Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I'm no longer a killer

Guy,

certainly wish you well and a good recovery....you sound like an inspirational sort of gentleman in my book...

ya know, this brought memories tho of an opposite perspective....

a brother in laws dad back in Minnesota, was told in the early 80s that his time was numbered for a batch of medical reasons... he was about 85 years old.. and a lifelong Minnesota farmer...

his response to what he was told by the doctor, was not to slow down... he went out of his way to push himself, beyond what he usually did...when asked what got into him, he would just blow off the question and not give an answer...

but when his son asked him one day in private in the barn, why he was pushing himself instead of taking it easy to prolong his time.... his response surprised his son....he told him he knew he was going to die... and instead of doing it sitting in a chair, or laying in the bed, or in an ambulance or in a hospital bed... he wanted to do so, doing the things he loved best....

Mr Ryder died in November 1984.... during the Minnesota Deer Season....he did show back up at the parking area that everyone had parked their trucks... in fact he had wondered off from where his sons and grandsons had put him in a chair to sit and they would try to push deer to him...

they found him laying in a small clearing....he had had a heart attack...
but they had also heard a shot, and laying about 50 yds or so on the other side of the clearing was a nice healthy 4 point buck....

he passed doing what he loved best... which really isn't a bad way to check out when your time comes...

just another perspective..

Well it Was Dan Bailey the younger, of Dan Bailey's flyshop in Livingston, MT that did all the casting in that movie. As for not hunting anymore, that is a personal thing. I am 58 and well, my last moose told me that going and hunting those by myself is at and end and i was 52 at the time. Now I am content with hunting white tail deer on my properly, the State of CT changed the rules some and well I can hunt from mid September to the last day in January even on sunday with archery. And for every doe I shoot they will give me another tag. I collected two with a crossbow, that was another change, I may shoot one more with a rifle. That would put about 180 lbs of venison in the freezer its enough, I will add a couple of ducks and a goose or two because I rediscovered waterfowl and upland game hunting with a shotgun a few years back. As for flying Next year it will be 40 years since I started out as a professional pilot. One of my mentors back when I was young,said to an employer that I wanted to fly for, he's a good pilot and he loves to fly, he is just not in love with flying. I learned a lot from that guy, forgot more that knew at the time. I can't see myself ever stopping hunting or fishing or going off by myself. Now if I could retire, some place out of the way in South East Alaska, were there are plenty of Black Tails to hunt and plenty of fish to be had would be the best way I can think of to cap off a life.

I'm a lot younger, but the sins of my youth and service in the military wrought havoc on my knees. Torn meniscus in both knees, bone on bone arthritis, etc. It's hard to get up the hills, but I still usually get there..it just takes longer and is painful. The weight gain from not exercising due to pain is worse.

My dad shot his last deer when he was 91. We took him again when he was 92 but he just couldn't get behind the gun to make the shot.

I have never forgotten the days afield, spent with my dad deer hunting. He was old, even when I was young, and I always admired his grit. I still ponder the trips we took to the Musselshell in Eastern Montana, and how it was the event of the year, yet it would only last a few days.

My boys went with me when we took dad those last years and we still talk every fall of the times my dad would light up a cigarette in the truck against our best wishes. I knew it wouldn't last forever and I would remind them that some day we would be wishing he was still with us lighting up his stinky Camel cigarettes.

I don't know how many more trips I have left in me for deer elk, turkeys, varmints or fishing. I only know that my father set a bar high enough that it won't be ending any day soon.

No one gets to be a cowboy forever...

At 70, I'm teetering on the edge myself. I gave up doing pack ins a few years ago and can only do truck camps now. This past season was the 1st season in over 20 years that I have not killed an elk. Just too tough and too much work for me to get around. Getting banged up from loco mule didn't help either.

I was not going to go this past year, but a young fellow asked me to take him and I did, but then it ended up he only stayed a few days and us two old farts had to tear down camp ourselves and I had cracked rib and a lot of bruises.
So I had to pass on my 2nd hunt for the 2nd rifle that I had bought tags for just in case I decided to go.

Maybe though I can do it easier. Today I bought one of those pop up in truck campers so I don't have to work so hard putting up camp etc. It's used but in excellent condition. Just right for one guy. Now I am going to sell my 20 ft gooseneck stock trailer and get something smaller I can pull behind the truck and camper. That will hold two mules and tack etc.

All the years I started youngsters off hunting and offering my camp,etc, there don't seem to be any takers with stock that want to go and help out much.

This is a very sad thread. But reality bites. Not something I had given any thought about until now. Guess it will eventually catch up to all of us.

Sorry yours is so near Tracks. But as you said look out fish and most likely anything else that doesn't require those tiring muscles and joints to work overtime. Even tweedy birds!

