Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting How many deer seasons have you got left?

In 2012 I was 61 and was just barely able to get the buck up in my vehicle after dragging it 50 yards.

So I figured I could hunt like that until age 70.

But in 2013 I was 62 I hunted with another old guy. I shot a buck and we could back right up to him. We lifted it in the vehicle together.

I think I could hunt like that until I am 80.
I would just have to find some younger guys to hunt with.

67 yo mow and feel your concerns, Generslly hunt alone, but if I get lucky on my private land I have an ATV with a winch to help load one. Planning a move to a mountainous area in the nect year and hope to shoot all deer, hogs with a downhill drag.

Get a game cart, put a winch in the bed of your truck, and a hoist in your barn, then worry about something else.

I hear ya. I'll turn 65 this year and in Ark I'm allowed to already purchase my 'lifetime' resident hunting/fishing license. YIPPEE, no more expenses for licenses here.

However WE ALL are on 1 day at a time. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow.

Even so I hope and PLAN to live long enuff to enjoy many more deer/elk seasons.

I have a 4 wheeler and I 'could' drag a deer to my truck. So far I haven't had to do that but I have driven into cutovers and loaded deer where they laid. More-N-once.

IF you have a roll bar in your truck, you could mount a small winch to that and hoist a deer into the bed.

As they say, "A mans gotta do......"

Good Luck to all and many more hunting seasons.

I have more deer seasons behind me than ahead of me but doesn't give me pause. Have made some changes in how I hunt and where I hunt that should extend my time in the field.

Regarding handling a downed deer...less dragging, more mechanical assistance and quartering.

I'm 42 and I've already learned the younger partners trick. My main partners are in their 20's

I'm 63 and I am definitely pickier about where I shoot a deer these days no more 1/2 mile drags up hill.
Bill

Think about this a lot since my older brothers all passed in their 50's and I am now 60, but I am good shape and hope to get many more hunting seasons.

We had a 88 year old hunter his Buck last here in Colorado. The past 10 years our guide has let him set up a blind on the edge of a field we could drive him to. Now that he is 90 he has decided to give up Colorado and hunt his Texas lease, When I get that point that I will hunt near the truck but I will keep going till I cant....

At 67 and busted up getting from 5,000 feet up to 7,000-9,000 feet anymore is out of the cards, it seems. Getting the deer back down in our rough mule deer country is out of the cards, it seems.

I'll see what two elk tags and a black powder mulie tag do me in this season, then make a decision.

Just have to words to say on the subject, NOT MANY

Lot easier to pack then to drag.

I hope I have many many more seasons left in me.

I'm coming off Congestive Heart Failure last February. I'm 52 and I have definitely lost a step after my recent health scare. I'm hoping for 20 more years. Definitely going to have to hunt smarter, as well as harder. I think the long walks back in deep are done. I see a 4 wheeler and a deer cart in my future. Sadly, the days of striking out on my own with a light pack and a compass are coming to an end. I won't give it up until I know I shouldn't be in the woods, and I'm more of a burden than an asset to the group.

For many years, the guys in the camp next to ours in Pennsylvania had an older fellow who hunted out of a very large and comfortable stand about 100 yards from the cabin. He shot quite a few deer out of there, as it was a good crossing. We all took turns going in to check on him every couple hours, and I personally drug 5 bucks in for him over the years. On his death bed he said one of his greatest joys in life was the fact that he was able to stay in the woods for a few extra years. I hope I have the health to make the same statement my self some day.

Started to ponder this very idea last night as I was trying to load a deer onto the ATV. Think I'll have to rig up something or start shooting the small ones!
I'm 60, my grandfather got his last deer when he was 93 so guess there are still a few seasons left.

At 66, I'm much more selective of my set-up and shot opportunities for archery and rifle. In fact I'm just as happy hunting fox, coyote, waterfowl, crows, and groundhogs since I don't have to deal with the dragging and lifting. But I plan to be hunting deer for quite a few years even when I don't intend to shoot one. The joy is still in the hunt more than the kill....unless it's a really, really nice one!

