Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting How old can you go.....

Will be 71 Sunday. Dragged two out this past season, one an easy half-mile downhill, the other a tougher 3/4 or more with lots of ups and downs. Used a cart for that, but the benefit over a simple roll-up sled is questionable at best. Snow is best, but don’ see that in season here much.

I wear a Zoleo tracker, my leash is what wifey calls it, so they know where to find the body.

We need to start a 70 and up club

I'll be 66. Still hunt alone. leaving day after tomorrow on a 4 day solo hunt. Last one of the season for me.

No steep country or deep canyons here but lots of heavy brush,I don't drag anything, I pull up close with my Jeep drag my cable to the critter and wench them in , then hook my back winch to them and load them on the back, I'm 83 and still hunt alone, but can call for help if I need it. Rio7

Doctor said it’s highly unlikely I’ll die from a heart attack, but I still need to be careful to avoid strains and falls and such. Put the doe in my pickup alone, and had help with the buck, thankfully.

No we don't...the level of Boomer Hate here is epic. They know we go to bed at eight, and if they get our personal data, they will hunt us down at night, and perform murder most foul. And the really weak ones, like me, that cannot make pictures go from A to B, are low hanging fruit, and will be the first to die.

All good stuff here. I'm a bit younger than most of the replies but kudos to you all and very encouraging. I hope to still be at it in my 80s if I'm around. And as flintlocke said should it go south when one is in the outdoors doing what he/she enjoys then there are a lot, lot worse things.

So did I until something not expected happened.

I am 75 and still do much of my hunting alone. One hunt per year for mule deer I now hunt with a younger friend in northern Wy. But whitetails, antelope and elk I still do alone. Although if I get an elk down, I can get assistance loading it if I need it. Haven't shot an elk for a couple years. Passed a couple chances this fall and haven't been out since. I am hoping to hunt deer as long as I am breathing.

76 here. Was impressed by an 83-year-old out soloing for elk in Wy a couple years back.

You never know, best go all you can while you can. I worked with an electrician that was saving all he could so he and his wife could travel when he retired. He died of cancer at 53. His wife got her a younger man, went traveling with him.

For sure. Back in my thirties, I counted how many elk hunts I could possibly go on and made darn sure I went. I missed very few. I moved from New Mexico to Colorado so I could hunt elk every year as a resident.

67 here, too. I don't like hunting with someone else. I'm kinda stuck with the wife though! The last couple of years she has slowed down a lot. We will have to train for next year. She's going to be 70!

76 now, been two years since I killed a deer but still hunt. My "trick" is to shoot smaller doe for meat and fetch 'em back with the small tractor I have at camp. Or, get someone to lend a hand? No size limit on a buck that's a keeper. Figure out some way to get it back.

Given my age and general gimpyness, no longer roam as far as I once did.

I'm 53 and stopped going it alone, dragging or loading several years ago

50 & going strong! Glad to read others are doing it into their 70’s. Nice work gents!

Dad is 81.

Still goes by himself, always lets me know when and where. Checks in with me when done, will tell me what he saw.

Nov 29 he calls me and lets me know that he killed a big doe. I said cool, I will come help you drag it, hang it, etc...

He said "hell I already gutted and dragged, its at the processor."

Never mind then...

65 here, although I use a Honda 450 Rancher to help with the drag.

72 with my share of ailments and surgeries and some of yours. It’s mostly my wife and me or just me but we only deer and turkey hunt. The country we hunt now has a lot of ups and downs but I can get the Foreman downhill of a kill just about anywhere. After that I just drag the beast up the rear fender onto the rack.

The two of us got 3 bucks this year, retrieved/hung/skinned/boned and wrapped all. Son & son n law got another 4 deer and we helped with the processing on them. Still have a grinding day before we finish. I’d a lot rather be sore from doing that than laid up somewhere looking out a window. One good thing about doing it all; even if it kills me I won’t die young.

I'm 64, and I'll be honest, I don't quite recall the last time I did it 100% solo. There is usually somebody back at camp that will come out with the truck. Furthermore, about 80% of the deer we take are shot where someone can roll the truck right up to the carcass.

2008 was probably the last time I actually did it all solo and had to drag a buck out of the ravine, walk back camp, grab the truck, and drag the carcass into the bed.

This past year, I was not much good for any of that due to the chemo. However, with the present trajectory, I should be back to my old self by next November.

One thing that has really helped is a gadget SuperCore donated to camp a number of years ago. It's called an L-E-Vator. It helps with lifting carcasses into truck beds and onto ATVs.



Once we got our L-E-Vator, it went a long way to making retrieval a 1-man job at our place.