In and out

[phade]

Life is very rarely a steady line - it has ups and downs. Deer hunting and our passion for pursuit are no different.

Truly, if I said I enjoyed every aspect of deer hunting, I'd be lying. Getting onto private property is harder each year and average property size is shrinking, creating more encounters with neighbors and putting people in situations where it can be hard to assume positive intent.

I killed a nice buck in 2017 and within 12 hours, I had a guy who hunts the area stop by and ask for photos of it. Not a direct hunting neighbor we knew...but we saw his truck go by every single day we were at that property the rest of the season and each time he'd ask for photos. I wasn't much interested in sharing because he didn't small talk, or introduce himself, etc. It was clear he wanted to see the buck photo for his own benefit and not some mutual hunter congrats. 2018 rolls around and we see the same guy and the same routine, except someone offered money to the landowner for leasing, which thankfully was turned down. 2019, my buddy shot another good one there, and we had to pretty much not share the news with people in that immediate vicinity. That decision led us to dragging the buck a long and difficult way around the property to avoid roadsides. During the drag, I blew a disc out and ended up having to have surgery this spring. It may have went sooner rather than later, but it went on that drag.

I was bent out of shape over it - physically and mentally. I hunted as best as I could the rest of the season, my friend helped me to the blinds. I climbed stands I had no business climbing with my back - mostly because i was pissed over all of it happening to me. Yet somehow I was pretty focused on effort. I got up and hunted more than I should have, and when I had a few encounters I blew them due to no focus on execution. Effort doesn't equal results.

Final week of gun season I got a lead on a nice buck, forced myself to THINK, made a move on the final day of the season, and killed him with beast style precision. Blown out back be damned.

You have to learn from and fight off the lows to reach the highs IMO.

[moondoondude]

Life is very rarely a steady line - it has ups and downs. Deer hunting and our passion for pursuit are no different.

Truly, if I said I enjoyed every aspect of deer hunting, I'd be lying. Getting onto private property is harder each year and average property size is shrinking, creating more encounters with neighbors and putting people in situations where it can be hard to assume positive intent.

I killed a nice buck in 2017 and within 12 hours, I had a guy who hunts the area stop by and ask for photos of it. Not a direct hunting neighbor we knew...but we saw his truck go by every single day we were at that property the rest of the season and each time he'd ask for photos. I wasn't much interested in sharing because he didn't small talk, or introduce himself, etc. It was clear he wanted to see the buck photo for his own benefit and not some mutual hunter congrats. 2018 rolls around and we see the same guy and the same routine, except someone offered money to the landowner for leasing, which thankfully was turned down. 2019, my buddy shot another good one there, and we had to pretty much not share the news with people in that immediate vicinity. That decision led us to dragging the buck a long and difficult way around the property to avoid roadsides. During the drag, I blew a disc out and ended up having to have surgery this spring. It may have went sooner rather than later, but it went on that drag.

I was bent out of shape over it - physically and mentally. I hunted as best as I could the rest of the season, my friend helped me to the blinds. I climbed stands I had no business climbing with my back - mostly because i was pissed over all of it happening to me. Yet somehow I was pretty focused on effort. I got up and hunted more than I should have, and when I had a few encounters I blew them due to no focus on execution. Effort doesn't equal results.

Final week of gun season I got a lead on a nice buck, forced myself to THINK, made a move on the final day of the season, and killed him with beast style precision. Blown out back be damned.

You have to learn from and fight off the lows to reach the highs IMO.

Great post man. What's the current status of your back now?

[tim]

Maybe once I smack down the laundry list of slobs you have in the past.... I "might"

No in all seriousness, I know exactly where you are coming from. Its for sure something that can be hot/cold.

For me, once I get into gear, I am rollin! Then once I find something I want to chase, and think I have a legit chance of getting it, then I am all in.

