Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
I keep meaning to answer this thread properly, but amusingly, I don't have time on account of doing work and family things. I will though. During working hours probably.
Work / life / stalking balance.
- Thread starter Tom D
- Start date
I am incredibly lucky to have a job that gives me a quite ridiculous amount of time off. I fell on my feet in many ways and realise just how difficult it must be for the majority who work a 'standard' five day week and have family commitments.
Apart from becoming a Dad for the first time a couple of year back the one major thing that impacts on my own shooting are pheasants! I have my own small shoot, release several hundred birds etc and they just plain take over your life! mornings which could be spent stalking are spent on guard duty with a rifle then an hour or two of dogging in, go back in the evening to walk them in the pop holes etc. Then once past the poult stage hand feeding every day, even in the black dark if I cannot get there during daylight. I really enjoy it (generally after the season when I sit back and relax a bit) but my stalking and wildfowling has taken a hit.
Thinking of folk who spend a lot of time in the field, well very few have normal jobs, in fact most are retired. If not they are sef employed tradesmen who sacrifice income or shift workers who sacrifice sleep.
The ones who do the 'top end' full on three four days a week driven game and/or lots of guided staking have generally sold a successful business and now are cash and time rich...or farmers (big arable in my part of the world)...or farmers who have sold up and cashed in. Oh and the occasional lottery winner.
Apart from becoming a Dad for the first time a couple of year back the one major thing that impacts on my own shooting are pheasants! I have my own small shoot, release several hundred birds etc and they just plain take over your life! mornings which could be spent stalking are spent on guard duty with a rifle then an hour or two of dogging in, go back in the evening to walk them in the pop holes etc. Then once past the poult stage hand feeding every day, even in the black dark if I cannot get there during daylight. I really enjoy it (generally after the season when I sit back and relax a bit) but my stalking and wildfowling has taken a hit.
Thinking of folk who spend a lot of time in the field, well very few have normal jobs, in fact most are retired. If not they are sef employed tradesmen who sacrifice income or shift workers who sacrifice sleep.
The ones who do the 'top end' full on three four days a week driven game and/or lots of guided staking have generally sold a successful business and now are cash and time rich...or farmers (big arable in my part of the world)...or farmers who have sold up and cashed in. Oh and the occasional lottery winner.
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Odders
Well-Known Member
I ran my own business until March of this year (fishing tackle retailer), which, combined with looking after my parents meant fishing, never mind hunting opportunities were limited.
Due to circumstances, I became financially independent earlier this year & at the age of 60, have finally been given the time to invest in hunting - something I never expected to be more than a couple of stalks a year.
All I'll say on the work/life/stalking balance thing is fit in what you can until retirement, then go all out for whatever avenue gives you the greatest satisfaction.
I'm going fishing tomorrow...
Due to circumstances, I became financially independent earlier this year & at the age of 60, have finally been given the time to invest in hunting - something I never expected to be more than a couple of stalks a year.
All I'll say on the work/life/stalking balance thing is fit in what you can until retirement, then go all out for whatever avenue gives you the greatest satisfaction.
I'm going fishing tomorrow...
Cumbrian 1
Well-Known Member
I have always taken the view that life is not a dress rehearsal and if you want to do something you should try and achieve it once you have gone from this word you are gone forever, I have two young kids and I dedicate time to be with them but as I stalk first thing I am often home by 9.30am allowing me to spend the rest of the day with the children and during the week I will still have my evening meal with the children but then head out for a few hours.
If you have children I believe that you have a moral obligation to spend as much time as them as possible as they are not little for long, however life is there to be enjoyed and I wouldn't want my kids to go through the same perceived routine of getting married, have kids and then life stops and you stop pursuing your own interests. I also take them pheasant shooting, deer stalking and clay shooting which they really enjoy which helps a lot as well.
There is a balance but you shouldn't feel guilty about pursuing your own interests and if you plan things with your wife to allow her to have some time herself then all is fair IMHO.
If you have children I believe that you have a moral obligation to spend as much time as them as possible as they are not little for long, however life is there to be enjoyed and I wouldn't want my kids to go through the same perceived routine of getting married, have kids and then life stops and you stop pursuing your own interests. I also take them pheasant shooting, deer stalking and clay shooting which they really enjoy which helps a lot as well.
