How many days per year do you hunt?

[Tony Trietch]

No wife or kids here, just a great GF and three dogs. I will leave this week to start scouting in the areas/states Drew tags. I live in the midwest so that means 1700 miles out then scout/hunt till it's done. Will have 15days just scouting, then depending on how well it goes prob another 30-60 spent afield the rest of the fall.

 

[Trial153]

I shoot for a full 30 days every year, and most years I hit that pretty easy.

 

[IdahoElk]

30-50

 

[chas]

Living in PA. Pretty solid estimation.
Deer archery/rifle - 15 days
Bear-4/6 days
Western hunt- 9 days WY. Elk/ mule deer
Spring gobbler - 5 days
Various small game critters- 5-14 days

 

[Archerm]

I average right at 40-50 days a year. Not including scouting . Includes Elk Deer and Turkey.

 

[5MilesBack]

My wife knows I'm deserting them come September. She makes plans based on me being gone the entire season which ends end of Sept. But then there's rifle with my daughters potentially, and late season cow elk. So with scouting and actual hunting I'll be out 35+ days every year, and that's just for elk. Next year I'll draw my trophy deer tag so that will add up to 14 days to the mix plus any scouting trips. God forbid I draw my sheep tag too, she might as well just write Aug-Dec off if that happens.

 

[bz_711]

Currently being married and 4 kids involved with sports/activities (and I coach all that I can)...I hunt Elk 5 days per year, and mix in a few days of whitetail/turkey...luckily the two oldest will be going both youth gun and regular gun season for whitetails this year and get us some more quality time together outdoors (but of course have to work around cross country, football, and basketball those weekends)
The wife is totally understanding - I'm just at a point right now that I cannot get myself to miss any kids games, I enjoy them too much...limited time makes those hunting days that much sweeter!

 

[airlocksniffer]

Two kids (10 and 7). I get out 15-20 each year, plus backpacking time in the summer. Only about 10 are overnight. My wife grew up hunting with her dad so she is really cool about me getting out as much as needed, especially to fill the freezer. While I'm still having a blast, I can justify it by 'providing for my family'.

 

[MuleyFever]

Reading some of the responses I see need to get out more. Married, no kids. When I was in WI I hunted 30-50 days but was home at night. Sometimes throw in a week in ND. Now I am in UT and seasons are short and it is so hard to get anything other than a general deer tag and spike elk tag (which I dont care for) I maybe hunt 15-20. Scouting adds in a few more. Plan to move to a state with more opportunity in the next few years.

 

[elkyinzer]

Cool thread, never really added it up. I guess I'm around 20 hunting days average.

I get 3 weeks vacation and about half goes to hunting/fishing and half to trips with the wife. No kids yet, but soon god willing. We get along pretty well with it but sometimes she gets frustrated by the inability for me to take days off around the holidays etc.

PA Archery weekends - 4-6 days-typically hunt opener and rut (would hunt Sundays during rut if we were allowed);
PA Archery 5 or 6 days/season the stars align and I can hunt after work;
Every other year - Elk out west - 7 to 10 days or more; off years I take a week to archery hunt PA or Ohio during rut;
PA rifle - opener and 2 weekends, haven't hunted in years but go up for camp atmosphere and dragging deer;
PA small game/flintlock/winter scouting - 4-5 days/year.

I've been known to get the flu a time or two in November but now my boss is a big hunter so he would see right through it.

I fish a lot on Lake Erie spring and summer so that is typically 3-5 weekends/year and a couple more day trips for local fishing.

Between all that and having friends spread out all over the mid-Atlantic I rarely spend a weekend at home. I see all this getting cut in half or more once we have kids. Then once they get old enough to go it'll ramp back up again.

 

[TBoschma]

Im married without kids and I would say my big limiting factor right now is vacation, i havent been working that long at my new job to have much time off; however, I think ill be good for around 30 days this year. thats with only one big out of state hunt planned and a few weekend trips to the homested in Montana!

 

[WRO]

3 kids under 5, last year I big game hunted or scouted 34 days and fished another 20..

 

[CA Karen]

30-90 days hunting, 20 days fishing, working outside the USA 4-6 months a year. Is about my average, single with boyfriend who does not hunt but will fish. Not including scouting...