So, I would be curious to ask you a question Moon. I was joking with my first sentence....but
Do you think you lack of enthusiasm comes from the inability to find something mature enough to get you fired up?
I have read probably everything you have put out either in magazines, here etc, and I KNOW you put in so much time to get yourself on your kills. To me the work you were doing seems exhausting and I can see how one may get burned out doing that year in year out.

I never have a problem finding something mature enough, actually the number of mature bucks that I have around every year is always high. So many of those mature bucks though, are under 130". Those upcoming three and four-year-olds that might be right at 130" or right over it, are much easier to shoot and they also turn a lot of heads -and hardly make it through. I like an old buck as much as anyone though, it's cool to see how they make it by and to think of what they have been through. I think frustrating circumstances, the drama that comes from having neighbors hunting on fencelines in every direction, poaching, and all the rumors are what will really kill my buzz. Too many people just don't get it - they want the glory but nothing else. I responded to that a few years back in probably the wrong way - I stopped sharing any pictures, didn't tell anyone what i got or what i was hunting for, and lied about everything (even more than i was before). Surely that didn't help, but it was my way of separating from it all.

I quit discussing deer hunting with most people. I quit posting pics on social media. I don’t enter contests. The bigger bucks I kill don’t make me feel like I need to kill even bigger....I don’t really have outside influence anymore as to what I do or kill. I share pics and info with a select few. Without all the outside influence and negative comments I’m happy with what I’m doing and stay motivated . I always feel a bit torn though cause I do enjoy others posts /stories and pics so feel a bit hypocritical not sharing lol

[Motivated]

I like an old buck as much as anyone though, it's cool to see how they make it by and to think of what they have been through. I think frustrating circumstances, the drama that comes from having neighbors hunting on fencelines in every direction, poaching, and all the rumors are what will really kill my buzz. Too many people just don't get it - they want the glory but nothing else. I responded to that a few years back in probably the wrong way - I stopped sharing any pictures, didn't tell anyone what i got or what i was hunting for, and lied about everything (even more than i was before). Surely that didn't help, but it was my way of separating from it all.

I'm not in the same league as a hunter, but I think I understand a little bit.

I would encourage you to reflect more so that you understand exactly what it is you love and exactly what turns you off. So that you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

It sounds like your negative interactions with other people are the root of the issue. And after all your hard work with scouting, with trail cameras, and bouncing around and scouting different properties--those efforts seem to increase your interactions with other people. So in order to find an older buck to hunt then it sounds like you're almost guaranteed to run into more people. So if that's accurate then I don't blame you for not wanting to do all the work just to have more problems. You may have to figure out another way to persue what you love while avoiding what you dislike.

The other question I have has to do with your process of finding and killing the deer. Do you have a very similar way you do it every time? If you've mastered your process and are not improving as an overall hunter then your motivation might flag overtime. You might talk to your buddy Andy May about this. I heard him talking on a podcast about how he likes to try different methods and improve these. Improvement at different tactics and techniques of killing deer seems to keep him motivated. That seems similar to what Dan has done over the years, trying to master different terrain.

Maybe changing your process to push yourself to improve in a particular aspect of hunting might be what you need. Variety is the spice of life after all. Maybe challenge yourself to kill a deer in a completely different manner, for example on a new property, reading sign only and not using cameras. Or by still hunting only. Anything different that challenges your ability, develops your skill, and gets you excited, regardless of age class or antler size.

Sorry for the long post, but one last thing. If you can volunteer to take a new hunter out into the field, it may help. Teaching, giving back, and allowing that other person's enthusiasm and positivity to effect you might be good to replace some of that negative association with other people.

Hopefully that's helpful. I appreciate the insights you have shared here over the years.

[live2hunt]

Dude I was just going to through some old posts refreshing on some stuff and I came across a post from you in 2013 that said you weren’t motivated then. Something needs to change or a fire needs lit. Not telling you what to do just letting you know these things helped me at a point of struggle.

