Riding the Struggle Bus

[trampledbyturtles]

Anyone else snag a ticket on board this b!tch?

Been after it pretty good this year. Filled some fun tags.

But have been getting my butt handed to me local and on the home farm. From dogs running in the middle of nowhere, to weatherman being dead wrong. Just can't seem to catch a break.

 

[Brian662]

My MN properties aren't anything like my place in WI. Every year I think it's going to be different but every year it's the same. I just have to calibrate my expectations and consider that the bar can be lower, and that's ok.

That being said, I still have to wrap my head around the lower expectations every year and accept being happy when my expectations are exceeded.

 

[matinc]

I quit hunting this year and frankly don't even miss it. Will sit on opening day but not buying a license or hunting. Stop complaining make a change. But I will say this if she wins life is really gonna SUCK and I ain't kidding about that

 

[Bszweda]

Hang in there it only takes a few seconds for your season to change. I forget if it was two or three years ago I took my rutcation and it was like 80s the whole week

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Yes. Big time. Every move I make has been wrong I feel like. i haven’t gone a single hunt without getting busted walking in or out or in the stand. Been doing more harm than good. But yesterday was really good, and this time of year a lot of sins are forgiven for a couple weeks.

 

[gjs4]

Somewhere between a church basement with folding chairs and slumped over at a bar i ll share to commiserate with you.

While i did take a 4yo last yr, the last 3 yrs have sucked- like ate 11 tags in 5 states between working alot, kid stuff and having deer hunting/habitat as my only hobby. My dream was to own land in the midwest (being a notheasterner) and eventually relocate there. We bought a place, gem in the rough and great investment ...but this has been a roller coaster where my soul and passion are eaten by demons. Horrid deer for the area, trespass, invasive, no rain, etc. Year 3 now and its the worst it has ever been....cant sell due to an impending solar contract, but im so heartbroken and down with it.

2 years ago was the first yr of having zero deer of interest anywhere...other than this (then) tall beamed 5yo 8 here at home. Never saw him. I almost got him the first hunt of last yr and never saw him again. This drew me more in...he was smart and despite a not so spectacular rack....he was smart. Glassed him hard this summer and set up a plan. Now with having a few deer of interest, he still was my focus being 7yo. Called my shot and went for him with that october cold front. 30yds broadside, 15minutes into the sit and hours before dark i whacked him. 75 yard blood trail ever increasing and then nothing. zip-zero-zed. Exhausted the legal options, never found him and know he is dead. Whiel part of my wants to burn my tag in homage, ive rode the struggle bus long enough and felt why not enjoy hunting (thats what its about, right?). Went to the midwest place above for a days. Dealt with an idiot neighbors animals on my place and litany of other issues. Thought okay- lets just shoot a doe or see who is harassing their group at home. Went into an old stand that worked for the wind and extraction this past friday. Had the number on buck ive only had glimpses of on the farm, a giant for the area and most places, waltz into 23yds. Between the set being a mess from years of neglect and rushing myself i cut a few hairs off his back at best.

I know the feeling- have had it with no deer to hunt (the worst), the chit property (the ulcer and wallet leech), the eff ups (me)...... but i also went on my first elk hunt (otc with a buddy from hs) this yr. Had opps but the trip was amazing. Head to Iowa after a 7yr wait this yr. Had a health scare and surgery last yr. Worry sick about our country. Know my pride, joy, gazilllions of dollars and hours ill devoted to these goats with horns are just garage sale knick knacks in the end. MY unsolicted advise.....do anything you can to break the cycle youre in. Hunt public, take a new person out, buy a new weapons, hutn in street clothes.....something. It sucks and i wont down play it. Heck- pm me your number and we can roll in the manure of it all...but they arent as much of us as we make them to be and our land is just it until its sold.

 

[bigboreblr]

Years ago, I would take a break. I'd pick up my 22 and go squirrel hunting in state land. See a nice deer and be back in the game again. NY has plenty of bow time, oct 1st to mid november. Get an easy deer. Doe maybe scrubby buck. Something close and calm. Dont hunt hard until halloween. Pre-rut can burn you. Hunt hard opening day, then a bit easier on sunday if you didnt harvest opening. Give the deer a week break if your in a high pressure area.

I used to take rifle season a bit on the easy side, then hunt good during december muzzleloader here in NY. Nobody around, just me and some tired beat hungry bucks.

Most years get a PA hunting license for January flintlock season. Fun camping / hunting weekend break. That's pretty much my travel hunt, athough I drive less to PA than I do to hunting camp.

I boght a savage 24V in hopes of hunting grouse while I deer hunt. 30/30 and 20ga. Found out its a NY no-no.

If I get 2 deer before opening day northern NY zone. I go around with the 22lr. NY Northern zone opens up late october, last weekend. NY Northern zone also has a week of muzzleloading right before opening of rifle.

 

[goatman]

Slow down. It ain't a hundred yard dash. Sometimes yes but for sure no most of the time. Enjoy your time outside and don't worry about the buck kill so you can run and do something else. Don't let social media program you. It doesn't work like on Youtube.

