Taking a year off

[ignorethefringes]

Not hunting, but heading out west.

My wife and I are going on a cruise next year for our 15th anniversary which will burn some PTO time. Plus, it's life to take more time off around the holidays with the family. Dad has a child other vacations booked with my sisters, in additional to the cruise with us, and might not have enough PTO time to squeeze in a 2 week trip out west anyway. Plus, with Wyoming changing things a little I think we'll need 5 points instead of 4 to count on drawing the general elk tag. And Montana's changes also make it a little more difficult to determine whether we'd pull the combo combo deer tag up. Plus it's depressing reading about the poor state of the mule deer there.

So, we're planning to take a year off from going out west. We want to take my kiddos out on a "real" hunt like we do and that's the plan for next year. Get my older kids through hunters Ed, break in the canvas tent, and do a 3+ night hunting trip with the family here in TN. It feels weird after the last 6 years or so traveling out of state to be putting it on the shelf for a year, but I'm also not going to miss the driving and stress of being so far away from my wife and kids for so long.

Anyone ever planned a similar break? It almost seems sacrilegious to actually admit some other things are important enough to take a year off lol. So much of my time throughout the year is spent planning for the big trip out west that I'll have to throw the same effort into a home trip to stay sane.

Now just to make sure my wife knows it's only for 1 year....

 

[Gerald Martin]

Sounds like you are a wise man for investing some quality family time next year in a different area to reap the benefits in years to come.

 

[Nick87]

Not hunting, but heading out west.

My wife and I are going on a cruise next year for our 15th anniversary which will burn some PTO time. Plus, it's life to take more time off around the holidays with the family. Dad has a child other vacations booked with my sisters, in additional to the cruise with us, and might not have enough PTO time to squeeze in a 2 week trip out west anyway. Plus, with Wyoming changing things a little I think we'll need 5 points instead of 4 to count on drawing the general elk tag. And Montana's changes also make it a little more difficult to determine whether we'd pull the combo combo deer tag up. Plus it's depressing reading about the poor state of the mule deer there.

So, we're planning to take a year off from going out west. We want to take my kiddos out on a "real" hunt like we do and that's the plan for next year. Get my older kids through hunters Ed, break in the canvas tent, and do a 3+ night hunting trip with the family here in TN. It feels weird after the last 6 years or so traveling out of state to be putting it on the shelf for a year, but I'm also not going to miss the driving and stress of being so far away from my wife and kids for so long.

Anyone ever planned a similar break? It almost seems sacrilegious to actually admit some other things are important enough to take a year off lol. So much of my time throughout the year is spent planning for the big trip out west that I'll have to throw the same effort into a home trip to stay sane.

Now just to make sure my wife knows it's only for 1 year....

Haven't planned a similar break but have been on a 3 year hiatus.

Year 1. Didn't draw a tag

Year 2. Work was very slow
due to covid and. didn't want to spend money

Year 3. Again didn't draw the same tag I was trying to draw 2 years previous with 2 more points

It's a slippery bullshit slope . I hope you enjoy your vacation with the family. We don't get any pto so I'm always wishing I had more time to do those trips with them trying to balance it out isn't easy.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

I wish I could every year, I’m looking at every 2-3 years rotating what species I hunt giving me time to build back points, etc.

 

[DouglasR]

You guys don’t even like being in the truck anymore.

 

[Treeshark]

Anyone ever planned a similar break?

Yep, took several when the kids were little and don’t regret doing so.

Once my youngest turned 5 or 6 it was game on again, and have only missed one or two years going out west since . I don’t intend on missing any years from here on out- may not draw anything decent but will find a way somehow.

 

[TOGIE]

living in the west changes the game a little. it's hard to think it'll ever be so busy i can't do a weekend for mule deer and a weekend for elk at least. i can even hunt deer and elk in my home unit on the front range.

my crazy world with kids has only just begun though. therefore, i'm sure there will be some years i don't hunt at all. there will be many i definitely don't look north to wyoming anymore or throw my name in the hat in new mexico.

starting hunting when i was 26 does make me feel like i have a lot of lost time to make up for tho, missing years entirely will hurt when i do.

