Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game At what age did you begin to feel physically less functional in the bush

Alligator. I use to hunt by myself most of the time, Now I find I am a little more cautious as I don't know if I could save myself in a bad jam. I also worry that I couldn't save some one else if I had too.

I don't worry much about dieing out there, I just don't want someone to have to come and clean up the mess.

I sure as hell won't go gracefully, but I won't be stupid about it either.

JJ,

I "hit the wall" at 60. That was the beginning of a decline in being able to all the walking, climbing and packing that I was accustomed to when elk and deer hunting. I am now 68 and am still hunting and will until I just can't go. The balance is getting worse and downhill really hurts the knees. Uphill works great but I find myself zigzagging a lot on the downhill. I don't hit it as hard as my pre 60's but still enjoy the experience. I too take more rest days than when younger. One reason for this is (pre-retirement) I only had a week to 10 days to hunt. Since retiring I can be out for the entire season or even longer if I wish. I also find I can not lift the weight I used to. My head says yes but the body rebels. It is hard to admit but the old back tells me to get help for the heavy stuff.

Must get back to planning the 2008 hunts.

I am past 61 now, and to be honest, I can still do anything I could before, just maybe not quite as long.
I still hunt, and can still do the miles per day I used to do. I don't do any climbing stand stuff, but then I hardly ever did.
My vision is good, ticker is in fine shape, all the joints work fine.
I'm good to go.............

I am in my 60's and have definiately noticed a difference. My eyesite has diminished...I still get to where I want to go..only slower..I do go to bed earlier than most..but am always the first up...

Bob..your still a "youngster"...lol

I am 38 and at the top of my game in either "bush".

Like the post above said about doing your sheep hunting before your 40 years old, after 40 things start very slowly to go down hill; not noticeably at first, but looking back, it did start at 40. I was still strong and fit through my 50's, but no way I could do what I did up to age 40. Little things torpedo you, like pulled mussels that take an eternity to heal at age 55 that healed quickly when you were 35. Or, you get the love handles and they DO NOT go away, no matter how much you exercise, lifting weights are running. I was an exercise loony, running till my legs gave out at age 50, then bicycling till age 66, then I stopped, mainly due to "I don't wanna do that anymore". My indoor exercise bike has 7,200 on the odometer. Don't have an odometer on my road bike(s), so I don't know how many miles I have ridden them, but a lot.
So, at age 73, I'm in good health, but NO WAY am I going to hunt at 10,000 feet anymore.
The slope is gradual at first, then the slope gets STEEP, and down you go.
I feel that my lack of any physical problems like heart trouble or cancer is due to exercising my early years up to 66. My BP now is 120/70 all day, every day.
The most important thing for me now is just participating, not hanging up hunting all together, which I'll never do. I do the best I can given the old body.

Don

The first year I hunted after my heart attack was less than three months post surgury. My wife worried about me but my youngest daughter summed it up wwell. she told her mom that they would miss me if I died in the bush,but that if \I did not go I would be miserable and hard to get along with. If I died I would be doing something I loved.

I had no intention of dying, but every intention of really living. I still do

Randy

It's endurance that one looses,not strength as he ages.The old saying that he's old doesn't cut it.I know fellas older than me that can wipe up 20 year olds that feel 10 feet tall and bullet proof,with ease.One rides his Stud Horse hunting and he is pushing 70 and recently had his thumb tore off in a rodeo.

I too work very hard to stay n shape but Father time takes it's toll on places you didn't know you had that were easy "Back When".Slower is good and it helps to have an 18 year old that is 6'4" and 250 pounds hunting with you.

Although,the wife made me sell my 250 Yamaha YZ last year,I continue to push to the last breath...

Gett'in old ain't for sissies.

Jayco

Don - good for you! I hope to have a similar story whan I'm older than you.

I started going downhill at age 50. Thanks...Bill.

Ron, you take care of yourself, hear? I know a couple folks that need you around. You're strong as an ox, but you don't have to prove it.

Merry Christmas to you and yours, partner.

-

I'm 48 and already an old phart. I've had 4 shoulder surgeries (5th is scheduled in January), carpal tunnel release, hip replacement, and knee replacement. I can still walk, but nowhere near as fast or far. Everything hurts.

-

A big AMEN to that!!!
I try to ignore it, but it's always there, the pain.

Yeah, what the heck is it with this HURTING thing???? Just getting out of bed is a big hurt, hobble to the can and take a leak (takes a while now ) and it's some better by the time the shower is over.

Then, if you sit down for a while, it starts all over again.

If you need to get down on the ground and work on something, it is hurting-work to get up again. The balance is screwed and every time you strain something it takes forever to heal. Didn't used to be like that.

It seems to me that my grand-dad told me about that when he was about the age I am now. And I paid about as much attention to him as the 35 year olds around here do to us old farts.

Even the 50 and 55 year olds haven't seen it yet, but they will.

Somehow, I do not expect the "hurting thing" to get any better.

But I guess it's preferable to hurt than die.

Steve

Oh man, a week and a half ago I had to do some outside plumbing; broke a PVC water line. Had to sink a hole around the break, etc. The kneeling down to clear the mud and clay so I could get at the break, then make the cut and glue on the fix-piece, just wiped my knees. My good knee is now my bad knee, and I'm going through NSAIDs like tater chips at a Super Bowl party.

What really sucks is my old man is an octagenarian, and he has far better joints than I do. Kinda makes me question whether he is really my old man. I can't recall whether the milkman was gimpy...

A couple times I have felt like giving up. But then I think about those that depend on me and I go back at it again. It's a drag to hurt all the time and face one's limitations, but there is always someone worse-off I suppose. I do have hope for a new body one day.

-

Hey, maybe we can put in for a body transplant. After battering this body to crap, I'd take better care of the next one

Steve

I'm 52. Last April I had a stroke in my hypothamus. That slowed me down considerably (like not being able to walk without a walker for two months and having to learn how to talk again). Motor skills in my right side were shot for a while too.

I was scheduled to film my good friend Greg's elephant hunt in Matesi, Zimbabwe last October. Greg said I was still gonna be his cameraman if I had to crawl. Needless to say, this gave me a lot of incentive to improve rapidly. I think that having a goal like that really helped, and having a friend like Greg is a Godsend.

It was a successful hunt, and I was able to be there, even though my boots had to be tied for me daily and I'm sure I slowed Greg down with my walking stick. I've been hunting since then, and am thankful that I am left-handed and the partial paralysis hasn't affected my shooting. I won't be climbing any treestands again, and I have to walk slower now, but being physically less funtional doesn't have to keep you outta the woods.

Jeff

Jeff,

You GO Boy!!!

Your indomitable spirit is a much greater asset than a young body would be.

Keep up the positive attitude and can do mentality and you'll hunt rings around most of the lazy hunters out there.

Merry Christmas!!!

$bob$

You know when you're getting old when you realize that picking something up off the floor is a three phase operation. First is the planning phase to explore all of the possibilities for getting the thing picked up. After that, you have a cup of coffee to think about what you're about to do, and make sure you have the best plan. Then comes the execution phase. Since you can't bend over anymore to just grab the thing, you must do a semi squat, grab the item, and help yourself back up again by leaning on a pre-placed table for that purpose. After all of that exertion comes the recovery phase. That's when you sit down and rest for a half hour because of all the calories you burned up doing all that strenuous work...

Don