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

I didn't go this year. Sold my Humphreys property last year and have no desire to hunt public land in Tennessee. I'll join my two sons in Pennsylvania this fall to hunt public land. I gave away my ladder stands to my neighbors in Humphreys county and gave both of my climbers to my sons. I kept my Millennium tree seat and plan on hunting on the ground from here on. Risk vs. Reward type decision. Too many near misses up in the air. I would be happy to get 10-15 years more but take whatever God gives me.

Plan on spending more time fishing and traveling with my better half. Retirement is bliss.
 
I'd like to think I have another 10 years but I'll be 70 in March. If my legs hold out is the question I guess. Five years ago I thought I had another 20 but now not so much. It's been worth it if it ended tomorrow, no regrets. I've seen so many great things in God's creation that many people don't have a clue about. I keep saying every year that I'm going to fish until muzzleloader starts but haven't done it yet! Maybe this year……
 
I really hope to hunt as long as I am allowed. I've been hunting a long time and mostly hunt alone on public anymore. Except for a few times a year on quota hunts. I cut my teeth on quota hunts. Always loved the Camping with friends and family. Everyone's got stories to tell and jokes to be played on one another. I would do it more often if there was a place to do so without a quota. But none of those places even got a place to camp. So it's in and out at dark on those places by myself. I'm find myself not as fired up as years past. But I bet if we all had hunting partners on more occasions than not. It would up the drive quite a bit.
 
I'm 50. I started hunting later in life, when I was 30. I stopped hunting when I got divorced in 2015, as I hunted the inlaws' farm until then. I had a good run for about 13 years, until life took its toll. I pretty much lost interest in it, and even gave away my hunting stuff before I left for Florida in 2017.

Now that I'm back in TN, I wish I had kept my hunting gear. I find myself thinking about picking up hunting again. I sold my Remington 700 7mag like an idiot. I still have my muzzleloader. Turns out the inlaws sold their land to another family member who's not in good health enough to talk hunting. I suppose I'll take that as a sign and just move on. I don't really care for public land hunting. I'll just spend more time fishing, which has always been my preference. I was always a fisherman who just hunted 3 or 4 months out of the year. Time to start planing fishing vacations!
 
I'll be 69 next month and still use a climber but do have several ladder stands and loc ons on my property and the gentlemen that joins my property. Got permission on a new place this year and had to use my climber each time and I almost exclusively hunted it . Went a few times on my property and my neighbor's. Up until this year I could feel the desire leaving. I'd get up to go but would just set in the recliner . With this new place I felt like a kid in a candy store , always was like that hunting a new area . I have a very bad back, shoulder and knee so I'm not as mobile as I once was . Hunting these ridges I do tend to decide which way a deer may run before I shoot it 😂. On my property I can basically drive my four wheeler to the deer but on these other properties I don't have the luxury. Killed a young seven-point on the new area and although not that big a buck he about done me in. Dragging is just not for me actually let a couple other bucks go because of that but had one pushed my button I would have shot him and worry about getting him out after the fact ☺. If my desire holds up I'm hoping God will allow me atleast 5-6 years maybe longer. Who knows but when my grandson and hunting partner passed it bout took the wind out of my sails . Just got to take what hand your dealt with !!
 