Just enjoy your hunt. Slow down and appreciate the small stuff. Be aware of everything around you in a more sentimental value.

Switch to a recurve. Then set a goal of killing first deer within x-yards no matter what it is.

Kind of along lines of last comment but go back to hunting just like you did the first year you hunted. No cares in the world when you are in the woods.

Take a kid or an adult that can learn from you.

Take on more work or jobs so when you actually get time to hunt you realize it’s a hobby and a time to enjoy and reset.

[moondoondude]

I like an old buck as much as anyone though, it's cool to see how they make it by and to think of what they have been through. I think frustrating circumstances, the drama that comes from having neighbors hunting on fencelines in every direction, poaching, and all the rumors are what will really kill my buzz. Too many people just don't get it - they want the glory but nothing else. I responded to that a few years back in probably the wrong way - I stopped sharing any pictures, didn't tell anyone what i got or what i was hunting for, and lied about everything (even more than i was before). Surely that didn't help, but it was my way of separating from it all.

I'm not in the same league as a hunter, but I think I understand a little bit.

I would encourage you to reflect more so that you understand exactly what it is you love and exactly what turns you off. So that you don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

It sounds like your negative interactions with other people are the root of the issue. And after all your hard work with scouting, with trail cameras, and bouncing around and scouting different properties--those efforts seem to increase your interactions with other people. So in order to find an older buck to hunt then it sounds like you're almost guaranteed to run into more people. So if that's accurate then I don't blame you for not wanting to do all the work just to have more problems. You may have to figure out another way to persue what you love while avoiding what you dislike.

The other question I have has to do with your process of finding and killing the deer. Do you have a very similar way you do it every time? If you've mastered your process and are not improving as an overall hunter then your motivation might flag overtime. You might talk to your buddy Andy May about this. I heard him talking on a podcast about how he likes to try different methods and improve these. Improvement at different tactics and techniques of killing deer seems to keep him motivated. That seems similar to what Dan has done over the years, trying to master different terrain.

Maybe changing your process to push yourself to improve in a particular aspect of hunting might be what you need. Variety is the spice of life after all. Maybe challenge yourself to kill a deer in a completely different manner, for example on a new property, reading sign only and not using cameras. Or by still hunting only. Anything different that challenges your ability, develops your skill, and gets you excited, regardless of age class or antler size.

Sorry for the long post, but one last thing. If you can volunteer to take a new hunter out into the field, it may help. Teaching, giving back, and allowing that other person's enthusiasm and positivity to effect you might be good to replace some of that negative association with other people.

Hopefully that's helpful. I appreciate the insights you have shared here over the years.

Great post. You hit on a lot of the exact things that are happening here. Nowhere isn't hunted here. Most tracts have multiple groups of hunters on them, including the pieces i hunt.

Yeah, i talk to Andy about everyday. Andy just likes to do all types of stuff, all over the country. We get together a few times a year and it's always fun. I really like to hunt super aggressive for OTC elk on public - I'm kind of tailor made for that, at least temporarily with my age. Andy likes to do that too, but not that much more than any one thing or about 10 other things. At least for now, that will be my focus outtside of whitetails because I'm limited on time.

My process has evolved over time and it's pretty simple now. It takes a lot of time, but i enjoy the process more than the hunting itself. The reason why i don't change it is that because, in my opinion and experience out here, the process I implement keeps the most amount of deer alive for the longest period of time. The process i have teaches deer to bed in a primary bed and reinforces that. It rewards daylight movement, but only to one specific area. The deer move off their primary beds to a specific area, then go back to their beds. Obviously, this can only be done on private land. Over the years, they become a slave to the system. The real exception is the rut.

As for new hunters, if i told you how many days, alone, that i hunted whitetails the last 4 years you wouldn't believe it. I think that was the intention of the "in and out" thread. I've been on the "out" with whitetails but I'm coming back "in". I thoroughly enjoy bringing out new Hunters but sometimes when people are just introduced to hunting they are completely dependent and it's difficult to teach them how to branch off or do things by themselves. Although I believe it is good for the sport on a whole, there are a lot of guys that listen to Joe Rogan and think "man I could hunt with a bow for sure". So, they call me and I oblige and the circus starts.

