First off. I have the best wife in the world. But she doesnt understand my passion for hunting. She makes comments about me ALWAYS leaver her and how much money I spend on hunting. I feel like I am extremely frugal when it comes to my spending. I dont pay for a lease or any kind of hunting trips. I only pay for ammo and gas to get to the hunting destinations. Should we make a budget? What should I do? I see other guys spending tens of thousands of dollars to hunt all over the world. How do you guys do it? p.s.- she has no interest in hunting with me....none. So dont give me that solutuon...lol.

hand her a prepaid AMEX card each weekend you go hunting...she can go shop and be happy, you can go hunt, earn points and be happy.

To quote Ron White, " Diamonds, that'll shut her up!! "

In all seriousness, I have found that leaving a few bucks for her to spend while I am gone helps sooth some feelings.

To be honest and sound like a total $%^& my wife gave me a hard time for only the first two years we were married. I just had to be brutally honest and tell her that I hunted before we met, while we dated, and will continue to hunt long after she is gone. That is if she goes first.

Point being I just had to lay it on the line. She now refers to herself and a deer hunting widow and that is fine by me. She too has no desire to sit in the deer stand. In regards to the money I try and find extra things to earn cash for my expensive hunting habit. I don't have a huge budget but it is just understood that I will do what needs to be done in order to have a deer lease.

I really think she now realizes how important my experiences as a child were at the deer lease and she wants the same for our kids.

The second hunting season my wife and I were dating, I had driven to her house during the Christmas break one weekend. She asked me what I was doing the following weekend and I told her going hunting. She said going hunting again?

Her mom pulled her to the side and told her, if you complain about him going hunting, he will go hunting anyway, but he won't come back one day. Not sure if I was supposed to hear that or not.

Then I made a trip to Ozona with her family and she was going in the camp to get something and I asked her to bring me back another beer. She said, another beer?

Again her mom pulled her to the side and said, if he asks you for another beer, bring him another beer.

I knew right then I needed to marry her, her mom was training her well.

The best way to keep them from complaining is don't be there go hunting and you don't have to hear it and she will not have anyone there to complain to LOL!!!!!!

lol....better turn your phone off on that one.

Just lay it out there that from Sept 1 to mid January, don't expect a whole of anything from you on weekends and some weeks and some holidays. If she's worth her salt she'll stick around, if not, there's one somewhere that will.

Sprigsss, that s#it is funny but true. I married my beer go getter

I've learned to tune her out...

Sometimes I'll take her with me to the Farm, and I've taken her to the lease for a "fun" weekend during the off season where I spend the day goofing off with her and Twerpy, and I pamper her and cook while we're there. It works pretty good; and has for several years.

She'll never stop harassing me about going, it's in her nature to be sassy.

I hunt more then he does, can't help ya there. Best of luck.

my wife would go everytime if she could,so she understands.

I used to be even more dumb than I am now, and for years shot without hearing protection, the end result being about 80% hearing loss in my left ear...so when she starts to complain, I just roll over onto my right ear...problem solved...

My wife wanted a $3000 show dog. I conceded. She got her dog and I got my $6000 deer lease. She's happy and I'm happy.

I guess I am lucky when ever I wanted to go fishing and now hunting she tells me "BYE see you when ever" and she does that almost every time. the way she puts it YEA PEACE AND QUIET THE HOUSE ALL TO MYSELF

she is very cool about it and it works great for both of us.

That is awesome. I have to find a mother in law like that. But I think it is pretty much impossible to keep them from complaining. They might not do it much but they will do it sooner or later.

take her with me

the coach store.

Mine goes hunting with me and fishing to.

stamina the night before.... HA

Yep, mine likes to hunt almost as much as me! And, like Skip, she fishes too. So, whenever i go without her she only gets mad that she can't go -- and that's hunting and fishing.

My wife doesn't give me a hard time unless I fail to earn my kitchen passes between trips to the lease. I earn them by sometimes washing the dishing and clothes, or other things that she would otherwise have to do. And when the kids were younger, I could earn a kitchen pass quickly by watching the kids while she went shopping on a Saturday or Sunday when I would otherwise be in the woods.

Taking the wife out for dinner and a movie (without the kids) can often get you a kitchen pass for an entire, three-day weekend.

And let's not forget that as you get older and start snoring, she may start telling you to head to the lease.

I hunt on the wife's relatives place that is just across town from the in-laws. She likes to go hunting and fishing, although she doesn't shoot anything, she just likes hanging with her sons. On top of that, we stay with the in-laws.
She sees her parents, kids see the g-parents, G'parents are happy, and I'm huntin' the whole time....life is good!

She keeps telling me I need to get the boys out more often!!

I did have to have the talk with my wife when we 1st got married and as the years go by each season she is better about it. I make sure I am home and do as much as I can around the house when I am not hunting. I try to take her on a date during the week and don't go out with the guys during hunting season. I hunt alot and that will not change. I just try to be good to her when I'm home. She has realized how important hunting is to me.

my wife finally started to understand. She complained at first that I wanted opening weekend, Thanksgiving, early December, and late December weekends to hunt. I made sure to point out during the year how many weekends her brother and other guys we know left to go on guys weekends, killed a saturday at the golf course, etc, etc leaving the women alone with the kids. When I go to the ranch without her, I generally take my oldest son (now 6) and arrange for one of our mothers to watch the 2 yr old. I don't golf, I don't fish, etc.

when I want a guys weekend, I first check the calendar with the guys, then clear it with my parents (babysitters), then I approach her letting her know when I'd like to go and that I have arranged care for the kids so she can have a weekend off also. I generally go to the family ranch, so no real cost other than gas and eats, and if you plan right and invite the right buddies, that is covered also.

Funny, she loosened up and now I get my hunting, plus 2-3 guys weekends per year with no complaining.

oh, and I should say I do 90% of the cooking and most of the grocery shopping. I also help with laundry. Whatever it takes to keep the peace and get those weekends at the ranch.