I'm pushing 60 and a difficult drag out of a steep bottom a year ago drove home the fact for me. Also some of my buddies have developed health issues so I suspect not that many maybe 5-10. I am beginning to ponder the need for the number of guns I really need to have around.

Back in my 40's I started to ponder this. Only with elk, not deer. Figured I could make it to 70,and those 30 years flew buy. I can only remember one season I missed because of work, but two seasons because of injuries. Luckily Colorado has given me the opportunity to hunt two elk season every year the last ten years or so and I try real hard to do that.

I will be 71 next week and the last 2-3 years have gotten a lot tougher that is for sure. I really thought I had to quit two years ago and almost did.

I did quit packing into remote areas and hunt from a camp where I can drive into, but I don't drag or carry anything. I use my mules to ride and pack and that has stretched my hunting career too.

This past year, I have sold all my big equipment and bought a slide in pop up camper and a smaller bumper pull trailer. I'm looking to get 5 more years in, but that isn't real sure though.

It's astonishing how many guys in their forties think they have all the time in the world to go on those special hunts, but age catches up with them and they never get to. I think any hunt past the age of 65 is gravy because you never know if you can do it the following year.

AMEN!

I hope that I can make 20 to 25.

Not always...

One drag down 2,000-3,000 feet of steep rugged mountain sure beats 2-4 trips back up to pack it all out, let alone the boning out and packing up.

Neither way is the fun part of the hunt.

At 63 I don't know,
however I've made my request to the guy in charge that I die in the deer stand. I've also instructed my buds to roll me out, let me lay and have the hogs recycle me. Karma. Lord only knows how many of them I've killed and ate. LOL

Best,

GWB

Dunno. I'm 71 this year. I have an elk hunt in Colorado this fall and a Coues deer hunt here in the Boot Heel this November (the first one since getting a bum knee replaced last summer). Hoping for at least five more, as that will put my youngest grandson at 16 years of age and he can probably drag my carcass back down the mountain if I croak in the field

Seriously, I am hoping for a few more years, God willing. However, I have already lived 20 years longer than any males on my father's side of the family, going back three generations. I'm just hoping Mom's genes can pull me through.

I am 67 and hope to hunt for at least another 10 years. I killed my biggest last year in Michigan. I have shot the camp big buck in two of the last three season. It is good to know that something is improving with age, must be my patience and steady at the shot. No more buck fever. However the dragging and skinning is causing more of a workout than I remember when I was younger. I guess that is why we got a few young guys in camp.

For 30 years past I hunted almost every day of the 4-5 week deer season. No more. 2012 probably killed my last three deer. Just hunted squirrels past year and this.

An old friend has given me permission to hunt and fish his property and it's only 10 miles away so I'll take my .45 Colt along with my .22 while squirrel hunting. If a young doe shows, maybe I'll take the shot.

Actually, chasing squirrels with a .22 has been more fun. I see a lot more squirrels and they're no trouble to carry out.

I'll turn 62 at the end of this year's season, which will be the 47th season for me. How many more? If the orthopods can fix my hip/back, then hopefully maybe 20 more more-or-less satisfying seasons. If repair attempts fail then maybe a couple more and I'm done.

Screw the Golden Years.

Not able to answer that, really, we don't know.

but I will say this, my buddies dad is 88 and still goes. and I'll do anything it takes to keep him going as long as he wants to.

Whitetail here are not hard if you just want to shoot one. Sit in a box, and I will build him a bigger warmer one if he wants it any time.... IF I have to sit with him, no biggie. He doesn't have to trail, load, clean etc... on anything anymore.

I only hope that as I age more, that someone will be around to help me if I still have the desire to sit in the woods.

That's part of why I had kids and started them hunting and fishing as early in their life as I could stand...

A couple years back, as I leaned against my truck groaning from a day of still hunting, I saw an old guy coming up out of the woods inching his way along with a walker and his rifle slung over his back. Sort of put my own predicament in perspective.