I know that very few of you, if any, will understand what I mean by my own personal beliefs. I grew up wanting/waiting to get/be allowed to go out with the "men" of the family on a deer hunt. I went on every small game holiday hunt with them, since I was 6. I carried my shotgun and was very excited and capable with it for rabbit or quail. I was afraid of the "high powered" rifle growing up but luckily in Kentucky and Ohio it was shotgun only. I looked forward to the deer season and couldn't wait until my uncle's showed up, at the house, and sat around talking about the weeks hunting plan. I would get up and go to school and run to the bus, at classes end, knowing that it would be at last an hour after dark before they got home. They were not moving before a half hour after dark not shooting light. They didn't have the deer we see today. I remember us driving home one time, I was maybe 8, I told my parents that there was a group of deer near the woods along the road. They told me that I was crazy and it was probably just goats or some farm animal. Thankfully one of my uncle's saw them and told the story to my father when they talked the next time.....about the deer along the road (we didn't have cell phones then and texting). I may be preaching to the choir but I was allowed to deer hunt at the age of 12. I killed 3 bucks that year, we were allowed 7. I have killed no more than 2 bucks since I turned 13, most years I killed 1 (for you big buck killers) I have killed "big" deer (to me). I say kill an old doe, that is a great feat. I don't have the desire to hunt deer anymore and that saddens me. It's turned commercial to me, it's no longer about the journey and experience for the majority, it's about that "big buck"(it's always been but it wasn't about yourself but the other person). I have taught my son and I am hoping that you have taught your children on how to hunt. I attached the Tennessee deer count so you can see that when people complain about "less" deer today.......they might need to look past yesterday.
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Been deer hunting since I was 16, I'm 64 now. Don't use climbing stands anymore but I still use ladder stands, which I prefer, and ground blinds, man made and natural. Lord willing and good health, I hope to keep hunting as long as I can. I enjoy it so much and look forward to each season and I have great hunting partners. I have a grandson who will be a year old the 30th of this month. I hope to get to hunt with him some if he's interested. I pray that he is. A few years back I ran into a gentleman at Catoosa who was 91 and still hunting. He looked to be in good health and got around well. Spry as a chicken he was. He didn't look 91 years old. I asked him if I could shake his hand and was honored to do so.
 
I'm 81 and still have the desire, just don't have the stamina and physical strength.
I was only able to make three hunts this season. I had to give up climbing stands around 7 or 8 years ago. I switched to ladder stands for a few years but I am now limited to a ground blind.
If I were to kill one I would have to have help in dragging it out.
I still run a few trail cameras and enjoy that a lot.
I am going to keep at it as long as my legs and body will hold out. I don't have any balance anymore and have to use a hiking stick any time I am in the woods.
"But I still love it"
 
KTS said:
I'm 81 and still have the desire, just don't have the stamina and physical strength.
I was only able to make three hunts this season. I had to give up climbing stands around 7 or 8 years ago. I switched to ladder stands for a few years but I am now limited to a ground blind.
If I were to kill one I would have to have help in dragging it out.
I still run a few trail cameras and enjoy that a lot.
I am going to keep at it as long as my legs and body will hold out. I don't have any balance anymore and have to use a hiking stick any time I am in the woods.
"But I still love it"
Click to expand...
True inspiration!
 
I'll be 36 in April. I still have the drive to go every chance I get and I save about 3/4 of my vacation to focus around hunting season. I hope I have 50+ more years of hunting. I'd much rather be sitting in the woods and die peacefully then get so bad off I have to give up hunting and go into a nursing home. I never used to think about how many more years left or that things could change in an instant and it all be gone. But I think about it about every hunt now.
 
Much older crowd than I thought was on here! I'm 39 and remember hunting by myself with a rifle at 9 years old. Can't imagine my daughter doing that 4 years from now! My dad took me out and he'd get up in his climber and would bring me a sleeping bag to sleep at the foot of his tree. He'd drop stuff on me when deer were approaching. Good times!

I'm now obsessed with it and he always says, "is deer hunting all you think about?"….my response is….you did this to me!!!!!!! 🤣
 
The sad to me reality now is,
there are very few avid, lifetime hunters coming along like JCDEERMAN (and younger).
And even he's pushing 40!

So what's the average age of the TN deer hunter now?
55? 60?

I'm afraid we're dying out faster than young lifetime hunters can be recruited.

Just generally speaking, most of today's young or new hunters are not become lifetime hunters.

There's a huge difference in the passion many of us have had for hunting,
and the lack of that lifetime passion with those replacing us.
Most will only stick their toe in it, do it a few times over a few years,
then spend more of their life doing a myriad of other things in their free time.
 

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