Kraftd wrote:mibowhunter wrote:Stanley wrote:A good friend of mine was in a deep funk for a few years. He was trying too hard. Once he relaxed he got out of the funk.
I feel like this is where I'm at... and it kinda sucks. I was a killing machine on good bucks up until 2008... Then I got married, had 2 kids, and the time spent hunting was cut by like 95%. So when I was able to make it out, I was forcing the issue way more than I should have been. Last year I finally relaxed and had a few great encounters with good deer again, I just couldn't close the deal. I hope that was the stepping stone to getting me back on track.
The lack of time thing is a real issue for a good many of us. For me, the funk is really related to everything outside of hunting. By the beginning of September every year I've just about had it with work and everyday stress because I bust my but to get to hunting season. The last few years I've done well with just making darn sure hunting is fun and giving me what I need, even if I'm grinding hard. It's lead to good success and not getting too caught up in it in a good way.
I see some of the journals and scouting threads, and sometimes get down on myself for not pumping out miles and scouting trips, but I know right now with two small children and a career I've worked hard for and want to get everything I can out of, I just can't make hunting another task at the moment. If I do that I'll lose probably my biggest outlet. In a weird way this approach has left me to be pretty relaxed and have a pretty free mind with hunting which has let me make leaps and bounds in learning over that time period. It has been a fun evolution. When I had time I simply relied on time to bring me what success I had, now I make darn sure to get the most out of everything, and it is a good feeling.
Its interesting because if you expect too much out of yourself when you cannot put the time in, that leads to the funk. Sometimes, it might mean, smaller bucks or no bucks are the deal for the time being. My best friend ...he really just accepts whatever comes along for the time that he has to put in. Or should I say WANTS to put in. And he does really well for the amount of time that he puts in. Another buddy, he would always get into a "funk" because he was always hoping to get lucky. "Look at that guy. How does he do it? When am I going to get lucky?" But the end result, he never does. He has never killed a 3.5 in Maine. But he finally came to the realization, he only is putting in a small amount of time and he is not going to give it anymore. He stopped expecting to succeed with bigger deer.
On the flip side, that same buddy, has struggled with his shooting and is really working hard to fix his issues. He has fixed on the targets. Still working on the animals.