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How much longer can I hunt like this?

5K views 21 replies 15 participants last post by  throbak 
#1 ·
As I grow older, I have started to think about how much longer I can keep hunting at the level that I do now.

Treestands get harder to get into with some being converted to ladder stands. The morning alarm gets harder to answer. I put less sets up ever year. But when it comes down to a shooter crossing my path it still gets the old ticker going.

How are the rest of you coping with age creeping in as a factor?
 
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#3 ·
Yeah ladder stands do make things much easier. I should probably invest in a "pod" as well. I still do a considerable amount of hunting on federal land and that is tough to setup ladder stands on.
 
#4 ·
I'm 48 now and I feel like I am just hitting my stride when it comes to hunting. It has taken some 30 years of time afield to get there. When I was young, I hunted hard and dumb. I look back at all the goofy "tricks" that I tried with the latest "tips" and "tactics" from all of the magazines. Stand sets in horrible spots. Busting deer due to stupid moves. Unsafe setups. Dumb decisions. Trail cameras on every other tree to capture every deer out there, while doing more harm than good.

I find now that I hunt hard, but I like to think that I hunt smarter. I focus on less stand sets in better locations (which are not always the obvious spots). I run cameras but much fewer and in spots where deer are neither spooked by them and that I can get to cameras without spooking deer. I pay attention to what the woods and field tells me these days. I still like hang on stand sets, but I don't go as high as I once did. I focus 100% on safety when in a tree because I have learned through close calls and watching friends get hurt that no deer is worth a tree stand accident. I've learned to not worry so much about what the neighbor shoots or what others shoot. Probably the biggest things that I have learned is patience and to take every moment in to its fullest.

I see a time where I spend more hunts on the ground or in a ladder stand or even a box blind. But at this point I am hoping to time that down the road many more years when grand kids want to learn to hunt. I have a while yet before I slow down my hunting pace.
 
#13 ·
I'm 48 now and I feel like I am just hitting my stride when it comes to hunting. It has taken some 30 years of time afield to get there. When I was young, I hunted hard and dumb. I look back at all the goofy "tricks" that I tried with the latest "tips" and "tactics" from all of the magazines. Stand sets in horrible spots. Busting deer due to stupid moves. Unsafe setups. Dumb decisions. Trail cameras on every other tree to capture every deer out there, while doing more harm than good.

I find now that I hunt hard, but I like to think that I hunt smarter. I focus on less stand sets in better locations (which are not always the obvious spots). I run cameras but much fewer and in spots where deer are neither spooked by them and that I can get to cameras without spooking deer. I pay attention to what the woods and field tells me these days. I still like hang on stand sets, but I don't go as high as I once did. I focus 100% on safety when in a tree because I have learned through close calls and watching friends get hurt that no deer is worth a tree stand accident. I've learned to not worry so much about what the neighbor shoots or what others shoot. Probably the biggest things that I have learned is patience and to take every moment in to its fullest.

I see a time where I spend more hunts on the ground or in a ladder stand or even a box blind. But at this point I am hoping to time that down the road many more years when grand kids want to learn to hunt. I have a while yet before I slow down my hunting pace.
 
#5 ·
Same here too, guys. I've always enjoyed hunted Deer out of a ladder stand, but lately, at age 68, I am finding it harder to sit longer than four hours, and deal with weather conditions. Also, if I am successful in harvesting a Deer, I am also becoming concerned about retrieving it and processing it myself. Just get harder every year. This past season, I hunted out of my Bedroom window, which over looks my backfield. Ranges vary from 100 to 250 yards, so I use my Ruger M-77 MKII .270 rifle with a 4-12 X 40 m/m Leupold scope. I've taken three Deer hunting out of my window in past years, mainly due to weather conditions. This year I harvested a nice 6-pointer; by harvesting a Deer out in my field, I can drive right up to it and load it up. No need to drag it out of my woods which is very hilly with steep gullies & hollows.
 
