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Post by buckshot on Nov 5, 2006 21:17:24 GMT -5
I'm not talking about pressure on deer, but pressure put on hunters. I need to get this off my chest so I figure this is the best place. Every year I feel like I have to shoot a big buck. Of course it doesn't always happen, but I put that hope in my head. Towards the end of the season I feel that pressure to make that kill. I may even lower my standards in antler mass to get that 'buck'. Basically it has started a bit earlier this year. Early season started out fun, and now it seems more like work. I have become obsessive over being in the woods. Every free moment, everyday I feel drawn into the woods just to shoot that buck. I can't miss a second because it may have been the opportunity i waited for. I have been putting off other important things and even work. I feel total stressed out, and even more when the opportunity comes and I blow it. Why does my passion start enjoyable and turn stressful? Does anyone else feel this way time to time. Like you have to produce to justify the time you invest in the woods. Justify to family and friends but more to yourself. Why do we sometimes put unrealistic goals on ourselves? The more time spent in the woods the worse this pressure to produce becomes. I lost a nice buck today and this has added to my frustration. Spent three hours looking to no avail. Thanks for letting me get this off my chest.
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Post by BIG FOX on Nov 6, 2006 6:12:17 GMT -5
For me i just enjoy being out in the woods or on a feild so much that i really don't let it stress me out. I love just sitting out there and listening to nature wake up or hearing footsteps coming my way to find out it is a turkey or a squirrel. i can't say i let the pressure of getting a nice buck over whelm the experience of being out there with good friends and just enjoying the outdoors. i can say i have lost a few deer in my day and it really bothers me alot. i know that it is part of hunting and that it will happen from time to time, but it seems to really bother me now, even doe's. i think it is the fact that i want to know if the shot was lethal or not and i hate the idea of the animal suffering for a long time because of a poor shot on my part or just being unlucky from time to time. One thing i can attest to is that a white tailed deer is freaking tough as nails. One thing i think you shoudl not do is to lower your standards of a deer to just get a kill every year. you should have in your mind what you are looking for in a buck and don't just settle for somethign with bone on its head to get a kill. there are a lot of nice deer in the woods but they get that way because good hunters let them pass from time to time when they are small, and when they are a nice buck but would be so much nicer in another year or two. that is how they get big, you have to let the tweener deer go to grow up and get to be monsters. convincing yourself to settle on somethign you are not truely happy with is a mistake in my mind. you should only shoot a buck you would want to put on the wall, either a full shoulder mount or maybe a european mount. that is my two cents, take it for what that is worth and happy hunting..
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Post by mdbowhuntr on Nov 6, 2006 10:41:56 GMT -5
Thats funny you should mention it. I have had a similar feeling lately. I love to hunt but it has become an obsession to be out there all the time. The mornings always start out relaxed, and sunday I let two deer go by (easy shots), a very small buck and a doe that was 20 yards behind me across the fence line. I didn't even think about it until the ride home when I started feeling pressure to get a kill, and I just want meat in the freezer right now. At work all I think about is how to get out early to hunt. Your message puts it back in perspective for me, it's about the hunt not the kill! I'm sure I will get a doe or two for the freezer but is it worth it if I can't enjoy the experience? I have Friday off so I have decided I will hunt Friday and stay home Saturday to take care of all the things I have been neglecting.
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Post by THE DEER HUNTER on Nov 6, 2006 11:24:38 GMT -5
You've just got to remember why you are out there. Not necessarily to kill something every time, but to enjoy the outdoors.
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Post by BIG FOX on Nov 6, 2006 13:11:05 GMT -5
damn skippy. we always have a buckwild time in the feild right DEER HUNTER
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Post by osprey on Nov 6, 2006 20:16:38 GMT -5
I understand as well. It just seems to build, one day in the stand and then you're thinking about where to go the next, and I gotta keep at it hard, and the next thing you know it's February. I'm off October to March and hunt nearly every day and still try to figure out how to get more time in the woods or marshes. I'm not sure if I'd call what I feel pressure, maybe a bit obsessive/compulsive?? Today I took a break and spent a few hours cutting switchgrass and brushing duck blinds, had forgotten how much I like doing that prep work and just not worrying about scent and wind direction and deer!
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Post by Hardcorehunter on Nov 6, 2006 21:13:28 GMT -5
I feel the same way sometimes. You just gotta role with the punches. Don't get caught up on what the other guys get. Just remember why you wake up early and sit all day. For the chance at success, not the guarentee. I have to remind myself of that sometimes. Take a few days off from hunting to get your thoughts together. If it becomes work, then your not doin the experience justice. Have fun, the big boy will come(one day)
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Post by reed on Nov 7, 2006 8:04:33 GMT -5
From someone who hunted religiously every year since I was 12, just enjoy being in the woods. Now 15 years, 1 wife, 2 kids, 3 houses, one college degree, and 2 mathews bows later my goal this year is to get out at least 10 times. 10 times is how many times I HOPE to get out in the woods, and you can bet I will love every minute I am out there. It is obvious the odds are not in my favor to bag a big buck, or any deer, but I am looking forward to just being in the woods. I love being in the woods for any reason. Sunday I had a couple minutes so I took my daughter (1yr old) for a walk in the woods just so I could creep around a little and try to see at least a squirrel.
Don't take any minute in the woods for granted, there may be a time when any minute in the woods means more than bagging a big buck.
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Post by BIG FOX on Nov 7, 2006 8:21:07 GMT -5
well put reed
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Post by THE DEER HUNTER on Nov 7, 2006 8:40:15 GMT -5
Your right - waterfowling sure is a welcome change of pace some times. You still get to be in the outdoors, but the experience is completely different. No worrying about scent, talking, and sitting like a statue (most of the time).
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Post by osprey on Nov 7, 2006 19:36:18 GMT -5
...but then again...those who push through all these silly thoughts and continue to hunt long and hard are the ones who come home with big bucks!!!
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Post by brokenarrow1 on Nov 7, 2006 19:48:17 GMT -5
I only have one thing to say If I lose that feeling i will stop hunting.!!!!!
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Post by tailchaser on Nov 8, 2006 22:14:19 GMT -5
I absolutley understand this feeling. I go through it every year. It usually hits me when the activity changes and I'm seeing anything for a couple of days. We all take pride in our outdoormen ship, our ability to read the woods and the sign. Our knowledge of our hunting property and our limited knowledge of our game. I learn something everytime I go out but just when I think I've got it figured out I get a humbling reality check. Always be thankful you are able to enjoy something mother nature wants to show you and savor it because there are people in this world who don't get that opportunity or could care less about and I do feel sorry for them.
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