The Pre-Hunt Jitters

With many seasons already well underway and still many to come I can't help but find myself at 32 years old feeling like a kid all over again with the approach of my soon to start hunting season. It is at this time I can't help but think of all the time put into the planning that has taken place over the summer months with family planning and preparing for the weeks to come. The countless phone calls back and fourth with my father and son carrying on like a couple school girls with the lastest piece of Intel on a spot, or need to double check a piece of gear, or the designated day set aside for everyone to get together and check thier rifles one more time before season starts. I can sum it up in one word.. Tradition. Like the changing of the seasons and color of fall it comes every year. I reflect on all the good times teasing each other and the pranks pulled. My question to others here is do you feel the preparation of the hunt is 50% of the hunt itself.

Maybe more than %50, I find that a successful outcome to a hunt "nice buck, bull, ram, turkey on the ground" is in someways anticlimactic. At 58 years old I have found that when things were rough at work or home the thought of going on a hunt got me through a lot of tough times.

Agreed Sir! With the travel and time away from friends and family the hunting season (which I use all my vacation for) allows me to close out a hard earned year participating in my passion with those I hold most dear in my life. The pull off a trigger is icing on the cake for the work put into the preparation but the experience of the hunt is all that goes into the hunt.

I think it's great you still feel that way. I do too. Keeps us young.

If you reach a point were this is not the case... time to give it up. I have known the same feelings since before I was old enough to join my father, older brothers and yes even my mom. I think that if I did not feel this way about the season, that It would not carry all the joy and memories of times, and love ones gone by.

To great times to come

Z

even after 54 years of hunting under my belt

Without a doubt. I am addicted to hunting and everything that entails. From filling feeders, moving stands, travel plans, looking at maps, looking at pictures, vacations and finally getting in the woods. Once I finally get a chance in the woods, when I get back to work I am counting down the days until I can get back in the woods. The anticipation of what might come out or could come out is as much excitement as when something actually does. I have let good deer that I would have been proud of walk because I was afraid that it would take away some of the excitement of getting to get back in the woods if I had shot that deer

Love this time of year

TPWD says "Plan your hunt, and hunt your plan." Every bit of it makes it fun for all of us.

A typical man in his 50's (or older) has a different perspective than (most) younger men. Patience. If he's hunted long enough and was fortunate to have men in his life that took the time to point out the many gifts and Blessings Mother Nature (and the good Lord) has given us, it's the sum of all those things that we experience that matter most and the ability to make responsible choices when hunting, for personal reasons, and to set an example or teach. It's the totality of what we experience just by being aware of what others don't see that make the time we spend outdoors memorable.

Thinking back over the years, the most memorable moments I've experienced wasn't the kill or pulling the trigger. It was the lessons taught by the mentors that instilled respect and an appreciation of the outdoors. Sitting waist deep in a river bottom on a log and realizing the other log sitting a few feet away is the biggest gator gar I've seen. Not pulling on a brace of ducks because watching that gar was more important at the time (despite knowing they're a damn good eating fish:). Those are moments few people will ever experience. And I have a lifetime of experiences as good or better that made me realize hunting and experiencing nature is an experience worth more than pulling the trigger. I don't need an audience or useless tube vids to validate or prove a damn thing to anyone. It's a personal thing.

Mentors taught me not kill every darn bug, critter, or animal that crossed by path without reason and or purpose. And to pick up my trash

TPWD says plan your hunt, hunt your plan, and we won't have the need to pester your azzez either.

I have always been an avid fisherman and outdoors man but not a real serious hunter. I have hunted on and off and always enjoyed it but I have not worked at it or been passionate about it. My daughter got married to an avid hunter about a year and a half ago but he was not much of a fisherman. The outdoors has helped us to foster a really great father/SIL relationship in a very short time. He has learned to love fishing and I have learned to love hunting especially with family. We have learned together that we can trust one another and count on one another as father and son should. Connecting with the land and water with family is an awesome experience and I feel closer to them and closer to God and his creations each time we have an outing together. We have been preparing/hunting since August and have already had some great times together. Good luck to everyone this year, enjoy the experience, and hopefully add some meat to the freezer in the process!!

Don't feel as mad at 'em as I used to be. Still get caught up in the anticipation. That never changes.

Watched a good buck stage up right behind me yesterday evening. Hog came in and he just melted away. Still got the same old flutters.

Have I mentioned how much I hate hogs?