Why Guys Quit on the Mountain

[waldo9190]

Couple weeks ago! AKA right at the beginning of Archery Elk season basically......

We just had our third girl a week and a half ago. Put the kaibosh on my elk hunt this year, but that's just part of having a family. I love being in the mountains as much as anyone on here, but being a dad to my three girls is the best thing I've ever done. Makes me appreciate my time away that much more!

 

[Scoot]

I love being in the mountains as much as anyone on here, but being a dad to my three girls is the best thing I've ever done.

Amen to that! Being a good dad is WAY more important than being an elk hunter.

Wait... does saying that mean I'm a pussy???

 

[waldo9190]

Amen to that! Being a good dad is WAY more important than being an elk hunter.

Wait... does saying that mean I'm a pussy???

If anything it means we know our way around one.

 

[highcountrymuley]

i'm all for everyone else quitting - for whatever reason. get off my mountain! no really, people read about backcountry hunting or listen to a few podcasts and want to do it. some do it once to say they can , some folks it becomes an obsession to do it over and over until you can't... i admit it would be very hard to drive 1000 miles and have these huge expectations - and you have some work you should be doing, and a wife who is having a problem or just misses you, and a kid or two... all valid reasons to quit. some years or hunts are harder than others. hunting can be tough, or it can be easy. no one can make up your mind for you but yourself! i do know that when you grind it out and get nothing you feel like a dumbass for "wasting" time when you could have been working or making the home happier. life is short, do what is going to make you happy.

 

[Dos Perros]

I feel like struggling through to the bitter end of a hunt, even if I don't want to, hones my resolve the rest of the year. "We" live such pampered lives, my elk hunt is the hardest thing I do all year. If I can grind out a crappy elk hunt, certainly I can deal with anything back home.

 

[11boo]

I will once again abuse my body for a chance at a cow, 2d rifle. Archery elk continue to elude me.

 

[Scoot]

I feel like struggling through to the bitter end of a hunt, even if I don't want to, hones my resolve the rest of the year. "We" live such pampered lives, my elk hunt is the hardest thing I do all year. If I can grind out a crappy elk hunt, certainly I can deal with anything back home.

Dos Perros gets it! It's a metaphor for life IMO! You can grind it out and make the best of what you have or you can fold and throw in the towel. If you keep grinding (or hammering, if you prefer!) you stand a much better chance at success. If you fold, you don't. This applies to elk hunting, but it applies to athletics, your education, your job, your relationships, etc. There's a lesson to be learned in this that applies to a lot more than just hunting.

 

[jjohnsonElknewbie]

Dos Perros gets it! It's a metaphor for life IMO! You can grind it out and make the best of what you have or you can fold and throw in the towel. If you keep grinding (or hammering, if you prefer!) you stand a much better chance at success. If you fold, you don't. This applies to elk hunting, but it applies to athletics, your education, your job, your relationships, etc. There's a lesson to be learned in this that applies to a lot more than just hunting.

And I would add, if you already acknowledge and practice stubborn perseverance in real life it will carry over to hunting. In contrast, if you're somebody that gives up easily in the real world, then you can expect it to be easier on the mountain.

 

[Dan-o]

I don't even leave early when I tag out early!!

 

[*zap*]

It's e-z to quit so just stay hard....

 

[Mykolaivka887]

It's e-z to quit so just stay hard....

"The Will Ferrell Approach To Big Game Hunting"

 

[william schmaltz]

We just had our third girl a week and a half ago. Put the kaibosh on my elk hunt this year, but that's just part of having a family. I love being in the mountains as much as anyone on here, but being a dad to my three girls is the best thing I've ever done. Makes me appreciate my time away that much more!

Amen brother! We got a very good moose for my buddy on day 2 this year. I had every intention of staying out 14 days and finally get a 70" bull. I could tell my wife was really struggling with kids and newborn so I shot a meat bull on day 3. No shame in my game for wanting to get home for my family. Lots of years left out there, and the kids are only little once!

 

[KC29]

I keep hearing this from people. What are we supposed to hammer? Does anyone make a carbon fiber hammer? Or titanium? What's everyone's hammer weigh?

