Anyone Quit Hunting and Then Start Again?

[atmat]

I think his response is about the "quit hunting" part of the OPs question (but not the real question). OIL (once in a lifetime; I'm guessing you knew the acronym) because it's going to draw for all units (most likely) and once you pull a tag there will be about 11 gajillion people with more points than you.

GIven your follow up question, I think you weren't asking what I thought you were asking. Might be best if you take my wife's lead and just ignore my responses...

I legit didn’t know that’s what oil meant. Thanks for educating me.

 

[wapitibob]

Older brother quit hunting 30 years ago, texted me one day and said he'd like to shoot an Antelope.
Took him to WY the next year and he got a nice Buck.

 

[Skook]

Thanks for all the replies. It seems like there is hope to get back into it. I figure I'll be looking for things to do once I retire, and there are things about being in the woods I miss besides hunting. There really is no place more peaceful.

So, maybe I'll take a walk in the woods. Maybe I'll sit down to eat a lunch. Maybe I'll just happen to bring a gun. Maybe I'll buy a hunting license just in case. I guess I'd be hunting again....

 

[atmat]

Take the shotgun for a walk. You may find it more enjoyable than walking solo.

 

[thebobcat]

I went on about a 15 year run without hunting. It wasn't something I really wanted to do but between work, relationships, losing land to hunt, family, children, it just all came together like an imperfect storm. The more I was away the more I lost the desire. I killed a lot of deer albeit not many trophies in my eyes, but my opportunity for trophies had always been very low. I knew the desire was deep inside but it was hard to bring back to the top. I had the opportunity to join a small, heavily managed club in the past year that has reopened the door for me. My hunt days are few and far between but honestly it gives me time more to reflect on my hunts. I feel like it's back for now. The time away I feel like has made me a better hunter because before my unlimited amount of time is what brought me success. Now I am much more methodical and have to think and outsmart on the limited amount of time I have and reflect back on all the mistakes I made hunting as a younger man.

 

[RedSnow]

One time I quit hunting after a hard season and days not seeing one deer. When I got to the truck a deer was walking a trail out to the road and I dropped it right there. It was the last few minutes of season.

On a serious note I feel you can get right back into it and be even more passionate about it than before. I'd say your son too. Hunting can be a cure to liberalism...

 

[tony]

Yeah, I quit at least 15 years ago and haven’t hunted since,
Numerous reason, personal, laziness, procrastination.
I was finishing nursing school and working full time was the biggest reason.
Then to me basically being a shitty human, my wife and I split and I lost access to the family farm. The split further drove my interest in hunting farther away as I spent a year at least attempting to fix what I destroyed.
And I’ve never been the type of person to “invite“ myself to anything. I know guys with property and they all say “come on out and hunt.” Maybe that is an invitation?
I would much prefer a one on one, “If you want to hunt you are welcome to come out. Here is the layout and the rules.” But maybe I’m just overthinking it.
Now, I buy firearms, and plan big hunts in my mind
Maybe I’ll get out there again on day.

 

[Mosby]

There were a lot of years I couldn't hunt. Kids, work etc. As you get older, kids start their own lives, family. and friends get old and pass and soon you are often left with out anyone to share a camp, drive or hotel room with. It's easy to quit. Then you realize that sitting in a quiet house offers little comfort and mowing the lawn isn't much for a man to look forward to.

For me the solution was simple. I got myself a couple of bird dogs. They are my buddies year round and the perfect hunting partner during the season. We argue, fight and watch football and they have added several weeks every year to my hunting season and probably years to my life. I go elk and deer hunting when I can get tags but when I don't, I fall back on bird hunting with my dogs and the season is a lot longer.

My young Vizsla turned 1 in December and we are going to do AKC Hunt tests this year. That is a first for me but it will get me out of the house and off the couch. I'm looking forward to it. Sometimes you have to work at being happy.

 

[Yoder]

I hunted until I was 18. I was married with a kid at 19. My hunting days were over for a while. I started back up about six years later when I actually had some money and time off from work.

 

[Crghss]

Grew up in PA. Hunted & fished most my life till I move to FL at 33. Was to busy fishing & diving to hunt. Plus hunting in FL wasn’t all that.

When I got to my late 40’s I started to go back to PA to hunt as way to spend time with my family. Hunted & fly fished central PA with my dad & brother, mom we be at camp. Met up with old friends. They where good times.

This kicked started me to start hunting in FL and taking a few trips out west.

My father passed a few ago and we sold our property that we hunted. So no more hunting in PA. But I am extremely grateful I returned to create all those great memories.

 

[Bill Flynn]

I quit hunting when I run out of tags to fill.

 

[huntingaddiction]

I grew up hunting and we hunted everything every chance we got. You could commonly find me hunting pheasants in the morning before school when there was no big game in season. I grew up muzzleloader hunting but when I joined the Navy my dad and I planned to switch to archery within a couple years.

December 12th of 2010, I got a phone call from my sister. Dad had gone out after Chukar and never made it back to the truck. We found my dad 3 days later at the bottom of a cliff. After that I didn't hunt for 3 years but when I came back, I came back with a vengeance. I think coming back to hunting has to do more with the reason you stopped.
If you stopped because you wanted to be spending that time with your kids but you really miss hunting, you will probably be fine and make it back. If you stopped because you were hunting to spend time with your dad and your kids and it's just not the same without them there, you probably won't.

 

[ssgjpd]

I had a 2 year pause thanks to COVID, a lot of the trips (mostly international) I had planned got cancelled/rescheduled. I am picking things back up this year.

 

[CMP70306]

A lot of people are going to quit hunting.

Friken WY antelope have become a once or twice. Maybe 3 times in a lifetime hunt.


CO is going to all draw tags.

WY elk are now oil, and then random for the rest of your life.......if you have 4-5 points now.


less than 4 your forever random.

His post was not factually accurate, but the basic idea is spot on. If you don't understand that, you're in for a rude awakening.

Except the OP isn’t talking about CO, WY or anywhere out west for that matter, he lives in PA where you can hunt anything but elk over the counter for less than $100 total and you can get upwards of unlimited doe tags depending on where you hunt. Add in upland, waterfowl and small game and there is no shortage of things for the OP hunt to get back into it here in PA.