No longer hunting?

[AZ8]

Wow, this thread is depressing. Young men bailing out!

Won‘t be coming back to this thread at all.

 

[beachbunny]

i just got tired of killing and i don't eat that much meat anymore .i get joy out of seeing the same animals day in and day out instead of an empty view,i will be going upriver for this fall and being camp biatch though.
not depressing .just like someone said ,different stages of life

 

[IH8Cali]

Wow, this thread is depressing. Young men bailing out!

Won‘t be coming back to this thread at all.

Different places in life.

 

[eaglemountainman]

I'll be 66 by the time fall hunting seasons roll around, and the thought of not hunting has never entered my mind. Sure I've slowed down some, and there are some things that my body used to allow, and now flat refuses to do. But the prospect of giving it all up makes my heart hurt.

I might only be in the field hunting for 3 or 4 months, but the rest of the year I'm busy planning and anticipating the next season. It's always been my life's passion, but even more so, now that I've retired.

If I ever stop hunting, it will be because I've stopped breathing.....hopefully on a mountain ridge somewhere.

 

[Wyomuleskinner]

Maybe these people don't know they can easily become "INFLUENCERS" now. I don't think you actually have to hunt or know how to hunt to qualify.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Bad news. Fly fishing has also become a thing. With even more annoying people taking it up.

Yes. A few annoying examples I've seen lately are people flying their drones overhead to get that epic sky shot of them reeling in a trout, and guy with a beer belt that held several Coors lights high-holing everyone on a popular stretch of river.

One of my goals this summer is to start hiking further in to remote streams. Last two years there have been far too many fisherman when too near a road.

More bad news. Hiking in remote has also become a thing.

 

[rclouse79]

I agree that you can lose your love of a hobby by not doing it. Growing up, skiing was far and away my biggest passion. After college I moved to AZ for 13 years and didn't go at all most years. Now my wife is trying to get our kids into skiing and I have zero desire to buy all the stuff to get back into it, although I am sure I would enjoy it if I did.
I can't imagine this happening to me with hunting and hope that it never does. I will do my part by never letting myself take a break from it.

 

[Customweld]

Who knows people who no longer hunt that used to? And why have they stopped? I asked my dad this past weekend if he had bought this year's hunting license for his home states yet because I wanted to get it for him for his upcoming 70th birthday. His response caught me off guard when he said that he wasn't sure if he was going to hunt anymore?? That surprised me... especially after us hunting together for the last dozen seasons in multiple New England states and him being a lifelong upland birds and whitetail hunter. He's in pretty good shape for 70 and he loves hunting! He has harvested all kinds of game with multiple weapons in multiple states. His reasoning for losing motivation was that he was getting "too old" and no longer comfortably pull his vertical bow back and he didn't enjoy his crossbow as much. He said he now gets cold easier, there's not as many critters to chase as there used to be, it's getting way too expensive for tags ,gear, ammo and gas, and none of his friends from his local sportsman's club hunt anymore. I honestly didn't see it coming and actually thought we would try to plan more hunts together in the upcoming years now that travel restrictions are no longer a factor and he has more free time since retirement. I understand a little bit where he's coming from but I'm sure going to miss him in camp.

I've noticed the same thing with my FIL. I think the last 2 years have been hard on some peoples psych. I've seen a few older folks really losing confidence in themselves the last couple of years. My FIL is the same way now. He was whitetail hunting with me last fall ad we jumped a decent buck that gave him ample time to shoot. After the buck walked off, I asked him why he didn't shoot and his reply was, I didn't even load my rifle.

 

[hh76]

I agree that you can lose your love of a hobby by not doing it. Growing up, skiing was far and away my biggest passion. After college I moved to AZ for 13 years and didn't go at all most years. Now my wife is trying to get our kids into skiing and I have zero desire to buy all the stuff to get back into it, although I am sure I would enjoy it if I did.
I can't imagine this happening to me with hunting and hope that it never does. I will do my part by never letting myself take a break from it.

