Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting I might be running out of hunting partners

Wyogal, did you just have a stock on an M70 refinished?

The 3 friends I will chase Elk w/ this year all are less than 1/2 my age. They do all the work and I provide knowledge and good looks....and a sense of humor. I think Llamas would be ideal and allow for solo.


mike r

Nope, not me. Don't own any M70's currently. Sorry.

Have a dear friend who I hunted w/for more than 35 yrs. He quit about 3 yrs. ago.
Fortunately his nephew stepped in to help keep me young!
My son has decided to do the outfitter thing so he is busy!
Can't wait for the grandsons to step up!!

Thanks John

"Nope, not me. Don't own any M70's currently. Sorry."

No need to apologize. I just thought you might be someone I knew, guessing from a post you made, so I thought I'd ask that question. Wrong Wyoming Woman hunter.
I know a few, but I guessed wrong.

Happy hunting anyway.

While I've worn out 1-1/2 hunting partners, I am fortunate to have new ones - sons-in-law and a couple of daughters and 1/2 of one of my old partners. (He can only hunt a couple days in a good year and only easy hunts at that due to physical issues.)

I'll probably hang it up before my grandsons are useful hunting partners.

I don't have any relatives left in the state. By the time the grandkids are old enough to hunt, I'll probably be over the hill...or under it.

My party is slowly going our separate ways! Children growing up and filling spots in camp is wonderful to see! The biggest reason our camp has divided into three camps, I contribute to the point draw system in our state! Party size and point averages separates people from hunting together!

I'm 74. I hunt with two slightly younger brothers in Utah(Evanston Wy is the closest town) We do hunt private ground, but the hunting is not easy, but not as difficult as it could be. I did kill a nice bull in an easy spot. We quartered it and packed it a short distance to a two track where we could get an ATV to it. Easy, right? Wrong! It just wore me out. I think I've killed my last elk. Nothing wrong with fishing or driving the truck for the younger guys.

There is almost always a youngster around that loves to hunt what ever is available but because of family, low paying job money is just not available. Some financial assistance can go a long way towards having a younger hunting partner.

Not sure exactly where you are in Utah, but I've spent quite a bit of time between Evanston and Bear Lake on the Utah side of the line. Some neat country. I'm guessing you guys are hunting a CWMU of some sort?

My long time hunting friend and I will turn 68 this summer. At least we hope to. He will
have his second knee done this summer and I have developed intermittent low back pain.
We have an elk hunt booked for '18, our umpteenth over the years for deer, elk, or whatever.

It will be with an outfitter so will not be nearly as demanding as some we have done. We will
probably transition to mostly birds after that and less ibuprofen. While I love to fish he
doesn't but that seems the perfect duffer activity to me.

I (55) lost my elk hunting partner in 2015, our last hunt together. He was 72 and had his ankles fused. Try as he might he just could not climb, and worse yet, descend the mountains safely. We had a good 20 year run though.

Get you a good pontoon boat set up for camping. With that you can duffer all you want to while taking it easy on the knees and not burning any unnecessary calories.

I'm 59, my hunting partner of 54 years (my father) just hung up his shooting irons at 86 years old due to Macular Degeneration, I will never find another partner like him!

My dad died in '06 at 92. We hunted together until he was in his mid 70's. His legs couldn't handle it after that. He gave me his Rem 721 30-06 that he bought when I was 4. 10 years later I shot a moose with it and he was extremely happy about it.

Wow, I can't believe how you guys are experiencing the same with the young bucks... Weight room blowhards but not much for performance. Pack stock that is easy to learn and not very dangerous to the user may really help some of you squeeze a few extra years out of the back country... All you have to carry is a rifle, a rope, and a smile... And they never tell lies about you, or the truth whichever it is hurts worse!

IMG_1650 (640x480) by squirrel2012, on Flickr

K7A3BE4CAC625D_1000407 by squirrel2012, on Flickr

So true. These guys helped me wring 5+ more years out of my back and knees. I can go a long ways if I don't have a load to pack.
Its interesting that you always hear about pack llamas but the only ones I've ever seen in the hills are my own. All the rest are pasture potatoes. They really are good packers and no animal is easier to keep.

Yep their ease of training and off season keep is fantastic. I'm closing in on 60 and can do more, with a greater degree of comfort than I could when I was 30, 10' tall and bulletproof, albeit at a slower pace, generally. More geezers should take some time to learn there is a better way. My getting a couple llamas (now have almost 20) let my Dad hunt legit back country till he was 82 in comfort, with me doing the appropriate amount of camp work to make it happen of course. When you take a dozen or more for a week for two people you aint exactly doing without necessities... And a warm camp, dry boots/clothes really make it easier to hunt harder.

DSC04043 by squirrel2012, on Flickr

Looks like fun,but they sure scare the hell out of horses and mules. My biggest problem is that if I can't ride,I can' t walk very far,even without a a pack. Got so now,I have to take a built up platform to step up on to get a saddle on a short mule. Still better than staying home