 

[FlatlandHunter]

I am taking a year off next year. My Dad bought 1/2 of the family farm and had a cabin built on it in Michigan. I need to help him work on re-opening some old roads so he can maintain the current roads easier. I also plan on hunting there more next year. My son only gets 2 weeks PTO a year and I will work around his schedule for a year or two.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

living in the west changes the game a little. it's hard to think it'll ever be so busy i can't do a weekend for mule deer and a weekend for elk at least. i can even hunt deer and elk in my home unit on the front range.

my crazy world with kids has only just begun though. therefore, i'm sure there will be some years i don't hunt at all. there will be many i definitely don't look north to wyoming anymore or throw my name in the hat in new mexico.

starting hunting when i was 26 does make me feel like i have a lot of lost time to make up for tho, missing years entirely will hurt when i do.

We are in a similar boat. I didn’t really start hunting big game until I was 27, I killed a doe when I was 17 and for various reasons didn’t hunt again until a decade later. I didn’t discover western hunting until about a decade after that; right before major life changes such as moving across the state, getting married and having a child.

I love my wife and daughter beyond what I could imagine loving anyone before them. But if I had randomly stumbled on one of Newbergs videos a year earlier I’d most likely be living out of a van or RV roaming the west, working odd jobs in between hunts and adventures.

 

[RealMuddyboots]

The balance between "hunting", family, kids stuff, work, vacation time allocation makes juggling running chainsaws look easy.

 

[F250]

Wife and I haven’t done any type of hunting trip together in about 5 years. Her horses use up lots of her vacation time. We’ve been together for 30 years. This is the first time in 30 years I have not gone west somewhere. We just got home from a four day hunt deer hunt in upstate NY on a couple properties I can hunt. She nailed her best ever 5X5 buck. Makes the 4X4 I shot look small. Great get away for us !!

 

[RobertD]

I haven't been out west since 2019. School, money etc. have conspired to keep me home. I've found things to do instate or nearby that make up for it. I'm ready to head west again ASAP though

 

[Farmerj]

October the wife and I put a bid in on a piece of land that is becoming our retirement place. So all funds, time and resources have been diverted to that between now and 2026.

When my guard retirement check kicks in in 10/2025, this can go away. And I get to take the year to build our house.

 

[BTripp86]

After spending some time in some lower point Wyoming units for deer and antelope, I made the decision the wait a few years until I have the points to draw a less crowded area. Started buying my 12 yr old points last year and I somehow have all mine intact because I've only drawn doe tags and escorted my buddy on his buck tags. Plus, its liable to be another 3 or 4 yrs til I draw a general elk. I MAY do Colorado OTC or wyoming cow (if I draw) next year, but most likely taking a year off. Got a house to fix, whitetail ground to scout/hunt, and wanting to get back into bird hunting as well. Not enough time off or money for even half this shit.

 

[EastTNHunter]

I get it. I have 3 kids. I have only been west twice, but want to go more. Got a hunting trip with my dad, brother, and a friend planned for next year, but I’m also taking the wife and kids to SD in the spring to visit the Badlands and Black Hills.

 

[NEWHunter]

I went west for four years in a row and had to stay home this year because I didn’t pull a tag. It was very disappointing at first. Planned a long weekend hunting grouse and fishing in lieu of a drive west. I also ended up shooting my best whitetail this year too. Good consolation prizes that really took the sting out of staying home.

As time goes on and demand continues to grow I know I’ll be staying around home more often. The ultimate plan is to pick up 80 acres of quality whitetail ground in the next five years or so and only head west when the random gods smile on me.

I definitely did not miss the 17ish hour straight through drives this year. It’s all about maximizing and enjoying the hand you’re dealt.

 

[rjthehunter]

I've been on a couple year hiatus and I decided it ends in 2023 no matter what. I'll go otc in Colorado if I don't draw a Wyoming tag for elk. If something happens and that doesn't pan out, I'll go otc rifle. Backup plan to that is a December cow hunt.

Any way I look at it, I'm going west next fall with a weapon in hand and far too high of expectations!

 

[Nick87]

I've been on a couple year hiatus and I decided it ends in 2023 no matter what. I'll go otc in Colorado if I don't draw a Wyoming tag for elk. If something happens and that doesn't pan out, I'll go otc rifle. Backup plan to that is a December cow hunt.

Any way I look at it, I'm going west next fall with a weapon in hand and far too high of expectations!

Same

 

[WNC2500]

I went out west for five years in a row and realized how much I enjoyed doing both Antelope and Mule Deer together. I have timed it out to where I draw both deer and antelope, and taking a year off in between my Montana trips have helped me not take it for granted, but also realize how blessed I am to take the trip, and to visit the family, and hunt species that I don't get to hunt in South Carolina.

 

[rjthehunter]

Same

Well just pick me up on your way then, you can find a route through MN! Lol