There is a balance but you shouldn't feel guilty about pursuing your own interests and if you plan things with your wife to allow her to have some time herself then all is fair IMHO.
The trouble with waiting for retirement is that you might not live that long!All I'll say on the work/life/stalking balance thing is fit in what you can until retirement, then go all out for whatever avenue gives you the greatest satisfaction.
I'm going fishing tomorrow...
tikka_madras
Well-Known Member
I have two small kids with one more on the way and am notionally on the career ladder but I refuse to work in London, where most people who do my job are. This means I don't earn as much as I could and probably won't get to the very top, but it means I can see my kids in the morning, then cycle to work and be back in time to have dinner with them and do the bath and bedtime routine. As many have noted, they are only young once.
However, I do still find time to stalk, shoot, fish, sail and play rugby and cricket. I love to cook, which I can do with the kids "helping" and once they're old enough I expect they'll come with me on most things. Life is short, and even if it's a real effort I think it's up to you to put yourself out there and keep driving forward until you're finally put into the ground.
However, I do still find time to stalk, shoot, fish, sail and play rugby and cricket. I love to cook, which I can do with the kids "helping" and once they're old enough I expect they'll come with me on most things. Life is short, and even if it's a real effort I think it's up to you to put yourself out there and keep driving forward until you're finally put into the ground.
Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
The other challenge that we all have is that we get older and as we get older our bodies are much less capable of running up a couple of munros after hinds in mid winter. Whilst we all like to think that we can do this, you have to think about limitations.
And leaving things till later in life when you have time also means that you will be leaving it to a time when you might not physically be able to do things as well. I have always wanted to hunt a Chamois and do lots more ski touring - I have suddenly realised that I had better get on and do it as in ten years time I will be approaching 60.
Sad thing is that we may all be living longer - but this doesn't meaning living longer with the body of a 25 year old!!!
And leaving things till later in life when you have time also means that you will be leaving it to a time when you might not physically be able to do things as well. I have always wanted to hunt a Chamois and do lots more ski touring - I have suddenly realised that I had better get on and do it as in ten years time I will be approaching 60.
Sad thing is that we may all be living longer - but this doesn't meaning living longer with the body of a 25 year old!!!
mchughcb
Well-Known Member
20 years ago i met a real gentleman in montreal. Head if technology in my industry. His company was taken over and he retired. The day he retired he had a health check up and 30 days later he was dead with an agressive form of cancer.
The moral of this story and his colleagues to me was don't wait until retirement to enjoy life.
The moral of this story and his colleagues to me was don't wait until retirement to enjoy life.
Jagare
Well-Known Member
The chairman of a small shooting ,stalking club i was a member of many years ago was a true gent. He told me that he was taking retirement at 60. He had plans to shoot and stalk more and had bought the shotgun he always wanted. About a couple of months into retirement he had a heart attack and died. As above don't leave it till its to late.
I retired 4 years ago but still work part time. I must say that I'm where i want to be in life. There do's only seem to be 6 months in every year now but i have plenty of hunting and hunting trips to do before i get to old. I'm going to shoot in the Norma cup on Sunday. Its a .22 field target shooting competition . Plus plenty of club visits shooting .22 and full bore moving targets plus alittle clay shooting. The hunting season will soon come round again
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Big Jim
Well-Known Member
For me its work, Family, going to football then shooting sports come last.
I'm self employed and have been for the last 18 years working constant nights carrying onto days. Just got home from work just now from a midnight start.
I regularly shoot HFT competitions from March to October and do pest control once or twice a fortnight all year round.
Still to manage to get stalking this year since getting my DSC1. Life's a bitch........
I'm self employed and have been for the last 18 years working constant nights carrying onto days. Just got home from work just now from a midnight start.
I regularly shoot HFT competitions from March to October and do pest control once or twice a fortnight all year round.
Still to manage to get stalking this year since getting my DSC1. Life's a bitch........