It can be tough for some. Life gets busy with careers and kids, and all of a sudden time consuming hobbies are neglected.

 

[wmd]

I am 69 and still hunting when I can. I am fortunate to have some relatives that ranch and they are kind enough to let us hunt their ranch with them. I am having open heart surgery next week so I hope in time I get my stamina back. Last fall was a little tough when I had to go uphill. No plans to quit yet.
wmd

 

[Holocene]

Tell him to put on a flat bill and all that will change.

Can we please, please, please, please stop with this line?

It has been beat to death on every forum, is not funny, and is divisive at a time when the last thing we need among American hunters is more divisiveness. We are 4% of the population and making facile fashion jokes toward people you've never even met is tired and unproductive.

I realize it's a free country and we get to say what we want -- especially on the internet where there are no real repercussions. But with freedom comes responsibility. So to every good man and woman on this forum, think about what your responsibility is to the hunting community -- do you want to damage or help? I vote help.

 

[Northpark]

To be clear for me I haven’t lost the desire to hunt but for me to take time away from my very understanding wife and kids it needs to be a quality experience. I will most likely never waste a week of vacation time to go get frustrated on an OTC elk hunt in CO and I’ve killed plenty of elk on those hunts. So I’ll hunt one quality hunt per year like this years Alaska spring black bear hunt and then buy a bison or something for meat.

 

[Jbehredt]

Yes. A few annoying examples I've seen lately are people flying their drones overhead to get that epic sky shot of them reeling in a trout, and guy with a beer belt that held several Coors lights high-holing everyone on a popular stretch of river.

More bad news. Hiking in remote has also become a thing.

Haha! You fish the South Platte I presume.

 

[Russp17]

My dad (69 years old) has slowed down and doesn't big game hunt hardly at all anymore... He still bird hunts and likes to fish but the days of backcountry elk hunting or him coming to Alaska for a hunting trip with me I think are gone.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Haha! You fish the South Platte I presume.

Good guess but not the SP. Beer belt guy was on North Platte in wy, and I've encountered dudes with drones all over the place. Multiple times on the San Juan in NM. Starting to get PTSD when I hear that drone buzzing sound.

 

[mooretitan]

I am hoping that over the next few as the kids grow up and leave the stresses of being a dad will decrease and will get that fire back. My wife is great and is all for me going. I am hoping that the ages of 50-70 will be my hay day

 

[eaglemountainman]

Can we please, please, please, please stop with this line?

It has been beat to death on every forum, is not funny, and is divisive at a time when the last thing we need among American hunters is more divisiveness. We are 4% of the population and making facile fashion jokes toward people you've never even met is tired and unproductive.

I realize it's a free country and we get to say what we want -- especially on the internet where there are no real repercussions. But with freedom comes responsibility. So to every good man and woman on this forum, think about what your responsibility is to the hunting community -- do you want to damage or help?

That was the first time I ever saw a post about a flat bill, and wondered what it meant. Could you please explain? Thanks

 

[Rick M.]

That was the first time I ever saw a post about a flat bill, and wondered what it meant. Could you please explain? Thanks

"Flat bill" is a slur referring to the younger YouTube hunters that seem to be popping up all over the place. I think it's mainly aimed at hunters like the guys from Hush and others like them. Young guys commoditizing hunting via social media or swag. TV hunters.

 

[Dirtbag]

It's been beaten to death on here. "Flat bill" is a slur referring to the younger YouTube hunters that seem to be popping up all over the place. I think it's mainly aimed at hunters like the guys from Hush and others like them. Young guys commoditizing hunting via social media or swag. TV hunters.

Edit - the same guys beating the "flat bill" thing to death are also usually the ones making fun of people for using a certain caliber rifle.

6.5 creedmoor should also be a slur.

 

[IdahoElk]

I've been hunting for over 40yrs and now enjoy helping friends get animals more than myself. I still hunt hard and enjoy the woods but find the need to harvest something a less important part of the experience, I find myself passing on a lot animals opting to video them instead.