And, most importantly, does the camo pattern of the hammer matter?

Isn't it noisy?

I have so many hammer questions.

Does anyone have a discount code for said hammer?

 

[OregonSteeler]

This is my 11th year archery elk hunting. Still have yet to kill one. Did my first out of state hunt this season. Hunted 7 days solo, day through night except for one evening where I relocated to another end of the unit. Zero elk seen or heard. Took me 6 days to find recent sign then had to head home following day.

I really should quit; but I'm too stupid and stubborn.

 

[WoodrowCall]

I have two young girls at home myself. Not old enough to hunt yet, but they love the stories and talking about it when I get home. I like to think persevering through a tough hunt or general challenging times can be handed down to my girls. The ol “lead by example”. It is more than just hunting…

 

[Danny Hoey]

I'll leave when I feel like the mountain has won. I've quit when I've wounded an elk and couldn't find it. I've left when our puppy had parvo. I've left when my grandmother passed. I'm not that tough, if it's not fun then don't do it. I'm ok with not bringing an elk home. I have a lot there waiting for me when I do.

That being said, I'm always sad knowing that it's gonna be 360 some days till I get to go back and try again. Too each their own.

 

[5MilesBack]

Two years ago when my mom turned 90, she emailed my sister and told her that if anything were to happen to her during September, that she was absolutely NOT to try and contact me while I was hunting. My mom understood it.

 

[Indian Summer]

Two years ago when my mom turned 90, she emailed my sister and told her that if anything were to happen to her during September, that she was absolutely NOT to try and contact me while I was hunting. My mom understood it.

Wow! She did. She really did. I’m certain that her or your dad or both were extremely passionate about something. Otherwise a person just couldn’t get it the the degree she did.

 

[trophyhill]

A lot of great responses! I will not allow myself to quit. I had a baseball coach when I was a boy who’s favorite phrase when he saw other kids quitting or giving up was “a quitter never wins and a winner never quits trying”. It wasn’t just about baseball. It was about life. Incidentally he was also my basketball coach. We won championships in both sports.

I almost had to quit on the mountain this year because of a knee injury substained on the mountain. My good friend and elk killing mentor who did not have a tag joined me after 4 days of hunting solo and went back to the truck for food and water because I couldn’t make it back to the truck out of the wilderness. The next day I called from camp all day while he made the trek back to the truck. The following day I was able to walk gingerly so I kept hunting. Sometimes we just have to grind and bear it.

 

[Indian Summer]

I feel like struggling through to the bitter end of a hunt, even if I don't want to, hones my resolve the rest of the year. "We" live such pampered lives, my elk hunt is the hardest thing I do all year. If I can grind out a crappy elk hunt, certainly I can deal with anything back home.

Oh hell yes! This might be my favorite post on this thread. All of the ones about why people quit have been very interesting to me. But this one is about why we DON’T quit. And my reason is the same.

To me it’s like my annual checkup. My physical checkup. Spiritual checkup. Checkup on my list of priorities in life. But to a large degree it’s my test of what I am capable of. A measure of my will power. How I go about setting a goal and giving a rock solid 100% effort to achieve it. And it does influence my life the rest of the year.

At work I think about it nearly every day. I never miss a day of work. I’m on time. I stay positive even when things are going to shit and I find solutions to problems. I give it my all and when there’s an hour to go and other are starting to break down I take pride in finishing strong.

And it pays off!

My employers like that I’m dependable. They like that I’m organized and no job intimidates me. So when I tell other guys I’m taking 3 weeks off and they say there’s no freaking way they’ll let you do that I just smile and say watch this. They’ve always approved it. If they didn’t… I’d start looking for a new position before I left and hunt between jobs!

It’s a year round cycle for sure. A way of life. Everyday hurdles in life prepare me for life on the mountain and elk hunting assures me I can handle anything that comes my way the other 49 weeks of the year.

It also makes me feel like I’m staying young. At 57 I outhunt everyone in camp. I feel like if there comes a day when I can’t hunt elk I’ll finally say well…. I guess I’m old. I leave in exactly one week. I better start working out.