[dan]

It takes a lot for a killer to talk about the emotional struggle that comes with age. I for one appreciate you putting this out there. I have been wanting to say something similar for a while now, and just could not put it in words. So yours, are striking a cord with me... I dont see it as a "some years" thing though, but I may have when it 1st started... It started slowly and was hard to recognize at the onset. I kind or kept telling myself to push harder, and "man up". I wrote a blog a while back about a window of time a guy has to really accomplish their goals between the 20 to 35 year old range. Younger than that and your focus and skill level is not there, older and you loose the drive. For me that 35 to 40 range was with blinders on, I was still getting it done on great bucks, but success started getting more spotty. I did not recognize the situation and fought it hard, but after 40 I started to see there was nothing I could do to create "want and drive" and it was fading... Now, you need to take that with a grain of salt, cause I still have more "want and drive" than 99.9% of the rest of the world, and only a solid killer would who has been there, lived thru it, and moved to the next stage would understand, but you really need to have an abnormal almost obsessive level of "want and drive" to have that top level of success. any great hunter can shoot "good" bucks every year, but its different level to seek out and shoot the top mature bucks in your area.You cant just fall back on knowledge, or work ethic... When I look back at the 10 or 15 year span when I shot giants year after year, I dreamed whitetails, breathed whitetails, thought about whitetails, and obsessed whitetails 24-7-365... I could literally be at a loved ones funeral and I would be pacing to get out scouting and thinking about hunting. Thats the level... I would dream about a spot I havnt hunted yet where the buck might be hiding and wake up write down notes for in the morning so I wouldnt forget.

Your body and mind can only do that for so long, and with age and maturity comes the realization that you have nothing to prove,higher priorities than hunting, and no one left you care to beat... I feel like there is a little demon on each shoulder, the one who says I was not the best father and husband because I obsessed over whitetails so much in my younger days, and the one who is whispering "it aint over, you can get that drive and want back" but really, you can never go back, you can only look forward and see what chapter 2 has in store for you...

[Bowhunting Brian]

I'm in it for meat only. If I get a buck, it's a bonus.

[Ghost Hunter]

I really have struggled since about 2010 mainly because of life struggles with family issues that comes first. I joined here in 2012 I think. Just had to many irons in fire so to speak. Things are better now. But, I will be 57 this year. As of now no health problems. Lift weights and run or walk five days a week. You wonder what I'm talking about has to do with this thread? Better shape you are in, more mental drive you have for activities such as hunting. I take GNC supplements to help give me that push on those mornings to get going when you have that don't want too. I think my biggest weakness as for as hunting. If I'm not on hot sign. There is no desire. So I have to stay going and locating that fresh sign. I do a lot of 1 or 2 sits in each spot. I got to really be on it or I'm not in it.

Up till I was about 40 I ate, slept and breathed deer hunting 24/7. Now I realize that my years are numbered carrying stands and walking 3/4 mile to locations. Climbing in, out of creeks and up steep banks to go that extra that a lot of people want do. I have always been sneaky to keep people from cluing in on where I'm hunting. That is part of fun too. I have also realized that a lot of people don't think like a lot of us do. They would not dream of going that extra distance. They are just not programmed that way.