David

After reading this thread I PM'd Tracks with an offer to join me and hunt in Minnesota. It's pretty flat where we hunt, and not as physically imposing as the mountains out west. After reading through the replies here, and realizing how many older guys we have here, I'd like to put this offer out to any of our members. If you want to get out, but can't do it alone any more, contact me any time. My spots or yours-let's get into the woods. I'd be happy to tag along, do the heavy lifting, gut your critters-whatever you may need. It would be my honor to help out any way possible. Just drop me a line and let's start making some plans.

"Some people ask why men go hunting. They must be the kind of people who seldom get far from highways. What do they know of the tryst a hunting man keeps with the wind and the trees and the sky? Hunting? The means are greater than the end." Gordon MacQuarrie, Field & Stream, November 1939

Slide in sideways, in a cloud of dust, covered in scars, loudly proclaiming, "Holy S***, what a ride!" You know you have lived right if you mutter, let's do it again.

The mountain always ends up winning the war, but only one battle.

While there are accidents and illnesses, for the most part there's nothing wrong with any of us that 70 or 80 years doesn't cause. We're not invincible, any of us. Unfortunately, some get hit sooner than others. My father-in-law retired at 65 with a bucket list that would fill a 500 GB hard drive. Within a year, his back went out and never went back in. He's 90 now, has had 2 surgeries, and hasn't had a day without severe pain in 25 years. He's had a rough retirement.

F'ing with an elk in the backcountry just ain't the thrill it used to be. I'm fine with camping, breakfast, whiskey and napping.

I always liked Thoreau's aphorism:

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.

Henry David Thoreau 1816-1872

John

Love the classic quotes reminders. Good ones, gentlemen. I am only 53, but hunting is getting really hard to almost impossible for me now with my bad kidneys causing tiredness and gout in my joints. Got the disabled hunter permit and a quad, but the last time I was out and about them rode my quad into camp I had to have help getting off of my quad because of my pain and weakness. So, I fear my big game hunting days are also coming to a close and at 53 I am not really ready for that. To the plus - and a LOT - I have been VERY blessed to get to hunt Africa several times and Alaska multiple times as well and have a quite nice critterhead display here at the house including book Eland and Cape Buff plus a nice set of elephant tusks and related parts from a bull I shot in Zim. This, or these maybe I should say, gives me MUCH comfort and such as I stare hard at the end of my big game forays in the very near future. I was hoping for one more foray into Africa but that is very unlikely now. But, so what? How many never got to go once.

I enjoyed my stays at elk and deer camps this year, even though I mostly slept off my many meds and shot the breeze plus kept the coffee and stew warm for everyone. Did manage to shoot a deer and a blck bear but could NOT have done either without help from friends now.

Feelin your pain here, maybe a little different shutting it down at age 53, though.

Life is what it is as we're not all dealt the same cards but have to play our hands the best we can and accept the outcome.I recently counted 65 candles last month and have come to accept the changes necessary to continue this quest of field and stream most noticeably:

Tree stands aren't so deep in the timber these days.

That 3 AM wake up for waterfowl really sucks.

Trying to keep warm with twice the numbers of layers than at age 40.

Wearing a knee brace that helps the knee but makes the foot go to sleep.

Snow used to be my friend.

Caring less every year if tags go unfilled.

And the list continues............

I'm 42, soon to be 43. When I lose the urge to go after my beloved whitetail, I hope someone will take pity on me and put me down gracefully.



I cannot imagine my life without the thrill of being out there on a cold crisp fall morning waiting for those 'ghosts' that suddenly appear out of no where. It is my passion and what I want to do most in this life.

Tracks, sorry to hear you are going to hang it up. It is a decision only you can make. I hope if you are not able to get out anymore that you will pass on all the knowledge you have gathered in your years of hunting to someone from a younger generation. There is someone out there to whom that knowledge would be more valuable than gold.

This is my younger brother last year. I can't imagine getting to the point hunting is no longer important to us.

I've been hunting for over 50 years and have killed more deer and elk than I can keep track of. I'm by no means ready to give it up as long as my health is good. However, I can't pack elk quarters on my back like I used to so I got into pack llamas a few years ago to extend my hunting years. I've had a ball with them. I love to load them up and head up a trail to get away from it all, rifle or not. They've added a whole new feature to the outdoors.
A couple weeks ago, Snubbie came to Idaho from NC and I took him on a llama pack trip to see if we could get him a mulie. We did. I had a great time and don't care in the least that I didn't get one myself. I passed on a couple little forkies and don't regret it a bit. We saw some fantastic country and I have some great memories and photos of the trip.

Passing on the love for our sport becomes a lot more satisfying than filling a tag as the years go on but the thrill of being out there still continues.