When our testosterone level starts dropping so does our strong desires we once had..
Not just sexual desires..

Trapping replaced hunting for me. In a single season I can pursue several different species and I have to learn about them to be successful. Fortunately trapping hasn't gotten in the way of fishing.

Never really got the deer hunting itch. Might be watching all the timber ground get swallowed up by doctors or lawyers living 2-3 hours away and seeing the feuds guys would have about land, permission, someone shot “their” buck. I still get the fishin itch and the pheasant hunting bug has returned the last couple years. If i get a pointing dog again itll get real serious. The trappin itch comes and goes- tough to mix in bird hunting trips with traps to check. The only thing my mind is on in late April is killin turkeys.

Flipper, spot on post. I am 55 now and bowhunting was my life long passion, caused me plenty of fights with my wife of 33 years. I NEVER thought it’d happen but my passion just isnt the same. I now find myself sitting in a tree and going out just because it’s what I’ve always done. Been building my dream house/cabin the past two years and I sit in a tree thinking about what I could be getting done, really enjoy that more. My son has taken over my passion and love being with him though.

I lost the passion for deer hunting around 2009-2010. I remember those years I ran around 8-12 cameras July on running them all over the country side. I had a lot of nice bucks on camera that year including many similar to these. Thousands of pictures and at least 20-30 that most people would take home. Truth be told all the effort I put into finding bucks like this and they'd all end up getting shot a mile or two from where ever I had them on camera once the rut hit (during our rifle season). I had all the ground a guy could ask for, very nice bucks, and it still burned out for me. That's one thing I've found about trapping I am constantly learning and it keeps a fire under my backside. I can't even recall shooting more than 1-2 deer since 2009 if at all. I currently have a permit and sat all weekend watching them run I really just wanted to get a doe for meat. I watched plenty and just couldn't bring myself to shoot them. This morning I could have been sitting deer hunting and I was digging dirtholes for coyote trapping in a couple weeks....it was much more enjoyable..

I used to love to deer hunt , camp life was great , but everyone has passed on ,and I can't find new people that like to hunt so now I just get meat. lol as a side note I've shot two 10 in 4 years , biggest deer that I've ever gotten , and no one to celebrate with

Doors open and doors tend to close. My trapping door has never changed. Sometimes I wonder why that is? Other outdoor ventures are "fun" but trapping never goes outta style in our house. Just when I think we can slack, Donna is putting more traps in the trap box because plan X is about to happen.

I have found more enjoyment with partners in recent years than I used to.

Blessings,
Mark

During the first 40 years of my hurting career getting a deer in the state of PA was A BIG DEAL Then in the 1980's the state started selling more antlerless tags followed by second bonus tags along with DMAP TAGS Adding additional seasons for other age groups and weapons and adding weeks on to seasons that where just open for a shorter time wen hfirst openen years earlier Now if you have the right tags and weapons you can hunt for about 100 days a year for deer in PA I have no problem with the changes in seasons and limits. in what at one time not all that log agwas one and done deer hunting I enjoy pheasant , duck hunting ,trapping and varmint hunting I some times just get burnt out on just deer hunting How ever if I am out deer hinting I still have a killers instinct If I see a deer I want to shoot I want it a much as I did 25 or 30 yeas ago

This maybe. The wind seems to brush my face from a different direction as well these days. Coyotes and bears are my remaining passions. Pretty content with the other trophies I’ve taken in life, maybe a few more, maybe not.
Having shot control for so many years in the west the passion for coyotes is still there tho getting up at 3 in the morning to locate them is no longer appealing. Maybe I still like doing this because there are no horns to measure, just a good hunt, a good way to help people out, and tons of good ranchers I’m proud to know.
Bears, well they are just too deep in my blood to ever quit.
As a fishing guide my favorites now are the young. Getting them connected to dream fish keeps me young.

Osky

I do like hunting but I pretty much suck at it. Trapping I seem to have figured out much better, I have more patience for it and am willing to pay attention to detail. Hunting success to me has always been something a simple as having a nice day in the outdoors. With trapping I set with an expectation to catch and always want to know why if I didn't.

I hunt because I love eating the animals I hunt for simple as that. I grew up and live in the far north, hunting is not a game and its not taken lightly. We hunt to eat what was put here for us to eat. Basic as it gets. Ill hunt until my body stops me from hunting and Ill love hunting until the day I day. Its who I am and who those before and after my time have and will continue to be. Ive lost the passion for driving 100mph on my skidoo (a little bit) and for playing hockey (my knees said so) but its impossible to lose the passion for hunting. that's like saying ive lost the passion to breathe.