Quitters

[appaloosa]

I drew NM late rifle mule deer in unit 2B in 1997. At the time it was $5 permit, then had to buy license later. I also had drawn AZ and WY antelope permits. I ended up not buying the license and not going, couldn't fit it in and didn't care enough about it then. Back when they were easier to draw I drew a number of WY regional (H) mule deer permits, always scouted and hunted early, but usually quit it after the first week (when the bucks ungrouped) and started hunting other things. I ate 2 or 3 of those permits.

Ouch....
2B was a magical place back in its heyday.

 

[TrumpkinTheDwarf]

I quit before I got started on a certain (out of state priced) hunt last year... something about a massive flare up of autoimmune hepatitis, and the doctor wouldn't let me go. Probably was a good thing. I nearly turned yellow before we figured out what was going on and got it addressed.

 

[Stone_Ice_1]

I can't think of any tag I got that I didn't put in some good effort. I did shoot a nice mule deer with a special draw MT tag a few years ago. Biggest I have shot before but it was right at the beginning of the rut so I had more time to hunt if I wanted. I found out after the season there was a 200+ inch deer in there when I had the tag. Maybe I would have found him, maybe not. He died of natural causes. I saw pictures and knew about him when the biologist finally told me about this deer AFTER the season. I talked to the biologist before the season and he was less than helpful.

Had a buddy with an antelope tag he applied for and after 5 years of applying he finally drew. District was about a 40 minute drive from his house. He didn't even set foot in the district.

 

[SFC B]

I quit my LEO job as a sheriff's deputy in IN when 1) I was accepted to law school 2) the department refused to give me anything but tge day of my wedding off for leave when I was getting married FFS and 3) the sheriff we all knew was shady came under federal investigation (still don't know how he avoided prosecution) . Hurt to do at the time as I had dreamed of being an LEO since I was little. In the end my life is much better for that quit.

 

[rjthehunter]

Pussy! But what do I k ow I'm divorced.

So true. I think after a divorce, you decide you aren't going to put up with someone being a dick like that though. If I had a GF that tried to get me not to hunt, I'd say bye. In my past marriage, I probably would've tried to respect her wishes. Screw that now. "Oh you don't want me to go hunting? Well, maybe I'll see you when I get back."

Don't take my advice tho anyone! I'm not responsible for the responses you get.






My best quitting story involves high school sports. I was a hell of an athlete, but I quit everything once I was old enough to drive, so I could focus on hunting and fishing.

Definitely glad I did. I wouldn't still be playing any of those sports, but here I am still hunting and fishing every chance I get!

 

[cgasner1]

I quit telling my wife about all the states/tags I apply for. I figure we can fight about it after I actually draw something. Which reminds me I need to tell her im heading to New Mexico in December

 

[rjthehunter]

I quit my LEO job as a sheriff's deputy in IN when 1) I was accepted to law school 2) the department refused to give me anything but tge day of my wedding off for leave when I was getting married FFS and 3) the sheriff we all knew was shady came under federal investigation (still don't know how he avoided prosecution) . Hurt to do at the time as I had dreamed of being an LEO since I was little. In the end my life is much better for that quit.

Bummer my ex wife couldn't figure out life would be better if she quit being a cop... All she did was work, and I was tasked with taking care of everything... She has herself convinced it's what she wants to do since it's what she wanted to do since she was little as well...

 

[NDcoyote]

Grizzly Bears seem to be a big one. Just last weekend my hunting partner of 13 years bailed on me at 9:30pm the night before our hunt because his new wife decided she doesn't want him hunting bear country anymore. It takes a lot of self-control on my part to not tell him to grow a set and lay out some ground rules. I can't think of a time he's bailed on a hunt, and we've spent plenty of night out in griz country together, so I know it's coming from his wife.

This poor fella needs to grow a pair and have a talk with the wife. Being a truly good pard is also a "till death do us part" commitment as far as I'm concerned.

