Man I would hate to know I tagged out as early as some do. I Can not imagine not getting to hunt for the rest of the season. What do you do?
I read messages like this :D It is tough, tagged out October 2nd (4th weekend in, 5th time out) The last 3 years it has been 200+ hours in stand, every season, with one buck in that time span (taken at 204 and change hours) so this fall it has been a bit different. Wife is loving it, fortunately, the weather/wind has been awful for the my stands, so I take some small consolation in that. So, for now, I look forward to the gun season starting in 3 weekends from now, and going out and maybe watching my wife finally shoot a buck (0-5 now, with one shot taken, miss) And shedding season is a day closer everyday :D
Usually if I tag out early I spend alot of time hunting fall turkey, pheasant, rabbits, grouse, and coyotes, there is always steelhead fishing also!
In 2007 I shot my buck October 24th, It was my 2nd sit of the year. What did I do then? Cut ton's and ton's of wood and then split It all to burn for the winter. I have an outside wood boiler, that's my heat source for my shop, shed, garage, and house.
When I first shot my little 9pt on Oct 29th I was a little bummed because of how much season was remaining. But from what I've been seeing while out trying to shoot another doe, I'm glad I killed that buck. I've only been seeing spikes and other smaller bucks cruising. Nothing of any size at all. In fact, not much rut activity to speak of here in WMU 5-D period. It almost reminds me of last season around here.
This year was one of the first in many years that I had a buck down early. I did just what Schultzy did. Lots of wood hauling and stacking (did all the cutting/splitting last winter). Now I'm moving on to remodeling soon. Plus I was able to get in a turkey hunt on our opener and get a bird down. That was a first.
If I would ever be in that position, I would be tagging along with anyone that would let me drag my climber and my camera.
I hunt VA & WV. I can kill a pile of bucks and does in each state, if I choose. I can't imagine tagging out....I couldn't eat all that meat if I tried. If I did live in a one buck state, I'd have to hunt another state. I just can't see myself "not" hunting during the open season. I love it too much, even if I'm not killing anything.