QB and say you'd much smaller without this stuff, having experienced it. Maybe because I didn't grow up with it and didn't start until my late 20's I have a different perspective.

I think of hunting as a tool to which I use to be a witness to those I hunt with. Not to teach them hunting, but for big picture after this life stuff.
 
Actual obstacles to hunting I think are not the issue.

I think the Feelings we get when we think about hunting diminish our enthusiasm.

"it will never be as good as it has been"
"I'm going to be disappointed if I put in the effort"
"I don't like the people I meet when I go out"
"I'm tired of hearing how other people are better at it than I"
"I'm neglecting something more important."


The same reason people stop dating. The parallels between dating and hunting amaze me!
 
I can identify with a lot of this.

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x2. I was an adult onset hunter (late 20's) but growing up on a farm in VA I always wanted to hunt even though my parents didn't. I got to tag along a few times with family friends but soon puberty/lacrosse/girls hit and I didn't think about it until my wife and I moved to Aspen and I brought the two guns I owned out from Dads house in VA finally. But I've always spent all my free time in the woods whether it was skiing, backpacking, mountaineering, fishing. But when I started hunting it felt like such a visceral, real way to connect to the mountains and animals that I had always been drawn too one way or another.

The instructor for my hunters ed class said that almost all the adult-onset hunters he's taught in 20+ years said they had always felt a pull or interest in hunting but usually didn't have family that did so they never got into. I think it speaks to how some people just have it wired in their DNA (sadly that doesn't seem to guarantee any level of success), but also how important it is to at least expose your kids to it even if they don't end up being a lifelong hunter with you.
 
I'm definitely wired to it in my DNA. Nobody in my family or friends hunted and yet I started on my own at age 12, also started taxidermy from a book at the same time. My older brothers had guns but they didn't hunt, they just liked shooting. At age 13 with money from my very first paycheck from a summer job, I bought a North Face Oval Intention for $312 back in 1976. It was the first geodesic design tent. But it shows where my head was at age 13. My next big purchase was a North Face Brooks Range parka. I bought a size large that I was swimming in, but I knew I would grow into it. I still have that parka and still use it. Here's a pic with the parka I bought as a kid. I couldn't quit hunting if I tried.
 

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It’s been interesting reading everyone’s comments. I was raised a duck hunter by my grandfather and only started deer hunting after college. For years it was all whitetails for me. Ironically my kids really enjoy bird hunting and I enjoy the comradery in the blind. Given the choice I will now bird hunt with friends every chance I get. When was the last time someone asked you what your duck scored, lol.
 
I had kids and started a business. I still hunt, but not like I used to. Now it's kids' stuff on the weekends, kids stuff in the evenings. Work gets busier during hunting season too. There just aren't enough days in the week. I'm going to make some changes to my business this year to try to free up some more time.
 
There's not been a time in my life where I can remember not hunting. I suppose before I got that Red Ryder at age 5 I didn't really hunt. I stalked/shot all sorts of birds with that BB gun. But even before that I was always catching and collecting any little critter I could chase down, not to kill but to look it over and if possible keep it as a pet.

I started tagging along on coon hunts at around age 9. Started squirrel and deer hunting on my own in middle school, ironically about the time my dad lost all interest in hunting. But he made it possible for me to get out and go, even if he never left the couch himself.

I've always been passionate about it, but I used to share that passion for sports, cars, etc. Now, in my early 30s, my priorities are pretty much my family and hunting. I am fortunate to be able to hunt around 100 days per year, most of those being half-day hunts close to home. And while I certainly do not want these good times to pass too quickly, and my kids to be grown and gone, I know that is an inevitability, and that my allotted time to go afield will only increase from here.
 
Started hunting with my grandfather at age 6, 70 now. Only missed three years while in Army (unless you count Viet Nam as hunting) and then first two years of owning restaurants. Now I only hunt Elk because all of my partners from the past have either died, gotten too sick to continue or just lost interest. Like others have said, if I die while on a hunt, at least I'll be where I want to be.
 
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