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Hate To Be That Guy

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I honestly know I would be obsessed with hunting ducks but at this point in my life I barely got time to whipe my ass let alone get into another hobby. When I move back to ohio one day.....it's on!!!
 

finelyshedded

You know what!!!
Supporting Member
31,855
260
SW Ohio
I never really stop thinking or planning on deer season throughout the year but other things just seem to take precedence over it during certain times of the year. Yard work and playing catch up on other things around the house are taking the place of my shed hunting right now! Coming up here very soon turkey and mushroom hunting,a few holiday and birthday plans along with the girls volleyball games on the horizon will be superseding some of the aforementioned. Lol

Then we all have this thing called a "job" that hinders our aspirations but hey! It puts food on the table and pays the bills TOO! Lol

I want to also get the family out for some fishing this year TOO!

Love your ambition Albert!!! Have fun and hope your hard work pays off bigtime this season for you! Good luck!!!
 
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bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I learned that hard work and preparation don't mean shit in the whitetail woods. From 2006-2011 I "earned" a wall full of slungers with the amount of work and time I put in to my pursuits. Yet I don't have much more than a scrubby 6 year old deer to show for it. That hope and expectation ruined deer hunting for me. Just be careful you don't let it happen to you either.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I learned that hard work and preparation don't mean shit in the whitetail woods. From 2006-2011 I "earned" a wall full of slungers with the amount of work and time I put in to my pursuits. Yet I don't have much more than a scrubby 6 year old deer to show for it. That hope and expectation ruined deer hunting for me. Just be careful you don't let it happen to you either.

You are like the big brother I never had. Keeping me humble, and honest. I gotta love that! Trust me, I have put TOO much time and effort in with 0 to show for it but sometimes I think I like the preparing plots, spliting firewood, running the saw, and of course drinking TOO many beers more than I like deer season. It is always in the back of your mind tho, that maybe this new planting or stand or effort will pay off, and thats the feelign that keeps me coming back.

If that makes sense.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
I understand completely. I enjoy that stuff too. However I tied unrealistic expectations to those fun activities and suddenly they felt a lot more like work.

We're cut from the same cloth in a lot of regards. Most of what you post sounds like I wrote it when I was your age. I'm not that much older, but I've completed that journey. Just doing my part to share the reality of what small time management is really about.
 

at1010

*Supporting Member*
4,943
139
I understand completely. I enjoy that stuff too. However I tied unrealistic expectations to those fun activities and suddenly they felt a lot more like work.

We're cut from the same cloth in a lot of regards. Most of what you post sounds like I wrote it when I was your age. I'm not that much older, but I've completed that journey. Just doing my part to share the reality of what small time management is really about.

I appreciate every second of it......

lets be real too, you are MUCH older than me. Heck im still a young buck! hahaha joking!
 

hickslawns

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
39,721
248
Ohio
It is all what you make it Al. If you enjoy the food plotting, shed hunting, cutting wood, and hunting deer, then good for you. Nothing wrong with being excited so soon. We certainly aren't all going to kill massive bucks every year regardless the amount of time we put into our properties. If you enjoy it, have at it brother. Don't give up hope if it doesn't land a booner every year.
 
I'm along the lines of hickslawns on this. I absolutely LOVE all the preparation, walking, shed hunting, food plots, stand hanging, strategy, etc. that I put into deer hunting. I guess it's where you turn the fun stuff into expectations is when you need to check yourself. Whether it's the feeling of peer pressure, the thought of not living up to other's expectations of how your season should go or just pressure you put on yourself for some reason, if you let it consume you then sure it can seem like work. Years of encounters without success at times frustrated me to no end, especially when I went bow only down there. However, I never lost that drive to get back out there and try to figure them out better. Anyone can say that they spent all kinds of time doing this but sometimes we all miss the little things that help clue us in to what we have been missing. Have I figured everything out for our property down there? No way, that's why I keep enjoying every moment I get when I can be down there trying to learn more.
 

Treed

Junior Member
522
0
Stark County
I love it all, and I'm totally that guy but I try not to walk into the woods with expectations other than to maybe see a few deer that day. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. When it gets rough, I do my best no to let it get me down. Heck, I took my buck two days before the season ended this year. I'm not looking to kill P&Y or B&C bucks every time I'm out although I can't deny it would be nice to get one once in a while. For me, it's mostly just about being out in the woods alone, enjoying the peace and beauty of it all. All of the preparation, anticipation, and yes, even the expectations I try not to have are a huge part of why I love the sport so much. That said, I'm going to go out in the back yard and shoot the new bow for a while. I think I want to try turkey hunting with it a couple times this year. There's a fair amount of anticipation and expectations there TOO. lol
 
1,560
0
You hit the nail on the head Treed, I too love every aspect of it. Everyone's situation is different some don't have property they can really manage with out someone else throwing a monkey wrench into what they are trying to do. A lot of people I talk to have tried to manage to manage their property and have given up because they aren't getting the instant gratification they are looking for. I am fortunate to have a large property that my son and I have been managing for the last 12 years. We put out food plots, mineral sites, and let the young bucks go. We have always had some good bucks around but it seems like the last 4 years we have been seeing more mature bucks than ever. My point is it just takes hard work and time to see results, after all patience is the nature of our sport. Like you said we are not always going to make the record books, but it's the thrill of knowing it could happen at any time and if not who cares! It's just nice to be in the woods.