Sad day, Thinking of calling it quits

[user 52142]

That's the sh*ts and will really put a damper on your enthusiam.

Yes Sir, you are correct. I tried it twice, but to many young guns with AR,s -AK,s etc. Dont know proper range etiquette.

 

[Thingamajiggy]

Sorry to hear about your situation. One nice thing about living here in PA, over a million acres of public land to hunt. Wish you luck in your search.

 

[user 52142]

Sorry to hear about your situation. One nice thing about living here in PA, over a million acres of public land to hunt. Wish you luck in your search.

Thank you very much Thingamajiggy

 

[Sam squanch]

DON’T sell your guns! Well maybe a few you don’t shoot much. There will come a day you will wish you kept them. Another opportunity will show up sometime.

 

[NorthFork]

NEVER GIVE UP.

This right here.

 

[user 52142]

DON’T sell your guns! Well maybe a few you don’t shoot much. There will come a day you will wish you kept them. Another opportunity will show up sometime.

Thanks Sam. If I decide to sell, i might keep 1 rifle and 1 pistol.

 

[user 52142]

This right here.

Thanks Northfork.

 

[erhunter]

Never give up and remember "patience is a virtue"! Back off a little, dust off the car and cruise and get some wind through your hair. Shoot the breeze with your fellow friends and things usually work out when you least expect it to!

 

[Sidney Smith]

I wouldn't give up. There's always an answer.

I voluntarily left a deer goldmine that I've hunted for at least 10 years, last year, when the land owner decided to let too many guys hunt it. It became unsafe and no amount of talking to this guy would get through to him. All he cares about is deer kills so his trees and shrubs don't get eaten. Well, my life is worth more to me than his bushes. Yeah it sucks, but I'll just go back to hunting elsewhere. It will take a lot more than that to cause me to quit doing something I enjoy. Things always seem to work out eventually.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

NEVER GIVE UP.

^^^

 

[IanH]

So the Victoria Gun Club shut down? That's too bad, I guess development was taking its toll.

There are about ten zillion ranchers and farmers up 77 and up 87, you should try and make more friends. I have one lives about 20 miles north of town and his family has four large plots around the area. Another avid shooter lives up toward Cuero, though he's slowed way down and retired his bullet mould business. I don't know if anyone would let you hunt deer but probably lots would invite you to hunt wild pigs. They're out there.....

 

[Stub]

I got discouraged with muzzle loading because I lost the people I used to shoot with, and I sold all my guns. I moved 200 miles away and after a couple years discovered a muzzle loading club 25 minutes away. I'm now in the process of replacing the guns I sold and guess what, they cost more now. Take my advice, be very sure you are ready to hang it up before you part with your gear!

 

[tgfrench]

Ah maybe some people don't appreciate the size of Texas and distances between civilized areas of state.

 

[Campbell]

Guns and outdoors (and all that THAT implies) are in my blood, they aren’t hobbies.
As long as I am sound in body and mind I will never give them up.

My other hobbies have come and gone, and I don’t miss them much.

 

[Banjoman]

To paraphrase Jose Wales “Don’t give up. When things look bad, you gotta get mean, mad dog mean!”.

 

[morehops52]

Endeavor to perservere.

 

[OldMaineWoodsman]

Just my opinion for what it is worth...

This is exactly what the anti's want. Our numbers to reduce down so that they can convince State fish and game departments, as well as the feds (both of which are infested with anti-hunting types, by the way) that hunters no longer make an impact on effective wildlife management.

I fully understand your situation. While muzzleloading is an important part of my sporting life, I enjoy other aspects as well. For the better part of 30 years, it was all about duck hunting with me. Then, just like that I lost my favorite spot. The property was sold. The good news was it wasn't developed. Bad is news is the new owners quickly posted it and let it be known that hunters would not be welcome.

I searched and scouted and just could not find anything suitable that didn't require a boat, which I don't have. So, I shifted and rediscovered my love of grouse and woodcock hunting. I have to travel a little bit to find the grouse, but woodcock are all over where I live in Virginia. I have a pleasant four-year-old Gordon Setter which adds to the fun. I hunt with a 16-gauge double, and occasionally take a muzzleloading shotgun. If you have never tried grouse and woodcock hunting with one of those, you are in for a treat. Try something else and keep going forward. I'm going to hunt until I am no longer physically able to.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Contemplating giving up ML and hunting.
Lost my hunting lease last year when the gentleman that owned the land I have hunted on for 20 years passed and his kids decided to sell it off in sections for homes.

Looked at getting on a new deer lease. But the prices here in Texas are ridiculously high. Just cant justify it.

