question about finding the time?

[Varmint Hunter]

As a career law enforcement officer I always worked odd days, hours, and tours. Unfortunately, I missed every family event that took place on Sundays, which was a regular chart day for me as my 2 daughters were growing up. Eventually, my division switched over to 12 hour tours which gave me more days off but money was tight and my wife returned to work on the days that I was off. I was "Mr. Mom" on the days that my wife worked.

As was stated previously, family came first and shooting & hunting took a distant second place. My children are now young adults and are, for the most part, out on their own. I have an administrative position now and work four 10 hour days. This works great because I have every Friday off and use that day to shoot and hunt. Weekends are generally spent with the family.

I guess one of the most important things is that my marriage is sound and my wife and I give each other enough space to allow us to follow our individual passions without any resentment. As a senior member of the force I get plenty of time off and take at least 3 separate weeks off to travel and hunt with my friends. I encourage my wife to do the same. She loves to get away with her friends too.

I will most likely retire in 4 years. When I get there I'll start buying gun powder in 8lb kegs. Something I've never considered before.

 

[Limbic]

Three kids. Oldest is 6, youngest is 4m. I put my stuff in my truck and sneak out to the range after work. Sometimes i get up early, esp in the summer and head out. Fortunately the range is 20min from the house. I keep most of my reloading stuff in my closet. Not ideal but it keeps me from stockpiling useless or broken stuff. I drag it out and reload on a semi portable bench in the corner of our bedroom. Not ideal but my wife wanted a 3rd child really really bad and part of the consequences is that she gets to smell the wonder ether fragerance of Retumbo weekly. I'll reload for an hour or so at night while she showers/bathes. Do a little at a time works best for me.

 

[LouBoyd]

Other than 3 years in the US Army I didn't shoot at all until my daughter was out of school and on her own. Until then I spent most evenings and weekends with may family. A a co-worker introduced me to target shooting and I got hooked with at least one match a week. I did a lot of shooting over the next ten years, mostly Bullseye, highpower, and silhouette while working for large corporation, strictly an 8-5 job.

Then I got the idea to start my own business and move to a place where I could shoot all I want and anytime I want. I bought 60 Acres in the mountains of southern Arizona surrounded by national forest. I can shoot from my back porch and no one complains. My business is building and operating automated astronomical research telescopes and it's been successful. I have more business than I can handle and have over the years acquired more guns and ammo than I need with the excuse of it being an investment. Sound great but he business takes lots of my time. I enjoy the work and and the location but I've "gone shooting" only about six times this year for a couple of hours at a time even though it's only 1/2 mile to a range on my own property. It's about 100 miles to the nearest "formal" shooting range, so I never go. I no longer find any sport in hunting since deer stand around in my lawn munching grass.. They seem to know they're safe here.

If you like to shoot and hunt and have a family my advice is keep to in practice at a local club with weekly or twice a month shooting at a range. Then schedule a couple of good hunting trips each year with a friend or family member if they're interested. . The rest of the time take care of your work and family. I'd expect you'd get more shooting and hunting in that way than any other unless maybe you live on a farm or ranch where you can hunt.

I'm 65 now. Retiring isn't an option as I'd have to turn over the property with the business if I sold it. My clients wouldn't allow me to just close the business. I have no desire to go back to city life so I'll just stay here and do some occasional target plinking for however long I'm capable.
It could be a lot worse ;-)

 

[Chas1]

Varmint Hunter, are you with NYPD, Suffolk, Nassau, State or Fed?

 

[sp6x6]

Understanding wife of 20 yrs, one boy, my "minee me" Self employed has helped, but now I am self unemployed. Brought up in rural MT , MY friends and I all we did was hunt and fish, nothing has changed, except I can't sight my DADs 300 wm in, in the back yard, houses near now.

 

[Mike6158]

My kids are all out of the house. My daughter and son-in-law are bringing the first grandson in about a month (if TJ can wait for the stork to come get him) and I have a great job (self-employed) that allows me to balance my two passions (guns, reloading, and wildlife/landscape photography) against work and girlfriend (no wife... just a girlfriend ).

When the kids were home (raised my two boys myself) it was all about them... Family always has to come first.

 

[Chas1]

Raised your 2 boys yourself. Not easy...your to be commended. My son has custody of both of his children.

 

[Mike6158]

Raised your 2 boys yourself. Not easy...your to be commended. My son has custody of both of his children.

No... but if I could have I would have raised the two girls too. I did what I could. My hat's off to your son. He's obviously a good man.

To be fair- single mom's, if they do it right, have it rough too.

But the rewards are worth it imho

 

[Chas1]

Your right, good point. No slight against single moms...they have it rough too.Take care.

 

[Forester]

I'm young compared to most in this thread, married, no kids, and both of us are gainfully employed in reasonable paying stable jobs. The thing that helps the most for me is my wife's horses. I don't think I could spend as much (time or money) on shooting no matter how hard I tried as those horses cost to feed and maintain. Both of our hope is that kids will one day want to be involved in either horses or shooting or both so the hobbies can continue. If they don't then its obvious where the priorities will be.

 

[britz]

lol! gotta love compromise

 

[bigbuck]

I think everyone should have some kind of hobby. As for my wife and I we both work full time and she is very lucky to be able to take the little one with her to work . We have been married 3 years now so we are still adjusting to one another from what I here from the elders it will be that way for many years to come.

I work the first and 3rd sat. of every month, my wife and I try to keep God first in everything we do this dictates the jobs that I'm allowed to persue. We keep each other second to God and then our little one we attend church every wensday night we run the bus rought for our church as well and we visit the riders home every saturday. This saturday we will be giving gifts to all of the children that ride the bus. Every house that we will stop at we will give our child a small gift that way she want feel left out, you should see the homes and the clothes that these kids wear not being rude by saying that but it will break your heart. we attend sunday school services and sunday evening services . Church takes up alot of our time so the hunting and shooting has been limited but I'm thankful to get to do it when I can .
I don't know much but I do know that if you keep God first everything else will fall into place
Proverbs 22 verse 6
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. KJV


Bigbuck

 

[Chas1]

bigbuck +1 you got your priorities in the right place.

 

[bwaites]

Father of 4, youngest is now 19.

We had 3 athletes, and a drill team/dancer. The Drill teamer won 3 national championships with her High School team, 2 of which we traveled to California to witness. The 3rd was in conflict with a previously scheduled obligation. However, we never missed any other High School game or competition/performance of any of the kids UNLESS another one was also performing/playing elsewhere. 2 High School basketball State tournaments, 3 High School football playoffs.

In the 11 years from the oldest entering junior high to the youngest graduating high school we attended approximately 120 football games, 325 basketball games, 220 Soccer games, and 80 Drill team performances or competitions. All told, from the time the kids started in dance and sports to the time they graduated high school we attended more than 1000 games or performances.

We also attended spelling bees, geography bees, and science day competitions.

We attended all home games, all away games. (Some of our kids friends called us the Brady Bunch, because we were always together.)

Family IS FIRST, all the rest can wait. If we don't raise our kids properly, we will be a very sad country.

Better said:

"No other success can compensate for failure in the home."

I shoot now because I can afford it and the time it requires. I still have to be careful to make sure it doesn't intrude upon the time I should and need to spend with my wonderful wife. I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes obsess over hobbies, which is when my dear wife has to pull me down to ground and remind me what is really important.

Now we have 2 grandkids and another on the way, and the cycle starts again!

Bill