[moondoondude]

It takes a lot for a killer to talk about the emotional struggle that comes with age. I for one appreciate you putting this out there. I have been wanting to say something similar for a while now, and just could not put it in words. So yours, are striking a cord with me... I dont see it as a "some years" thing though, but I may have when it 1st started... It started slowly and was hard to recognize at the onset. I kind or kept telling myself to push harder, and "man up". I wrote a blog a while back about a window of time a guy has to really accomplish their goals between the 20 to 35 year old range. Younger than that and your focus and skill level is not there, older and you loose the drive. For me that 35 to 40 range was with blinders on, I was still getting it done on great bucks, but success started getting more spotty. I did not recognize the situation and fought it hard, but after 40 I started to see there was nothing I could do to create "want and drive" and it was fading... Now, you need to take that with a grain of salt, cause I still have more "want and drive" than 99.9% of the rest of the world, and only a solid killer would who has been there, lived thru it, and moved to the next stage would understand, but you really need to have an abnormal almost obsessive level of "want and drive" to have that top level of success. any great hunter can shoot "good" bucks every year, but its different level to seek out and shoot the top mature bucks in your area.You cant just fall back on knowledge, or work ethic... When I look back at the 10 or 15 year span when I shot giants year after year, I dreamed whitetails, breathed whitetails, thought about whitetails, and obsessed whitetails 24-7-365... I could literally be at a loved ones funeral and I would be pacing to get out scouting and thinking about hunting. Thats the level... I would dream about a spot I havnt hunted yet where the buck might be hiding and wake up write down notes for in the morning so I wouldnt forget.

Your body and mind can only do that for so long, and with age and maturity comes the realization that you have nothing to prove,higher priorities than hunting, and no one left you care to beat... I feel like there is a little demon on each shoulder, the one who says I was not the best father and husband because I obsessed over whitetails so much in my younger days, and the one who is whispering "it aint over, you can get that drive and want back" but really, you can never go back, you can only look forward and see what chapter 2 has in store for you...

Dude - awesome post. I know I'll never have what I had. The drive i still have is way higher than 99% like I said - if guys heard what i do in a week any time of the year they'd probably think it was crazy.

The exact years you described are about spot on too. I was about 18-20 when it really clicked and came together. In my late teens and early 20s before i was active duty, I would hunt everyday. For 2008-2010 there were 3 years that i hunted about everyday through the entire archery season. Private, public, private, public. I just banked spots and had yo keep going and going. In 2010 at 21 years old, i killed the only buck i wanted to shoot, and on opening day of archery. I spent the rest of the year hunting every day, because that is all i knew to do in archery season. After that year, i really refined how i did things.

I'll never go back to those times and have that kind of push for whitetails - but like you, without having done it I couldn't have banked all the scouting, all the hours, and all the Intel. All that will always stick with me, and a good chapter one sets the ground work for a of a book!

[phade]

Life is very rarely a steady line - it has ups and downs. Deer hunting and our passion for pursuit are no different.

Truly, if I said I enjoyed every aspect of deer hunting, I'd be lying. Getting onto private property is harder each year and average property size is shrinking, creating more encounters with neighbors and putting people in situations where it can be hard to assume positive intent.

I killed a nice buck in 2017 and within 12 hours, I had a guy who hunts the area stop by and ask for photos of it. Not a direct hunting neighbor we knew...but we saw his truck go by every single day we were at that property the rest of the season and each time he'd ask for photos. I wasn't much interested in sharing because he didn't small talk, or introduce himself, etc. It was clear he wanted to see the buck photo for his own benefit and not some mutual hunter congrats. 2018 rolls around and we see the same guy and the same routine, except someone offered money to the landowner for leasing, which thankfully was turned down. 2019, my buddy shot another good one there, and we had to pretty much not share the news with people in that immediate vicinity. That decision led us to dragging the buck a long and difficult way around the property to avoid roadsides. During the drag, I blew a disc out and ended up having to have surgery this spring. It may have went sooner rather than later, but it went on that drag.

I was bent out of shape over it - physically and mentally. I hunted as best as I could the rest of the season, my friend helped me to the blinds. I climbed stands I had no business climbing with my back - mostly because i was pissed over all of it happening to me. Yet somehow I was pretty focused on effort. I got up and hunted more than I should have, and when I had a few encounters I blew them due to no focus on execution. Effort doesn't equal results.

