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

This has really been weighing on me the last little bit. I will be 42 in a few weeks but this past season was challenging to say the least. I'll be having hip replacement surgery in a month so this past season very limited on what I could do. I did hunt but not near as much and felt like I was losing my drive. Physically, I could only get to certain spots and either had to choose morning or evening and couldn't hunt more than one day in a row because I couldn't get around the next day after. I honestly had a break down one morning Thanksgiving week and nearly in tears as I set at the kitchen table working on a vacation day that I should have been hunting.

I did manage to have a good season considering as I rekindled the fire after killing a good one Christmas week. I got pretty tore up to say the least when he fell. I hope I can keep that fire into next year and will be physically better. My goal is to also lose some weight after surgery as well so that I can keep on keeping on.

My hope is at least another 30 years but can't say I'm as mad at them as I used to be. I haven't bow hunted nearly as much the past few years but hunted hard in Nov and Dec.
 
Mescalero said:
My oldest daughter lives in Los Angeles. Don't recall how we got on the subject, but a few months ago she told me that I'm never going into a "home" but will move in with her and her family when I can't take care of myself on my own anymore even though she knows I don't like Los Angeles. I appreciate her thought and telling me she's going to be there for me, but I told her I'm dying in the woods like the old Indian chief. I'm not dying in %#$@&*! Los Angeles.
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Yeah, my last breath ain't gonna be smog
 
AT Hiker said:
Until my time runs out. I cannot fathom a future me not hunting.
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Yep. I've lost some desire to hunt in TN. But I think about getting back to OK almost daily and get giddy at the thought of getting back to my home state NM to chase mulies.

I'll be 40 this year, but I still feel 25. One knee pops a bit, but I could kick my 25 year olds ass 5/7 times and don't feel old at all.
 
Turned 57 last year during season. Still using climbers and hang ons but just this past season my mind shifted to thoughts of how much longer I have to be able to hunt the way I always have so this thread kinda hits home. It is definitely getting harder for sure. I see giving up the climber someday but sure hope it isn't anytime soon.
 
I'm 43 yrs old. How many years do I have left???
My daddy is 84. He still gets out every now and again. I think he went 3 times this year. (The cold is much harder on him now). I can only pray I can still hunt at that age.

So, how long do I have. No clue.... As long as I'm capable.
 
BSK said:
For many of us who started when we were young, deer hunting is part of our lives. Some of us are so focused on it that it is the central part of our lives. But how often do we actually factor in how long we will be able to physically participate in this passion? Recently, with family members beginning to pass away from age-related issues, the hunting segment of my family began discussing how long are we going to be able to keep doing this. It was a sobering and somewhat depressing series of conversations. I'm the youngest of my family's "hunting generation" and I'm 60. I've been deer hunting since I was 17. How much longer am I going to be able to climb into a ladder stand? How much longer am I going to be able to move ladder stands? Will I be climbing into stands when I'm 85? Probably not. What have I got left in the hunting tank, maybe 15 to 20 years? That has caused us to reevaluate how we manage our hunting land.

So how many years do you think you have left in your deer hunting tank? Will you try to extend those years a little longer by changing how or where you hunt?
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I'm 73. I've been deer hunting since I was 17 too. One thing that would help us old and limited people would be if TWRA would allow us to get a permit to use a ATV on WMA land. We should all write to them and let them know how important it is for us. I still climb and can walk but I feel the pain. Good luck.
 
Gravey said:
We don't eat them like we used to so I basically stopped shooting does the last couple of years although I did shoot one the other week for summer sausage and snack sticks. I see you're in Rutherford county too so hit me up next year and I'll be happy to kill one for you.
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Very nice of you, Gravey. I will return the favor with some canned venison if you so desire.
 
I will hunt, along with everything else I do, as long as I can. Will age and other factors cause a modification of, yes. But I will never start the hour glass on what I do or my life. Starting the sand is the first step of giving up and I don't give up.
 
kaizen leader said:
I'm 73. I've been deer hunting since I was 17 too. One thing that would help us old and limited people would be if TWRA would allow us to get a permit to use a ATV on WMA land. We should all write to them and let them know how important it is for us. I still climb and can walk but I feel the pain. Good luck.
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I agree. But if you open the door for atv use on public land, it becomes hard to enforce. Before long you woulld have too fat to walk 25 yr olds buzzing around and no one would call em in when they heard the atv because it was permissible for older people to use them. I think its a very slippery slope.
 
BSK said:
For many of us who started when we were young, deer hunting is part of our lives. Some of us are so focused on it that it is the central part of our lives. But how often do we actually factor in how long we will be able to physically participate in this passion? Recently, with family members beginning to pass away from age-related issues, the hunting segment of my family began discussing how long are we going to be able to keep doing this. It was a sobering and somewhat depressing series of conversations. I'm the youngest of my family's "hunting generation" and I'm 60. I've been deer hunting since I was 17. How much longer am I going to be able to climb into a ladder stand? How much longer am I going to be able to move ladder stands? Will I be climbing into stands when I'm 85? Probably not. What have I got left in the hunting tank, maybe 15 to 20 years? That has caused us to reevaluate how we manage our hunting land.

So how many years do you think you have left in your deer hunting tank? Will you try to extend those years a little longer by changing how or where you hunt?
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BSK said:
I was in my late 40s when my dad quit at 70 and I was disappointed but he told me you will understand why when you get to that point in life. Well I am there at 70 and completely know what he meant. Although my heart is in it my body ain't !! I now hate cold weather and enjoy sleeping in a warm bed. After 3 back surgeries and bad knees climbing those Lincoln county hills have become a chore.Plus hunting by myself is not only risky but not fun. None of my kids or grandkids have a desire to hunt. So I have decided to hang it up after this next season. Won't be putting any trail cameras cause seems like every year I say I am done I will get a Slobberknocker buck on camera that makes me go one more year. So if I don't know what's there then it will be easier to quit !!😂
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It is a blessing everyday that I get to spend in the spirit of the woods. Looking back now it has been bitter sweet. I told my wife that my best hunting and fishing days are behind me. She said that was the saddest thing I have ever said to her. My father passed Veterans Day 2021. Members of this forum were kind and thoughtful during that very difficult time. I still think of my dad often and life lessons he instilled in me. Thankful for our time hunting, fishing, and trapping together. My prayer for each of us today is to find ways to pass along our joy of the great outdoors to the next generation of young sportsmen and women.
 
My advice for those getting older that want to hunt long into the future. Invest in a hunting tract. It dont have to be large. 25 to 30 acres. Set it up to suit your physical needs going further- easy access, 4 wheeler trails, shooting house, etc. when you pass , your family can cash it out for far more than you paid for it. It would be a solid investment and could extend your hunting and make the last yrs much more enjoyable
 
redblood said:
I agree. But if you open the door for atv use on public land, it becomes hard to enforce. Before long you woulld have too fat to walk 25 yr olds buzzing around and no one would call em in when they heard the atv because it was permissible for older people to use them. I think its a very slippery slope.
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They could put an age requirement for use say 55 - 60 and those somewhat disabled. Where there's a will there's a way .
 

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