30 days

[fitch270]

Not that I'm counting, but in just one month we'll be spending the night at the hotel waiting on pick up by our outfitter. It's been 19 months since I booked this trip and a lot has happened since then. Met and married my wife in about the same amount of time seventeen years ago. I turn 52 in a couple weeks. This has been a looooong time coming. Excited? Ya think maybe.....

[CD2]

Lol. Hopefully youve got better control of your shots than you did back then

[fitch270]

Lol. Hopefully youve got better control of your shots than you did back then

😎
No shotguns involved, married seventeen years but been together almost nineteen. Boy's fifteen.......

[FirstBubba]

Many times as a young man, I would excitedly wait on an upcoming event. I would say to my dad, "I wish it was *Saturday!" *what ever day the event began
To which my dad would always reply, "Don't wish your life away son."

He's been gone since 1981, but I often think about how many times I've "wished it was ----!" and wonder if I'd be any younger if I hadn't done all that wishing! LOL!

It always amazed me that the week you had to wait for an event took forever, but the 7 day event was gone in a flash!

Here's to a safe and exciting trip!

[fitch270]

“It always amazed me that the week you had to wait for an event took forever, but the 7 day event was gone in a flash!”

I can’t figure out how workdays drag yet weeks fly by. Has something to do with kids maybe.

I’m not in a hurry really, and there’s plenty of October to enjoy at home first. Starts early with Youth Pheasant season tomorrow. Getting in the field should help, had a good September but it’s not the same.

[FirstBubba]

“It always amazed me that the week you had to wait for an event took forever, but the 7 day event was gone in a flash!”

I can’t figure out how workdays drag yet weeks fly by. Has something to do with kids maybe.

I’m not in a hurry really, and there’s plenty of October to enjoy at home first. Starts early with Youth Pheasant season tomorrow. Getting in the field should help, had a good September but it’s not the same.

Got into the doldrums once about an upcoming hunt.
I was getting the work done, but performance and quality were really lacking.
After realizing I had missed (way late!) reporting a pretty significant event, I told myself I had to get out of the funk.
The only thing I could think of was throw myself into my job.
I literally went to work each day, looking for something to do!
Reports that normally weren't required until the end of the shift were completed way early, walking inventory completed well before it was requested and stuff that wasn't even my duty* accomplished.
(*frowned upon in a "union" setting! LOL!)
But time eventually passed.
I worked so hard at hunting, I usually had to go back to work to get some rest!

In a "union" setting, vacation has to be requested and is assigned in seniority order.
Every year, I requested opening day of deer season, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Every year, my vacation was assigned in February, March or April!
Fortunately, as all the older heads burned up bits and pieces of their vacation, I could shift my vacation forward.
In fifteen years, I NEVER missed a deer season opening day!

[FirstBubba]

fitch270, as I get older, I sometimes think they take some days out of the week.
Yesterday was Monday.
Today is Friday and tomorrow is supposed to be Saturday! I can tell right now, tomorrow is going to be Sunday!
Whole patches of days seem to slip by unnoticed!

[CD2]

I try to not get worked up anymore.
Hunted a couple decades....opening day ritual. Now i just skip the bow opener and wait til halloween.

Save what little vac i have for prime time

[fitch270]

I try to not get worked up anymore.
Hunted a couple decades....opening day ritual. Now i just skip the bow opener and wait til halloween.

Save what little vac i have for prime time

Good strategy. Unfortunately work gets busy in November, I always save a couple days vac just in case but usually end up giving it back. Take a day off and end up working overtime to catch up isn’t worth it sometimes. Right now I’m looking at five extra days off and trying to figure out when to burn them.
Hoping we hit the deer pre rut phase in Montana. Have tags for them too.

[CD2]

My old job was a 1 st shift gig but so busy I often worked doubles ( sometimes triples). My boss knew so much work waited he would, with approval, allow me to hop a shift. Come in and work 2nd instead of 1st.....if the hunting looked good.

Of course on legit vac days my cell would ring and theyd call me in from the field.

Drove to work still in camo, deer in back of jeep. Another they buzzed me while bloodtrailing. And even on my lone out of state hunt....they were franticly trying to contact me (
no go ). Some dipstick refused to run a machine i set up, knew more than me, and wiped out 50k in customer parts.... no spares.

My next job there was under a bipolar animal rights fat woman.
Yeah, she sentenced more animals to death in maintaining that body stature than all my bullets and arrows combined. Nobody got that big eating brussel sprouts.

Was not a fun time.

[CD2]

Now at a diff company i have way less vac time. But work seconds. So can hunt and then go to work....is pretty brutal though. Everythings tougher these days lol. 55 vs 35

[CD2]

Glad folks get excited, have stuff to look fwd to.

Gun opener about my highlight and its dimmer every year

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

Good strategy. Unfortunately work gets busy in November, I always save a couple days vac just in case but usually end up giving it back. Take a day off and end up working overtime to catch up isn’t worth it sometimes. Right now I’m looking at five extra days off and trying to figure out when to burn them.
Hoping we hit the deer pre rut phase in Montana. Have tags for them too.

You can almost always count on the deer rut starting there the first week of November. The weather and elevation doesn't seem to make much difference either. Elk rut SHOULD be done by the time you get there. Rarely are they still rutting on the opener around third weekend in October. The snow storm going on right now will mean no rut for elk for sure by then.

[Ontario Honker Hunter]

“It always amazed me that the week you had to wait for an event took forever, but the 7 day event was gone in a flash!”

I can’t figure out how workdays drag yet weeks fly by. Has something to do with kids maybe.

I’m not in a hurry really, and there’s plenty of October to enjoy at home first. Starts early with Youth Pheasant season tomorrow. Getting in the field should help, had a good September but it’s not the same.

I fondly remember those pre-season excitement days. Not so much any more. Guess I've had so much of it that some of the magic has worn off. I didn't even get worked up much about the trip to Africa in August. It was like a business trip. Which is what it was I guess. Hunting and fishing has become my vocation it seems. That and looking after my grandson. What a tough job! Beats dealing with fat bossy bi-polar broads who eat too many brussle sprouts. CD2, you have my sympathy. Time for you to think of retirement.

[fitch270]

You can almost always count on the deer rut starting there the first week of November. The weather and elevation doesn't seem to make much difference either. Elk rut SHOULD be done by the time you get there. Rarely are they still rutting on the opener around third weekend in October. The snow storm going on right now will mean no rut for elk for sure by then.

First week of rifle is a little later this year, which might work in our favor for deer. We knew going into it that the elk would be done but I’m hoping the boy gets to hear a bugle or two, even if it’s just half hearted. I doubt with my hearing I’d be able to pick it up unless we were close. Definitely keeping a watch on the weather. Looks like it’s going to warm up a bit, with the rain they’ve had this summer I’m planning on it being slick.