How many days in the field per year do you get?

[bigbulls]

I spend between 50-60 nights a year not sleeping in my own bed (on a cot) hunting, that's how I measure my days in the field hunting and scouting. Cots have come a long way but nothing like my bed at home.

 

[Jauwater]

My main income is in sales so my busy times kinda come without warning, and slow times the same. This year I only took one 4 day trip hunting. Last year I think I hunted around 20 days. In 2014 I took off from work the entire hunting season, and was in the woods every single day from early September till a few days before Christmas. Since 2014 I’ve also been taking about a month off between April - July for thru hiking. Sometimes I’ll stay on the trail longer if possible.


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[tttoadman]

pretty typical year to year for me:
20 to 25 days hunting
5-10 days scouting
15-20 days conditioning close to home

I consider the scouting and conditioning days pretty sad. I could make time to get off my ass and get out more. Yet here I am at 6:00AM on Saturday in my slippers writing up work instructions and making shop drawings from home.

 

[flinginairos]

90 days according to my notes. That’s scouting/fishing/backpacking and hunting combined.


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[mfllood3800]

This thread makes me think of quantity vs quality. I moved to Utah, well this year will be 7 years now. When in WI I hunted way more. I had years with 100 days easily between small game, birds, and deer. Its so easy to hunt before or after work.

Now here in S. UT that is not the case. Birds are almost out of the question as well as small game. Very limited opportunities. And there is not much running out during the week because it can take me hours just to get to my hunting spot. I probably average 8-12 days local and 10-15 days out of state plus camping/fishing trips so maybe 10-15 more.

That said my time in the mountains is so much more rewarding than my time in a tree stand back in WI. I would not trade a week in the mountains for an entire white tail season in WI.

I grew up in Wisc and it was nothing to go after work duck hunting, pheasant or grouse hunting. Rarely did I goose hunt cause I had to travel for that.
Bass, crappie fishing, then ice fishing.
Rabiits, squirrels.
I ran a trap line with my dad.
Deer hunting.
Growing up and as a young adult I think I spent 3/4 of my days doing something around hunting. It is like it was part of my day, not just seasons.

Now that I live in Utah and am an old guy, I see these more as seasons. I still have the out doors in me, but things have become compartmentalized for the sake of time.
I get out a lot cause I hunt several states and species. I do miss bird hunting though.
I still have the old 16 gauge I inherited from G-Pa.

Hard to grow up in Wisc and not have hunting be in you, I guess that's why I still hunt as much as I do, and don't think twice about it.

Oh and to the guy who thinks most of us are fidging on our numbers- I didn't even calculate time camping, fishing, scouting, snow mobiling, 4 wheeling or cutting wood.
When friends/family visit, I take them in the hills/mountains and we view wildlife.

Might very well be in the woods every day

 

[robby denning]

Roughly 60-80 for me counting all activities . Not all those are days off work/days away from family as I count partial days in that total too.

 

[2five7]

I don't fish, hunt birds, or shed hunt. 50-70 days all big game, with 5-10 of those being scouting days.

 

[Muleys32]

Probably about 40-50 days. Is it ever enough?

 

[Ndbowhunter]

If I leave in the afternoon day 1.. get to the area day 2 afternoon and hike into unit before the opener. kill some thing day 3, clean it day 4 after hiking back to the truck..start driving day 5, get home mid afternoon day 6 how many days is that hunting??

In my world that's 1 day of hunting.

Other guys might claim 3... or 6.

And that's the beauty of life.

 

[Ndbowhunter]

chopperd into an area at lunch time, shot a buck that evening. Next morning I shot another buck, caught a chopper at about 11 and had backstraps with my girls at lunch.

I'd say I went hunting for a day.

2017 I hunted 9 days.

Right

 

[Muleys32]

If I leave in the afternoon day 1.. get to the area day 2 afternoon and hike into unit before the opener. kill some thing day 3, clean it day 4 after hiking back to the truck..start driving day 5, get home mid afternoon day 6 how many days is that hunting??

In my world that's 1 day of hunting.

Other guys might claim 3... or 6.

And that's the beauty of life.

Not 6 days hunting, but at least 4-5 in the field.

 

[TheCougar]

Usually about 25 full days hunting out of state, plus another 15-20 or so local half day hunts. Less than I would like, but I’m also usually gone for work anywhere between 30-90 days a year, depending. It adds up quickly.

 

[wymtnpounder]

this thread... This question is like asking farmers who has the largest property, asking teenage boys who has the fastest car, and asking a runner their mile time. Most people will likely answer 15-45%(I'm obviously making these numbers up) more than reality and the people who aren't close to the impressive answers will likely feel inadequate or sub par. Personally I don't think it's the number of days that matter, it's the experiences you had that matter. For some people getting 10 days a year would be an amazing opportunity due to their schedule / duties / location / family / disability, while other people with more opportunities would consider 10 days in the field a year a failure.

Just my 2¢



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LOL yep like my grandpa would say "First liar doesn't have a chance"

 

[mtnkid85]

My best estimate is easily 100+ I generally get ~30 days or so of just hunting from September to November.

This is actually something Im wanting to really pay attention to this year. How cool would it be if we could document how many days out of a year each of us spend on our public lands.

 

[Huntindog45]

This is one of the great things about living close to where I recreate. I live in Chico California. I have a few hundred places I can be fishing or hunting within an hour. Our big game hunting sucks... and our political world is downright ridiculous but damn there is a ton to do here. I have no idea how many days I am in the field but I have a ton of afternoons chasing stuff after work. I can be in my duckblind in25 minutes from my house, have a cabin with a boat on a lake less than an hour from my house. Unknown amount of trout, bass, stripers, and a ton of other stuff very close. A little further and I am at the ocean. The days in which I spend time in the field well exceeded 100. Some times it was just an afternoon shoot. Or a quick bass trip. But that stuff keeps me sane.


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