I think this stuff comes and goes in phases. I've been out of hunting for 10 or 12 years now and just yesterday was watching a turkey in the woods and thinking I need to go hunting again..

Wood-working, hunting, fishing, etc. I've picked them up and stopped and restarted several times.

My only problem is I recently dug out my hunting clothes and none of the pants fit anymore :-(

We lived in a suburb of Detroit, I was not raised in a hunting household, my dad never hunted except for Japanese on Guadalcanal in WWII.

I took up deer hunting in my early thirties, and found great pleasure in still hunting in the woods around my house in the northern woods of MI. Then arthritis set into my left hip and it started getting painful for me to walk in the woods. Tried hunting from a blind, but found I did not like hunting that way. so I gave up deer hunting in my middle fifties.


Now in my mid sixties, having not hunted for ten years or so does not bother me at all. If you enjoy hunting, do so until it no longer pleases you. Life is meant to be enjoyed.

quote:

Any of you guys ever get ‘here’?

yes

Hunting is not just something I do. It truly is a part of me. I don't shoot as many deer as I used to, but it is still very special to me. The camaraderie is also not like it used to be... me as a teen or young man with mostly older guys sitting around a campfire. That would actually go a long way to making it even more special. I no longer have my grandfather to hunt with, and I am missing an uncle who was very special to me but its the number one way I have to hang out with my Dad and uncle, plus I have two small boys that will be entering into the hunting realm in the next few years. We are blessed to own our own land and have a lot of family land to hunt so access is not a problem.

Right now I have precious little time to go, mostly because of the children. However, I know that will change in a few years when they are able to go. And then the cycle starts fresh and it is my turn to make it special and impart the wisdom, knowledge, skill, and humility that comes with hunting and the outdoors, in general. That is what I am most excited about.

To the OP, I would just say that you may think your son can take or leave hunting, but he'll be better for it if you get him out there. Not to mention, he may like it a whole lot more than he lets on, due to his being a cool teenager. You had hunting partner/mentors and he needs it, too. If it's not hunting, it needs to be somewhere, but I venture that there are few activities out there that teach real life lessons like hunting. Find a plot of land and lease it if you have to. Find some friends who want to go, or join a good club. Your son will really benefit from the interaction and you probably will too.

I had to give up hunting about 3 years ago due to arthritis (OA & RA) got to the point that I had trouble getting into and out of our ladder stands, didn’t have the strength to put a dear on my hitch hauler and skinning and cutting up a deer got to be a real chore. I had always processed my own deer from field dressing to final cut and wrap, I really miss it a bunch, but I refused to be a burden on my hunting buddies.

My son and I hunted deer together in Ohio for 20 years. For the last 10 of those years he lived in Michigan and hunted in both states. I have hunted at his place in Michigan as well. We are lucky that we have had great places to hunt both in Ohio and Michigan. We have both shot deer on our own property in both states. It was wonderful to introduce him to this activity as a youngster and watch his skill develop and grow. He has since taken it further than I ever did. He now only eats meat that he has personally harvested and processed. He takes between 2-4 deer each season. I last hunted with him in 2014. My interest in hunting deer had been fading for awhile. I no longer felt the anticipation nor enjoyed the preparation. I realize now that the last few years of hunting together I was doing it for him. He understands my feelings. His life has gotten busier so he no longer hunts in Ohio, though he hasn't missed a Michigan season. I may be finished with deer hunting but I treasure the memories of those years hunting with my son. I am so glad we got to share those times.

Vinny Gambini: What about these pants I got on, you think they're O.K.?
[Looks down]
Vinny Gambini: Oh!
Mona Lisa Vito: [comes out of the bathroom] Imagine you're a deer. You're prancing along, you get thirsty, you spot a little brook, you put your little deer lips down to the cool clear water... BAM! A fuckin bullet rips off part of your head! Your brains are laying on the ground in little bloody pieces! Now I ask ya. Would you give a fuck what kind of pants the son of a bitch who shot you was wearing?

I always loved being in the woods. I broke my leggs up and now i can't. I still have my rifles ....it's hard to sell them.