Tf223
Well-Known Member
I find with a wife, one toddler, and another one on the way the easiest shooting tends to be lamping rabbits/foxes when they go to sleep! Spent 7 hours on Saturdays decoying and rabbit shooting during the day... didn’t shoot much but a luxury to get out during the day. Still signed up to the stalking syndicate this year, and will squeeze in the stalks somehow!!
An interesting thread. Personally, I work 7-6pm, 6 days a week and then probably another hour or so either side of that running our small holding. Then comes spending time with my wife and 3 year old son which is worth it's weight in gold. Luckily my permission is a 40 min drive away and I try to get over once a week, which is not enough really but I try my best. I like to get to the range once a month which is during the week so I normally book a day off (my boss let me have some extra holiday instead of a pay rise which was good for me). Oh, on top of that, we're very close to starting our house build! On balance, it's a good life, there's never enough time to do everything, my family will always come first and I've strong urge to work hard for them and if I can squeeze a bit of me time in, I'll die a happy man.
Pine Marten
Well-Known Member
It's always been a struggle to fit fieldsports of any kind into my life, primarily because I live in the Big City and so every time I go fishing, shooting, stalking, it's a whole expedition out of town, sometimes with overnight stays, etc. That also makes it expensive. Before I started shooting, I was an angler, and that was limited to holidays. That said, holidays were long and I had few constraints. No money and no transport, but enough freedom and opportunity. These days, the expense is less of a problem, the free time is what's really in short supply. The logistical problems remain the same though, there's no escaping from that. I find I can't properly enjoy my stalking or shooting adventures if I think my absence is putting too much of an additional burden on Mrs PM, mostly looking after Young PM on her own, which already happens a fair bit because of work. Of course, it's always been clear that if I go gallivanting off on my adventures every so often, then it's only fair that I take my turn to offer Mrs PM the same opportunity. Problem is, she doesn't have any hobbies that actually require her to vanish at 3am on a Saturday morning and come back late!
For seven seasons, I was a useless wildfowler. This was in the Dreamtime, before YPM's arrival, but it was the most antisocial form of fieldsport from a domestic perspective. Also, the "returns" were basically nothing at all. Just a pile of muddy kit. I dropped that when I started stalking, and stalking has turned out to be quite a lot easier to fit into life, with the domestic bonus that it quite often actually results in a full freezer.
Nevertheless, the acceptable fieldsports/family life balance has stayed fairly constant over the years. In the Dreamtime, I'd manage maybe 7-8 outings a year (wildfowling, fishing, etc). Now it's more like half a dozen. Which isn't a lot by most standards, and yet my family and friends consider it to be an OUTRAGEOUS liberty that I take.
It used to wind me up really badly. Now, well, I'm reconciled to it and I try to make all outings special. There are many who go out far less. Or in fact not at all.
And then...
... and then there are new hopes on the horizon....
For seven seasons, I was a useless wildfowler. This was in the Dreamtime, before YPM's arrival, but it was the most antisocial form of fieldsport from a domestic perspective. Also, the "returns" were basically nothing at all. Just a pile of muddy kit. I dropped that when I started stalking, and stalking has turned out to be quite a lot easier to fit into life, with the domestic bonus that it quite often actually results in a full freezer.
Nevertheless, the acceptable fieldsports/family life balance has stayed fairly constant over the years. In the Dreamtime, I'd manage maybe 7-8 outings a year (wildfowling, fishing, etc). Now it's more like half a dozen. Which isn't a lot by most standards, and yet my family and friends consider it to be an OUTRAGEOUS liberty that I take.
It used to wind me up really badly. Now, well, I'm reconciled to it and I try to make all outings special. There are many who go out far less. Or in fact not at all.
And then...
... and then there are new hopes on the horizon....
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Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
I think my father had the correct attitude. When I arrived I gave my mother a hard time which meant she was in Zomba hospital for a while after I was born. My father and friends would go duck shooting on Lake Chilwa most Fridays. Anyway one Friday evening early in July 1969, John,who was a pilot, buzzed the house, Pa loaded Land Rover with crate of beer, dogs, guns and his first born in a basket, drove to the airstrip and went duck shooting. Earliest photo of me is my basket in back of land rover with ducks, dogs, crate of beer etc.
