Hunting only, or general fun?

[displacedtexan]

Ok, so obviously I hunt because I enjoy it. The outdoors, the solitude, the camp.

But when I travel more than an hour or so to hunt, it's about the trip as a whole... A detour to see something else cool, an extra day or two to explore somewhere. Maybe just a dinner in a different town someplace nice or cool.

Do you drive out, hunt, and hurry home, or do you make more out of the trip?

 

[Grundy53]

I would say it's about the hunt for me. On the way there I'm in a hurry to get there because the anticipation kills me. On the way home I'm tired and just want to get home.

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[Rob5589]

Mostly hunt but, I like to explore the area especially when it's slow. I've found some cool places/things/eats along the way.

 

[Kilboars]

I try to make enjoyable trips out of my hunts. Learn something new.

My work and honey-do list will be there when I get home. No hurrying back.


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[Lil-Rokslider]

I usually throw the fly rod in the truck and try to find a stream or a river to stand in somewhere along the drive home. If I harvest early in the hunt, I like to drive into town after getting the meat off the mountain and find a unique place to have a burger and a beer. Last year we stayed one night in a hostel in Lake City after we harvested.

It's mostly about the hunt, but all those little things stand out as memories about different hunts.

 

[Poser]

1. I’ll eat anything famous.

2. Never one to pass up on life experience.

 

[Mosby]

Anything close, it will be about the hunt. If I travel to places like Idaho or Montana, I will build in some extra time on my way up to check stuff out and make the trip more interesting. After a hunt, I am normally tired, have meat etc., and go straight home.

 

[Fitzwho]

Depends on the trip and how early I harvest. I'm there to hunt right. I'll always have a flyrod in the truck and part of my outdoor to do list is to harvest an animal and catch a fish in as many states as I can. I'm up to 9 states with fish caught and 7 states with animals killed (if I count ducks in Louisiana).

I will also tend to pull over and take pictures of any deer or antelope bucks that I see while driving to and from. A few minutes to snap a photo of a big antelope buck is worth it to me, for some reason.

I have killed early on hunts and spent a couple days flyfishing before heading home and I have killed a Coues deer at 11am in AZ and been home by the next morning. Not much to do in SE AZ or the entirety of southern New Mexico.

I don't tend to pass up many breweries either...

 

[Dos Perros]

It's mostly hunt.

One thing I've done to try to make it "more fun less hunt" is read a book or listen to a podcast series that may be relevant to the geographic area I'm travelling. If I'm hunting the Montana Breaks, I'll read Undaunted Courage (Lewis and Clark book). If I'm hunting New Mexico, Blood and Thunder (Kit Carson book). So I get to 'feel' the history as I'm traipsing around trying to get an animal on the ground.

 

[ODB]

I never go anywhere just to kill something.

 

[Wrench]

It's almost an hour to run my kids to sports practice. If I'm going hunting....I'm going hunting. The state sets the time limit on that activity. I can take pictures the rest of the year.

 

[WCB]

I do not hurry home. Tag out early Ill scout for the future or check out new areas I haven't drove through before, fish, etc. I don't waste hunting time though with that stuff.

There are hunts that lend themselves to other things like early season bowhunting Whitetails in ND. "hunt" in the morning till about 930am which consists of climbing up on a hill and seeing if I can cut something off or bed something and stalk it. Never had much luck in stands in the morning and don't have to be in the stand till about 5pm. Lots of time to roam or fish go to the Cafe and B.S. with locals at lunch etc.

I also always bring a varmint/predator gun so there is really always something to hunt.

 

[5MilesBack]

I'm going to do whatever I'm going to do. Sometimes that's several days of hunting in a row. Sometimes that's several days of hunting, plus some fly fishing mixed into the middle of the day. Sometimes I go to town to eat a meal. Sometimes I'll sleep in after several days of hunting. Sometimes I'll drive home just to watch some football for a day. Sometimes I decide to go deep and go exploring areas I haven't hunted before. Historically, those times I do that I tend to shoot a bull back there. When we have a month long season, there's plenty of time for whatever activities I want to do.

 

[Scrappy]

I haul tail back home after the kill cause I can cancel and save my leave time for the next hunt. Seems the second I punch a tag my mind is already off preparing for the next adventure.

 

[Dos Perros]

Question for the more fun less hunt folks:

Would you say you're in the more accomplished, kilt plenty o' critters, salty old warrior class?

I could see myself slowing down at some point, I'm just new enough to big game hunting that I feel I need to dedicate everything to it just to be successful. At some point maybe I can leverage my experience into some efficiency increases and have some spare time to smell the roses.

 

[Phaseolus]

I live and hunt in Western Colorado so I don’t do much messing around. I am not above stopping for a good meal though.

 

[Winnie]

We never spend time other than for the intended purpose of the trip (hunting). No way would I trade a day sightseeing for a day hunting. But I do research the history of the area before I go.

 

[svivian]

I would rather come home early and spend time with my family. That way the next time I really do need a week or more its because I actually needed it.

 

[Poser]

Question for the more fun less hunt folks:

Would you say you're in the more accomplished, kilt plenty o' critters, salty old warrior class?

I could see myself slowing down at some point, I'm just new enough to big game hunting that I feel I need to dedicate everything to it just to be successful. At some point maybe I can leverage my experience into some efficiency increases and have some spare time to smell the roses.

I wouldn’t consider myself to meet your description. Just a guy who’s interested in what’s going on. My experience in life thus far is that the majority of the interesting life experiences occur when deviating from “the plan.” Just rely on and trust your intuition.

 

[grossklw]

Haul ass out, haul ass home. I've got 2 young kids at home, so I only get x amount of time away from home, it's a lot on Mom when I'm gone. I've got an 18-20 hour drive to get to my elk hunting areas so if I can get out there in one day and be hunting right away I'm going to do it, I can sleep when mid-day thermals are shifting and I'm sitting on a bedded bull, I can't do that if I'm having a beer in ND taking my time getting west. I personally enjoy the drive out seeing different parts of the country, but I don't need to stop and take pictures.