As I turned 70 this year, I realize that more seasons are behind me than in front. But I'm still hunting as is a 71 year old buddy that I have hunted with for forty years. I have a son I have hunted with for 33 years, and now I have shared a stand with two of my grand kids on successful hunts. It has been a great run and hopefully it will continue for many more years.

I'm 63 and have a CO drop camp elk hunt planned for October. I've been blessed health-wise and, based on the way I feel today, I hope to have 6 or 7 more years of elk hunting in the CO Rockies (drop camps or cabin hunts but not backpack hunts). Deer hunts in OK and TX, God willing, hopefully another 10 years or more. I have a passion for hunting and it is the reason I keep a rigid (or my age) exercise routine.

21. Write it down. Maybe.

We'll have a fine fellow in camp this fall at 92.
He is amazing.
I won't come close to that....

Keep moving boys, a body at rest tends to stay at rest.

I live in Co and drew buck,bear,cow elk rifle tags and may hunt bull elk with a bow. I'll hunt with wife archery and rifle alone and I like to hunt areas that you either walk or ride in horseback so I walk in and pack out.

At 72 I don't worry too much about the future of my hunting just take one year at a time. About only thing I can answer about the future is didn't draw my first choice buck tag so that means I'll put again next year see if I get drawn for it.

I don't know. I am 67 now, in pretty good shape, I carry my share of the load to keep deer camp up and running. I haven't reached the stage where I need help for anything. Yet. When I am done with the heavy work and the killing I hope I can still cook and reload.

I suspect I won't know when the last year arrives until it's behind me.

S A L U T E ! !
I feel the same for a friend of mine, age 72 now.

I don't dwell or procrastinate on the inevitable just take it one year at a time.Slowing down at 65 is a given but certainly no death sentence.

I'll be 75 this deer season. Hunt alone. Had back surgery in '08 and never came fully back. When I turned 70 I noted energy, drive, and strength declining.
Shot three nice deer last fall and found it really difficult to drag each of them up the hills, home. Been loading some Accubonds into the Roberts AI cases so plans are to hunt again this fall.
How many more seasons? God alone knows but my dad shot his last buck at age 86 and died at 87. May I be so blessed!

Jim

I've treated each deer season as my last for the past 25yrs., when I had my first open-heart by-pass surgery at age 42.

Since then I've had 4 baloons, another open heart by-pass surgery, 7 stents in heart, 1 stent in throat artery, fusion of my spine, knee surgery, hydro-cell surgery (left nut sliced open and have to have it done again). Just this past yr, I've had stent in heart and throat, appendix removed and major heria surgery..couldn't get off blood thinners to have it done and recovery was guaranteed to be long as pain full and was.

I still hunt alone and almost every day in rough steep ridges, bone and pack out the deer I kill over a mile back into Shawnee National forest.

One good thing to come of all the recent surgeries is I've lost 39 lbs and am down to 155 lbs which makes it much easier climbing up and down trees and doing everything else physical.

What drags me down most is all the medications I take especially Clonidine for blood pressure. It makes my legs weak and almost knocks me out immediately. I can't take it and get in a tree or drive. Going to Dr, Tues. to find out what other bp med I can take that does have these side affects.

It's about priorities...

I'm in better shape now than I was when I was 16...

Like Heston said when you're older you have to work harder to stay in shape...

Start now and by next season you'll be ready....

I'm heading out to the gym right now...

Use it or Lose it!

It's about priorities...

A couple years back someone gave me a deer cart. What a difference. It does not work well in the woods, but once you get the deer to a logging road or power line, it is really gravy. I think that may have added a couple years to my hunting. I try to hunt uphill from my cart when I can. Some advice: If you buy a cart, and have the money, try to find one with canted wheels. I have seen someone use one in the woods over rocks and logs and it worked well.

It's also about desire. If you have the will, we can find a way. I know plenty of guys who would help drag/pack an animal at a moments notice. If I live within a reasonable vicinity of any of you, I will help.

