To hunt or to work....that is the question.

[nybirdman]

I get all my projects done before hunting season;Life is too short to miss it or the work can wait.We are into deer hunting plus we have bird dogs and an uplands preserve.Fishing boat gets put away by Oct.1.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I ran into an old school mate at a flea market. He was selling things to survive. Said he was trying to make it through hunting season before he looked for a job.

That qualifies as crazy to me. Work comes first. You have to pay your bills and provide for your family. I love to hunt, but I have missed the majority of 2 seasons due to caring for loved ones who were ill. It didn't phase me because I was doing what I needed to do. I think this is part of the reason I hunt so much. I lost a wife to cancer. I changed a lot of things about my life after that. I do more of what I want to do now instead of waiting. I focus more on spending time with those who I enjoy. And I spend less time with those I do not. That includes family. I have a few who are always negative about my orchard and business ventures. I don't go out of my way to see them. I also have some who have social events scheduled all thru the winter season and expect to see every family member at every event. I told them a few years ago I could make it to 2 events over the holiday season. Some folks understand and some don't.
I will not hunt to the jeopardy of my marriage, my relationship with my kids, or my job. I'm lucky to have a wife who understands about my hunting. When we began our courtship I made it quite clear that when hunting season came around I would be in the woods. If that bothered her, move on because I'm too old to change and don't want to change.

 

[Rustyiron]

WoodChuck,

:thumbsup::thumbsup:

 

[jack707]

That qualifies as crazy to me. Work comes first. You have to pay your bills and provide for your family. I love to hunt, but I have missed the majority of 2 seasons due to caring for loved ones who were ill. It didn't phase me because I was doing what I needed to do. I think this is part of the reason I hunt so much. I lost a wife to cancer. I changed a lot of things about my life after that. I do more of what I want to do now instead of waiting. I focus more on spending time with those who I enjoy. And I spend less time with those I do not. That includes family. I have a few who are always negative about my orchard and business ventures. I don't go out of my way to see them. I also have some who have social events scheduled all thru the winter season and expect to see every family member at every event. I told them a few years ago I could make it to 2 events over the holiday season. Some folks understand and some don't.
I will not hunt to the jeopardy of my marriage, my relationship with my kids, or my job. I'm lucky to have a wife who understands about my hunting. When we began our courtship I made it quite clear that when hunting season came around I would be in the woods. If that bothered her, move on because I'm too old to change and don't want to change.

I'm Lucky to work in a Labour union because I can time out for deer hunting and I could also turn jobs down as a journey man and also don't have a wife to answer to and the bills get paid also.

 

[MF283]

Back when i did hunt, i shot more deer(GUN) while i was doing chores around the farm, they were used to me doing something just walked right out, yep, rifle rack on the tractor:thumbsup:
What was really tough, sitting there enjoying morning coffee only to have a buck walk out, grab the rifle, shoot from deck & then have to go in & take house coat off & get dressed:ashamed:

Ronnie

 

[stuckmotor]

That qualifies as crazy to me. Work comes first. You have to pay your bills and provide for your family.

I had to be careful not to laugh when my old school mate told me he was trying to make it through hunting season before looking for work. To be fair to him, I probably hadn't seen him in twenty years and don't know that he had a family.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I had to be careful not to laugh when my old school mate told me he was trying to make it through hunting season before looking for work. To be fair to him, I probably hadn't seen him in twenty years and don't know that he had a family.

I think the interaction tells a lot of the story about how he arrived at his situation.

 

[WoodChuckDad]

I had to be careful not to laugh when my old school mate told me he was trying to make it through hunting season before looking for work. To be fair to him, I probably hadn't seen him in twenty years and don't know that he had a family.

I want to follow up on my last statement. Anybody can suffer hard times. layoffs, illness, accident, divorce, failed businesses. These things happen. But for most of us, it is the sum of the decisions we make in our lives that leads us to places we find ourselves. Falling down is an opportunity to get back on your feet. It is a misstep. It isn't an excuse to lay down and make bad decisions that keep you down. I have been virtually penniless. I have been fired, betrayed, abandoned, sick, injured, divorced, widowed, and broke. Those sort of experiences define some people and forge others. It is not what happens to you that determines what you are going to be. It is what you do after something happens to you that determines what you are going to be.

My coffee cup is empty, time to get at the day.

 

[The Deerslayer]

I tend to be in line with others in that I try to find a balance between the work and hunting. Sometimes it actually pays off big time.

I am fortunate to have several areas to deer hunt including my place where I keep a few stands. Through the years I have only been able to get a few does on my land, but grateful for them nonetheless. Never saw anything more than a crotch horn and that was off season. Sitting in the stand one morning with the intent of only staying for a couple hours in order to get back and do chores, I was sitting there thinking about how I needed to be splitting wood. The feeling gnawed at me for over an hour. I eventually got down and headed home. On the trail back, a 10 pointer came strolling through the woods. If I stayed in the stand, I never would have seen him. His rack is now in my den with a nameplate under it that says "The Firewood Buck"

 

[MF283]

I tend to be in line with others in that I try to find a balance between the work and hunting. Sometimes it actually pays off big time.

I am fortunate to have several areas to deer hunt including my place where I keep a few stands. Through the years I have only been able to get a few does on my land, but grateful for them nonetheless. Never saw anything more than a crotch horn and that was off season. Sitting in the stand one morning with the intent of only staying for a couple hours in order to get back and do chores, I was sitting there thinking about how I needed to be splitting wood. The feeling gnawed at me for over an hour. I eventually got down and headed home. On the trail back, a 10 pointer came strolling through the woods. His rack is now in my den with a nameplate under it that says "The Firewood Buck"
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Great lil story there, i'd rather eat a doe over a buck anyday.