Serious question about hunting, kids, and marriage.

[Mayhem]

Like a few others here its a non issue for me. My wife loves to fish and hunt just as much as I do. Shes there from cuttin shooting lanes to filling feeders. She was raised in a hunting family.

On the other side my brother was raised hunting and fishing. Then he married a cee you next tuesday that carries his boys in her purse (to put it nicely). Now his boat hasnt seen the water in close to 10 years and he prolly dont even know what caliber his rifle is. His over 50 and his kid is in his first year at TAMU. He swore he was gonna get out more when kiddo left for college. Nope. Aint. Happened. Once. flippin sissy

I bet he would let go of that boat cheap then.

[Geoff995]

I’m 34 with a wife and 2 daughters. IMO I believe it’s a cop out when someone says they can’t do something because of wife or kids. If you have family commitments, then just say so. Don’t blame your choice on your family. Also, hunting and fishing are a priority for me because that is the meat that we eat throughout the year. Has nothing to do with heads on the wall

[Quackerbox]

I bet he would let go of that boat cheap then.

may even throw the travel trailer thats sat in the same spot 4 years or so go with it

[ClayW]

OP, I assume you aren't married or have any kiddos?

For me, its all about priorities. With a wife and 2 kiddos under 5 at home, my priorities have changed over the years.

My work schedule allows me to hunt whenever I want, but I get to the blind 2-3 times per week. My "excuse" for not deer hunting more is usually involves the kiddos or helping Chels out with the kiddos.

[txoutdoorsman24]

In for the responses. See how much truth is spoken.

My response. I am 33 with two girls (9 & 1.5) and a boy due in April. I purposely got married and planned to have kids January to May to prevent birthdays and anniversary days during peak outdoors times. My wife knew that all along and will tell other people about it. I don’t hunt not fish near as much as I did before them bc I spend all my free time working or woth my oldest doing her cheer stuff. I don’t have my own place to hunt but have access to many places so I can’t use that as an excuse. I just don’t go. My background was pretty rough and never had parents so I try to be woth mine as much as possible. With my oldest bit interested in hunting, it takes away from my time in the woods but it’s ok. I still go when I can or feel like it. I only bow hunt so it is truly difficult to get younger kids in the bow stand My wife likes to go but she has dedicated herself to the kids and her education and career so she has no spare time either. Hopefully with a boy, things will change but if he has other interests then so be it.

[trhunter]

Been married for 20 years. My wife has never once complained or even had a problem if I wanted to hunt everyday or weekend. Now I used to hunt just that much, but now I do not go very often at all. You see, my last child is a freshman in high school and she is a varsity cheerleader on Friday nights and also plays volleyball for the school and club. Yea I could go hunting if I wanted to without one word being said. I just choose to spend my time with my family. The way I look at it is my daughter will be done in three years (unless she goes on to play volleyball in college) and after she is done I will then get back to hunting just as much as I want too. I don't see it as being PW'd as some younger men would put it, what I see is these are years I will never get back with my child, if it mean me missing something I want to do, then that is ok with me. When you get older like me family starts to have a whole new meaning.

[tfrye]

i know some guys that are the same way, but there wives were not brought up in a outdoors family. I dont think they truely understand the whole fishing and hunting thing. im 28 and and met my wife when i was 21 i was a pretty avid duck hunter at the time (hunting 3-4 days a week while i was in college) and i told her if she made it through duck season that i would be impressed, 5 seasons later i married her. She has no problem with me hunting or fishing anytime unless i need to get something done around the house. Her father is an avid bowhunter and fishes all the time so she knows that its a part of life. I will say i have canceled a few hunts this year because we have a baby girl coming January 4th due to lack of cell service and being 5+ hours away but i wouldnt want to miss that for the world.

Agree, really depends on the woman and how she was raised. My father-in-law cant spell hunting and she was raised in the city!

[WItoTX]

I'm 33, with a 4 month old. I hunted Colorado and Montana this year while my wife and son were at home, being helped by my mother and step mom. My wife understands that as both of us grow, both of us change, and so long as its clearly communicated, it should be no big deal to figure out how I can go hunting every year. (That starts with knowing what the date will be 9 months from now. Too many guys get sucked in on valentines day, and next think you know, they can't make rifle season for that year because their wife is giving birth...)

My point is, some people change. Maybe your buddies don't find the joy in hunting anymore. I lost the joy of snowboarding when I was 28. Been doing it since I was 8. I shifted away from the fast toys (Motorcycle, snowmobile, jetski) back to hunting. I put down the bow at 19, and didn't pick it back up until 32, two years after we got married.

FWIW, the millennial's these days have a much lower divorce rate than older generations too. Maybe there is something to hunting less. I am glad I got a great wife, who understands my desire to hunt, and shares my love of the outdoors.

[tfrye]

Been married for 20 years. My wife has never once complained or even had a problem if I wanted to hunt everyday or weekend. Now I used to hunt just that much, but now I do not go very often at all. You see, my last child is a freshman in high school and she is a varsity cheerleader on Friday nights and also plays volleyball for the school and club. Yea I could go hunting if I wanted to without one word being said. I just choose to spend my time with my family. The way I look at it is my daughter will be done in three years (unless she goes on to play volleyball in college) and after she is done I will then get back to hunting just as much as I want too. I don't see it as being PW'd as some younger men would put it, what I see is these are years I will never get back with my child, if it mean me missing something I want to do, then that is ok with me. When you get older like me family starts to have a whole new meaning.

I'm 26 and my wife and I met at 16 and we have a one year old now and I agree with this 1000000000000%!

[Mayhem]

I believe it's about priorities and not being a selfish person.

[Traildust]

I’m 39, was married for 10yrs. I do not have any kids by choice. I’ve been very much into bodybuilding/fitness since I was 20. My ex-wife was the very same way. Neither of us wanted to give up any part of our lives to make the sacrifices that a child requires. Do I regret it now? No....not really. I think it would be nice to have a son now to spend time with and do the things that my dad and I did, but I do not look back on my choice with regret.

If your kids are active with school functions, sports and friends, you have to balance that with your outdoor time. It's hard to bowhunt with young kids with you....I tried a bunch. Gun hunting is easy with kids.....but who wants to gun hunt?

I take my kids as much as possible, but they have other interest too. My wife likes to hunt, and she was with me most of the time until we had kids. Her priorities changed too. It's all about balance.

[Dale Moser]

I don’t hunt and fish as much as I did when I was single, and first married. I don’t do anything as much as I did then… It’s not just about me anymore. I used to average about 35 weekends a year at it, Probly closer to 20 now. My son, who is eight, is with me for a lot of them, and my wife for quite a few as well. He will go with me more and more as he gets older and men’s trips turn into father and son trips. He’s about to be playing a lot of baseball starting in the spring, so that eats up a lot of time and weekends, but on off weekends we will be fishing, hunting turkeys, and prepping for deer season. I miss a few games to work on deer lease stuff, he understands...but I positively LOVE to watch him compete on a baseball field.

It’s all about priorities… When I married his mom some of her priorities became mine, and when we had him he became both of our priority. You just have to fit it all together.


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[boh347]

I love hunting and would spend every second out in the field if I could. But, I have to tell myself it’s a hobby and not let it consume me. So, if my kids want to go see a movie on the weekend or there’s a football game they want to play in then we tend to do that. They have their own interests and we divide everyone’s hobbies up.

[Codie]

Priorities -

Some people change theirs after both marriage and again after children
Some people don't

[Trevor73402]

I’ve enjoyed reading the different perspectives given here. Good discussion.