In and out

[moondoondude]

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.

[oldrank]

I get ya, I kind of forced myself to be able to turn it on and off. It's what I have to do to not be a social derelict. Otherwise I would just think deer hunting 24-7. That's fine in my brain but doesn't fit well with most of my friends or family or my wife. So, I am constantly pushing myself to an imaginary line but seldom crossing it.

The inner me wants to quit my job, abandon everyone I know and move into a old trailer or cabin in the northern woods of Michigan. I fight that guy daily.

[Bigburner]

Killed a good buck first week of the season. Had anxiety so bad for the rest of it I couldn’t sit still in a tree stand without thinking I had something I needed to do or something was overpowering me. Was going through some serious personal issues and could have cared less about a deer. Then all the sudden got in the mind set a couple months ago that it’s time. Everything ebbs and flows. What was good one day isn’t the next but it’s always nice having the knowledge to do so in your back pocket and when the fire rekindles it’s game on. You just have to be honest with yourself. Make your own expectations. And set your own goals. If it’s not doing it for you, you focus on what makes you happy at the time. I have a bunch of interest that I pour my heart into. Playing music, surfing, fishing and art. I’ve cycled through that stuff forever and each has engulfed my thought process and has had me geeking out as equally as trying to kill a nice buck. And as long as your doing it for yourself and not focused on perceptions or paradigms or what others think who cares.

[Edcyclopedia]

Yes Sir - other pieces of life get in the way and only have "X' amount of bandwidth to generate towards the "key" priorities.

Usually deer hunting has to take a back seat due to priorities... Most the time it pisses me of. As I get older - it gets easier...

Could be stamina or realization that there is more to life than me and "my" goals.

[DeerDylan]

I go through phases. I think bow hunted deer 4 times last season. I'm just much more interested in hunting fall turkey with my dog. I have been getting the whitetail itch lately though....

[Dewey]

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?

My thoughts exactly.

Guess that makes me a psychopath. First step is admitting I have a problem.

All joking aside you have to do what makes it fun for you. Hunt different states or species other than deer and keep it interesting. I read you are already doing that with elk. New adventures are always exciting and give you something to look forward to and get those juices flowing again.

[PK_]

I know what you mean, I started a similar thread years ago I think it was titled ‘disinterest’.

I think it’s hard to do anything at a very high level for a very long time without experiencing some sort of burnout or stagnation or shifting of priorities or something....

[john1984]

Do you remember PredatorTC's Michigan buck from last year? He couldn't believe how rattled/excited he got from that encounter with a 2 year old buck.

[JAK]

I get where your comeing from. But i just try to keep it fresh and diffrent and keeps me more excited like this last spring i scouted more spots that could only be hunted from the ground. I found for me this seemed to work to keep me excited all year. Also scouted new types of terrain.

[moondoondude]

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?

My thoughts exactly.

Guess that makes me a psychopath. First step is admitting I have a problem.

All joking aside you have to do what makes it fun for you. Hunt different states or species other than deer and keep it interesting. I read you are already doing that with elk. New adventures are always exciting and give you something to look forward to and get those juices flowing again.

Absolutely I do. The in and out I was referring to references whitetails specifically. I'm always all in and stuck in overdrive on something. For a number of reasons, I'm really looking forward to hunting whitetails this year when, even though I had great success, I just wasn't all in it the past few years.

[moondoondude]

Do you remember PredatorTC's Michigan buck from last year? He couldn't believe how rattled/excited he got from that encounter with a 2 year old buck.

Funny how that happens sometimes. It's always a more than pleasant surprise afterwards too.

[backstraps]

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.

[justdirtyfun]

Once I forgot about "deer season" and accepted how I was just a "deer hunter" things became easier. Accepted the problem/drive/love/obsession. Year round activity related to deer doesn't seem strange any longer.

It has been an ebb and flow with energy and enthusiasm. Life is busy, busy.

[Uncle Lou]

I feel like I have been in the decline for the last few years, not physically, just in a funk. Moondoondude is a bad dude, badder than corn pop (search corn pop is a bad dude if you want a good laugh). Anyway, I am amazed at the motor on some BEASTs and what dan puts in year in and year out just blows me away

[PredatorTC]

Great to hear from you again! Always enjoy your in depth thought and perspective on stuff. You've killed some giants over the years. In terms of raising the bar, I bet that has to be harder for you.

I'll admit, I'm a Joe Rogan podcast fanboy and he often talks about how athletes achieve a huge goal that they have strived for for a long time, and then they lose their sense of purpose. It ruins them and they have to find a new motivation or goal. So as Lou has said, it's impressive that Dan does what he does at his age. I think it's because he has shifted his purpose from killing big whitetails to helping others. A new purpose and goal.

For me personally, I usually just have to talk to a few of my buddies in my inner circle and I get motivated and fired up really quick! We feed off each other.