When to quit?

[Jpsmith1]

5000 people on 3000 acres. I'd sell all my stuff and take up hiking and beer drinking.

I don't think they all hunt. They CAN'T all be hunting. There are also like 4 or 5 lakes on the property and the fishing is great. Add in recent miles of trails for ATVs and some people JUST maintain a membership to fish, to ride or to camp and drink all summer.

 

[adamm88]

I am a 49 year old man. I have missed one year of hunting since I was 12 and that was due to an injury that laid me flat for the season.

I have invested thousands of hours in scouting, map study, hanging and checking cameras and, of course hunting. Bow, gun, muzzleloader you name it, I'll use it.

In those years, I've taken 10 deer, one of which was a buck. I've spent so many hours on stand with nothing but a few squirrels to break up the boredom. I've wounded and lost a few and missed more than I care to talk about. The wounding and missing, IMO, dovetail with rarely seeing game hence a lack of experience, leading to a lack of confidence which leads to a bad mental state and more difficulty staying 'in the hunt'


Every year, the thought occurs to me to just walk away. Just leave a big pile of high dollar gear at the bottom of a tree as a gift to the next guy and quit.

As if to add insult to injury as I'm composing this, 3 doe came trotting in, clearly spooked by another hunter, hit some invisible line and SCATTERED. They winded me, obviously, even though I'm down wind, the wind is shifty and probably blew that way for a split second. Which is the story of my life.

I am a 49 year old man. I have missed one year of hunting since I was 12 and that was due to an injury that laid me flat for the season.

I have invested thousands of hours in scouting, map study, hanging and checking cameras and, of course hunting. Bow, gun, muzzleloader you name it, I'll use it.

In those years, I've taken 10 deer, one of which was a buck. I've spent so many hours on stand with nothing but a few squirrels to break up the boredom. I've wounded and lost a few and missed more than I care to talk about. The wounding and missing, IMO, dovetail with rarely seeing game hence a lack of experience, leading to a lack of confidence which leads to a bad mental state and more difficulty staying 'in the hunt'


Every year, the thought occurs to me to just walk away. Just leave a big pile of high dollar gear at the bottom of a tree as a gift to the next guy and quit.

As if to add insult to injury as I'm composing this, 3 doe came trotting in, clearly spooked by another hunter, hit some invisible line and SCATTERED. They winded me, obviously, even

I am a 49 year old man. I have missed one year of hunting since I was 12 and that was due to an injury that laid me flat for the season.

I have invested thousands of hours in scouting, map study, hanging and checking cameras and, of course hunting. Bow, gun, muzzleloader you name it, I'll use it.

In those years, I've taken 10 deer, one of which was a buck. I've spent so many hours on stand with nothing but a few squirrels to break up the boredom. I've wounded and lost a few and missed more than I care to talk about. The wounding and missing, IMO, dovetail with rarely seeing game hence a lack of experience, leading to a lack of confidence which leads to a bad mental state and more difficulty staying 'in the hunt'


Every year, the thought occurs to me to just walk away. Just leave a big pile of high dollar gear at the bottom of a tree as a gift to the next guy and quit.

As if to add insult to injury as I'm composing this, 3 doe came trotting in, clearly spooked by another hunter, hit some invisible line and SCATTERED. They winded me, obviously, even though I'm down wind, the wind is shifty and probably blew that way for a split second. Which is the story of my life.

I see your from Pa and i can relate, Im from south central pa hunt Almost 100% public on the ground.

I have 15 sits(most with my son who is 11) and have seen hunting 11 deer, I jumped 2 walking/Scouting on my way out those dont count. I currently have 8 cameras(non Cell) and have multiple nice deer. I have had three of the 11 deer in range that could be shot, My son shot the one earlier in the fall and the other two buck busted me before i could shoot. I have only seen 2 confirmed doe of the 11 deer.

I get it, i get in this funk every year when i don't have a tag punched, even if its a doe tag. Hours and miles walking to setup trail cams and a little amount of deer seen.

Last year was the the same, only a few deer seen but it came together with the best buck of my life. I don't just hunt for the meat but for the excitement of getting an animal. Those who kill deer consistently either hunt a lot, Hunt private ground or have a rabbit foot shoved up there ass.

If you need a boost feel free to pm me, I get the PA struggles. Hunting with my son is great but not seeing deer sucks. Im hoping to slip out of state to a more "deery" state for a day or two next year to keep his interest.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

I grew up and hunted pa my entire life. Was blessed to kill a bunch of pope and youngs with the compound and recurve.

In season scouting is a must, you gotta hunt where the deer are. Rarely did I sit a tree more then one time. The amount of public in central and north east pa is vast. Find fresh sign and you will be in deer.

I flew to Wisconsin in 2010 and did Dan Infalts mtn bedding and swamp bedding school, from 2010-2017 when I moved from pa, I killed great deer every year on public. Being mobile, learning how deer bed, and reading sign is key to consistently killing mature bucks.

Pressure is all relative. I thought pa bad bad until I moved south. Our gun season starts August 15th and goes to Jan 1st. Deer are wayyy more pressured and skiddish but it’s 100 percent to possible to kill them with the stick and string. Gotta apply the same technique as I mentioned before.

 

[bowhuntercoop]

Just to prove it’s possible, feel free to pm me and I will help ya any way I can sir. I’ve hunted all over the state but mostly the north east and central on game lands.