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How many more years of deer hunting do you have left?

SJS said:
I'm 62 right now. My Dad passed in April at 93. He said to me that after 80 years old quality of life nosedives dramatically. It's when he stopped hunting. He started turkey hunting late in life. I called in a Jake for him for his first bird when he was 72, then at 78 he called and shot this one in on his own. He was so proud that he was able to accomplish that. I think like most of us on here we will try and go as long as possible, God willing!
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What a great picture you have there and a great story to go with it!..what an accomplishment!!
Thanks for sharing!
 
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I lived the deer hunting life year round for over 40 years. Food plots, cameras, trophy rocks, scouting, land management, leases and hunting. This past season I only went 2-3 times at most. Haven't stepped foot on my lease in 2 seasons. I just lost the passion to hunt.
 
61, still hunt from climbers and ladder stand, try to live healthy life, and exercise. If I get to the point of not able to climb , will just hunt off the ground. We have 57 acres so Im grooming it now to be accessible
 
rifle02 said:
As you age it's a fact that your balance and coordination begin to wane.
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I tell you what, the balance thing is freaking me out. Turn the lights out, and I fall over. All of my balance is now tied to my eyesight. If I can't see, I have no balance. That alone has changed how I get into stands. Used to be, climbing into a stand in the dark I wanted my headlamp off as quickly as possible. Even in the dark, I could do a lot of "setting up" by feel (and always arranging my pack the exact same way). Now, turning off my headlamp is absolutely the last thing I do! This is especially true for some of our smaller one-person ladders that have no shooting rail.
 
I'm in my early 50's. Hopefully, I have many more years to spend out in the woods. I guess, I'll give it up when I just physically can't do it anymore. Hard to imagine that there might be a day when that'll possibly be a reality.
 
I have good genes. At 89 my dad still wanted to hunt. We have several shooting houses with stairs on food plots. I built ground blinds on the best plots in anticipation of his becoming unable to climb. I spent the winter of 2021climbing stairs behind him in case he fell. He refused to use the ground blinds. We did turkey hunt out of one of them on his 90th birthday. He passyaway in october of last year. I miss hunting with him. I just wish he had learned to enjoy what he could still do at 90 instead of missing what he could do at 50. I've asked my wife to remind me of thst.
 
7mm08 said:
I would consider it an honor to die in your tree stand , the woods ( as long as the family finds you first and not the coyotes), your boat etc.

Dying in an ICU with a tube up every orifice because you or your family can't let go….. now that is a shame.
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Actually have location sharing turned on with 3 of the younger guys at our place just in case I come up missing.
 
Im 70. Now, I Mostly hunt out of box blinds that are safer, more comfortable. But, still have couple ladder stands. The hardest part is the trip to haul tractor, and equipment to bushog, plant food plots, and keep logging roads clear. I had knee replacement 8 months ago, and it took awhile to get strength, and mobility back. I'd like to hunt another 10 years. But...sometimes when hunting, I find myself wishing I was spending that time with kids, and grandkids. And, some days I stay home and do just that. I hunt alone most of the time, but enjoy having someone else along more.
 
Early 50's here. I knew early on that I was going to want to do this for a long time. I tailored my life to be able to do so. From exercise and fitness to finding a wife who has her own friends and hobbies.

There's a lot of inspiring posts in this thread from guys who are still at it after retirement age.
 
At 36 I hope and pray I have a few more decades of hunting ahead of me. I've always hunted with older guys cause no one in my family hunted. Sadly most of these Vietnam and WWII vets have passed on and I find myself struggling to do "deer camp". Without the older generation around it seems dull to me. I take my youngest boy as often as we can go but I surely miss sitting around the fire and listening to stories all night. Nowadays I prefer to go get lost out west chasing animals,camping, and fishing out in the middle of nowhere.
 
A man that hunts the property next to mine is 85. He hunts alone most of the time, loads and unloads his 4 wheeler, climbs a ladder stand, skins and quarters the deer before ever leaving the property. I'm 43 and told him if he ever needed help with anything just give me a call. My phone has yet to ring. Amazing
 
One of my buddies brought his dad up from FL 4-5 yrs ago to turkey hunt. Mr Brannen was 92 at the time & had killed literally hundreds of birds but had never hunted outside of FL. He loved hunting in the hills even if he had to stay on top of them. After a few days we were eating supper one night & he said "if he was 25 years younger, that he'd get a pair of Nike tennis shoes & learn how to run these TN birds down".-25 would have put him at 67 which was 5 years older than I was at the time & I certainly couldn't do that! My inspiration for sure. God bless him, a few months later he was diagnosed with inoperable brain tumor & died before making the return trip the following year that was already planned.

Pic below was fried turkey breast, rice & tomato gravy. Might have been his last wild turkey to eat.

IMG_20230119_171207.jpg
 
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348Winchester said:
At 52 I'm still able to do anything I was able to do thirty years ago just slower. At 49, on New Year's Eve, I killed a nice 10 point that dressed about 170 lbs. It was right at dark and he ran into the thickest, steepest, nastiest hollow on our Scott County lease. After dragging the deer out of the hollow and across a rain swollen creek, into which I fell twice after losing my balance in the current, it took all of my fading strength to get him into the truck. When I got home it was nearly 11 o'clock. I was exhausted. I remember asking myself how long would I be able to do such things. I began to sadden from such thoughts when it occurred to me that many men, years my junior, could not have accomplished what I had just done. I slumbered well that evening and hunted the morrow!

This subject still weighs heavily on my mind. I hunt damn near every day of the season. From the opening of muzzle loader to the final day of rifle I will only miss 3-5 days due to work. I will use most of my sick days plus the breaks when school is out. Many days are only evening hunts after work but I'm very fortunate to be able to hunt way more than most. By the end of the season I am very tired. Hopefully, I can keep this up for many years to come but the great equalizer awaits.

To hunt as long as possible, I realize my methods will need to change.
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That sounds almost identical to me in my early 50s as well. I'm in my late 50s now and there has definitely been a change in my energy level as well as desire to go. Had my T level checked and it was almost non existent, so started T therapy and it's helped some, but I'm still not near where I was just 3 years ago.
 
MUP said:
That sounds almost identical to me in my early 50s as well. I'm in my late 50s now and there has definitely been a change in my energy level as well as desire to go. Had my T level checked and it was almost non existent, so started T therapy and it's helped some, but I'm still not near where I was just 3 years ago.
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Anytime you shoot one and need help getting it out all you have to do is call. I've got myself and two boys that are free labor lol. My neighbors love the "free labor" that I have my boys go do.
 

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