When Love Grows Cold

Phil Hardman has dating advice for those seeking a new relationship

This month’s piece was inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow shooter recently, who was thinking about selling up and quitting the sport entirely, because he no longer had the motivation to go out shooting – he simply didn’t enjoy it anymore. As we got deeper into the conversation, it turned out that he hadn’t actually been in a while, so it wasn’t so much hunting that he didn’t enjoy, it was the mere thought of it that was putting him off.

I knew only too well what he meant. I have experienced it myself many times over the years, and like him, it’s usually around the beginning of winter when it happens, so I thought I’d talk about that this month because I am sure we aren’t alone in feeling that way from time to time.

FAVOURITE SEASON

Hunting in the winter can be either something you really look forward to, or something you dread. depending on where you hunt, what you hunt, and when you like to do it. For me, winter used to be something I tolerated, at best. My preference by far is the spring, through to summer and into harvest, when quarry numbers are at their greatest, cover is thick, and hunting opportunities can be found around every corner, and up almost every tree. Of course, there have been winters that I have enjoyed greatly, and if you are an avid squirrel shooter, with masses of really good woodland permission, winter is fantastic; no leaves on the trees so you can finally hit them properly, in which case you’re probably reading this and thinking, ‘… but I love the wintertime!’ Unfortunately for me, I no longer have the old woodland permissions of ancient woodland that I once enjoyed, so winter is now much more of a struggle.

RELUCTANT HUNTER