Too old to hunt?

[sagebrush]

#5785

I am 55 years old. I started having a few aches and pains a few years ago. I also got so I couldn’t hike as well as I used to. Then a couple of years ago I decided to do something about it. I started using my treadmill. I started lifting weights. I lay floor coverings at work so I am always lifting stuff. Well, after a couple of months I could work longer and harder and I could hike better. This year was way more fun. I was hiking back in 3-5 miles every time I went out. I wasn’t getting tired and I saw a lot of animals. So if you’re getting run down like I was, try a long term workout (like the rest of your life). I don’t want to get back to the way I was before I started working out. I shot a lot more this summer too. I was a way better hunter because of the hiking and I was a better shot. The only problem I have found is none of your friends can keep up with you. Gary

[strait-aero]

#44991

I’m 61 and I know what you mean,Gary…..been alittle slow this year for the same reasons:lol: When I’m more active I enjoy it more. Keep up the good work.

[David Petersen]

#45015

Bravo, Gary! I’m 64 and going strong as ever, except I need more sleep; can go a couple of nights way short (night before a season opening in hunting camp is always a party :D), but then it catches up with me. As we age and have to deal with cumulative insults to our bodies — for most folks it’s overweight and longterm lack of regular exercise, or in my case old athletic injuries) we have to adjust our attitude toward pain. Easy to say, much harder to do, but possible. I think of the pain I feel when exercising as weakness and “unhealth” exiting my body. It helps some.

When I get too old to hunt the way I’ve always believed hunting should be done — on foot, on my own power — I’ll get a low-poundage bow and continue backyard shooting while making up for all the years I’ve neglected fly fishing in favor of bowhunting. It’s all fun and we are all so lucky in so many ways. dave

[T Downing]

#45060

Dave-That is 64 years young! Shoot, with the way you walk and all of the time you spend outdoors, you will be hunting for a least 10 more years! :D:D
T

[kellydockter]

#45127

my father is 82 years young and i am 47. i have hunted with him all of my life and he tells me stories of hunting when he was young. when we hunt togather i move a little slower and that just helps me and when we take a different trail we stay in touch via two way radio.he still walks on the treadmill for exercise and has never smoked.i just pray im flinging sticks in my 80s

[William Warren]

#45573

Yeah, my mind is always making promises my body can’t keep 😀

Good advice Gary. I’m 53 and I’ve been getting back in the gym hoping to get back some strength. Can’t expect to improve my wind too much because I’m minus a lung but I can maintain what I have and strength training is a good thing for older people. I’m focusing more on my legs and doing as much cardio as I can do.

Duncan

[kjlarson]

#45605

I am 54. I try to stay fit without an exercise regimen and look terrible in a bathing suit. I am on my feet most of the day walking all over a production floor which is probably better than 18 holes of golf. Fortunately, the slower you move when on the hunt, the more you will see. That being the case, and if I never connect with an animal, I feel that I could hunt until I am 90 or until my wife takes away my car keys. Probably the later.

[David Petersen]

#46202

T — Only 10 more years of active hunting for me? 😕 Oh, that’s sobering! May I please have 15? 😛 I smoke (not a lot, but daily), I drink (not a lot, but daily) and I love rich chocolate ice cream. Yes, I stay very physically active and have most of my life. But bottom line, I’m just lucky to have inherited “good” genes. All of my father’s side of the family lived forever — crazy as loons, but long-lived. 😆 dave2old

[makesmoosecry]

#46224

yea but dave, you also have a advantage of still being a MARINE. enough said.

[strait-aero]

#46235

Dave, I hope we find you at a 100 frozen like the mountain man in Jeramiah Johnson,only with your Shrew instead of a Hawken rifle.:lol:

[T Downing]

#46237

Dave-oops, I meant 20 years!:lol::lol:

[Frank H V]

#46699

Gary, that’s good advice, I’m 68 & go to the YMCA Mon, Wed, & Fri. & work out. It’s helped my legs & wind.:o
Frank

[Cottonwood]

#47389

I’m 54, and still pretty active and have a job that keeps me constantly moving. The great thing about our weather now, is snow shoveling is a great work out. 😆

[Frank H V]

#47400

Cottonwood wrote: The great thing about our weather now, is snow shoveling is a great work out. 😆

:D:D:D:D

[rayborbon]

#47498

Glad to hear you kept it going.

