The Shoot2hunt Podcast

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@Dioni A episode was a good one. I envy the guys who spend a whole year scouting and prepping but ultimately that's a lifestyle that takes another level of commitment! I used to be a waterfowl freak who scoffed at the idea of spending so much time to kill one animal but eventually scouting became a much bigger time drag than actually hunting and I longed to "just go hunt" when time allowed which is part of the reason I all but quit waterfowl hunting.
 

huntnful

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@Dioni A episode was a good one. I envy the guys who spend a whole year scouting and prepping but ultimately that's a lifestyle that takes another level of commitment! I used to be a waterfowl freak who scoffed at the idea of spending so much time to kill one animal but eventually scouting became a much bigger time drag than actually hunting and I longed to "just go hunt" when time allowed which is part of the reason I all but quit waterfowl hunting.
I am literally in the EXACT same boat. I hunted waterfowl all over, relentlessly, for 10 straight years. I would say to my big game buddies "I can kill 7 ducks a day, every day. Why I would I care to go shoot ONE deer."

And then I caved and finally went elk hunting with some buddies. Killed a cow elk with my bow, and then a real nice buck, solo, after 17 days of hunting, during the first year. Then I killed my first "target" buck the next year.

I haven't really cared about waterfowl since then. That was 5 years ago. But I had a fully self trained duck dog that I JUST finished training, so I kept hunting waterfowl pretty heavily, just for her to be able to keep doing was she loved. She randomly got sick and died a few months ago. It was devastating, and now I don't care if I ever even shoot another duck or goose lol. RIP Ellie 🤕
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Scouting for, hunting, and killing big game just brings a different feeling. I feel like it's just more rewarding. Where as shooting ducks and geese was "fun", and having a good working dog was the rewarding part.
 

Dioni A

Basque Assassin
Shoot2HuntU
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@Dioni A episode was a good one. I envy the guys who spend a whole year scouting and prepping but ultimately that's a lifestyle that takes another level of commitment! I used to be a waterfowl freak who scoffed at the idea of spending so much time to kill one animal but eventually scouting became a much bigger time drag than actually hunting and I longed to "just go hunt" when time allowed which is part of the reason I all but quit waterfowl hunting.
I totally agree with your assessment. It would be nice if I could enjoy just going out and hunting like I used to. It was much more relaxed. The thing I struggle with is that I know I'm capable of finding great bucks if I put enough effort in. I feel like if I don't do that at this point I'm settling for less than what's possible and I have a hard time accepting that. Shooting anything aside I love seeing big deer. A huge part of the enjoyment I get is finding and getting to watch them. It's so rare to do that without putting in incredible amounts of effort before the season starts.
 
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I am literally in the EXACT same boat. I hunted waterfowl all over, relentlessly, for 10 straight years. I would say to my big game buddies "I can kill 7 ducks a day, every day. Why I would I care to go shoot ONE deer."

And then I caved and finally went elk hunting with some buddies. Killed a cow elk with my bow, and then a real nice buck, solo, after 17 days of hunting, during the first year. Then I killed my first "target" buck the next year.

I haven't really cared about waterfowl since then. That was 5 years ago. But I had a fully self trained duck dog that I JUST finished training, so I kept hunting waterfowl pretty heavily, just for her to be able to keep doing was she loved. She randomly got sick and died a few months ago. It was devastating, and now I don't care if I ever even shoot another duck or goose lol. RIP Ellie 🤕
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Scouting for, hunting, and killing big game just brings a different feeling. I feel like it's just more rewarding. Where as shooting ducks and geese was "fun", and having a good working dog was the rewarding part.
I grew up a waterfowl junkie as well. That's pretty much all I hunted from 10 years old through my twenties. When I wasn't waterfowl hunting, I was working waterfowl shows. Then got introduced to coyote calling 15 years ago, and have been hooked ever since. I haven't shot a duck or goose in over 5 years.
 

huntnful

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Y'all are crazy. I love big game hunting, but it’s super fun having a chill day blasting birds or small game with no real effort or frustration.

It’s nice to have all seasons.
I still like it. I just don’t have the fire for it like I used to. I won’t turn down a slam dunk hunt on a field full of birds that a buddy scouted haha.

I grew up a waterfowl junkie as well. That's pretty much all I hunted from 10 years old through my twenties. When I wasn't waterfowl hunting, I was working waterfowl shows. Then got introduced to coyote calling 15 years ago, and have been hooked ever since. I haven't shot a duck or goose in over 5 years.
Oh that’s a whole other addiction! Winter time coyote hunting is a freaking blast. I killed a dozen or so last winter. So much fun calling them in.
 

huntnful

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Haha that’s great.

But anyone not into birds needs to spend a weekend dove hunting in a great area. Limit out in a few hours, drink beer and eat jalapeño dove poppers all evening. Rinse and repeat the next day.
I’ve hunted dove and ducks/geese in Argentina and Canada several times. Killed more birds in a week than most people do all year. My dad, brother and I shot 150 ducks in 1 hour lol. Yes it’s fun. But it isn’t rewarding like a tough big game hunt that ends in success. I’m just more drawn to the challenging part of hunting more
than the fun part of hunting lately.
 

Duh

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Haha that’s great.

But anyone not into birds needs to spend a weekend dove hunting in a great area. Limit out in a few hours, drink beer and eat jalapeño dove poppers all evening. Rinse and repeat the next day.
I’ve gone pheasant hunting once and was trying to find a dog immediately after we got done. I eventually decided against it and started predator hunting. I’m addicted to predator hunting now.
 

atmat

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I’ve hunted dove and ducks/geese in Argentina and Canada several times. Killed more birds in a week than most people do all year. My dad, brother and I shot 150 ducks in 1 hour lol. Yes it’s fun. But it isn’t rewarding like a tough big game hunt that ends in success. I’m just more drawn to the challenging part of hunting more
than the fun part of hunting lately.
Argentina’s incredible. Maybe not rewarding, but an absolute blast. To each his own, I suppose.
 
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