I hear ya. I'm fighting towards the finish line. My legs simply do not work anymore lol. Wait til you get old ya youngin' When I was your age (might be the first time I've ever said that/scary) I'd be hunting all day everyday. Get your butt out there.
Look ahead at looking back. Will you regret it? Our hunting days are a finite thing and each one should be cherished.
I know your pain Caleb. I hunted until Jan 3rd last season and was dragging butt. Take a week off, it will do you some good. you have had a great season in my book
Caleb, it sounds like you're suffering from DHS (depressed hunter syndrome), a very common disorder that usually occurs late in the season. Some of the most noticeable symtoms are many sits without shooting a buck, cold temps/winds, deer numbers dropping, trespassers, running out of hunting time, and your little brother killing the big buck that had your name on it! lol Get well soon buddy.
True, the cuddeback is going out today to see if Freak Daddy Jr. made it through the gun seasons. I have my doubts though, since they drove his bedding area at least 2 times this weekend (damn slobs). Both times Ryan heard heard at least 7 shots from right off the property line. The stealth is going on another property looking for the droptine buck.
I've been slacking too, but my motivation has been picked back up by a certain buck. I had seen a 160 10 pointer earlier this month, but nothing of him since the 2nd gun season. Last Sunday I got a call from my cousin saying he saw a giant 12 pointer cross the road and head into our farm. The next night I was on my way home from coon hunting and sure enough had to lock the brakes up for a 170+ 12 pointer. Saw him again Friday night in the same spot standing just off the road. I've hunted close to this spot the last 2 nights with ZERO deer sightings, but just knowing that deer is out there is enough to keep me headed out.
Why worry about things you can't control when you can put energy into things you can (like being on stand)..... These written beatings will continue until morale improves.
Caleb, I was just thinking how trespassers on private land could be much worse to deal with than just other hunters hunting public land, where you can at least predict where they will be. Trespassers might go anywhere! On a different note, I haven't seen a single deer in my last 3 sits, but I'll be back out there this evening! With 18" of snow on the ground, they HAVE to move around just to find browse. Digging around for acorns/beechnuts isn't an option. At least this is what I've convinced myself of. lol I'd use smilies insted of that silly "lol" if I knew how to activate them. { tears}
Well in that case buddy, why go on stand when you can just look at the nice bucks on here. You can be a myspace hunter. Cut and paste some pics... blah blah blah. I mean, just live vicariously through other peoples deer. It's much easier.
I guess I'm going to go against the grain here. If it ain't fun, and you've lost the motivation for the year, it is OK, to stay home. It is OK, to not push yourself to make every last sit. Hunting should ALWAYS be kept enjoyable. When the thought of getting up, heading out & sitting in a tree feels like work, and not enjoyment, then by all means chill & do something else with your time. There is no shame in that at all.
Getting out in the woods was just what i needed. Me, Isaac and Luke went and hung both my cameras on separate pieces of ground today. We also found a perfect spot for a blind this fall. Along the way we decided to move your stand Jay, the one you prompted me to hang southwest of that little bedding area where i whacked my monster doe. I moved it to the other side, where we found about a dozen rubs and some freshly used deer trails. It might not produce well for this late season, but its going to be a hell of a rut stand with a northwest wind. Some bad news though, somebody managed to steal our blind. Either that or it blew away to Oz in the last storm, if thats the case then it would be blind #2 that has uprooted and gone on a trip. Either way, well have to make another purchase before turkey season. Wednesday morning seems like the perfect time to get back in the stand.
I know exactly how you're feeling. I'm not feeling it right now since I haven't hunted for a couple of weeks, but I definitely felt it earlier in the season because I still haven't seen what I consider to be a shooter buck. I know they're in the area though, because my dad has seen a couple. One of my friends that hunts on property next to us just found a dead buck in front of his stand that would go around 130" as an 11-pointer with a broken off G-2. Bummer it had to end that way, but stuff happens. Now I'm on break from school until mid-January, so I plan on trying to make the best of it and try to shoot at least one more doe and a buck if the right one comes by. Motivation is hard to gain when the weather is cold and crappy, but you'll know when you're ready.
Boy Caleb I'm having a hard time feeling sorry for you. Just counted everything from my log. 257 hrs on stand, 2 bucks over 100" 1 I missed (my fault) the other cold weather whooped my ass. Never did get a doe in front of me. Ive seen 5 deer off stand in Dec. hunted almost every day. No pitty party here man. I personally put everything away untill after xmas. Good luck.
