Having a hard time getting motivated this year

[DEATHMASTER]

Izzy had a great write up top.
Makes me think also.
Need motivation to go myself.
Time, time, time........

[Caleb the bow breaker]

Well All,

I got out for the first time tonight and say a few deer which was awesome.  Even had one at 40 yards who never knew I was there until I walked back to my truck.  Was good to see some deer and really helped to get me excited for the rest of the year.  

C

[pickaspot]

Caleb,
Hang in there Bro! I have had times like that when "life" is so busy that it is hard to slow down enough to focus on what really matters. Hunting sometimes has to take a back seat to taking care of family and business.

I always find that when I "make an appointment" with myself and hit the woods with the goal of soaking it all in and recharging my batteries, good things happen. Heck, sometimes a critter gets a ride home in the truck! I always come home with a brighter attitude and more prepared for what that next week brings.

The woods are strong medicine  

[LimBender]

I feel you on lack of time, but not the excitement part.  I had to plan my weekends I was going to be in the woods 6 months ago.   :D   It's no fun being a human pinball, but that is part of why I can't wait to sit in a stand in the cool still of the morning while the woods comes alive.

[pintail_drake2004]

It is rough for alot of folks. I personally am not feeling "it" this year either. In march, I lost my hunting buddy-7yo black lab-and being in the woods hasn't been the same since. I don't hunt for the enjoyment anymore, I am hunting out of necessity. I am unemployed, and have been for nearly 2 years (never thought with a Masters degree I'd have trouble finding work). Had to move back in with my folks, then my father lost his job too. If it wasnt for the deer I killed, the last 2 winters would have been difficult. Will things get better? I personally dont think so, not any time soon. From my interviews, I am always told that I have too much education/am overqualified for the positions I apply for. So with opening day just around the corner, I have my routes planned to save gas and maximize my hunting. Unfortunately, I have had to give up the stick and string and go back to the training wheels-I just cannot pass an opportunity at on a deer at 30-40 yards right now. But I'll keep knapping arrowheads in hopes of getting a break that I can resort to trad gear again soon.

[Two Arrows]

I hear ya Caleb. I'm not saying that I'm not going to hunt, I definitely will, but I don't have the "fire" that I have had in the past. Between losing my dad at the end of May, the flooding that occured along the Missouri river wiping out all my Nebraska hunting spots, and my hunting spot in South Dakota that I go to every November has had a good portion of the trees cut down. It kind of zaps a guys enthusiasm. I guess we just have to hang in there and hope for the best and hopefully that "fire" will return again.

Best of luck to you this year. I hope it gets better.

[Jeff Roark]

I'm sort of the same but a bit different. Last year I spent so much time away from my family hunting every opportunity I could for very little return. I have a 2 year old son that is obsessed with his Dad and I feel guilty of spending too much time away from him,my little girl and wife. I'm only able to hunt Wednesday evenings and Saturdays because thats when they have things own their own schedule. I feel like I have to make those hunts count and that I have a pressure to kill something, even though we don't require it for sustenance. I've almost made myself miserable with the whole ordeal.

Sometimes I think I'd simply get more pleasure from just getting out stump shooting.

[mcgroundstalker]

I looked up to the sky and said, "Okay, I get it!" ...... Well put David......      

... mike ...

[Ben Maher]

I hunt more , but drop the string on critters less and less . I spend more time shooting arrows, stumping and just goofing around with my longbows . I'm sure that I'll get the drive again but maybe not ... if so I'l be well ok with it .
Everyday is different...sitting in the office I just want to get afield and hunt ... but once I get there and the coffee is one , the fire going .... I end up stumping !

[centaur]

If we absolutely had to kill something, it is unlikely we would be hunting with recurves or longbows. It is the total experience of being in the outdoors, just enjoying our time away from our 'normal' world. The chance at an animal is icing on the cake, but if we bring home nothing but the experience of being out in nature, that is a real positive. If I had to eat elk every year, I would be really hungry, but I love being where they live and having the opportunity to maybe again someday bringing one home.