 

[356]

Anyone else snag a ticket on board this b!tch?

Been after it pretty good this year. Filled some fun tags.

But have been getting my butt handed to me local and on the home farm. From dogs running in the middle of nowhere, to weatherman being dead wrong. Just can't seem to catch a break.

It’s been a tough season at the farm and cabin properties in Missouri. From the wicked drought that resulted in food plot failure and a reseeding failure, to a missed opportunity on opening archery, to an opening youth day hunt with one of the grandkids with no action (but we are finally getting rain!) its been a tougher than usual season. And yes, I too experienced issues with neighbors dogs and cattle.

My one sit at the cabin property had me in the stand a very early, as I have to thread the needle around a bedding area. As the sun rose I realized a storm had dropped trees across the shooting lanes, so the rest of the day was spent with a chainsaw and winch.

These type of seasons make the successes all the more rewarding. I do hope your season get’s better! You are not the lone passenger on the struggle bus!

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Here’s something I do…the perspective game. I play, what would 21 year old me sitting in marketing class in college do if you told me I would be hunting my own farm and not bouncing between overhunted crappy timber company leases? After I wiped the tears away I probably would have kissed your ass! Sometimes I walk to or from my stand and just look around and take it all in.

 

[Westwind]

I have a dandy that has been hanging out less than 100 yards from my house. It’s been too warm and I’ve been doing yard work and stuff in my shed. Wife and I worked on tearing out a fence line and I seeded some late wheat into a bean field that was just harvested. Haven’t got the bug to hunt this year. Not like me. Next year.

 

[matinc]

Thanks you for all your perspectives. When I get north I have a 89 year old dad who has already got one eight point this year by himself. I will get him ready for rifle season and I'm gonna get my backpack leaf blower on and do my roads trails and fields. Take in the sights and smells so next year will be easier and my fields aren't coated in leaves. I may sneak down to the pier and see if I can hook a steelhead on a spoon and watch it jump.

 

[Telemark]

Man, I have had a tough time with the red deer this season. Our season goes from September 1st to December 23rd, so I'm not out yet, but damn this year has been rough. We had a very late autumn, so the deer were late getting into the terrain. I had a few other hunts up North, so I missed a couple weeks of the rut, but it was mostly a bust anyway. There has been very little wind, so it's extremely difficult to stalk. When there is wind, it's generally from the South, and it brings a lot of rain. I don't like hunting in the rain, but this year I punctured the palm of my hand on a tree branch, so I'm not supposed to be out in the rain at all until I pull my stitches out this week. The deer are mostly nocturnal, and the clouds ruined my chances for a moonlight hunt. I really wanted to get a big stag this year, but it seems like it's just not in the cards.

Luckily my other hunts have been successful, and I did manage to take a spike and a calf on my food plots, so I have meat in the freezer. I should probably just suck it up and get out there. Waiting for the right conditions has been keeping me home way too much. This might be the year of the Hail Mary, for better or worse.

 

[bigboreblr]

Man, I have had a tough time with the red deer this season. Our season goes from September 1st to December 23rd, so I'm not out yet, but damn this year has been rough. We had a very late autumn, so the deer were late getting into the terrain. I had a few other hunts up North, so I missed a couple weeks of the rut, but it was mostly a bust anyway. There has been very little wind, so it's extremely difficult to stalk. When there is wind, it's generally from the South, and it brings a lot of rain. I don't like hunting in the rain, but this year I punctured the palm of my hand on a tree branch, so I'm not supposed to be out in the rain at all until I pull my stitches out this week. The deer are mostly nocturnal, and the clouds ruined my chances for a moonlight hunt. I really wanted to get a big stag this year, but it seems like it's just not in the cards.

Luckily my other hunts have been successful, and I did manage to take a spike and a calf on my food plots, so I have meat in the freezer. I should probably just suck it up and get out there. Waiting for the right conditions has been keeping me home way too much. This might be the year of the Hail Mary, for better or worse.

A guy down the road has about 50 red deer in a 2 acre fence. The 4x4 mesh fence makes it easy for the bullets to not hit the fence.

 

[Bill]

Brother I've been at the farm for 4 days and haven't hunted yet. I know I'm not hunting but I haven't seen a deer yet. Just talking with my brother and said maybe we need to just hunt squirrels and quail and pheasant this fall. EHD train rolled all over this place..

 

[Wind Gypsy]

I have not had a no question shooter buck on cam even this season..

Shot a CO mule deer the first morning of season though. So I’ve been applying in 5 or so states for mule deer for a decade and have a grand total of 2 days experience targeting them now.

 

[Telemark]

A guy down the road has about 50 red deer in a 2 acre fence. The 4x4 mesh fence makes it easy for the bullets to not hit the fence.

Jeekers! He's just shooting into a cage? I get bored shooting deer on the hay fields and food plots. I'm dying to get out into the mountains again. Unfortunately I have a bunch of holes in my hand.