Anybody else pretty much give up deer hunting?

[jakesdad]

I know this is a turkey hunting forum and there are lots of diehards on here that also hunt other game,but has anybody else pretty much given up deer hunting?I used to really love to deer hunt,but turkeys have taken the top spot for me in say the last 5-6 years.I still enjoy deer hunting,but more as a social aspect and a way to just be in GODs great outdoors,more as a spectator than a participant.Really dont care if I shoot one or not.Deer hunting just doesnt do what chasin birds does!

[guesswho]

Deer weigh to much!

[hotrod3h]

I gave up deer hunting over 5 years ago. Thinking of turkey hunting while I was doing it. Used to do a lot of waterfowl hunting but don't do that anymore although would do that before deer hunting. What I'd really like to do more of is predator hunting. All about calling in critters. But NOTHING compares to turkey hunting!

[jakesdad]

Deer weigh to much!

I tried to convince myself that I didnt like deer hunting because I was getting lazy,but good grief its a lot of work after one is down as compared to turkeys.I did buy a recurve last summer that I would like to bowhunt deer with,but more because its the challenge of a recurve more than the killing of a deer.

[Hognutz]

I quit over 20 years ago. It just got old. The snow. The cold. I do miss the guys at hunting camp and the venison, but I do not miss the rest of it. I thought that if I took a couple of years off, it would rekindle my desire but I guess I had had enough. I killed lots of bucks.. That wasn't the problem. It just wasn't fun, anymore.

[teke]

I agree, pretty much only turkey. Maybe a little bow hunting. Then I just listen and watch for birds.

[Gooserbat]

Not yet.  Deer hunting is something to do when it's not turkey season, kinda like fishing after 1:00 in Missouri.

[stinkpickle]

It's a habit.  I don't necessarily look forward to it, but when I get out there, it's still fun...and a lot of work.

[Tom Dooley]

I know this is a turkey hunting forum and there are lots of diehards on here that also hunt other game,but has anybody else pretty much given up deer hunting?I used to really love to deer hunt,but turkeys have taken the top spot for me in say the last 5-6 years.I still enjoy deer hunting,but more as a social aspect and a way to just be in GODs great outdoors,more as a spectator than a participant.Really dont care if I shoot one or not.Deer hunting just doesnt do what chasin birds does!

This pretty much describes me to. I still like to go deer hunting but I really don't care if I get one or not.

[paboxcall]

...It just got old. The snow. The cold...I guess I had had enough. I killed lots of bucks.. That wasn't the problem. It just wasn't fun, anymore.

That about sums it up for me too.  A few weeks ago, I tagged the biggest buck I've ever gotten.  Past couple days been sitting here wondering if I will do that again.  Right now I'm leaning toward no.

[FL-Boss]

I hunt everything... including deer. But in my area, the deer become nocturnal after the first week of gun season. They are everywhere during bow season.. but it's hot here in FL in Sept/Oct.
It's frustrating as hell in gun season, you know they are out there.. but they don't come out until 2am.

That is the main reason turkey has always been #1 for me... They aren't sensative to scent and they wake up and feed every morning and go to bed every night like clockwork.

[Skeeterbait]

Yep, gave it up 6 years ago.  Used to be a big part of my life but burned out on it.  The cost, lack of good place to go unless you paid a fortune and competed with a lot of people for it (at least around my area), over emphysis in QDM, pressure to shoot only trophy bucks, pressure to kill every doe you could find, over commercialization, treating of hunting deer as a "competitive sport", all got to me.  Still belong to deer hunting clubs but for tukey hunting purposes only now.  Fortunately some of the sorriest, least expensive to lease timberland for deer hunting is some of the best for turkey hunting.  And you can often have the place to yourself in the spring. 

[Tail Feathers]

I still enjoy it but I'm not real mad at them anymore.  I enjoy preparing for the season and my time in the woods but killing them isn't much of a rush.  I still get a little buck fever but not like I used to.  When that thrill is gone from deer hunting, so I will be too.
I enjoy duck hunting but I have largely given it up because it's so much effort for so little enjoyment around here.  Not many ducks and a ton of work to get skunked half the time isn't fun anymore.
But I'm thoroughly addicted to turkey hunting!

[jakesdad]

  "The cost, lack of good place to go unless you paid a fortune and competed with a lot of people for it (at least around my area), over emphysis in QDM, pressure to shoot only trophy bucks, pressure to kill every doe you could find, over commercialization, treating of hunting deer as a "competitive sport", all got to me"

This is pretty much where I am!Just didnt really know how to word it when I started the post.

[njdevilsb]

I look forward to turkey hunting a little more than deer, but I love deer hunting.  I think our season is too long, especially our gun season and even though it's not a law to be out there, I find it hard to not go out if the season is open.  It's very easy to get burned out on deer hunting but the thought that you might be missing an opportunity is what keeps me going.  I'm not a trophy hunter by any means, but I do like the idea of letting the smaller ones walk in hopes that they will grow up and become nice bucks.  Having said that, I did shoot a crotch horn with my bow this year and I was just as excited as I would be if it was a 150" buck or a big old gobbler.

It was tough for us this year.  There was a period of a month, no exaggeration, where I did not see 1 deer while in stand, and it was pretty much the same for my dad.  Then once the cold weather and snow hit, we were seeing 10+ deer every night.  To me, just being out there and seeing all of those deer is worth it.  I ended up getting a basket rack 7 point with my rifle near the end of the season.  My dad still had his buck tag and I had a doe tag.  He kept hunting and I still went but I didn't take a gun, just my video camera.