Oh dear me. You seem so sad, I have been there too We lost out UK nation trust hunting lease in 2013. And old fart farmer friends sold up. Then the police took away my shotguns. I might shoot intruders. The bsa Scorpio pcp 177&22 air guns saved my life , just been target shooting 50 yards this morning. Got a few pigeons and squirrels in long garden. Lots of guys had their pistols confiscated as now banned it uk, crime is more ninja knives occasional guns . A lot of is took up archery, . It’s no better in western OZ , don’t go there anymore , France can be ok Did I say I was 80 , mug shot. Ha ha just hang obsolete guns on wall. , years in prison if I shoot them. They must stay curiosities

Chin up it’s your health that counts , married yes , she’s been screaming at me all morning, so I put a bid on another ml at holts auction

Are there anyone below 70 on this forum. Ha ha anyone over 90, mountain men even , bear skin overcoats even, tanning with brains indian style

Sorry to bug in back to you. Love from UK London





Then my local gun range closed up and the next closest is 1 1/2 hour drive, and they really dont like ML folks.

So everything just sits in the gun safe. Onlytime they come out it is to get cleaned and wiped down.

Might just sell out and find a different hobby.



Maybe I will pull out my old 1926 T model hotrod. There is a group of old farts like me that get together and cruise a couple of times a month.

If I do decide do sell out, maybe I can find someone that will take everything I have as a bundle. Hate the thought of selling everything individually. The sale ads and shipping would take forever.

Well enough of the pity party, just mainly wanted to vent.

Thanks
Bill

 

[Paul-in-PA]

Having entered what I hate to say is my Senior Years, hobbies come and hobbies go. I have hunted, fished, and been a shooting sports enthusiast since I was 16. Within those activities I have changed my activities as the social and physical environments have.

As a child I enjoyed hunting squirrels, rabbits, and pheasants (public Land), as I aged I started to do more target shooting (private gun clubs), then added the collecting of firearms, followed by Grouse and Woodcock hunting (public land again). The last fifteen years, I have gotten into deer (private land). Same with fishing trout most of my life, spin casting and fly.

The physical shooting sports environment has dictated my changes. Where I lived, and the population of what I hunted. When I was young there were plenty of squirrels and rabbits, the state stocked pheasants and public lands were not dangerous. As I aged I grew to love woodcock and grouse hunting, the state forests and publics game lands had plenty of birds and I was able to walk the 8 hours a day that I would hunt for these upland birds. I lost my hunting buddy to his health, he was unable to walk and keep up with the dogs and put the pressure on the birds. Also population of upland birds have significantly decreased. My son also grew out of the hobby, getting married, starting a career and kids. My dogs got too old and so did I eventually. Enter the deer hunting phase.

As for shooting, I have shot 22, W-II firearms, trap, muzzleloaders, BPCR, Class 3, and AR-15s. I now practice regularly with a crossbow for deer hunting. Public opinion and range availability have dictated my shooting activities. When I had access to BP or class 3 friendly ranges I shot those, when I was really into bird hunting I shot more trap and sporting clays. Now I shoot more air rifles, 22s and crossbow, for muscle memory and fun. The big guns or shotguns don't make it to the range as much.

As I like to say, I spent the first 25 year collecting my stuff and now I need to spend the next 25 getting rid of it. Physically I don't like getting beat up by the "high power rifles and magnum shotguns". I have seen many hunters develop medical conditions that prevent them from shooting. Sad to see, but I think we all get there, just like driving a car or motorcycle.

The day is coming, where I will no longer stream wade for trout because of stability issues, so I have reduced the number of fly rods I have. I already have reduced my upland bird hunting for a number of reasons, sold off many of my shotguns, down to two. I can still use them for the occasional upland bird hunt or for turkeys and geese. Was never a turkey or goose hunter, but these offer me a chance to still hunt as the game and access to hunting land is more plentiful.

I have sold my Class 3, and reduced my collection. Dad use to say to me, "you can only shoot one gun at a time, why do you need so many?" I have played and hunted with muzzloaders since I was 16, flintlocks - in-lines and BPCR. First went the in-lines just a deer hunting tool. Next may go the BPCR, they hurt after 20 rounds and in the east no-where to really let them stretch their legs out to the 1,000 yards. With flintlocks, I have started to build for the fun and enjoyment.

So what I am trying to say in this long winded post is embrace the change. "Change Is Good", if finds provides you happiness in the with the change, it allows you wo still enjoy variations in the main hobby, the shooting sports. Don't miss hunting grouse and woodcock? YES - but I have them memory of my son shooting his first double on grouse when he was in college and we have a bird mount to remember that day with pictures.

So losing you deer hunting lease is a sad day, just remember change is good. And as we said in the Air Force - FLEXIBILITY IS THE KEY TO AIR POWER. Be flexible in your hobbies.

 

[Sam squanch]

Yup. I try to shoot my air rifles and pistols every day. If you have a basement you can shoot there.