#7 ·
While I may not be an old fella, I can put some opinion in this because of the one who taught me and passed down hunting to me. My grandfather would hunt and hunt hard sometimes he climbed into a stand but also he'd sit on the ground. He fell out of his stand and landed flat and caused alot of problems and he never climbed another tree but that didn't keep him from hunting. All the way up and even a couple times after he got his pacemaker put in, he'd do whatever he could. He would sit on his back porch watching a utility line outside his house, and also as above stated hunt out of the spare bedroom window over watching his garden in the back yard. Now he didn't live in the city and had the ability but I think what he would say is, however you have too and if you still have any desire to hunt then do it. There will be a point all of us won't be able to but don't stop hunting unless you lose that desire and that feeling we all get. He said he wasn't so mad at deer anymore is what he would say lol. Killed many many big ones in his life. Also as Dec said he didn't use any tactic or product he just read what the woods gave him and always seemed to find a big one walk by him. Still no where near the hunter he was.
 
#8 ·
I too focus way more on safety when hunting from a hang on than I used to. My balance isn't what it once was. I am always tied onto the tree except for when the stand is going up or coming down.
 
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#9 ·
Even though I am not as advanced as some of you.....I consider this as well. Climbing trees like a squirrel isn't going to last forever. I prefer a ladder stand for archery season and have built 2 shooting houses with plans for at least 2 more for gun hunting. Shooting houses simply allow me to hunt safer and longer and I love hunting with my kids as well. We have had some miserable firearms openers in the past and a shooting house is a god-send in those conditions. We can stay out of the weather and even run a small heater if we want. My property is fairly flat with decent access and I typically only have a short distance to drag a deer before I can get to it with my little tractor with the front end loader on it. I walk to all my stands for now, but some sort of electric cart may be in the future plans as well. Going to be a hard pill to swallow when the time comes when I just can't do it anymore.
 
#10 ·
I'm 55 now but still feel like a kid when I head out to the deer woods. I still use hang on stands and climb trees with my lineman pole gaffs. No one can get in my stands unless they can climb like a old school lineman
I have definitely slowed down. Do a lot more evening hunting Except during the rut :) I hope I can do this till I'm 80 plus .
 
#15 ·
I personally am still rather young (31) however my pops that I share every property with and devout as much to getting him on deer as myself is creeping into retirement. Crossbows are becoming easier for him (despite his pref being his vertical) and I know the horizon is coming on his days of shimming up treestands with ease. Bigger platforms are his pref. so we've shifted from the smaller ones I like to a few known spots he likes...and by the 2019 season I want to have built a solid enclosure/blind option at both his property and mine (two possibly at mine).

He already struggles at times with circulation due to diabetes so when it gets really frigid as much as he loves sitting up a tree, an enclosure with his heater body suit could see him sit all day if he wanted...shoot built right won't even need the heater body suit any longer.

Our biggest hurdle will be to make it a viable option for bows, as building blinds for guns is incredibly easier window wise and such...but I don't want my pops to ever have a valid excuse to stop hunting and getting these puppies built will ensure my father can hunt so long as he can slowly walk and maybe climb 4 or 5 steps (not gonna elevate extremely high).
 
#16 ·
The Last Hunt

There comes a time in an old hunter’s life when he starts wondering, ‘Was that my last hunt?' Now to many people that may seem to be a trivial question, unimportant, but to a long time hunter it’s a very real question, recognized if only in the back of his mind.

As the days seem to start and end in what seems like a moment, even when less has gotten done throughout the day, it becomes evident that age has finally caught up with the old hunter. Memories of hunts that were once forgotten now are brought back, almost in color, memories beyond hunting camps and socialization with other hunters. The memories of the “little things” appear from out of nowhere and bring joy to the old hunter’s thoughts, almost reliving them at the instant.

Long past are the days of bog trotting through a wet marsh. Those who have never been there can never understand and realize its beauty, the solitude and also its dangers. The old man can smell the damp marsh grass and the muck again. Gone are the days of moving from marsh bog to bog, in the attempt to get further into the marsh to that higher ground which may be his quarry’s sanctuary. More often it ended with a lot of work and boots filled with water and muck. Looking back now, it was never really work. It was an adventure.

Little things that never seemed to matter that much, are now realized from places long stored away. It could be some small detail associated with your first hunt, even more than the result of the hunt itself. It could be of a hunt and conversation with a friend or relative, gone to soon. Somehow I don’t believe these memories were ever forgotten, but rather stored away for a day they would be much more appreciable.