 

[yardwork]

This is a good thread. I'd say I'm in that 10-15 range but always trying to do more. I also get in some afternoon or morning hunts on some local public land. I have a wife and two kids who are 9 and 12. My wife understands and never says no to my requests to go hunting and fishing. Most of that is because she's awesome, but some of is because I don't force myself to get out enough so I'm not asking that often. Also when I go I'm often with her dad or mine and this fall my son will be 13 so he'll tag along as well. All that said I've re-learned in the last 12 months that time in the woods recharges me and I have to prioritize that time along with family responsibilities. Putting yourself first sometimes feels really uncomfortable but its important.
Going to CO elk hunting last year and spending way to much time on Rokslide has opened my eyes to so many possibilities that exist beyond treestands. My group is already discussing making next years elk hunt a backpack trip so we can spend more time on the mountain and I can't wait. Elk hunting is not in the cards this year for a number of reasons and that is ok. Good luck to all of us this year no matter how much time we each are going to get.

 

[Poser]

About 25 days hunting Whitetail -mostly weekends, but a 3-4 day trip here and there.
A 7 day trip out West
3-5 days bear hunting
A few Saturdays in Jan & Feb spent hunting ducks and rabbits, say 3-5
Couple of days turkey hunting: 2-8
40-50 days total. In years past, I have spent that many days just Whitetail hunting, but I have since spread my focus out more to more.
According to hunter surveys in my state, the average hunter hunts 14 days annually. Of course, I know guys who are retired who hunt some part of every single day of our ~100 day Whitetail season just for the hell of it.

 

[FreeRange]

Man, adding this up makes me realize how incredibly fortunate I am. Already planned this year I've got 18-20 days/nights away planned, starting with a 5 day trip this Friday. Adding to that local deer/bear hunting that I usually get around 7 days, one more deer hunt in the Sierra if I don't tag out this weekend, plus 3-5 upland and waterfowl long weekend trips, I'd be surprised if I come in under 40. I'm not going to tell my wife what that totals out too. Incredibly blessed that my wife with our 2 year old and baby is as supportive as she is. I'm promising her next year we're going to start doing a few hunts we can all go on together because she's getting stir crazy holding down the fort all fall.

 

[Blockcaver]

Not in the "kids at home" category, and a semi-retired consultant: AZ for 25 days of archery Coues deer in January, but gone for about 6 weeks including the December portion of the same trip. BC predator calling for 6 days in February. BC blackbear for 21 days of archery hunting in April and May plus 2 days helping buddies fill their grizzly draws. A 12 day archery brown bear excursion to Alaska in June and one week in August on a BC DYI archery stone sheep hunt is complete with another two week stone hunt planned for a week from now. With any luck I'll get a few more BC hunts in for moose, fall black bear, whitetails, mulies and sitka blacktails plus possibly an elk this fall! Bird numbers are OK too so a few trips with the shotgun for grouse and chukars, but the old bird dog passed on last spring so it won't be as much fun. Looks like about 20 weeks in total.

 

[twall13]

Married with 4 kids, oldest is 7, youngest is 3 months. If we are talking full hunting days I'm probably somewhere around 15-20 a year. That doesn't include any early morning waterfowl hunts that I can usually be home from around 10:00 a.m. so if you added those in I'd be a bit higher. I'd like more time in the field, but as others have stated I have to save some time for family. My oldest son is finally at a point where I can start taking him on a few hunts, depending on the nature of the hunt, so that helps a little bit but it's still a tough sale when the wife is stuck home with the other three kids. My wife would actually probably hunt with me if given the opportunity, although she doesn't live for it like me, if she didn't have the kids at home she'd probably tag along half the time. The fact that she understands it helps a lot and she really knows that this is what I live for and not something she would want to deprive me of long term. A couple of my brothers have wives that aren't as understanding so I definitely am grateful for my wife and see how some people struggle to get any time in the field. Still, I'm not gonna lie, when I see trip reports from Luke and Becca I'm a bit envious that at this stage in my life we can't make those kind of things happen as a couple. My kids are worth the sacrifices, but that doesn't mean I can't be a little jealous here and there, right?

 

[huntaholic123]

I would say I am on average 40-60. Engaged, no kids and one dog. I got lucky and have a very understanding lady at home. As long as I make the most out of the time I am home she is supportive of my passion/addiction. This fall is looking like it could potentially be on the high end with my tags. Montana elk/deer combo archery. East river whitetail. West river any deer. Late season muzzleloader. Plus coyote hunting, pheasant and waterfowl. The more I type the more excited I get!

 

[the_bowhunter]

Probably spend 15 days in a summer chasing hogs. Black bear will be 7 days. Dove season will get me out 15-20 days probably. Elk will have me at 9 days. Deer season from October-December will have me guiding and hunting probably every day of the week. Most days I finish up class and head straight out to go chase whatever I can.