Time in The Stand!

[MoBuckChaser]

I have been in the stand all but 2 days, since the 25th of Oct. I did not shoot anything but others did, so I am happy about that. And I could not have done it without the wife running the farm while I am gone. But at 57, I am drained, and need a vacation from my vacation. Bucks are still moving here but I am heading home for a while. I will come back when the deer are hitting the soybeans hard that we left stand.

Anyone else get tired of the deer hunting grind after a while?

 

[chummer]

Not if I see deer on occasion. Two years ago I saw less than 8 deer in two months of hunting. That was a lot of stand time and a couple all day sits. That year was draining and has changed how much I have hunted since. I don't want to have that feeling again.

 

[dsinwi]

I normally hunt every weekend of the bow season along with 2 or 3 3day weekends and an entire week. I typically only hunt opening weekend of the rifle season, for the last 5 years anyway. I'm pretty burnt out by then both mentally and physically. Sitting at work this morning I feel like I'd really like to hunt again after the holiday however knowing that the woods would probably be very quiet and deer sighting non existent I probably won't make it out again till next year. So, to answer your question, yes I get tired of the grind. The past 2 rut seasons have been unusually warm in my area and deer sightings during legal hours have been down considerably. That has been a real grind for me.
I hunted for many years in northern Wisconsin with 1000's of acres of public land to explore. I'd spend a lot of time just still hunting. Every day felt like opening day. It was still a grind but knowing you could just work your way to the next ridge or slashing kept it interesting. Now that I am confined to my own ground it can be a real grind for sure.

 

[Plottin'booners]

Believe it or not I am drained from deer hunting this year and I had my easiest year actually hunting that I have ever had. Shot a 156 10 point first hour I bow hunted so I was tagged out until gun season on Saturday and I shot a 168 6/8 12 point after hunting 4 hours......but we picked up a 565 acre lease and I put food plots in had to put up new stands. Bought 4000 worth of cameras to cover it and figure out what we had to shoot and where to hunt. I started out shed hunting in the spring on this place and part of the lease was putting in 20 acres of pollinator bee mix in the overgrown pasture areas. So did I sit much...no. Was there alot of time invested.....yes. Am I burnt out....sort of. Do I need to shoot at least 12 does at our farm yet...absolutely. So late season bow hunting with crossbows with family and friends is on the agenda once the snow falls. My son just got a 6.5 creedmore in a 10 stealth ba that he wants to shoot a doe with this weekend and my wife wants to can the meat so......push on. Gotta love it.

 

[bueller]

It takes me about 4 hours to drive from home to my land. Wife, kids, and dog travel with me. For the past 6 weeks or so I've been working full time at home and making weekend trips up north. Did use some vacation days to extend a few of those weekends, but regardless its been exhausting. Until Monday I hadn't seen a mature buck on stand. In fact I had seen few deer and most were either fawns or small yearling bucks. I did a couple all day sits for the first time this year and that really knocked the crap out of me. The kids have been stressing the wife while I've been in the woods. We are all pretty much done at this time. So glad to have sealed the deal on a good one yesterday.

 

[Bill]

Yep!
Been at it since the 30th of Oct. I stopped hunting AM's about midway through rifle went back to them when my son got here. Happy he did it on the second afternoon and went back to sleeping in til 6 or 7.

 

[bueller]

I hunted for many years in northern Wisconsin with 1000's of acres of public land to explore. I'd spend a lot of time just still hunting. Every day felt like opening day. It was still a grind but knowing you could just work your way to the next ridge or slashing kept it interesting. Now that I am confined to my own ground it can be a real grind for sure.

I feel the exact same way and was just explaining the feeling to my Dad the other day. I usually try to mix in some public land "exploring" each year.

 

[shawnv]

It's very much a grind especially if you go out every morning. Kuddo's to those who actually can.

 

[Turkey Creek]

I hate to admit it but yes I get burned out from hunting. I always dream at the beginning of each season of hunting every day of archery season from Sept 1st through Dec 31st. However, by the time rifle season rolls around usually around Nov 12th I am ready for a break from hunting. Now if I was hunting new locations and new deer populations that would re energize me, but that isnt currently an option. I think I had about 25 sits in leading up to rifle season this year.

 

[Buckly]

I learned many years ago, from turkey hunting actually that there is always a burnout period. I now plan for the burnout by scheduling a time out well ahead of time. This has worked out well for me because I know there is a forced break in there no matter what. Too many times before, I would push past the burnout and would end up not hunting in the later parts or in other seasons. With these self imposed forced breaks I now easily hunt much longer through the seasons.