One of my hunting partners is over 60 and going strong.

[tom-wisconsin]

#47940

Yes, I’m 62 and I know that 60 is middle age.:D Trust me on this one. I resolve to loose wt and get back in shape.

[ksbowman]

#48006

I’m 60 and have alot more years hunting. The good Lord has blessed me and let me keep active. I’m in good shape still at 6′ and 170 and don’t have as much endurance as I had when I was in my 30’s, but I can still go all day, but like Dave says I need to sleep at night. You can do anything you put your mind to, it just may take alittle longer than it took 30 years ago!

[David Petersen]

#48494

Welcome aboard, Kansas! In my books, anyone of any age who bowhunts with traditional gear and values, is young. Anyone of any age who hunts with all the crutches they can legally use to make things easier on them physically, has already given up and might as well be old.

[Dennis]

#48588

Seems to me there’s a lot of old f__ts out there. I started shooting recurves about 45 years ago and have never wanted to shoot anything else except a couple of longbows I’ve recently aquired. I expect that is where most of you come from. After an injury, I stopped shooting for about 15-20 years because I just couldn’t take the sholder pain. Now that I’ve retired, I’m back into traditional bowhunting, with lighter bows to ease the pain but I think the real thing that’s keeping me feeling young is BOWHUNTING itself. I try to get to the gym three times a week but I think for the most part, age is all attitude.

[sagebrush]

#49072

Dave, I tried the weakness and unhealth thing. It made it easier especially when I was pushing it. Gary

[JEMBO]

#49586

For all you seasoned hunters who still roam and hunt far and away places… do any of you use an emergency locator system? As I mature my wife worries more as I hike through the mountains, mostly alone, as I have for 30+ years. I thought it would make a nice Christmas gift. lol

[kellydockter]

#49777

that is a great idea jembo and the older i get and the farther out i go the more i think of looking into one. 😀

[CarolinaBob]

#51490

Not too sure what is too old is but Mr. Owen Jeffery still hunts and he is about 86, still make bows just about everyday. He killed a monster “for South Carolina” buck two years ago. So how old is too old?

[Don Thomas]

#52103

I’m 62 and can still do most of the things I’ve always done, although it takes a little longer and hurts a little at the end of a long day. Staying active year around is key, especially if you don’t much like indoor exercise. That’s why I’ve learned to stretch my seasons until there’s no such thing as the “off-season”. September-November were never a problem. Now I hunt lions (on foot) December-March. Then it’s turkeys in April, and instead of sitting in a blind I’m usually climbing mountains looking for them. By May it’s time to go to Alaska, to hunt, guide, or both. June-July I work with my dogs, and then it’s back to Alaska in August. Before you know it, it’s time to start all over again. But the really crucial element is mental. Let yourself start thinking you’re old and you will be. Don

[strait-aero]

#54306

Amen,Don…..

[MontanaFord]

#58471

I’m 29 currently, and truly hope that I can maintain half as much vitality as so many of you have managed to do at twice plus my age. It’s very inspirational to me to look at all of you and know that the possibility is there, as long as I stay active and keep in decent shape. Of course, having younger children limits how much I can actually get out of the house and exercise, but I do have a Nordic Track ski machine down stairs I really need to set up if it’s not going to sell on craigslist for me. LOL!!

My grandfather will be 79 in March, and he still gets out and traps for beaver and otter. It’s his thing, much like traditional archery is ours. He got 30 beavers this fall before things froze on him there in Idaho.

[bruc]

#18877

I’m 59 in March. I feel good I think:?: Still climb high in trees but use a ladder instead of tree steps.
I have a problem with my release hand,though, the three fingers ache at the knuckle. This just started recently. I shot a bit yesterday and have not shot for a while.wondering if any one else has this problem, and if so was there any remedies or ways to reduce the pain ?

Happy New Year Everyone:D
Bruce

[Treetopflier]

#19138

Bruce — sounds like arthritus to me. If so it’s worse in the mornings when you first get up, and in the cold. A combo of ibuprofen and Sports Cream really helps (me) a lot, plus hand warmers in both pockets and hands in pockets as much as possible. The big A comes with the territory. To a large extent we can get used to the increasing aches and stiffness of age, but eventually we’ll all be full-body stiff. So I sez let’s over-ride it while we can and have some (more) fun with life while we can.