It didnt stop there. Earliest memories are tramping through the Bush with Pa shooting guineafowl and then driving back home before ambush time sleeping across the front bench seat of the renault 4 as we drove home. I can still feel stinging knees from the cut grass.
When we left Africa and came to the UK I grew up with many more expeditions wildfowling up on the wash or the south coast of England.
With th my own daughter we have lots of time in Scottish wilds fishing, canoeing, stalking and just being. Having families just adds to the pleasure.
I know one person who I paraglide with. His pre-flight checks included checking nappy was clean before taking off with his two year old.
It didnt stop there. Earliest memories are tramping through the Bush with Pa shooting guineafowl and then driving back home before ambush time sleeping across the front bench seat of the renault 4 as we drove home. I can still feel stinging knees from the cut grass.
When we left Africa and came to the UK I grew up with many more expeditions wildfowling up on the wash or the south coast of England.
With th my own daughter we have lots of time in Scottish wilds fishing, canoeing, stalking and just being. Having families just adds to the pleasure.
I know one person who I paraglide with. His pre-flight checks included checking nappy was clean before taking off with his two year old.
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Cseskynut
Active Member
Stats show 1 in 7 men don't make 60 yrs of age, and 1 in 4 don't make 65
But turning a hobby into a job - one can get too much of a good thing
Used to help manage a park, at one time carcase income was important to the family budget, still do some darting etc, but much happier now stalking is purely a hobby again - shooting less but enjoying it more
But turning a hobby into a job - one can get too much of a good thing
Used to help manage a park, at one time carcase income was important to the family budget, still do some darting etc, but much happier now stalking is purely a hobby again - shooting less but enjoying it more
Wake up, walk the shooting dog, think about shooting, go to work and think about shooting, come home, walk to dog, maybe look after the pheasants, organise clay club stuff, organise pheasant syndicate stuff, think about shooting, go to sleep.
When built up a bit flexi time at work and its not to manic (rare!), get in a wee early morning stalk.
Weekends - walk dog, stalk, pheasants, clays, cook a mean curry.
Kids flown the nest and no grandchildren (that I know off!), wife spends her spare time on golf course or cycling. Life is good.
When built up a bit flexi time at work and its not to manic (rare!), get in a wee early morning stalk.
Weekends - walk dog, stalk, pheasants, clays, cook a mean curry.
Kids flown the nest and no grandchildren (that I know off!), wife spends her spare time on golf course or cycling. Life is good.
Self employed these past 11 years, earned enough to pay the mortgage, have holidays, fund car and help the children as they become adults.
Not rich but happy.
10 years ago access to three large woods as a syndicate member, 5 years ago it was bought out so I went the route of paid stalking.
Used the monies from the previous stalking as the budget.
Generally enough for max of 6 stalks a year - achieving an average of 4, so all good.
Now l'm turning 65 and retiring.
Going down the route of wills/powers of attorney recently have punished the bank balance but I will look to keep to 4 paid stalks this year-
and my wistful moments of imagining land of my own will remain just that
Not rich but happy.
10 years ago access to three large woods as a syndicate member, 5 years ago it was bought out so I went the route of paid stalking.
Used the monies from the previous stalking as the budget.
Generally enough for max of 6 stalks a year - achieving an average of 4, so all good.
Now l'm turning 65 and retiring.
Going down the route of wills/powers of attorney recently have punished the bank balance but I will look to keep to 4 paid stalks this year-
and my wistful moments of imagining land of my own will remain just that
Odders
Well-Known Member
Got my arse in gear & went fishing yesterday evening.
First time I've wet a line in 3 years.
Forgot my waders, so ended up soaked to the nuts but caught three & kept one brown trout in Crummock Water.
I'm also in the initial planning stages for a management lease, so I'll get to have the fun of planning long term population control too.
This is miles more fun than working (& will likely use at least as much time...).
First time I've wet a line in 3 years.
Forgot my waders, so ended up soaked to the nuts but caught three & kept one brown trout in Crummock Water.
I'm also in the initial planning stages for a management lease, so I'll get to have the fun of planning long term population control too.
This is miles more fun than working (& will likely use at least as much time...).
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