 

[BirdManMike]

I didnt apply for an antelope permit this season because the 2 seasons prior I had drawn permits, one of them in a ~20% odds district, and not hunted antelope a single day. The season prior I had hunted antelope 1 day.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Had a Montana Moose tag when I was 21. Hunted somewhere in the relm of 35 to 40 days with lots of dink bull opportunities. Had tons of private to hunt, no kids, literally the entire season to drag it out.

Well on my chance for the "dream bull" I #@)(*%* it up and pissed down both legs and never did get a shot on him. I called him in through some thick timber I didn't take the shot because it wasn't ideal at 15 yards. That night I got whiskey drunk and said piss on it I was over the whole hunt I'm shooting the first bull I see. I did and it was a decision I've regretted my entire hunting life. I quit on myself and shot a bull that was nothing close to what I had set out to harvest. Another hunter killed the big bull within a week of my episode in the exact same drainage and it was everything you could've wanted.

 

[TimeOnTarget]

I quit early on an archery elk hunt once. I left home sick as a dog late one night after work, drove the 18hrs, spiked in prepared for at least 10 days. Finally got some sleep at about the 45hr mark. The weather was Rain and snow the entire trip. I just got sicker and sicker. I remember my attempt at hunting was sitting next to a log about 10yds from my tent for the last 2 days. That’s when I finally realized I needed to get out of there and see a doc.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I was going to hike in ~2 or 3ish miles to meet my buddy at a GPS waypoint. Plans were only loosely discussed over text/onx screenshots. I got off work a tad early Friday to hike in. Got about 1-1.5 miles in (the entire mountainside up was toothpick deadfall) and it was getting dark, I decided I was no longer having fun and that I would just camp and hike out in the morning. Didn't regret it per say, but I hold my word pretty high so regretted that I was unable to hold my word that I would meet him in there. There were no elk killed, so didn't miss anything really, just the time I could have spent hunting with friends.

Afterward I explained and he understood, I told him I didn't know I'd be climbing over deadfall the entire way up, he told me they just walked around it . Either way that stuff sucks and the older I get the less enthused I get about going through it and have skirted deadfall patches even when the hike became longer just to avoid the mental fatigue and frustration it gives me.

Haven't shanked a tent yet. Must still enjoy it. This season I haven't hunted or backpacked or really hiked in the mountains as I tore my ACL and meniscus so I am sure a season/year off is going to be rejuvenating so next year I will be ready to #keephammering.

 

[DFS]

I quit with 1 1/2 days left on a really crappy Colorado deer tag hindsight I regret that, even though I’m almost certain I was not going to shoot a deer. I have had several tags I feel I didn’t do justice. When the season closes I always think about what I should have done or could have done different. Good tags are hard to come by.

 

[rogerthat]

Had a Montana Moose tag when I was 21. Hunted somewhere in the relm of 35 to 40 days with lots of dink bull opportunities. Had tons of private to hunt, no kids, literally the entire season to drag it out.

Well on my chance for the "dream bull" I #@)(*%* it up and pissed down both legs and never did get a shot on him. I called him in through some thick timber I didn't take the shot because it wasn't ideal at 15 yards. That night I got whiskey drunk and said piss on it I was over the whole hunt I'm shooting the first bull I see. I did and it was a decision I've regretted my entire hunting life. I quit on myself and shot a bull that was nothing close to what I had set out to harvest. Another hunter killed the big bull within a week of my episode in the exact same drainage and it was everything you could've wanted. View attachment 296574

That bull is a Goliath compared to the one I shot

 

[brockel]

Had a 700 rifle permit for elk. Made three different trips up. Had the opportunity to make a fourth trip up but said to hell with it and went and called coyotes instead. That one stings a little.

 

[LopeHunter]

I have tucked my tail and headed home with tag soup and days left on the tag. I recall the MT mountain goat tag in 2020, WA archery elk tag in 2010ish and a NM Coues buck tag in 2008ish. All were solo hunts.

My body gave out in MT on what ended up being the first trip then returned to see nothing on the second try. WA was dead quiet though was the rut and I never got into elk before hiked out. The Coues hunt was nothing like Eastern whitetail which I was expecting from my hunts as a kid so using the wrong tactics and glassing the wrong spots was my failure, most likely.

