Us guys who haven't gotten to this stage of life should stand up and take notice here. Our hunting partners get to a point in time where they make this very tough decision. I had the honor of being with my father on his last hunt. He died the following spring, and had I missed that final time afield, I don't honestly know how I'd have taken it.
Many years later, I sat on a windswept hill in northern Minnesota with my wife's grandfather. It was a slow day, and we whiled away the time in idle chit chat, like hunters always do. He looked me in the eye and told me this was his last season. The legs were going, the hearing fading, the vision not as sharp. Somehow he knew. He left us before the next deer season rolled around.
Never, I repeat never take for granted that our older friends and family, or anyone for that matter will be there "next year." Lest we miss that last opportunity to let them fleece us at the card table, share a cup of coffee, or help them get in and out of the woods. For all they've done for us over the years, we owe them that much.
I'm 77 and have been in this situation for quite awhile. A month ago while travelling to our moose hunting location I developed gout. Didn't get medicine and had a miserable week in a fly in camp because I couldn't walk well.
Surprisingly I still had a good time. Didn't get my rifle out of the case and only spent 4 hours one afternoon fishing. The weather was nice and I spent a lot of time in camp doing dishes and reading. For several years I've wondered if this is the year but when fall approaches the desire to go is still there.
Our type of hunting doesn't require a lot of effort - until a moose is down! There is a couple of us who are no longer able to bend over to help with the gutting and other chores. So far we have enough younger ones in the party to carry us. I told my Sil a long time ago that when I become too big a PITA to not be afraid to speak up and tell me so.
Us guys who haven't gotten to this stage of life should stand up and take notice here. Our hunting partners get to a point in time where they make this very tough decision. I had the honor of being with my father on his last hunt. He died the following spring, and had I missed that final time afield, I don't honestly know how I'd have taken it.
Many years later, I sat on a windswept hill in northern Minnesota with my wife's grandfather. It was a slow day, and we whiled away the time in idle chit chat, like hunters always do. He looked me in the eye and told me this was his last season. The legs were going, the hearing fading, the vision not as sharp. Somehow he knew. He left us before the next deer season rolled around.
Never, I repeat never take for granted that our older friends and family, or anyone for that matter will be there "next year." Lest we miss that last opportunity to let them fleece us at the card table, share a cup of coffee, or help them get in and out of the woods. For all they've done for us over the years, we owe them that much.
Folks with views like this are what keep me hanging around this place.
FC
"Every day is a holiday, and every meal is a banquet."
Tracks, im a little older than you at 76 yrs old.and i know the feelings that age brings on, the mountians git higher and steeper, i used to run up and down the rocky mountians like a goat,wade thru snow up to my waist, cant do that anymore. now i hunt the plains,and s.tex brush country,its not the same as the rockys, but its huntin, and very rewarding, whitetail aint elk, pigs aint bears, bobcat aint lions, but its still huntin, dont ever quit, when i die i hope its when im sitting under a tree watching the sun come up or go down, while im waiting for the critters to show up. { we will all be known forever by the tracks we leave} rio7
One of my partners, 68, told me just yesterday that he won't be going on our late season hunt. On our hunt last week he overdid it. He's had hip replacements on both sides and I can't believe he does as well as he does. My other partner is 69 and while he's a plodder, he never quits plodding. I'm 65 and still in very good health...so far. I can't pack elk quarters on my back like I used to, though, so several years ago I got into pack llamas. I figure they added at least 5 years to my elk hunting time.
“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell
It's not over when you lose. It's over when you quit.
It gets harder for me every years but i won't quit until my body gets cold and stiff. I'm finished with the Hard stuff like Elk, but here at home i can still get the deer out where i hunt, because i have both help and the miracle invention called a four wheeler . Deep down tho , i know i don't have many years left
A Doe walks out of the woods today and says, that is the last time I'm going to do that for Two Bucks.
I'm thinking pretty hard of the earlier/warmer muzzleloader season myself. These days I'm not hunting as hard or as long as I once did but I'm shooting more and enjoying summertime rifle and muzzleloader matches at the local range.
Tracks, give a holler and we can go play!