I imagine the old hunter will never know when he will make his last hunt, until that day’s over. Will someone be kind enough or loving enough to take the old hunter out for the last time or, will he be alone? I believe those questions have yet to have an answer available. But in his mind, the old hunter always wonders, when will that last day come?
 
#18 ·
For me it is all about time in the field. I love the woods. Any minute in the woods is a gift. Not even age, but physical capability can be an issue. You can't change your age, but you can always lose weight. My issue. I am a big boy with super big camo, and a climber made for big boys. I look at the stands they make nowadays, and they are all cheap, dangerous, lightweight crap that needs multiple anchor points so they don't fold or break on you. I bought a ladder stand for my son who is 190, and the darn thing bends while he climbs, unless you use the 42 ropes and ratchets and stabilizer bars, etc. I am 55, and TREMENDOUSLY overweight. I am two of me. That being said, I still walk into the woods with purpose, and get a little winded, but nothing major. As far as stand comfort and safety, I have harvested 2 of my bigger bucks while sitting on a bucket in the woods and the buck less than 20 yards a way in both instances. I love my climber, and as I get older, I see that going away. My son and I have hunted ground blinds, and they are very comfortable. OPening weekend of gun season it was raining heavy all day Saturday. I remained dry and comfortable. I have hunted in the wide open, in a chair on the ground, and with the right wind conditions and moving really slow, if at all, have had had deer, both bucks and does come well within shooting range (bow and gun). As i get older, I see that it is going to be considerations as, who is going to drag the deer out? Where can I put my "stand" that gives me the advantage? Chair, ladder, ground blind, climber, whatever I am capable of. I have brought home more deer meat with my ass on the ground, vs. elevated. It is the element of surprise that counts. Safety and comfort. There are times I would rather lay in bed and play Colonel Sanders with my wife, than get up at 4 am and get in the bitter cold. Once I am out there though, I am glad I went. I hope the passion never dies. If it ends up being mid morning hunts through dusk, so be it. If it is 5 hours instead of 12 hours, hey, at least it is 5 hours. Do whatever it takes to get out there, and enjoy it. Hunt your way. I saw a post earlier about all the gadgets and tactics, and stuff like that. As I get older, the contents of my backpack change. Out with the calls, the scents, and the doo dads, in with a 64 oz coffee pot, creature comforts, and always a sharp knife, ready to do its job. I hope I hunt to my dying day. Keep on keepin on.
 
#20 · (Edited)
I'm 64, and God willing, should be able to hit the woods and fields for a good long time yet....Self built wooden ladders are out as don't feel secure in them any more, but the metal ladders make me feel right at home and the ground is always an option.....Built 1 4x6 box and 2 4x4 box blinds last year and they are in good spots so that should help in the future...Still prepare my shooter list every year, but have failed to connect on one I've wanted for the last 3 years and have hunted hard.....Longest stretch I've ever had with a keeper shooter....Took two does this year. one with crossbow and the other with "open sight" T/C White Mountain Carbine.....TRied turkey for the first time last year and called in a hen opening day and got video, but only went out one time as didn't thing we had a huge population here.....Went coyote last evening but saw nothing.....Kinda like Clint Eastwood said in "Unforgiven", I killed almost everything that walked or crawled, in Indiana, so been there done that.....I think what it's all about is just having fun in the outdoors and take what makes you happy....I still love it and that is the drive that keeps us going....Did have a chance on my new avatar pic on Nov. 10 with the crossbow but hit him high in no mans land....Got the picture the next day and also got him on cam 12-31 about 60 yards from where the avatar pic was taken....It was really upsetting but he's in perfect shape, although even more educated....He was a heavy palmated 9..
 
#22 ·
Well at 68 this was my least participated in year .I'm still getting up in my API Bowhunter climber but I find myself depending on ladders more and I go out later and get out sooner
But my success has not gone down ,Not near as adamant on getting the monster and don't try near as hard still got 4 deer
But Prostate Cancer slowed me down a lot to .48 radiation treatments ive found are really hard to overcome got the last one 4/26 not over it yet The hormone therapy keeps you run down but better than in the past when casteration was used to reduce testosterone the cancers food
Point is there's other things come with old age Over the Cancer but getting over the treatment along with old age has been tough
 
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