It's also about hunting smart and within your limitations. My dad couldn't walk the past few years, so we found a spot for his blind that I can drive the truck to. He has lost his desire now and probably has hunted his last hunt at eighty.

Grandpa shot his last deer at 92. Doe, open sights, Marlin 336C 30-30 with Rem 150gr Core-Lokt bullets, on the run, through the forest. Wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been sitting right next to him when he did it. Oh yeah, he racked one in, shot, racked another, shot again, Two hits, one in the heart and the other in the lung. He died 3 weeks before the next season...a life well lived.

Well I am now in my middle 50's and the mountain hunting has gone from 10 - 15 miles in mountain �off trail� terrain to 5 - 7 miles on a good day. Dragging a deer by myself is 1 mile or less so I cut them up in to small pieces and pack.

I hunt a lot of BLM and Forest Service land for Mule deer and Blacktail with a bow. I have hunted this way for over twenty years. Shot some nice bucks and even a few doe when it was legal but nowadays I cannot find anyone to go with me for archery season. Family seems to always be busy, friends are �too old� for archery and back woods hunting, and I am hard to get along with for anyone else.

So I have bought new hunting rifles and a quad to be accepted in more hunting camps but my way of hunting does not sit well with most. I end up by myself again. With no help with downed game or packing.

Don�t care too much for drinking/drugs and hunting which alienates me. I don�t poach. I take at least two weeks hunting at a time and its tough terrain.

I do not know how much longer I have but I am going out this way. I hunt as hard as my body lets me and if I need to lay up a day so be it � I just hang out in whatever camp I have and hit it hard the next day.

I hope and pray nobody including the Lord takes it away from me. I just do not know what I would do without hunting in those mountains. I do like my new rifle and I am having fun hunting with it. It seems like a natural progression.

So when is my last hunt?

One year at a time with health and finances dictating. I just turned 60 and have an elk hunt going for December in Wyoming. I can still climb anywhere I want to go and pack out elk. When I can't anymore, then it will be deer out my back door and antelope does in Wyoming. I am past the antler fetish!

Just turned 68 this week. Still going strong. No guarantees in life, but Ill hunt until the end.

I am 68 & closer to 69 than Blue Duck, but he said it right! I just can't imagine not deer hunting---or elk hunting ---or bird hunting etc. etc.

Ken

If I had a remote idea at all, I'd be adjusting my spend down rate. Hitting 68 during deer season this fall.

Unlike most guys, I came to this sport fairly late. I was in my mid-20's and out of college. As it is, I've had 30-some years and I'm hoping that I'm at the midway point. That would put me up in my mid-80's, when I hunt my last.

I've done a lot to prepare:

1) I found a relatively flat spot in a rather hilly state. I remember stopping about a half-hour into our first hike on the property and announcing to KYHillChick that we HAD to buy the place, because we'd been hiking for a half hour on a hot July day and we hadn't cracked a sweat yet.
2) I have a house on the property, and I am planning on retiring there and adding on. If the worst comes, I will still be able to post at my bedroom window and nail one out in the fields from my wheelchair.
3) I lost my first group of hunting buddies to the ravages of old age about 25 years ago. My solution was to go and grow my own replacements. I have 3 sons; 2 that hunt, and they all like to come to the farm. I now have a granddaughter, and I have been teaching her to hunt since she came home from the hospital
4) I have decided this year that 35 Whelen was my high-water mark as far as recoil. From now on I'm going to work my way down. My 80-something hunting buddy O.T. finally retired from the sport and I acquired his 25-06.
5) Instead of trading in my S-10 a few years ago, I kept it and turned it into a dedicated deer wagon with a winch and ramps. My 75 yr old hunting partner SuperCore can hoist a deer in by himself.

As long as you have sons or grand sons or daughters you can hunt till you drop. Lol. Seriously with atv as long as you don't have to drag it out. my uncle was in his 90,s.

Im 55 and should have another 30 years . I have a 21 year old son and a 12 year nephew to do all the dragging , My Kubota with a front bucket and Atv are great for retrieving deer too.