"Camping places fix themselves in your mind as if you had spent long periods of your life in them. You will remember a curve of your wagon track in the grass of the plain like the features of a friend." Isak Dinesen
Us guys who haven't gotten to this stage of life should stand up and take notice here. Our hunting partners get to a point in time where they make this very tough decision. I had the honor of being with my father on his last hunt. He died the following spring, and had I missed that final time afield, I don't honestly know how I'd have taken it.
Many years later, I sat on a windswept hill in northern Minnesota with my wife's grandfather. It was a slow day, and we whiled away the time in idle chit chat, like hunters always do. He looked me in the eye and told me this was his last season. The legs were going, the hearing fading, the vision not as sharp. Somehow he knew. He left us before the next deer season rolled around.
Never, I repeat never take for granted that our older friends and family, or anyone for that matter will be there "next year." Lest we miss that last opportunity to let them fleece us at the card table, share a cup of coffee, or help them get in and out of the woods. For all they've done for us over the years, we owe them that much.
Guys, thanks to every one of you for the kind remarks, hunt offers and PMs. When I was a kid hunting the cross timbers and creeks of North Texas with my .22 and maybe as many as ten or twelve rounds my dream was to someday have a 30-06 and hunt the Rockies. I read every outdoor mag I could get my hands on. I grew up and life kinda got in the way and I moved into the larger game much later than I wanted. With no instruction I had to learn everything the hard way. One day in '94 I found myself standing on top of a Beaver Dam and realized my dream had finally arrived. That was my first Elk hunt. I've had far more failures than success, and doing it the hard way became a way of life. I've brought some great kids along, let them see my way and then go ahead and build their own style. They're all better than me. I've done a lot wrong, failed many times, and loved every damned minute of it. I don't think I could do it another way.
This thread reminded me of one of the best scenes in movie history. Watch.
It doesn�t get any better than this; both movie and book.
Very hard to watch this film.
The blond boy played by Brad Pitt. My blond younger brother lived life like this character. Loved his motorcycles. Killed himself on one at the age of 27.
How can Redford read profound words like this, make a movie like this, and be so freaking stupid?
Leo of the Land of Dyr
NRA FOR LIFE
I MISS SARAH
“In Trump We Trust.” Right????
SOMEBODY please tell TRH that Netanyahu NEVER said "Once we squeeze all we can out of the United States, it can dry up and blow away."
At 61 things are slowed down considerably here too. On the good news side, killing a deer or the like just isnt as important as it used to be....
This.
I am 64 and suffering with a back injury and vertigo. I would like a deer and an elk in the freezer but have not found a hunting partner in Washington. If I got an elk I would have to camp the winter and eat it where it fell.
I still like to go but I don't go as far as I once did and if I kill anything it has to be where I can get a truck in to it. If it is out where I like to hunt, way off the road then I will pass on the shot.
I have never shot a home deer but now I know why some of my old friends do it.
I'm 66 and still going strong. As long as I can get on my ATV, I'll be hunting somewhere. It might not be in the bottom of a canyon in Colorado, but I'll be hunting. I have been thinking about getting an emergency locater though. This Deer season, I saw an old man sitting in a chair overlooking a draw. He was about 50 yards from his truck. It still touches me because I know that's as far as he could walk.
�Nothing is so permanent as a temporary government program." -- Milton Friedman
It doesn�t get any better than this; both movie and book.
Very hard to watch this film.
The blond boy played by Brad Pitt. My blond younger brother lived life like this character. Loved his motorcycles. Killed himself on one at the age of 27.
How can Redford read profound words like this, make a movie like this, and be so freaking stupid?
Sorry to hear about your brother Bowsinger, that had to be a tough one. I've got two brothers myself.
Agree about the film and the book. Redford has a great talent for making movies, I'm not exactly sure why he's such a commie. It's too bad.
It doesn�t get any better than this; both movie and book.
Very hard to watch this film.
The blond boy played by Brad Pitt. My blond younger brother lived life like this character. Loved his motorcycles. Killed himself on one at the age of 27.
How can Redford read profound words like this, make a movie like this, and be so freaking stupid?
Sorry to hear about your brother Bowsinger, that had to be a tough one. I've got two brothers myself.
Agree about the film and the book. Redford has a great talent for making movies, I'm not exactly sure why he's such a commie. It's too bad.
