Has anyone else lost the appeal of hunting a certain species?

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Gunnerboy

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So as the title says Duck hunting for me has just lost its appeal this year probably because all my hunting buddies are gone, and i dont want to have this sound like bragging but i got my limit of 7 ducks with 9 shots so the challenge just isnt there anymore. Does this happen to anyone else with a certain species or have i gone off the deep end.
 
Duck hunting seems to be the best when the conditions are at their worst. #1 reason I enjoy Dove hunting the most, good weather and it's even great hunting while talking with friends.
 
Yep, me too. It's called 'been there, done that'.

For me it was with quail hunting:
Killed my limit with a .410.
Killed 8 with 9 shots (12ga).
only shot over points.
Only took a max of 4 birds/covey.
Trained and hunted a cold-blooded killer male Brittany.
Hunted the same fencerows for too many years.
Buried too many hunting buddies.(including ol' Jake)
My long time partner quit hunting.
My kids are playing school sports now.
Wild bird population too low.
 
I've been tired of shooting deer for some time. Twenty five years ago it was a big challenge to find even good sign. Now, they are thick as the hair on a dog's back. I still hunt about every day and see a lot of deer looking for something special. But, I haven't shot anything in a couple of years. If I was a meat hunter I would just shoot a couple out of the window of my house.
 
I'm done with moose...i've been done with moose! I've shot a lot of them, some pretty big, and i never did prefer the meat to other big game animals.

In fact, it really surprised me on another forum when the question was asked: "What is your dream hunt?" The vast majority said MOOSE.

NO more swamp donkeys for me!

DM
 
Maybe bear.

Hunting them never really appealed to me. I always said I wanted to kill one bear, and hang it on my wall. In 2008, I killed a nice brown sow (black bear) and I'm admiring her on my wall as I write this. In 2010 I could have killed four black bears and a grizzly, and passed on them all. I just prefer to kill elk, and to a lesser extent deer. I know bears prey on elk and deer fawns, but I just don't think they have that big an impact on the herds. I could be wrong. Wolves, though, I'll kill in a second. I nearly got one this year but they vacated the gut pile before I could get there.

I may have to kill one more though, as my wife very much likes the bear on the wall, and wants another for the couch...
 
Hunting was always something I looked forward to.
Deer,elk,waterfowl,upland birds love to hunt them all.
Then one year I just didn't want to do it anymore.
Haven't shot anything but paper in years.
I can't even shoot the coons that are eating all the cats food every night.
 
waffentomas said:
Maybe bear.

I know bears prey on elk and deer fawns, but I just don't think they have that big an impact on the herds. I could be wrong. Wolves, though, I'll kill in a second. I nearly got one this year but they vacated the gut pile before I could get there.
Click to expand...

Where i lived, the wolves were decimateing the moose, and the bears weren't helping any either. Wolved are killing machines, and kill MUCH more than they can eat, (i've seen it myself) i shoot them every chance i get!

Bears need to be kept in check too, as they will kill MANY young animals, but overall they aren't as bad as wolves!

Rob
 
I used to live to deer hunt. For the last few years I've been taking my son who is now 11. I don't even bring my rifle. I basically guide for him...it's a lot more fun for me to watch him learn to hunt and enjoy all of the experiences. Just being there to witness it is enough for me now.

I'll still hunt some...I went to IL this year to deer hunt...but it's different there because the animals are so much larger than here.

If all I did this year was see my son succeed in the field it would be enough for me.
 
Snipes. Never could find the danged things. I'm gonna go after unicorns next season.
;)
 
Deer hunting is just not the same anymore, at least for me. I let many spike horns and several 6 points go by this season, never fired the rifle during deer season. Kinda got the coyote bug several years ago. There are more coyote here than deer now so there's no lag in the action. Hunting at night is more satisfying for me anyway. The season is 6 months long, then trout season opens so my time is used up anyway. If I get the chance to shoot a huge 6 point or nice 8 point for mounting on the wall, I'd take it but other than that, deer hunting holds no interest for me anymore.
 
I guess I'm in the opposite boat as the above poster. Letting several deer walk in a season doesn't leave me disinterested. I do it every year. Some opening weekends, I've probably let 15 or more bucks walk. Its this kind of population density that keeps me forever anticipating the opener though. With this many deer around, there's ALWAYS some very nice bucks around. I have made it a personal rule not to shoot anything LESS than a 4x4 or 5x5 the past several years, and have been successful every year. I've got some nice racks on the wall (topping out at about 174 b&c) but knowing theres bigger ones out there has me out of bed and ready to go on opening morning, while the rest of the crew is barely climbing out of bed. I've hunted rabbits, prairie dogs, pigeons, coyotes, deer, pheasants, doves, grouse, and honestly, haven't grown tired of any of them...given unlimited time, I'd hunt them all any time. But deer hunting is in my heart most of all.....I hope I live to be one of those gray haired old men one occasionally meets in the hunting fields that makes you think "How does he still DO this?" I have an answer for you....at that point, you don't know how NOT to.
 
In 2010 I could have killed four black bears and a grizzly, and passed on them all.
Click to expand...
If you would have killed a grizzly in Washington state your life would have become very interesting. Federal Marshals at your door, search warrants, paying for a good criminal defense attorney, stuff like that.;)
 
The older one gets, the less the hunt is about the kill than it is about the experience.
By that I mean the bonding, the camp activity, all the great B/S and last but not least , just being in the woods. Gee, That`s me.
 
Got tired of big reserve goose hunting, but strangely not fast ducks from tight cover. The older I get the more I enjoy moving hunts and the less I enjoy waiting. I get STIFF when I wait. I would rather stalk than sit in a stand or blind. Same with fishing, I can't hardly watch a bobber just float anymore, but I'll happily throw jigs & crank-baits all afternoon. Funny, I thought it would be the other way around. :confused:
 
I used to love duck hunting back in the midwest, mostly fat grain fed mallards. I continued in Alaska only because I had a neighbor who liked ducks, but he's moved on and there's nobody to give them to. The sea ducks around here taste like digested and excreted liver and I have no use for them.

If I ever move to a place with freshwater ducks I'll start hunting them again.
 
Sometimes I hunt just to have time to take a nap.:p Yes, I still enjoy it, however I can see a time I may not do so. Maybe it's because I came into hunting as an adult rather than younger. I'm still a noob. That said, I still feel some remorse when I take something. I don't want that to change. For me it's an expression of appreciation.
 
When I was young it was about the killing. As I grew older it was about the hunt/experience. Lately all I have hunted is varmints. I like most game - not crazy about deer or turkey - and would shoot a rabbit or squirrel for the table. When living in Illinois I hunted waterfowl - especially geese almost to obsession, now no desire.
 
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