What would you do if deer hunting didn't exist?

[muddy]

Another post on another forum has sparked an interesting and thought provoking conversation.

Say, hypothetically, deer populations in the midwest plummeted due to disease and mis management. Maybe not to the point of gone gone, but to the point where simply seeing deer was difficult, even for the most efficient hunters. Will CWD, EHD, DNR eradication programs destroy the deer herds? Probably not, but man a few bad years in a row could REALLY devastate them. I've seen what 1 bad year of EHD can do, cant imagine a few years of EHD in a row with CWD eradication on top of it.

It's a daunting thought process to figure out what I'd do with my time NOT spent scouting, running cams, shed hunting, mentally prepping, trimming stands, etc...

Take trapping back up? Hunt waterfowl? Upland bird hunt? Fish? Camp?

What would fill the hole in your heart where the whitetail once was?

Think about it before you respond.

[ghoasthunter]

couldn't even figure out an answer

[Sailfish_WC]

I’d
Fish
Spearfish
Turkey
Hog
Duck
Predator
More

[Northbound]

Starve

[Swampbuck]

Fish a lot more. Probably be alot more productive on my projects lol

[Hawthorne]

I’d take up bowling

[thwack16]

Tough to even think about.

I guess I'd do a lot more duck hunting. Maybe a little crappie fishing. Most likely, bank vacation time and family time for turkey season.

[Dewey]

It would suck I'm not gonna lie but I could easily fill my time up with other outdoor activities I never have enough time to do otherwise. Musky fishing is at the top of that list. I put so much into hunting deer that I don't get to do it nearly as much as I would like to. I love fall fishing but hate to give up stand time so it would be an easy trade off. Trapping, small game, waterfowl, turkey, bear hunting......the list goes on. One thing about fall there is never enough time to do everything.

[Josh_S]

Liberal activist. just kidding

In the Fall I would spend more time steelhead fishing

[Jonny]

Walleyes are always biting

[elk yinzer]

In that hypothetical fish populations would take one heck of a crash from overfishing but if that happened fishing would be my first choice. After that..

Golf a lot more, I am pretty good at golf and enjoy it, but it takes a backseat

See all MLB parks and NHL arenas. Always wanted to but not enough time and money

Travel and camp more

Canoe/kayak more

Gardening

Foraging

Carpentry

Get back into homebrewing

I have no shortage of stuff I enjoy and don't have time to do but that would be a massive hole in my existence.

[Edcyclopedia]

You're an internet cheater - HOW DARE YOU GO TO ANOTHER FORUM!

[tbunao]

move to a state where big game existed to chase

[Eddiegomes83]

I would just hunt giant Bass. I'm already torn between which one I love more. Every time hunting season ends and I start fishing again , I think to myself, can't believe I thought I liked hunting better. Then hunting season rolls around and I'm like, I can't believe I thought I liked fishing better.

[DaveT1963]

Traditional archery shoots, cycling and kayak fishing.