I agree with you both.
Originally Posted by frogman43
Believe me, I was thinking how easy on the body Antelope Camp was when I was trying to pack out my Bull Elk last week buddy!
unless a certain someone decides to kill deer two steep, deep draws in....
Liberalism is a mental disorder that leads to social disease.
What a great thread! I just turned 62. I'm still going strong and plan on staying that way for many years. I hunt alone as much as with someone but always have someone that knows where to find me if something should happen. I don't know if I will ever make it out west again, but I have made a few trips that were all successful in more ways than I can count and hope for at least one more.
I realize we are not promised tomorrow, so I have tried hard to pass on my knowledge and ways to my sons as well as a few of their friends that were interested and didn't have a hunting dad. My Dad wasn't a hunter, but I was fortunate to have some older guys take me on as a teenager and show me their ways. (I think my Dad saw to it that those guys gave me a chance.) I learned from them things they never intended to teach and owe them more than they know.
My brother and I drug a deer about a mile for a first cousin of my moms. He had fallen while getting out of his stand after shooting a buck. We gave him a pretty hard time about his hurt shoulder, but at the same time my brother and I knew that we would still be hauling the buck if he hadn't hurt his shoulder. We didn't know at the time that he was on his last hunt and he didn't either.
I had called him the summer previous to that fall about going fishing with me. The Spanish Mackerel schools were everywhere and staying up. I swear we fished for two hours and I didn't turn the boat. There were three of us and our limits were easily filled. It was one of those days. It turns out that was his last fishing trip too, but what a trip!
This gentleman was a class act his whole life. Hunting and fishing with him those last two days will be something I will always remember. It was an honor Ed. He was just one of those that I can never repay, but hope to pass on some of what he taught me.
When my last hunt comes, I hope that I have the grace to do it like it should be done and when I walk away from hunting, I hope that I have no regrets about the way I did it.
I will turn 78 next Jan. My dad never hunted and my parents were divorced when I was 4. I lived with my mother. For some reason I was always interested in guns and hunting. Hunted small game locally - dove, ducks, squirrels, etc. In the early 60's made my first hunt out west for mule deer and antelope. Also, started collecting guns and began reloading - still my passion today. My son and I made our 4th trip to South Africa this April. The 10 day hunt was great but the long plane ride was really hard on me. I told my son this might be my last SA hunt.
Have been in good health, never sick, work out 4 times a week and probably stronger than when I was 20 yrs. old. That run ended in July - went to the doc. for a bladder exam - he stuck a deal up my pecker into my bladder. Came down with a urenery tract infection that Friday night. By Mon. the infection had gotten into my blood stream and I wound up in intensive care - stayed in the hospital 7 days. Almost died. All this caused my heart to go out of rhythm. Got that fixed but then the heart doc. found 2 blockages. Couldn't put in stints because I was still on antibiotics. Next another doc. said my blood numbers were not right and I need to see liver doc. Taking a ton of meds. and have probably seen 10 different doctors. Have doctor visits into Dec. What's weird is I feel fine but the doc. tells me to take it easy My 2 Tex. deer hunts fell through but I still hope to find a cheap cull hunt for late Dec. I intend to go as long as I can, but the end is in sight. Guys don't take your good health for granted.
Tracks- I hope you're not done. You certainly have some enticing offers from the great people here on the fire.
There comes a time for all of us when we are limited or must stop doing something we love to do. One of my biggest inspirations to work through life's curve balls is to think of a Lake Erie fishing friend I have over in Ohio. He's been a friend of my 92 year-old uncle his entire life. He's a WWII vet, and nobody knows how old Gordy is, and he's not telling. His wife has been gone for nearly 50 years. His many heart repairs have been handled at a VA hospital, and even at his age (I'm sure in his 90's) he cuts and splits wood with a Stihl 048 and a PTO-driven splitter off his John Deere and stacks it for sale in front of his farm house every fall. I ask him why, and he simply says he's bored in the house and it keeps his ticker ticking.
He gets in and out of the walleye boat as well as I do, and told me with a smile while perch fishing just a few weeks back "If I keel over while we're out here, keep fishing. You may not get back out here until next year."
