Self esteem rant for hunter with tag soup

[Cap.Silver]

First of all - I'm not begging for help ,this is justified question for discussion . I have hunted WA for 4 years now , I've met some wonderful people through this site and made lots of friends . In these years I have had only few short unexpected opportunities to take a shot ,but they were so unexpected that I couldn't react quickly enough . Some of you know what I'm talking about a/ walking up to bedded buck by the trail in high mountains with you rifle 4' away because you needed to take a whizzzz    . b/ or jump a buck by water spring before daylight c/driving to a 6x6 bull in the middle of the road about 30 minutes before legal shooting time  d/ face off with buck buck who was busted in his bed and you having rifle on your shoulder    To make it short  .... I have not killed a big game yet .....  I do spend all the time in the woods that I can ( my wife can say its true   ) however it seems like I cannot connect . I know there is few people on this forum that have hunted our state for few years but haven't notched their tag .So my question is :where do I go from here? I'm 50 . My biggest issue is that I'm sole provider for my wife and I and justifying hunt with outfitter is out of question . People in my age are opinionated as it is ,so it is not as easy to be able to hunt with anyone . I love outdoors ,I have escaped from communist country almost 24 years ago ,but maybe it's me who feels alone or its the manopause :}}}}}}}} that got to me ..... One thing I must say : there is some  people  out there ....
How do you guys over 50 feel  

[Lucky1]

 
Don't give up buddy. It'll happen. Just make sure you have your gun with you when you take whiz.
Lots of info on this site that should help. Calling, scents, bait, etc.
 

[billythekidrock]

Some answers can be found in your post.

Remove your rifle sling and always carry it in your hand.
Never set your rifle down and walk away and always take it with you when you have to do your "business".

[elksnout]

Everything you mention happens to everyone. You just need to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I've got six years on you and have been hunting this state (and others) since I was twelve years old. The older I get the less it is about filling my tags and the more it is about the time spent with family and friends. Think about it.

[260Rem]

I would take up tennis if I were you.

[HawkCreek]

I wouldnt worry to hard about it. I've hunted private ground and haven't connected in the last 4 years either. But there aren't nearly as many deer around here as there used to be either, not sure how the rest of the state is though.

[yorketransport]

What you need to do is just stop trying.

I don't take my hunting very serious at all. I'm a shooter/gun guy who hunts so that I have an excuse to buy or build a new gun. Any time I get out there and try to get serious I get skunked. If I go out and just wander around the woods with a gun, knife, blaze orange and a tag, I see animals every where!

For me, I'm a better hunter once the pressure has been taken away. Whenever I decide that I just want to head out and "hunt" to kill a little time, that's when I actually start seeing legal critters every where. Today I saw a 3pt bull elk. Not big or fancy, but legal. I spotted him after about 1pm as I was heading out of the woods. I made a rule that I won't shoot an animal after noon on Sundays because I won't have time to get it out of the woods and to a shop and still get to work the next day. This happens every time! When I stop hunting is when I start seeing game.

Try just taking a more casual approach to hunting to relieve some of the pressure. Think of it this way, it couldn't hurt hour success rate.

Andrew

[Cap.Silver]

Thank you everyone for your suggestions ,I'll take it easy and relax .Next time I'll go out I'll pretend to be mushroom picking :-))))