It helps to have someone to share the experience with AND a place to hunt.

My uncle, dad, cousins, brother and nephew all go hunting. It is part of a 50+ year tradition.

We had hunted state land (which was overcrowded) and a pain to hunt in. Then my uncle had a friend who offered his sons' place. My uncle is an appraiser who had helped out with appraising their landSo, for , so they were happy to help. For about $50 a head, they allowed us to hunt on their land, which was several hundred acres of swamp, fields and woods. Perfect habitat. We've shot a good 30 or so deer there over the years, at least one in our party.

Years ago, when it was just my brother, my dad and my uncle, it was fine, but then I started going along again. Then my cousin. Then my other cousin. Then my nephew. Now we were 6-7 people which I just knew was pushing it in terms of wearing out our welcome.

So, last year, we'd been trying to get a hold of my uncle's friend a couple months prior to the deer opener. He had been battling leukemia for years and it was finally taking it's toll. A about a week before the opener, He finally answered the phone and asked if we could not come since his grandchildren and their friends were hunting more. So, we lost our access to their land and had to scramble.

For the 1st time in 25 years, we were hunting back on public land. And the spot we picked was overcrowded with people and not enough deer. Then there was another spot that was 90% lake and 10% steep hill.

My septuagenarian uncle and father aren't going to be climbing any more hills. We're still looking for a decent place, but we will still be hunting together.

I also hunt out in SD on my wife's uncle's place in Aberdeen. Lot's of land, lot's of deer, but I am frequently by myself. Sometimes my brother-in-law goes or my wife's cousin, but it is more serene, more meditative experience.

A couple years ago, I was sitting out against a tree on the prairie. It was dark and there was snow falling out of the gray sky. I saw this massive cornfed, 8pt buck come over a rise and stand. I only had anterless tags, so he was a no go, so I just watched him. He slowly walked from my right side to my left side, got within about 10 yards.

The snow kept falling as we stared at one another for a good 30 seconds. I even whispered to him. Finally, after I shifted and snorted at him, he trotted off over another rise and out of sight.

Hunting has changed for us and it will get harder from here for sure. The gravy days are over. I have shot plenty of deer, don't need to shoot any more, but the time spent out in nature, the quiet, the moments like the one with that buck, I think I will keep hunting.

Ronin, if you are looking for somebody to hunt with, you and your son are more than welcome to join us. I cannot guarantee success with the deer, but we're all housebroken. Some of us can even cook, too.

I did a fair bit of bird hunting in my early thirties. I never had any inclination to big game hunt till we found my wife's cholesterol was very naturally high.


Doc said change your diet. Very little to no beef. So we switched over to bison for the first 6-7 years.

When i was 39 a friend in CT tought me how to harvest deer the CT way. I have been eating venison since.

Today, my son and i finished the new blind for this year.

I did not hunt for almost 20 years due to work and being on the road non stop. Moved to Texas and met up with an old friend who had a lease, I bought in and normally get out for deer a couple times and hog a couple times a year.

At least for me it is about getting in the woods for a weekend or 2 as we camp out. Nothing better than a couple guys cooking a hunter breakfast over an open fire.

The lease owner waffles every year about renewing and if we lost the lease I am not sure what we would do since i will not hunt public land and leases in TX are normally $1500 and up per hunter while we pay $1500 per year all in.


I hope to take my youngest out in a couple years as I feel every boy should learn to hunt and dress game...whether they continue to do it is immaterial.

Taking a break sometimes is good, it lasst for a bit and then you yearn to do it again...or not.

either way...be happy

I'm in a 2400 acre lease with 12 other guys. Guys from all walks of life. it's a good club with good people. I used to be a brown is down kind of guy; but any more, I enjoy just sitting in my own box stand and watching what goes on around me. No cell phone, no people around me blabbering away; nothing but the noise the woods and it's critters make. I may or may not fill all my tags, but that's not the point anymore.

y'all need to come to western Illinois,

Lady next door has a loaner car for 3 weeks,
she hit a deer and did $7000.00 worth of damage.