5th Stage of Hunting Life - Which stage are you?

[rsimms]

Without admitting that I'm old, I will freely admit that I am clearly in the "Fifth Stage" of my hunting life.

The Fifth Stage of Hunting Life

Which stage are you in?

 

[eddie c]

i'm guessing i'm in the 4 or 5 stage myself.

 

[RUGER]

Definitely a stage 5 here.

 

[duckduck84]

Somewhere between stage 1 and stage 2. I got a late start lol

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[Matador]

I think I am a combination of the 4th and 5th stage. I completely passed the trophy stage. Never had any interest in hunting for a high scoring buck. If it happens, it happens. I've always enjoyed part of the 5th stage , friends, family and the camp.i still get out in real cold temperatures and hunt hard. I do enjoy the techniques a lot, I hunt a few times every yr with a sidehammer and a pistol. I have built one blind I have killed out of three year running ( lot of satisfaction in that ).

 

[TheLBLman]

Believe I'm now approaching the 6th Stage

 

[Wildcat]

Believe I'm now approaching the 6th Stage

Same here.

 

[mrjim43]

Im in the 6th stage. First time in almost 50 years of hunting I just did not feel like going.... Did not pick up my bow at all. Only hunted 2 times with a muzzleloader and did not even go during gun.. So what does say for me.......

 

[sallee-bo]

5th stage for me.

 

[fairchaser]

I’m somewhere between the trophy stage and method stage. I’m still after that mature buck but I actually took out the crossbow during rifle season and sometimes I’ll pass up a shot if I’m not getting it on video. At 60, at the rate I’m going, I won’t be in the last stage till 90.

 

[Crappie Luck]

I could be any of the five on any given day. One day I might just want to shoot game. the next day I might be after a buck I saw on the camera. Then I'll feel nostalgic and pick up the recurve for the morning and might just choose to sleep in and read TNDeer to what other's shot that morning.

It really just depends on how full my freezer is, the weather, how long it's been since I've been out etc.

 

[Mike Belt]

Hmmmm... I definitely went through the first 2 stages and entered the third stage (trophy). I suppose I'm still hung there but crossing over into the sportsman stage. I'm beyond traveling around looking for exotics, etc. but I'm still interested in only shooting what I deem a trophy for my area when I hunt. The "when" I hunt is where I'm at in the last stage because I no longer feel compelled to be in the woods every day the season is open. I don't guess I've ever nor will be in the method stage because I will carry the most advantageous weapon to the woods dependent upon the season.

 

[DMD (formerly pastorbmp)]

I'm in a morph of 3 and 4. I don't really think I will ever get to stage 5...I'll probably skip to stage 6 if anything. I'm just not much of a "social, sitting around and swap stories, talk about the good old days" type guy. I'd rather be doing - something, anything - than talking. I'm like Mike Belt - I'm really not interested in going back to "primitive weapons", but - I do find myself interested in new strategies, tweeking my equipment, new outlooks on deer scouting, etc. I would view that as stage 4, perhaps.

 

[TX300mag]

I could be any of the five on any given day. One day I might just want to shoot game. the next day I might be after a buck I saw on the camera. Then I'll feel nostalgic and pick up the recurve for the morning and might just choose to sleep in and read TNDeer to what other's shot that morning.

It really just depends on how full my freezer is, the weather, how long it's been since I've been out etc.

Definitely. I spend time in each one every season-just depends on what "state" I'm in (pun intended). The "shooter" stage escapes me, but largely because the the places I hunt (both public and private) have enough targets that I don't have to shoot something that doesn't fit into MY opinion of what's best for the herd. I guess part of hunting public and private lands in multiple states different situations provide different goals of the hunt. Much of my season (and maybe the best part) is spent mentoring/accompanying my kids on hunts, but I still look forward to my trips where the goals are different. I look forward to hunts with my friends and I look forward to hunts where I hunt hard. Although I kill fewer deer as my kids get older and are now hunting, I have no intentions of slowing down unless I have to.

Everybody loves to look at themselves as the mature sixth stage as some sort of measure to be revered, but I enjoy the different phases.

 

[BlackBelt]

Definitely drifting between stage 4 and 5.
But as long as I have a place to shoot at targets and some woods to tromp through now and again to restore balance to my soul, I could probably get by ok without ever hunting again.

An old man told me years ago to keep a diary of my hunts. I have been keeping a detailed hunting diary for years in which I record every event I can remember in vivid detail so that later in life I can revisit my hunts.

 

[Mike Belt]

I might add that I think kids are an important aspect of determining whatever stage you might be in. There's a big difference in how, when, where, and what you hunt when they're involved versus not having kids. They may keep you at a certain point longer or even revert you back to a former stage.

 

[TnTurk]

i'm guessing i'm in the 4 or 5 stage myself.

Same here.

 

[Bone Collector]

I'm in stage 3, but i have definitely been through the first two. Many a fond childhood memory of shooting anything that moved with a BB gun around my neighborhoods.

 

[rsimms]

I can't help but notice the majority of folks here are Stage 4 or 5 (with a few 3's).

I assume all the Stage 1 and 2 folks are over on Instagram or Twitter. :rotf:

Either that or nobody on here is willing to admit they want to shoot everything that moves.

 

[RUGER]

I assume all the Stage 1 and 2 folks are over on Instagram or Twitter. :rotf:

Either that or nobody on here is willing to admit they want to shoot everything that moves.

They just know they will get hammered if they admit to killing anything other than a 12 1/2 year old deer