......Spawned from another thread. I'm pretty sure I'll be forced by life to take a few steps back in the amount of time and and money I put into hunting this coming season. That said, I know I'll still get more than my share of time in a tree. I've heard of guys who come back to bow hunting after years of absence or others that are thinking of taking a break. I don't thing I could ever stop completely, even for one season, unless I was forced by circumstance. Could you?
I would if more important things in life forced me to like family, work, etc. With that said, it wouldn't be due to lack of interest.........I've "taken a break" from competitive shooting and many other things I used to be really passionate about in life, due to lack of interest or burning out. With that said, bowhunting is one of the only things in life that I never lose interest in.
In the past, I have taken a break (years) from hunting altogether. At this time I do not see any breaks in the forseeable future.
I could tone it down if circumstances required it (family,work,etc.) but never completely give it up. A few hours in a tree can undo a week's worth of stress.
I don't ever want to take a break from bowhunting. I see myself only being able to hunt maybe 20%-25% of my normal time in the woods this year. It is going to be hard for me to endure to be honest. There is something about walking out into the big woods, recurve in hand, and staring up into the high canopy....it causes me to reflect. I am actually addicted to that feeling.
Ben for me its a certain NO,,I have had many hobbies come and go over the years but in over 30 years of Bow hunting I have never missed a single season. I have other things I want to do (building a Hot rod) that I have been working on for years and everytime I say im dedicating my whole summer to it, Bowhunting related things take over instead
I could see circumstances forcing me into an unwanted break from hunting, but at this point in my life I couldn't imagine willingly taking a break.
I have not hunted, much less bow hunted much in the past 2 years, but it has not been by choice. Most of it had to do with a long distance relationship. I traveled 3 hours every weekend to see my then girlfriend. It was the only time we could see each other. Now that we are married and I have my weekends back, I'm hoping to get back into the woods this year.
The only reason I can think of not being able to particpate in my favorite hobby and food gathering for my family is the health of my family or me.
I could stop any time I wanted... I swear. I just don't want to... It's not a problem... why are you all presuring me?!? AAHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :D
Circumstances forced me to stop for a few years right after college. Eventually the bug kicked back in so bad that I found ways to bowhunt in a less than optimal situation and then change the situation altogether to one that was more condusive to bowhunting. Now I'm back and can't really see that ever hanpening again.
I took a year off bowhunting last year. I had just moved to a new area and on top of that, I couldn't rely on my bow being accurate (I had gotten to use a shooter bow the previous season, but lost it when we moved). I didn't put any time in during the summer looking for spots to hunt and I didn't know anybody in my area. I had a couple of "encounters" with other hunters in my area and was about ready to quit hunting all together. In general I was kind of bummed. Luckily, I met a couple of really nice guys south of me and they got me outside and hunting ducks and geese all season. If it hadn't been for them, I probably wouldn't have hunted at all last season. I was reminded how much I really enjoyed hunting because of those two guys and it inspired me to get off my butt this summer and start getting ready for the upcoming season.
Ben... I could walk away from hunting completely and it wouldn't bother me a bit probably for quite some time. Last season I simply lost the love for it and I don't know where it went (although my guess is around a certain female back at home). Hunted less than ever.. even took off 9 days in November only to hunt a total of 5 times. Just did not care. I'm actually hoping I fall back in love with it this season or it may be my last season for a little while anyway.
