It may sound odd, in fact it sounds odd to myself but I am getting tired of deer hunting at my house. I have been deer hunting over 25 years and love it just as much as I did when I first started but something about hunting on our farm doesn't do it for me. Our area has a few big deer like any does here and there but typically isn't known for its big deer like other areas tend to be. Hunting on the farm is great for taking my wife. She likes to hunt a couple of times a year but isnt serious enough about it to go on a trip or travel any kind of distance to do it. I've got covered box stands with comfy chairs and heaters that her and I can both sit in. In fact, she killed an 8pt opening day last year. That day will be one of my most memorable days ever hunting, it was the first deer she's killed since we have been married and it was right there on our farm. I also take part in guiding/ opening the farm to hunters during the yearly Sawtooth Oak Farm Wheelin Sportsman handicap hunt. Last year our hunter was able to harvest 3 does and a 9pt during two days of hunting with us. I never pulled the trigger hunting with my wife or during the Wheelin Sportsman hunt but I was tickled to death and enjoyed hunting those 3 days more than any other days I've ever hunted on our farm. I have no personally killed a buck in 3 years at the farm. I've seen plenty just not the kind I'm looking for. Hunting one evening last November I saw a fairly decent buck in full rut, I watched him through my binoculars and started to pick up my rifle when the thought hit me. I've killed bigger deer, if I shoot this deer I've got a full evening worth of work skinning and getting meat in the freezer along with all my other chores I need to do around the barn and with my dogs this evening. After that thought I put down my rifle and picked up my phone, snapped a few pictures of him and sat in the stand til dark. I usually don't think too much about deer hunting this time of year but just finding out I'm going to Ohio for a week in October has put deer hunting in the front of my mind as of late. No doubt about it, if I see the right deer on that trip I'll be holding something other than my phone. If this trip turns out to be what I'm hoping and expecting I plan to scale back on hunting around my place. I'll keep my stands up and lanes cut but it will be for hunting with my family, and the Wheelin hunt. With that said, I also know myself and know that 1 week wont get it out of my system for the year. Something I havent done in a long time that I plan to do this year as well just to see other places and different scenes while I am hunting is put in for some permit hunt and bow hunt some game land. I have tried several clubs over the years and would join another if the right one were to come along but the ones I've been around have more drama and bickering than a high school cheer leading squad. Fall is a long time away yet with a lot of hot weather in between but until then we can at least talk about it.