Now, I have hunted close to 100 big game tags, usually on my own and on public land, with most of those hunts ending with having notched tags for elk, mule deer, Eastern and Coues whitetails, and pronghorn plus two mountain billy goats, a bighorn ewe and a Shiras bull moose. 12 states where have filled big game tags.

Sometimes, is a grind. I like the grind. Sometimes the grind defeats me, though. I have never regretted any hunt. It is I being measured against the mountain. I like that.

I keep a hunt log book and is good for my soul to read back as I am brutally honest in my writings. I was a moron more than once like when I did not dial my variable scope down in close quarters as was getting in closer to finish off a critter. I tend to recall the highlights if not browsing the hunt logs. Is good to be humbled as look up from the rocking chair and see the big bull elk shoulder mount staring down. I am not Daniel Boone. Nor, Debbie Boone.

I head to Africa next year and will be a gentleman's hunt with warm, running water and food prepared twice a day, etc. Is a big chunk of land yet are fences around the ranch for some very good reasons. I am at peace with that aspect. I will likely tip over more animals in two weeks than would in two or three years back home. I will begin hunting Cape Buffalo as the sun rises on my birthday on my first, likely only, trip to the continent. Is what I will be doing actually hunting? The likelihood I have no opportunity is as close to zero as can be measured. Africa should be my least challenging adventure to date yet am looking forward to it very much as I like new experiences even if the animal interaction pales from the challenge of a mountain hunt solo on public land.

 

[hank4elk]

I quit fishing and surfing, when I moved to NM.
I quit the Navy and gave up a promotion to ensign.
I sat down with my dog in the woods yesterday when the young guys said to take a break.
I gave up thinking what folks think of me...with a ranch that gets LO tags.

I have not quit fighting cancer.

 

[Treeshark]

I raised the white flag last year two days early on a CO muzzleloader deer hunt- decent tag, nothing crazy.

My dad (he just came along to hang, no tag for him) and I drove a few hours out of the unit and hiked into a lake on our last day before leaving- it was incredible.

I don’t regret it for a second, it was a great trip overall and the fishing was the best part.

 

[bigsky2]

I had a Montana moose permit a few years back. Had some cool call-ins, griz walking between our tents while we ate dinner at night, etc. throughout the hunt that made for some memorable experiences. About mid way through the hunt we found a giant once in a lifetime type bull. He was living about two miles out in a big marsh and was acting like a nocturnal whitetail and only coming out in the open for about an hour total a day. The rut was over so calling wasn’t effective. My friend and I would hike out in the marsh to get in position while my dad sat on the glassing knob two miles away trying to spot the bull when he came out. He was using blaze orange vests to try to signal to us when the bull was out and which direction he was from us. It was such a pain in the ass getting out there that we would end up sitting out there all day. There was no shade and hardly any dry spots to sit so it made for some long boring days out there. One of the days the bull came out and was fairly close to us but we couldn’t see him. You can imagine how frustrating it was trying to communicate with each other from two miles away. Hunting that bull became kind of a mental grind so we decided that we would spend a day where all three of us would sit on the glassing knob and my friend and I wouldn’t go out into the marsh until we located the bull. We didn’t see him at all that day but late in the afternoon we spotted three respectable bulls together that were much closer. I figured it was probably the bulls that we had snuck in on and passed up the previous evening but since it was getting late in the day we decided to go get a closer look. Long story short, I had a moment of weakness and shot the biggest of the three right as the sun was going down. It did end up being one of the bulls I had already passed up twice. I had video from when we had seen the bull earlier in the season. In the video you can hear my friend ask “Would you shoot that one?” and then me saying “Nope”. He’s still a respectable bull but I’m confident the giant bull wasn’t going anywhere and we would have got him killed eventually. I got to hunt for 11 days which was more than most of the other tag holders spent but I still regret not holding out for the giant for at least a few more days.

 

[BackofBeyond]

If that runup to a Devil's Threeway is doing it for you, you have been in the tent too long.

Glad to see it wasn’t just me…

We (and by that I mean me) don’t call @TOGIE ”McDouble” for nothing.