Final week of gun season I got a lead on a nice buck, forced myself to THINK, made a move on the final day of the season, and killed him with beast style precision. Blown out back be damned.

You have to learn from and fight off the lows to reach the highs IMO.

Great post man. What's the current status of your back now?

Thanks! I'm 60 days post-surgery so doing OK. Can't shoot a bow until August, possibly September but knowing that just means I'll have to focus more!

[Bonecrusher101]

I think I have hit lulls with deer hunting, especially during the season when I’ve hit hard times without success, or I’ve already got some decent deer and the freezer is almost full and the wife is crabby and kids are being needy.

There’s so many issues in life that I escape from year round. I mentally use the woods and deer hunting as my happy place. Maybe it’s just a false excuse and I’m kidding myself about how much I love deer hunting, but for now it works and I use it.

I have zero adventure and get bored with routine in my day to day, so I absolutely cherish the times I can go and work to get to a piece of public where I’ve never been before.

If I run out of new spots and everything got trampled every year, I’d probably be discouraged with it as well. And I know my window is shrinking with every year my kids get older. They won’t be toddlers in a few more seasons so things will change.

[BradC36]

Anyone else finding that your desire comes and goes some years? It is amazing how hunting priorities, visions, and goals change so unexpectedly. Even just reading through the forum leisurely, if I'm not geared up on whitetails I'll scroll through certain threads that would usually be right up my alley. The kind that make you want to say, "YES! EXACTLY!", or offer your input and encouragement. I've been this way for a few years really, just haven't had that extra fire and excitement. I'm much younger than many of you, so I'm sure some of you can relate in a way although there may be a very, very select few complete psycopaths on here that are probably thinking what in he'll is this little fairy pansy talking about?

Getting into a mindset of excitement, of motivation, and of determination can be tough and that high level of motivation and dedication changes everything.

Here, if you want to stay on a certain class of deer, you have to move around a lot. Places change quickly and as some habitat ages, it becomes less desirable for deer. Some Places aren't hunted for a year or two, then a group of 5 guys start hunting It. It seems when a big buck or a bachelor group of nice bucks show up somewhere, the next few years are tough as guys show up and wipe them all out. Sometimes a new group will cycle back through due to there being something attractive about a specific area, but it usually takes years. In the meantime, you have to be looking and searching for a spot. You turn those spots into areas to focus on. As mentioned earlier, you have to be motivated and determined to keep going, looking for something better, or something new.

I'm putting this out there publicly, on here, because it's the only place left other than YouTube that i look at whitetail stuff. I don't share much, but I do a lot of reading and i appreciate when guys take their time and focus to offer their perspective. I really don't talk whitetails with even some of my closest friends that hunt all the time, because we do it so much differently - which is fine. We need more hunters and people outdoors.

Here's to hoping you all stay motivated, determined, and excited about whitetails. That fire and focus makes things happen.

I'm at a point where the hunting content I consume is minimal, and the amount of people I discuss deer with is even smaller. I think because of that, I don't draw much motivation from outside sources. It just tends to come down to time of year and priorities anymore. I don't think it's so much that the "interest" changes, but its hard to have any sort of balance in life if I don't prioritize certain things at the times that my deer related activities are less critical.

2020 has been an example of this for me. Late January-April was a ton of scouting and shed hunting for me, without spending time doing much else. I gained a lot of valuable information and walked a lot of new ground in multiple states. We're usually buried with snow for those months as is, being in ski country just off of the lake. From April-July it has been our busy season for work, a lot of house work/maintenance, family time, added commitment to working out, etc. As much as I'd like to be out glassing/running cameras/walking ground every day to get really dialed, I try to rack up my brownie points with my family now for when season hits. We do a lot of shooting throughout the spring and summer together and then glass as we get later into the summer. Come September I'll really start to grind it out to be ready for the opener in NY and some out of state trips.

