Coping with not hunting ?

[lpcjon2]

Well I havnt hunted in the last two seasons,last season major back problem that led to a surgery in March 2012(43yo and have screw and rods in me). This year with being off for so long with the back problem and recovery, and the wife getting laid off,I am working 6 days a week 12hrs a day and have no time or available funds for hunting.

  So what has been the longest time you went without hunting? and what did you do to keep up the spirits toward hunting? I have seen guys go a season without hunting and then never go back.
   

[Altiman94]

I've never taken a forced break, but there was a couple years that I was more interested in other things than hunting.  I would still hunt, but normally fill a tag the first weekend and not get back out.

After I had more time (was in college then) I got back into it.  

Hope you can find some time to get back out there.  Providing for your family comes first, so you are doing right.  When things turn around, you'll feel better about spending time in the woods.

[cuboodle]

Missed many years due to deployments always come back to it. Read dream and learn to pass the time away from the woods

[Jerry Jeffer]

I had back surgery this year, but it was a laser procedure and I only missed out on Oct. I was so busy with school, that I didn't even notice. When times are tough, you have to suck up and do what you need to in order to get along. When the time comes, you will hunt again. I know guys that went years with out hunting because the just couldn't for one reason or another. They eventually got back out and enjoyed the reward so much more.

[centaur]

I had a few years where either I was involved in wildlife/landscape photography or my 'real' jobs got in the way of hunting. I also raced bicycles for a few years, and that really took a lot of time to be competitive.I fully retired in 2007, decided not to have my butt permanently attached to a bicycle, and came back to hunting with a vengeance. I enjoy it more now than I ever did; lots more time to spend in the woods now.

[bearsfeet]

I can relate to you on this! I had some back injuries a couple years ago that kept me from being ale to shoot and so I didn't hunt for the past 2 years. This was the first year I was able to draw my bow and shoot again. I missed our first season but was able to hunt our late season.

During the lay off from hunting I just fished a lot! And by a lot I mean I went from fishing 30-60 days a year to fishing 150 days a year! It was fun but now that I'm back hunting it will have to get split with hunting time again.

Good luck and keep your sprits up! Scouting year round is a great way to pass the time and keep you motivated to recover and get back out there!

[eflanders]

I missed alot of time in the field due to health issues.  I then started tying flies and fletching arrows as well as do the on-line thing.  At least that helped me to cope and build up an excess of flies and other things that I could do.

[Izzy]

There is no way to cope, you just have to suffer through it.  

[Izzy]

Im also cherishing the 2 to 12 shots I take in the basement each day. Beats not shooting a bow at all.  

[wckid2]

7 years ago I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. I had my 1st surgery on oct 1st and my 2nd on november 5th. I missed the entire season that year. Since then Ive had problems with my body not producing testosterone. It really makes it tough taking shots. Some days I feel good and some I dont. I may end up going back to a compound in the end. I still have my good days and the hunts mean that much more. Hang in there your time will come.

[A.S.]

I'm in the same boat, although for different reasons. I have only managed 3 sits in a stand with my bow this year. Thankfully, I was blessed with a good clean kill the first morning.

Life deals us some bumpy roads. We just have to stay focused and keep looking ahead.

[Keefer]

When I was 43 I also had the screw and rods put in my L5 and was laid up a little while and on 12-1-1985 I severed my right hand in a logsplitter at mid palm..I was loading the log and my brother in law hit the lever at the same time...I had it reattached and 8 s.s. pins put in to hold my fingers till they mended...I lost about 3 years hunting from that but today I can pull a 50 # recurve with not much problem...Now at 49 we are into another adoption of our third child and my time is very limited...This little girl has no thumbs and hands are fused at the wrist so my wife and I will be needed more then ever...I hunt when I can and don't complain cause some cann't at all..I'm very thankful the Good Lord gave me my hand back and thank Him for each and everyday I have with my family..It's a privlage to hunt and when ever I can I am very Thankful even if I don't harvest anything...There is more to Traditional Archery then just hunting..I enjoy making strings, arrows,stump shooting and fellowship with friends...I come to this site cause there is a bond of other men ,women and children who share my passion and to see their success is part of what Tradional is all about...I was down for awhile with the hand injury but the Lord got me through it and I am Blessed beyond measure for what God has done with my life....

[BOWMARKS]

I have had my on and off seasons. Most off season's were because of medical problems. But I always have jumped back into the hunt.

This past season I lost the hunt mode  

[kyfiddledave]

I'm with you lpcjon2.... last year I had 4 vertebrae in my neck fused just before season opened. This year, I had 3 vertebrae fused in my lower back about a month and a half ago. So- here I sit. I check TradGang for new posts every little while, have been working on perfecting my string making abilities, drool over new bows, have ordered some Douglas Fir shafts and all the fixin's for my Christmas present to learn how to build my own arrows, I've been on a couple of short rides through parts of the Land Between the Lakes NWR. I did make it to the woods for about 2 hours this season (prior to surgery) before I got too uncomfortable. For me at 49, after all this I will hopefully be in pretty good shape for a while. I can hardly wait to get out and roam the woods and spend some time around a campfire with my Son. Hopefully, all this time spent on the sidelines will make those future adventures all the more sweet!!

[Jack Ripper]

I have not hunted much in texas because its just to hot.I hate hunting in warm weather. Yesterday and today I think its been over 80. When is it going to get cold?  

[Tree Killer]

Two years ago I had a heart attack 5 days before archery elk/deer season opened, then two day before the opener I had open heart surgery and a quadruple bypass.

Missed the whole season ... in fact it was 9 long months before I was able to even draw my hunting bow all the way back. The longest 9 months of my life!

[pdk25]

I delayed joining the USN until after hunting season after I graduated high school.   I didn't hunt at all for the first 4 years that I was in the Navy.  Then I got stationed at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and started hunting on the Olympic Peninsula.  I don't think that I have missed a full season since then, although I have had a few that I didn't get out much shortly after the end of my obligated service.

[rraming]

5 years when the boys were born and younger, you do what you have to do, then play!

[Knawbone]

Two years, that must be torture. I hope time makes it up to you. I'm fortunate to have my health and the time to hunt. Can't imagine not hunting, although there have been scant years due to responsibilities.

[Arwin]

I have been blessed and haven't gone through some of the stuff you guys have.
 
 I did have a couple employers who made it tough to hunt. No time off given and worked 6 days a week but would still go out, even if I only had a 1/2 hour of daylight, mostly out of spite, LOL!

 One of my jobs was car dismantling. I would smell to high heaven of transmission fluid and oil. That season(last year in fact).
 I thought all was lost. No way would a deer approach smelling like that. I took clean clothes to work and washed up the best I could in the bathroom sink.
 On the way home, there was a tiny chunk of public land. I only had 45 minutes of light to hunt, so I crept in staying close to the road and climbed a small tree in my climber stand. Right before dark, I connected on this small doe.
 She was a trophy to me because of the circumstances faced. I guess what I'm saying is try if you can, no matter how short your hunt may be.