About this time of year I have come to realize that most of the hunting I could do has been done and I know that the warm season is right around the corner. I can still get in a few varmint hunts, and maybe even a spring turkey hunt, but deep down inside there is a sadness that eats me up. I know that the good times with my hunting friends and the time I spent in the wild is coming to the end for the year. I will get in a little fishing, but the older I get, the hotter the summer feels and it seems like they get longer and longer. I can't wait for September. I did have a good season and I am thankful for that. I had a big buck come in on me in early January like it was a gift and this gave me good closure for the season, but I'm still sad that it's gone. Anybody else feel this way or is it just me?

I used to but now I use the off season to look for sheds, move blinds/feeders, plant food plots, work on habitat, improve water, trap predators, trap hogs...by the time if get that done it is about time for TC to be out in late summer to prepare for next season.

Yes! I take it out on hogs/varmints and fish as much as possible. Lately, I've been looking for places to hunt free range axis and/or aoudad out in West Texas. I'm even looking into spring bear hunts.....I've never had the desire to hunt a bear until this year. I just don't want there to be such a thing as "post season."

Turkeys and hogs!!!!!!!!!!!!! yippppeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Crap!!!! and build a blind and two new feeders

I'm with you on the bear thing. Always felt kind of bad for those buggers coming in to those baited areas. yummm honey buns! A grizzly bear would be cool. I've got a friend that has black bears on his place in Mena Arkansas. I do a little shed hunting right after the 16th of March, and then its not long the grass gets so thick you couldn't find a bear laying it. Hogs do get some attention on a regular basis from me and some bang. Haven't killed an Eastern bird in a while may give em try. The off season usually turns into an exercise so much that I blur my boredom until it's September and the it's time to do little dove shoot/ deer scouting.

Don't forget your arrows bro

I've got some arrows, but I sold my old MQ 1 last season. it was the second one I've owned. it actually had some black replacement limbs. It was a smooth shooting bow. Just wish they weren't so pricey to shoot. I may buy a new one this summer. I've got some old bows, but they're more suited for fish.

Hogs and coyotes need killin all year. I enjoy hunting both more than I do deer.

Does your friend in Mena have anything other Black bears on his property? I had an elderly friend who died two years ago, he lived in Mena area until WW II. Pretty country.

Spring bear hunting is a blast! I've done 3 spring hunts for brown bear and one for grizzly, but my absolute favorite is for black bears in SE Alaska where you cruise the beaches and inlets glassing for boars just out of hibernation. The fishing, crabbing, and shrimping while hunting is awesome and delicious each evening at dinner. And the black bear hunts are much cheaper than grizzly or brown bears. I've done three hunts with Kurt and Trina Whitehead out of Klawock. I have NO desire to sit over a 55-gal-drum bait pile getting murdered by mosquitos.

Another alternative is consider the southern hemisphere. Argentina, New Zealand, Australia, and even South Africa will have rutting animals in March/April. Exotics here in Texas are a possibility too.

I always stay busy in the off season by reloading and working up new loads. I also write hunting stories; I just submitted another story this afternoon for publication.

Plenty to keep you occupied.....

10 4 on the bears. yes there are some bears in Mena and my friends camp is on top of a mountain. It's really nice up there. He is pretty grumpy though. I never have hit him up for a bear hunt. He killed one up there when he first bought the place. Now he just kicks back and chills, occasionally deer hunting. There is some heavy cover all over the mountain. I've hiked up there around his place, its nice. I guess the most desirable goat for me would be a free range Aoudad. When I get rich I'll cross the pond for some action. Just got done watching Hatari on the movies channel. That's some pretty country. I think I would like being the hunter and being hunted feeling.

For me no, because our season runs 4 months and I'm always planning and exploring for upcoming opportunities, building new stuff for next season, putting out new sets and planning and dreaming of other hunts outside Texas.

Ditto - spend off season doing above - improve camp, etc. For me the season starts in August when we put game cameras back out.

Naaaaaaaaaaa That's what fishing is for... the offseason

I do scout, fish, and do some hog hunting in the off season. I guess I just hate to see it go. I seems like I wait all summer long for it to come back around, and then its hear and gone. I know that I got spend a hole lot of good quality time in the woods. The weirdest thing for me is how the time flies by so fast. Hey, I guess that's just life. It seems like the older I get the faster it goes by, or maybe I just pay more attention to it than I used to. I maybe a little more great full than my younger years.

just go fishing

'bout mid March I'll start to shed hunting. Here's some sheds I've found in East Texas from some free range bucks. That's about 20 years worth.

I got depressed but then I remembered that spring black bear opens up in 5-6 weeks. Need to get out and start baiting. All my hunting is over by the second week in October though while texas goes into January.