Not by choice. Circumstances that take priority over hunting is about the only time I could foresee a complete "break." I'm sure, Ben, that you will still get more time in the woods than the average hunter even with all that is going on:D
Well Ben here is a good story for ya. Until the 2009 season I had not hunted at all since 1990. My uncle was my mentor and that was the year he committed suicide, There was a nice drop tine buck that he had been wanting to get for years that I shot that year after he died. It was hard for me to even get back in the woods without him but I went and was lucky enough to get that deer. But the deer ran about 75 yards and crossed a road to a forest preserve. So not knowing what to do I called the police and the DNR. They all said it was a legal deer but that since it was dark they had to call the forest preserve police. They showed up and took my deer. They said " it's on preserve property its our deer". I was devastated and that was the last time I went hunting until Oct 2009. Now unless my doc doesn't release me to hunt because of my back there is nothing that will ever keep me from hunting again. I can't ever imagine sitting at home instead of sitting in the woods again.
Only the health of my kids would stop me from being in the woods. I have had slow years with my sons hockey but I still find time. Generally by mid November I'm in need of mending fences with my wife, but it usually doesn't happen til after shed season! LOL.
Like others have said, certain circumstances have taken hunting time from me in the past and would in a heartbeat again if need be. I took the second half the 2006 archery season off to be with my dying father. I took a week off last season to be with my mom when she went through open heart surgery. If my wife and or kids needed me to take a break, I would. Having done it before, really puts life and whats important in perspective. I live to hunt, that goes without saying, but family will always come before hunting for me. There will always be another hunting season, but you can't get back family once they're gone.
1. Never a bad thing Mike, never a bad thing. Just because something once made you happy, doesn't mean it's a lifetime fix. We change, tastes evolve, etc. 2. I hope it does as well. I enjoy your stories and input. Good luck.
Michael, that is a powerful story you told. Thanks for telling it. Hunting does not rule my life and my family comes first, but hunting makes me feel extremely happy and fulfilled. It does "it" for me. Everyone has that "it" somewhere out that makes them tick, makes them feel alive. Bowhunting is IT.
It would take an extraordinary set of circumstances to keep me out of the woods for an entire season, but that's not to say that it would be impossible. You simply never know what tomorrow brings. Family, career, health, etc., everything can change in a flash. I've never taken anything for granted in that regard, which is why I place substantial value on every opportunity to get out there and enjoy every inch of land that I can get my boots on. People just don't understand, and I have a really difficult time quantifying it, but everytime I see a window where I can get out there and swap out a camera card or scout a new ridge, I put those opportunities at the top of my priority list and go. You never know when your next trip may never come. I've sacrificed a lot to get to this point. Being totally honest, I've destroyed friendships, broken a few girls' hearts, gave up on a legitimate shot at playing college baseball, made financial concessions, and missed out on quite a few wild Friday nights with the boys. My life is currently structured to accommodate my need to be in the woods. Hell, I even gave up fishing! At this point, to pull up the tent stakes and find some kind of new hobby . . . it just could never happen. I'm a one-trick pony. Could I sit a season out? Sure, but only if I still got to go outside and play in the woods. At this point in my life, it's as much about being in the woods as it is attempting to harvest an animal.
I definetly do not see myself ever taking a break from bow hunting. Unfortunately you hear of people having injuriesm which do not allow them to bow hunt for an extended time, but I do not consider that a break.
You will find the love again this fall you are going to be back with your best friend JZ. Hunting together again will do wonders for you Mike. I wish my brother would come back hunting up here, it just doesn't seem the same without him.
Unless there were circumstances out of my control that required me to, then no. I can't ever see me "wanting" to take a break.
In the near future I will say not a chance. There will come a day though, where our family farm will be sold. It is inevitable, and something I have come to terms with. When that happens, I will be in a tough spot. Gaining access to good private land is something that is hard to come by around here.
Im young, 23, but I know that as of right now, I do not think I would take a breai because I want to, bowhunting is something that I have dedicated a good part of my life to and I truly enjoy it. I figure that if I truly enjoy something I wont want to take a break, if it gets to the point where it becomes work and a hassle then I might take a break, untill then keep hunting.
Quik, I hear ya. At this point my life cycle comes down to the fall and being in the woods in some capacity "resets" me. It's typically the most stressful time at work and the few hours at the end of the day spent in a tree probably saves wear and tear on those I love. I flat out NEED that release at that point in my year. I am in the process of building a house within 5 miles of my hunting grounds. The dream is close, I just had to make some concessions in this off season to get it done.
In high school I lived bowhunting and trapping. College was no different. When I got married and took this job there just wasn't the time for both. I work 14 years before taking a full week off. Back then we weren't just taking our crops off in the fall. From the end of July until the 1st of November you worked every day unless it rained on a weekend. It was a grind and any free time was spent with the wife and family. Trapping worked out for me because I could run a line before work and trap in the winter after harvest. The boss finally sat me down and said it is time for a change. He decided we would just concentrate on his harvest, give up the other crap and he hired another full time guy that was reliable. I was suppose to take 2 weeks off a year. I think he was just as burnt out as I was and life was passing both of us by while we killed ourselves off. 14 years of no bowhunting for me. I was ready to get back into it big time !!! The boss got into raising/showing horses. I remember the first "vacation" like it was yesterday. I was going to bowhunt all of it. The wife wasn't real thrilled about it but understood. The first two days of the vacation... saw me looking out the window as it was blizzarding!!!! I was pissed. The wife was laughing her butt off. The snow finally quit late the second afternoon. The wife said I should wait for them to clean the roads. I said SEE-YA... I'm gone!!!! I plowed my way out to the spot I wanted to go bowhunting. The old ford got a work out but we made it. I had a 3/4 mile walk in, trudging through deep snow. There was a group of deer with a decent buck in the bunch hanging out in this one old, abandoned farmstead. I tried stalking but couldn't get to him when darkness fell. I got close but not close enough. It was a blast. On the drive home plowing through the snow... I vowed never to walk away from bowhunting again. Work/harvest still dictates when I bowhunt but I always make time for it now. I spend a lot of time scouting and hunt ever chance I get. Tim
I have not reached a point where I could willingly take a season off. As others have said, life has forced me into backing off in the past, but to willingly sit out, I don't see that happening any time soon.
I am now on a break from hunting, I have way to much going on with family and coaching. Break for me is getting out one or two weekends, I used to hunt 5 days a week entire season.
