Getting Back to My Roots

Chadk said:
Thanks for sharing that. Love it when a plan comes together (even if a half-assed plan....). I never thought it was possible, but hunting has surpassed fishing for me. The only thing comparable was getting my first steelhead. But even then, it just doesn't compare to the adrenaline, emotions, and excitement that comes from connecting with a buck. Fortunately, hunting season is fairly short, so I can still do both :)
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I’m right there with you! It’s always been that way for me…specifically big game hunting. I don’t bird hunt anymore. I really enjoyed it but I wasn’t driven by it. I do love the dogs! When my last dog died my kids were really young and I knew I wouldn’t have the time required to train a dog AND do everything else that I was passionate about.

The weird thing about hunting is that my drive has intensified with age. Like, I’m about 91.7% certain I’m walking away from coaching football because I want to hunt more. I’m almost 50 and there are some hunts that I want to do that will eventually become physically out of reach for me.

I have no idea where it comes from. My dad hunted a few times when I was a kid because I hassled him so bad but he wasn’t into it all that much. I got lucky in meeting a kid (who became and still is my best friend) when I was in 7th grade. His dad was addicted to hunting. His son, my friend, had zero interest but his dad took me and we eventually became hunting partners for 10-15 years. I mostly hunt alone now and so does he…in his 70’s. I never get tired or bored of hunting😀.
 
Coach Potter said:
I’m right there with you! It’s always been that way for me…specifically big game hunting. I don’t bird hunt anymore. I really enjoyed it but I wasn’t driven by it. I do love the dogs! When my last dog died my kids were really young and I knew I wouldn’t have the time required to train a dog AND do everything else that I was passionate about.

The weird thing about hunting is that my drive has intensified with age. Like, I’m about 91.7% certain I’m walking away from coaching football because I want to hunt more. I’m almost 50 and there are some hunts that I want to do that will eventually become physically out of reach for me.

I have no idea where it comes from. My dad hunted a few times when I was a kid because I hassled him so bad but he wasn’t into it all that much. I got lucky in meeting a kid (who became and still is my best friend) when I was in 7th grade. His dad was addicted to hunting. His son, my friend, had zero interest but his dad took me and we eventually became hunting partners for 10-15 years. I mostly hunt alone now and so does he…in his 70’s. I never get tired or bored of hunting😀.
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I started hunting late. Like about 12 years ago. I'm 53, and I feel the time slipping away for some of the more adventurous trips. One reason this season was so special for me. Not sure how many more I got (possibly a lot, but who knows) and my kids aren't really kids anymore. Maybe 10 years from now it will be grandkids - and that will be a blast.

A good friend of mine is also a coach. We coached together for years when our kids were young. He continued to coach at the HS level. Every fall I go fishing and hunting - my favorite time of the year. While my kids play fall and winter sports that impact my hunting and fishing, I still find time to make it happen. But since he is coaching, he just can't. It's killing him. So this was his last season. I figure he'll be a hunting partner for a few years and see how that goes. But my kids will always have first dibs.
 
Never heard of Mountain Whitetail, or frankly, any whitetail in Idaho. I'm not a hunter, though, so I may have missed something.
 
Chadk said:
I started hunting late. Like about 12 years ago. I'm 53, and I feel the time slipping away for some of the more adventurous trips. One reason this season was so special for me. Not sure how many more I got (possibly a lot, but who knows) and my kids aren't really kids anymore. Maybe 10 years from now it will be grandkids - and that will be a blast.

A good friend of mine is also a coach. We coached together for years when our kids were young. He continued to coach at the HS level. Every fall I go fishing and hunting - my favorite time of the year. While my kids play fall and winter sports that impact my hunting and fishing, I still find time to make it happen. But since he is coaching, he just can't. It's killing him. So this was his last season. I figure he'll be a hunting partner for a few years and see how that goes. But my kids will always have first dibs.
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Father time is coming for all of us :). I met a couple of dudes at trailheads in two different wilderness areas last year. One guy was in his 70's and the other in his late 60's. Both of them are still hunting the back country, doing 5–7-day trips living out of a backpack. One of the guys was even hunting solo. Those guys and guys like them are an inspiration to me.
 
Driftless Dan said:
Never heard of Mountain Whitetail, or frankly, any whitetail in Idaho. I'm not a hunter, though, so I may have missed something.
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I believe every state in the lower 48 has a whitetail deer population. Idaho has a TON of them!

There is no designated or official species called "Mountain Whitetail". That said, whitetail that live in the mountains might as well be a different species. These deer are living around 3,500-5,000 feet of elevation, the type of country you would think of as Elk and Mule Deer country, big mountain ranges. There isn't a farm or any agricultural ground anywhere near these mountains and they definitely behave differently than lowland farm/woodlot dwellers. They will never be hit by a car but do often get eaten by wolves and big cats. If you are fortunate enough to harvest one, their carcasses don't come out whole because you can't get a vehicle to them and it's not country you drag a deer through. They are amazing creatures that live in wild places!
 
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