 

[Catscratch]

I get tired. Not so much tired of hunting, but tired where I can't stay awake when I sit down after dinner. My wife hates it when we sit down to watch a game and I'm asleep in 5 minutes!
About the only time I burn out on hunting is when I don't have trail cam pics of any nice bucks for a while. I loose confidence that I'm going to shoot a monster on that hunt. That's one of the reasons I don't run trail cams where I hunt any more... I like the excitement of the unknown.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I bow hunt in Mass. for 6 weeks in the stand. By the last day (which is this coming Saturday) I tend to get a little burned out of stand hunting. I'll sit a bit during the 2 week shotgun season, but to keep things fun and switch it up a bit I start to hunt Larry Benoit style throughout December. This, of course, requires good tracking snow and large unbroken tracks of land. But we just got 14 inches of beautiful powder and things should be ideal. Can't wait to get after them.

 

[Someday isle]

Sure - I'm always motivated early on and usually have to scrape together enough days to get out. But sometimes I just get tired. This year was different because the boys were hunting with me and I played guide more than hunter ...and ended up harvesting two deer anyway. As a new property owner I can't wat to get to work on my projects list but burnout in anything is real. By reading all of the posts all over this sight I've come to realize that so many of you are true family men too. As much as I love to hunt sometimes I just miss spending time with my wife and kids at home.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

As some have said here, hunting the same ground over & over gets old. I too, like to get in some state land hunting where I can explore and feel like I'm covering new territory. With hunter numbers down in Pa., after the first 2 days of rifle season I can find big parcels of public land un-used. Hunting Benoit style or just sneaking & peaking along until I find a spot to watch for a while is very easily done. Not so much a competition with other hunters as 1-on-1 with the deer. I like that kind of hunting.

By exploring/hunting at the same time, I've stumbled into some really nice areas of deer sign and some great stand locations for future hunts. Beside breaking the monotony of hunting the same ground, it's provided me with some future " gold mines ". Takes the " tired " out of my hunts.

 

[swat1018]

I was at the farm from Oct 28 through Nov 12. Hunted every day, morning and night, if not all day. Though I was burnt out, until I got halfway home, and wished I was in a stand. Headed back tonight!

 

[bwoods11]

Yes, i get burned out if I hunt hard all day three or four days in a row. At that point, I usually sleep in or just take a day off. If it is an out of state hunt, probably stick it out. A lot of hours in one day and it can get long.

 

[tooln]

During bow season I was off the first week in Nov. I hunted as much as I could during that week. Did about a dozen sits it all, during bows season so far. I saw 1 deer. It gets real frustrating. I do not hunt rifle season, hoping to make my entire property a safe haven from the Amish army. My last card pull shows it is working. I hate my neighbors who poach.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Yep!
Been at it since the 30th of Oct. I stopped hunting AM's about midway through rifle went back to them when my son got here. Happy he did it on the second afternoon and went back to sleeping in til 6 or 7.

My buddy thinks this is the time to be in the stand all day as the bigger bucks have to search longer to find a doe in heat. Providing more daytime sightings in Missouri right now. Keep me posted as to what you guys are seeing. I may have to head back....

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Atta boy, Swat !! ( Post #16. ) The rush of seeing a big buck is like an addiction - keeps you coming back.

 

[Tree Spud]

I have been in the stand all but 2 days, since the 25th of Oct. I did not shoot anything but others did, so I am happy about that. And I could not have done it without the wife running the farm while I am gone. But at 57, I am drained, and need a vacation from my vacation. Bucks are still moving here but I am heading home for a while. I will come back when the deer are hitting the soybeans hard that we left stand.

Anyone else get tired of the deer hunting grind after a while?

I am in my mid fifties and after 4 (3) day weekends of bow hunting, and 5 days of gun hunting, today may be a day off. I am seeing plenty of deer, just not the ones I am looking for. It gets to be a drain after a while.

Found out last night that one of my neighbors shot our #1 target buck, a big mature 13 point. Problem was one side of his rack was completely broken off in early Nov. He knew it was a half rack but shot it anyway, very frustrating. I thought with this half rack he would make it through till next year where he would be pushing 160 class.

I am still seeing lots of rutting activity and yesterday bucks were on the move by 3 pm. That helps to keep the motivation there.