Hunter Burn-out

[freedomrules3]

at one time or another if you have hunted long and hard enough, we all have had it... hunter burn-out. setups get sloppy, spots get overhunted and deer are more spooked. how do you motivate yourself at the end of a long and grueling season?

I tend to at one point or another get burned out on hunting, especially if i have overhunted a particular spot. when i get "it" i tend to either try new spots or just take a week or so off. I am a diehard hunter and a week or so off ussually brings back the vigor. i am in the midst of a yawner gun season and can only believe that things will get better once it is over and the smokepole comes out as well as the bow again late season. how do you prevent burn-out?

[Buckfever]

I hear you. I'm kinda feeling that a little myself. The primary thing for me is to focus on gaining knowledge that will be used for the next years hunting. So checking out a new property or new sections of a property, getting onto and exploring pieces that get little or no pressure is still very motivating and exciting. Right here recent I got onto a piece of a public park that requires a creek crossing, so there is only one other guy that hunts it and he only hunts out of the same stand. It was just too cool to go into an area that except for the small area that he hunts, shows no sign of recent human intrusion. The other thing that I do is, I do some hunts just for fun. There are some properties that I just plain enjoy hunting, for what ever reason. Be it the terrain features or the deer density, or the memories of past hunts there, what ever it is, no agenda, no pressure, just to get out there and have fun.

Finally and while I didn't manage it this year, it does help a lot, if you still have a buck tag, going into the late season. But no matter, I really don't hunt does. I hunt for bucks and if a doe comes through, it gets popped. So even if I'm not able to take them, seeing quality bucks and getting to observe their behavior, I dunno, but that still fires me up!!!

[davep]

I tend to over hunt a number of spots merely due to their convienence.(Walk out the door spots).When I feel these spots are tired,or I am simply getting tired of them,I head off to someplace entirely new,or someplace I haven't been to in a few years.Kind of relights the fire for me.New sign,new patterns to figure out,and the hope/belief that HE'S out there!

[Twanger]

One way to prevent burnout is to take a break. Another is to pick up another weapon.

[Rock Chuck]

Try murdering a few ducks.

Dick

[Twanger]

Murder is such an ugly word. How about KILL.

[tailnbone]

I think I'm just about there. Matter of fact, after Christmas vacation if I haven't killed a deer, I know I'll be there. It just gets harder and harder as the winter progresses. Cold frigid temps, less sightings, deer are on high alert due to high hunting pressure after gun season. It gets tougher to stay on stand as long as I did in early season. This year there was so much mast I haven't seen very many deer in the crop fields that I usually do in years past and that gets discouraging. If I had a few more places to hunt I don't think I would get burned out. I think thats the ticket, having multiple choices of hunt locations, different terrain, different scenery, maybe having to go off road with the 4x4 to get to a certain location would also enhance the experience.
I'm rambling, I need to shut up now.
Man, I need to kill something!

[Trumbull Archer]

I take the week after our gun(Ohio) season off,then get back to the bow till M/L season opens on Christmas vacation. But its mostly to let the deer calm down after being shot at for 7 days. This Sunday will be my 1st day back in the woods with the bow,so I've gone basicaly 2 weeks thi year.
T.A.