Is it just me?

[ShadeTree]

I turned 50 here a while back, and I finally admitted out loud to my wife recently that for the last 2 yrs or so I probably have more fun and get as much enjoyment out of working on rifles, and reloading and shooting, as I do going hunting.

That's a new chapter for me. I've hunted like the world depended on it, since I've been old enough to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy hunting, but if not for the satisfaction of taking game with hand loaded cartridges and the bullet experimentation that goes with it, and the need to put some meat in the freezer, I'd be content most times to just be out on nice days and get to see some game, especially up close.

I guess I'm not as mad at stuff as I used to be. A weird change for sure. Almost feel guilty about it, but it's the way it is.

 

[noslerpartition]

Though I did not hunt for such a long time, I know what you are talking about.
I am just as happy to hear that someone took game with a load I built.
And they have to describe the results.

Same with testing those loads. Usually I am there with them, sometimes shooting them myself.

I hunt for meat. If the freezer is full, I like spending time at the bench or range.
50 is still two years from today, but I am preparing to pass on the flame...

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[whit]

I turn 50 in 6 months. Yesterday I was out with my inline with which I hadn't harvested anything with in 5 years of hunting with it. I saw 2 mature doe that didn't offer a shot early. Then around 4 pm, I glanced up from checking a message on my phone and 50 yards away stood a deer. It looked good sized so I shot it. Perfect shot through the shoulder. When I got to it, I found it was a button buck. Immediately I felt remorse. I should have known that does aren't moving around by themselves. I consoled myself by thinking that I was in a CWD area and herd reduction is the goal. Young male deer are more likely to roam and spread CWD. So my harvest was perfect from a disease management sense. I still have a buck tag and an antlerless tag for another unit. Now I can be choosier when harvesting a buck.

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[ShadeTree]

Hunting has not lost it's lure, heck at times depending on the circumstances I can still get a case of the shakes. I thoroughly enjoy the whole experience and will be out there a bunch this yr and hopefully for many yrs to come. But the desire to be out there rain or shine just for the chance of those opportunity's that come along, is not what it was, I can't deny that.

 

[gbflyer]

For me it’s more about the camaraderie and fellowship. I find myself living a long, long way from all of that, and it just isn’t the same without it. I am always more successful in terms of punching a tag by myself but I’d trade a full game freezer for a hunt with my friend and family any day.

 

[coop22250]

I’ve gotten to where I enjoy helping others get animals as much as doing it myself. I took a buddy to a nice goat hunting spot last year, the rule we usually have is who spots it gets first shot.

I said, man I’ve got goats, you go ahead. After a couple more days of hunting, enjoying the scenery, remote fly in location, I said let’s get out of here, time to take the family caribou hunting. Had just as much fun if it was my tag.


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[cloverleaf]

It has been called "maturing as a hunter". The last couple years it seemed more important to get my BIL, who has had a ton of health issues, "out with the guys and into the wild..." as it were. This year again for health related issues he has chosen not to go. I'm staying home too at this point. Not sure if its the right choice, but I feel I haven't been able to see or do things with the family thanks to the virus. Just cant justify throwing that all to the wind as it were to go hunting.
However, "just in case" I am loading up some BT's for the 250 because in my dreams I might get a call from friend back home who has a land owner tag and needs some help with "herd management" Never gonna happen but I do it anyway. Am I crazy?

Truly, I would enjoy an antelope tag, but I find myself wishing that my daughter or some other deserving young person had it and just wanted me along.
This summer I spent many hours while on furlough, working on some guns for a friend, who I usually hunt deer hunt with. He picked them up the other night and we spent a couple hours going over the work I had done, talking hunting, family etc. VERY enjoyable.

In the last couple years I received my Grandfathers 22. I assumed the beat up old Remington that I'm sure he bought used didn't work. Whenever he had it out with us kids I don't recall that he ever fired a shot. I have since discovered that it works just fine and is probably more accurate than average, since I put a small scope on it. However, I suspect that Grandpa was having too much fun being with us kids to worry about shooting it himself...

I don't think its just you.... CL

 

[5shot]

I love to hunt, but after 2 heart attacks before my 51st birthday, I am not healthy enough to do the things my brain wants to. I couldn't physically haul out a buck from much distance, so I am content to watch my girls do most of the hunting. Lots of wolves up here in NE Washington now as well, and deer, elk & moose sightings are way down over the last few years with our group. I still enjoy it, but the drive isn't as high as it used to be.

 

[salmonchaser]

Not just you. [emoji106]


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[ShadeTree]

Not just you. [emoji106]


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Good. Then I don't have to feel guilty about what I kinda perceive as becoming lazy in regards to hunting. Maybe I'm just mellowing out.

 

[Charlie-NY]

I've got a few years on you and I want to hunt MORE now that I'm retired. The problem for me is that my hunting buddies are aging out. They are either very limited physically or they have dropped out of the game all together. We all still shoot together but my hunting will likely decrease until I hook up with a few younger guys.

 

[hunter24605]

Another one here just hit 50 and you're not alone..I still enjoy hunting very much, but I think I get more excited when one of the youngin's tags game...Last year my buddy and I went up two days before rifle season opened with plans to bow hunt those two days..We ended up just hanging out in the cabin watching movies and a lot of porch sitting..He commented "I can't remember the last time I took an entire day and did nothing 'cept relax"

 

[wvbuckbuster]

I turned 50 here a while back, and I finally admitted out loud to my wife recently that for the last 2 yrs or so I probably have more fun and get as much enjoyment out of working on rifles, and reloading and shooting, as I do going hunting.

That's a new chapter for me. I've hunted like the world depended on it, since I've been old enough to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy hunting, but if not for the satisfaction of taking game with hand loaded cartridges and the bullet experimentation that goes with it, and the need to put some meat in the freezer, I'd be content most times to just be out on nice days and get to see some game, especially up close.

I guess I'm not as mad at stuff as I used to be. A weird change for sure. Almost feel guilty about it, but it's the way it is.

I'm 62 and don't hunt as much as I used to. I like reloading. Trying different bullets, loads and calibers. Help others get better accuracy. All enjoyable to me. Dan.

 

[Elkman]

I also am enjoying shooting and hiking a great deal, but my intensity in the woods has not declined. My third elk hunt of the year is in a couple of weeks, and I am jacked and ready to go. My partners are all younger, as most my age cannot keep up with me. My goal when retiring was to shoot more, up my fitness level, and be able to concentrate on getting ready for upcoming hunts. I love my slower overall life pace, but that goes away when the elk tags start arriving in the mail.

 

[baltz526]

I turned 50 here a while back, and I finally admitted out loud to my wife recently that for the last 2 yrs or so I probably have more fun and get as much enjoyment out of working on rifles, and reloading and shooting, as I do going hunting.

That's a new chapter for me. I've hunted like the world depended on it, since I've been old enough to do so.

Don't get me wrong, I still enjoy hunting, but if not for the satisfaction of taking game with hand loaded cartridges and the bullet experimentation that goes with it, and the need to put some meat in the freezer, I'd be content most times to just be out on nice days and get to see some game, especially up close.

I guess I'm not as mad at stuff as I used to be. A weird change for sure. Almost feel guilty about it, but it's the way it is.

It will pass.