[DaveT1963]

I think most get there at some point. Truthfully, I enjoy scouting and running cameras more than hunting at times. Then the whole trad thing gets me up and down. It takes a lot of year round shooting for me to stay proficient at 25 yards. I often get burned out and have days where I screw around with brace height, nock point, broadhead weight to the point I'm chasing ghosts. Would be better for me to just put the dang bow down.

As far as taking new folks hunting. Been there done that but truthfully, a lot of the young guns have attitudes and want instant results. Few over the years were willing to do the work. Every once in a while a good one comes along and has the right attitude.. but like public land it's getting scarcer to find good stuff. I certainly dont count on that to fulfill me or make hunting more enjoyable. But luckily I have two grandsons and a daughter that want to hunt....

I think we see this in all walks of life. Even celebrities and pro sports retire, come back, retire, come back..... Guess it's just part of the game. I used to live doing taxidermy, did pretty well in the competition scene, then I made it a business..... now you cant pay me to do it. I have been working on grandsons first trout for 7 years... yeah I know.

Motivation is not easy. Sometimes you can push through other times nothing seems to work. Age doesnt help either as joints give in, chronic sickness/health pops up, etc....

This year I have worked my rear off, done more scouting then ever, running over 50 cameras on public in a 6 hour circle of me, been out every weekend until I got knocked on my rear with Rocky Mt Spotted Fever and EBV at same time. That took the wind out of me. That and nagging shoulder/elbow issues. All that work and as of right now I do not have a single buck identified that I care to chase.

So yea it happens. A In the end our self talk and cooler weather will hopefully prevail.

Shoot straight and I expect I'll be seeing some slob shots come October, or Novemember, maybe Dec......

DaveT

[Jhand]

Glad to see you back on here and posting again. Your thread about the amount of mature bucks you were finding really motivated me to get out and scout more and harder. I have been struggling with getting after it these last few years. Got married and have a baby at home now and I just dont have the same amount of time to put it. I tend to loose motivation in the off season when I could be doing something productive towards hunting. Then right before the season starts I get fired up but am just frustrated because I didnt put in the time in the off season that I needed to. Then that leads to even more frustration because Im not seeing the bucks like I was when I really put my all into in. Seems like its 100% or nothing anymore but my 100% now is probably only 50% if that of what it used to be just because of my lack of time available. Looking back now I never really appreciated all the time I had to be able to hunt. I used to force my self into going hunting or scouting now I appreciate every moment I get out in the woods. I find that the woods relaxes me more then they used to and Im happy just being out there.

Another issue Im having is my old spots havent panned out like they used to. Places that used to have hardly any pressure on are getting hit hard. Then me not putting in the time scouting to realize that go to hunt and end up wasting a trip because there is no buck sign but hunter sign all over. I feel out of the game because Im not out there keeping up with whats going on. Luckily I have plenty of time to cyber scout due to my job. Alot of times now I am going in blind to new spots and just scouting it on my way in. I have to come with terms that I just have to capitalize on every opportunity I get now. I used to go into every season with a target buck in mind. Now some of those bucks that I passed up Im wishing I could locate now.

I also very rarely talk hunting to anyone except a few guys I met from here. There are alot of guys that hunt where I work and I will small talk with them about hunting but I never go into detail.I dont share anything on social media, I started self filming last year and never post anything about it. I made the mistake before about talking to a few guys about what I was doing and seeing then come to find out they told someone else and who knows who it got to. In my area I have seen an increase of guys pushing further back and hunting more mobile. Guys I knew that strictly hunted private are starting to get onto public. I think now that saddle hunting and more light weight setups are get popular those numbers are just going to keep increasing. If a guy is really interested in hunting public I have no problem helping out and giving some tips just seems like some guys want you to do the work for them. When I first got on the beast I remember asking something and Stanley responded with something like you just have to put in the time. I never really got what he meant at first but then it really sank in after a few years.