How many days a year do you hunt?

[mi650]

Before I lived here full time and had about a 2 1/2 hour drive, I'd get in about 40 days a year.

Now that I don't have a job to worry about, and all I have to do is go out my backdoor and walk 150 yards, I'm getting in maybe 1/3 of that. I used to go out no matter the weather, aside from storms. Raining today & tomorrow, not going out. Weather was near perfect yesterday, didn't go out.

 

[Jack321]

Early season goose and dove begins Sept 1.

Oct 1 starts archery deer and that gets me to mid-Oct for waterfowl. Our waterfowl season goes til the end of January. And I'm usually hunting every weekend or day off from work from Sept-Feb.

For a few years I chased some snows a little, not every weekend like normal waterfowl, but a few hunts here and there.

Then in April-May I'm turkey hunting.

So weekends and holidays and days off work it usually is 45-60 days.

2 yrs back I even went to Argentina for doves in March.

Instead of trying to get a total # of hunting days. One if my goals has been to hunt something every month. Hunting hard during the 4 fall/winter months can be a grind! So it's nice to take a weekend off here and there and to have an "off season." Spend some time with the wife and kids. Take a little vacation, Coach kids sports teams.....and SAVE SOME $$ cuz it's an expensive sport!

Also, I just can't seem to want to go coyote hunting in Feb-Mar or Jun-Aug just to do it.....

Someday I will.

 

[Mojave]

Last year was 10.

This year zero tags, anywhere. So I hunted 3 days with friends.

Year before was probably 15.

Depends.

Goal is 50-80.

I get 26 days of vacation a year. Plus 11 federal holidays, plus 13 days of sick leave. This year because I didn't take enough time off, and I had some medical appointments I ended up burning 20 days on that shit, instead of taking leave. We can only have 30 days on the books, and unlimited medical.

 

[KurtR]

60 plus mostly chasing ducks and geese. If you count days that I train the dog to run hunt tests than we would be over 300.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

I assume this is just for pure hunting and not scouting/camping in hunt country; based on first post description? My field time would be exponentially higher than just pure hunt time.

 

[Wheels]

I put 65-79, but didn't really do the math, may be more. Turkeys, doves, whitetails, a western hunt if I draw, all of duck and dark goose season, upland birds and snow geese to wrap it up.

 

[elkyinzer]

I'm going to count scouting and helping others because I consider that hunting, avg 1-2 days a week from mid Sept - March. Usually about two weeks off in the rut. I don't do the before/after work stuff as much as I used to. With that I'm sure I topped 100 a few years before kids. I also travel to hunt a fraction what I used to. I learned a lot in those years that has made me much more efficient now.

 

[KenLee]

Before I lived here full time and had about a 2 1/2 hour drive, I'd get in about 40 days a year.

Now that I don't have a job to worry about, and all I have to do is go out my backdoor and walk 150 yards, I'm getting in maybe 1/3 of that. I used to go out no matter the weather, aside from storms. Raining today & tomorrow, not going out. Weather was near perfect yesterday, didn't go out.

Were you doing more escaping than hunting before you retired and moved?

 

[Poser]

I’m going to say about 30-35 of actual hunting and then another 30-40 scouting.

 

[doc holiday13]

I hunt deer, squirrel, coon, fish and turkey. I spend a lot of time in the woods I'm over 20 days in the woods for sure

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Sounds like a trap to me! Are you my wife incognito?

 

[Macintosh]

hunting with a gun or bow in hand where I have a tag and actually might shoot something--30 days give or take now that I have a job and house and wife. That includes more or less part of every weekend day between oct 1 and dec 31, with a week or a couple long weekend trips thrown in, if I pull a tag somewhere then its usually a 2-week trip for that, plus a day or three of turkey hunting in the spring. That incudes deer around me, plus bird hunting, plus turkey, plus any out of state trip. Fishing is probably similar numbers realistically.
15-20 years ago when I was more into bird hunting and dogs its was 60+ days/year hunting.

If I counted scouting I'm out in the woods at least 1-2 days per week 52 weeks per year in addition to the above. Especially archery hunting I consider that every bit "hunting", the part where I go out with a bow in hand and actually might kill a deer if I'm lucky is the equivalent of the 2 minutes setting up my gun and taking a shot on a week-long spot and stalk hunt.

 

[tpm231030]

Lucky to get a week counting hunting days, scouting days, and I'll even throw in the two travel days (since my employer certainly cares about them). What I have have no way of accounting for is the evenings and weekends I e-scout to mitigate being unable to actually scout the hunting area in the pre-season.

 

[mi650]

Were you doing more escaping than hunting before you retired and moved?

Both, I guess. Escaping the city, but I spent a lot of time in the woods. I'd even get up and hunt mornings!

 

[Andrew12gauge]

I’d guess I’m somewhere around 50 days a year, trying to do more of it with my kids as they age into hunting. Oldest can hunt birds and small game now but next year he can start on big game. Just big game this fall I’m at 17 and I’m headed out for another 3 day weekend coming up. I’ll probably tack on another 2 days during November close to home. Waterfowl and small game I’ll probably sneak a day any weekend I’m not big game hunting from now until March/April then spring bear will kick off and I’ll usually get 2 three day weekends out of that. Add in fishing with my kids in the spring and summer. Like I said, somewhere around 50 days for the year


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[willfrye027]

I spend about 30 days on deer scouting/hunting with usually 3-5 tags. My best year it was closer to 50 days.

10-14 days hunting ducks

Couple days here and there for doves and quail

Anywhere from 5-20 days Turkey hunting depending on the year

Full time+job with weird hours so I do get a lot of random days off during the week. 4 weeks vacation plus I can trade shifts to extend or create additional vacation.

Dual income and no kids…which is changing in about 5 weeks

 

[johnnycake]

If you are over that 50 day mark, I think it would be interesting to hear about what and how you are hunting. My guess is likely a lot of bird hunters going to top the list

Yep, you caught me. I usually hunt big game somewhere around 10 days per year, sometimes a bit more. But I average 50 days of ptarmigan and grouse hunting every year with a handful of duck hunts scattered here and there.

 

[HustlinOwl]

I was able to get about 30 days in the field this year which was more than most years.

 

[camelcluch]

Usually about 70. Turkey, deer, elk and maybe lions. It eats up a lot of time. When I was about 19 I was fishing 200 days a year. So I think I’m slowing down in my older years.

 

[sierracharlie338]

Not enough