Have you ever felt this way?

[loneranger]

The season is over. You used your tag/tags. You were really into the hunting routine,,up in the dawn,on with the clothes,up in the tree. Then it's over. The urge is still there. You were kinda let down. Hunting didn't quite end up the way you planned. Well,,there is always next season. But it is ssoooooo, far away. Ten months away!! PATIENCE....And when you get my age,,you HOPE ,,,there is another season....

[JPH]

Hmmm. I don't know that I've ever felt exactly like that. Maybe I'm too philosophical but I always figure the season was ment to be what it ended up being and my job is to make sense of it during the "off season".
 

[Relentless]

Considering how much I put into deer hunting...i.e. showers before each hunt, washing clothes, field dressing regardless of temps, and much more....no, sometimes I am so physically worn down that I am ready for the break.  Here in IL we get to hunt for about 3.5 months.....and this style of hunting will wear on you.  I enjoy every minute of it or I wouldn't do it.  Personally I need the offseason though for several reasons....mainly to appreciate the "experience" I just got to endure....but also many other reasons including preparation for the next season.  Not to mention my family is ready for me to spend a little more time at home. 

[Patriot]

I echo Relentless' comments.  I pour a ton of energy and time into hunting, but once the season is over, I don't mind the extra time.
 
I wouldn't change a thing about it though.  I love it, live for it....but a little downtime is good too.
 
To quote a love song by Chicago...."even lovers need a holiday....some time away from each other"...[:D]

[loneranger]

Guess I don't put enough time in. About 60 plus hrs.By spring I could think little about hunting. Through the long hot summer fades further. Sept and Oct are usually too warm also and it is hard to get the feeling, but once I get my feet wet,,as it were, and the weather turns colder, I am in the groove and then it is over. Next yr will try to put more time in.

[kellory]

I would recommend you find a farmer or a bee keeper with a nusiance permit, and give him a hand with his problem a couple of times during the off season. More meat in the freezer, try out different approaches, and new gear. Hone your skills, and by next season, you will be a deer ninja!

[danesdad]

Well, if it wasn't for time between seasons, I wouldn't have time to fish!

[kellory]

Well, if it wasn't for time between seasons, I wouldn't have time to fish!

Fishing is what hunters do in the off season, when they need a break from food plots, and trimming shooting lanes.

[Woods Walker]

Of course we've all felt that way. How could you not? But for me, it's short lived, because if you think about it, you can HUNT all year. You just can't exercise the killing option unless it's during the hunting season.

I visit my hunting area all year, and I also carry my bow and a quiver with a few Judo points in it. I will scout, making and observing all and anything to do with deer, or any other wildlife for that matter. I also use this time of year to rough fashion natural ground blinds at various locations. I like to stillhunt, with a few "sits" in between at these places. I have also at times seen deer, and have tried to get as close as I could to them unobserved. Getting "stickbow" close and them letting them move on, is just as good as killing one, except you can't eat it! I don't do this too often, as I don't want to risk "educating" them, and never more than once in a given location.

Like I said, the bow goes with me, and IMO it's an EXCELLENT way to practice under the most real hunting conditions you can imagine. Shooting at a leaf or weed from the same ground blind you will be hunting from will not only build confidence, but will also demonstrate to you any problems you may have shooting from that spot in regards to cover, shadows, terrain, etc.

Someone once said that...."We are part time hunters, hunting full time deer"....and I don't believe that any of us would argue with that. So while we can't be full time hunters, any additional time that we can spend in the woods increasing our knowledge base certainly cannot hurt. Native peoples that hunted for subsistance did not have all the fancy do-dads and gadgets that we have, and their weapons could be accurately described as truly "primative", especially by modern standards. Yet they not only survived, but thrived. Why? Because they made up for the lack of gear with KNOWLEDGE of their surroundings. We cannot help but become better hunters by doing the same, even if it's only a few times a month during the "off" season.

Besides............it fun, and it's FREE!!!!!

[kellory]

Woodsey, if you carry your weapons to stalk deer in the off season (even with judo points) you could be mistaken for a poacher!