Now, in desperate situations — like medical marijuana, this applies only to those who seriously need it — has anyone ever used a trigger release with a trad bow? ttf

[sagebrush]

#22336

Bruce, If you get a hold of Mudd, he made a pretty neat traditional release. I think he was having the same problem. It is basically just a piece of leather. Gary

[SteveMcD]

#23127

Well.. I am 55 in a couple of months. I have had COPD since I was 30. And I am heavily plagued with arithritis (both feet, both hands, one shoulder, the other elbow and the lower lumbar). I like to think I keep a positive outlook (or somewhat bullheaded or both). But, I loved Dr. Thomas’ advice about staying active. It is really crucial to do that. I take my meds and Aleve, and I still manage to climb mountains anyway. 😀 I do it, because no one has told me I can’t. 😆

[Ralph]

#24832

I only lack 35 years from being a hundred so I have lots of time left to shoot :lol:. I figure at 100 I can slow down some! I try to stay active, I work out for an hour or so at the gym 4-5 times a week, sometimes more. If my next 35 years are as interesting as my 1st 35 were (Yes, I can still remember them, ha), wow. Maybe I be smarter and can handle them a little better though. Like shooting 45#-50# bows instead of learning some more bad habits from shooting 65#’ers.
Yes I get where I’m going a bit slower but that ain’t such a bad thing. A whole lot less noisy that way and I see more too!
Stay active and think positive and keep the faith!!!!!!!!!

[Treetopflier]

#26604

As Edward Abbey liked to say in his later years, “He’s old, but he ain’t dead!” Then he died …:(

[woodbows]

#26623

At age 62 I’m lucky in that I still can hunt hard and hike; however, I will be slowing down and delt with health issues someday. So I have lost 50 pounds and started working out. Happy to here it’s working for you as well. Val

[Ed Ashby]

#26715

My body’s beat, battered and totally derelict:cry:, but I intent to keep TRYING to hunt in one fashion or another … UNTIL I’M A “SHOVEL READY PROJECT”!:shock:

Ed

[David Petersen]

#26961

Woodbows — great to have you here! I don’t know if you build or buy “wood bows,” but I’ve done a lot of both over the years, including building at least three dozen wood bows, most of which shot at least a couple of shafts before blowing up. 🙁 Now, after a few years’ time out, I’m hot to start scraping yellow wood once again. Cheers, dp

[Brian Dennis]

#34905

kellydockter wrote: my father is 82 years young and i am 47. i have hunted with him all of my life and he tells me stories of hunting when he was young. when we hunt togather i move a little slower and that just helps me and when we take a different trail we stay in touch via two way radio.he still walks on the treadmill for exercise and has never smoked.i just pray im flinging sticks in my 80s

My dad hunted into his late 60’s and though he was fairly healthy there were still signs of his slowing down. But being a “Depression Kid”, a WWII POW (the Bulge in ’44) and a foreman at a creosote plant 30 yrs, he wouldn’t ask for one inch of slack. So, as we would hike along with him leading the way, I’d hear him start to breathe heavy, and I’d say “old hoss, I need to take a break. Wait for me while I rest up.” He would NEVER have admitted that he was tired! I miss hunting with him every season.

[loneviking]

#40230

I love reading these stories. I”m new to the forums, but I already feel right at home. I turn 50 next month, but I don’t feel all that old. I”m in good health and the kids (20 and 22 y/o daughters) complain about the ‘death hikes in the Sierra’ that I take ’em on! I figure I’ve got at least forty more good years to ramble around in the moutains and deserts. However many there are I intend to make the most of them.

[Chad Sivertsen]

#44287

I’m just around the corner from 64 and feel pretty darn good. I can hike miles a day in rough country and enjoy it, but do go slower uphill and pack weight is down. Not a pound over weight, eat healthy/homemade, cut and split 8-10 cords of wood every year. I live in the mountains so my daily routine is active. 50s is young, I think 40s and 50s are the age when men are at their peak. Several of my friends agree, they are all outdoorsmen in the West and spend a lot of time hiking, scouting, hunting, etc.

I’ve dropped bow weight gradually over the years and hunted with 55# last year. I miss the 70+ # bows I used to shoot. I have friends in their 70s that likely could out hike half the 25 years olds these days, and they still take game too.

Regardless of your age, I say do it now and maximize whatever time we have.

[Don Thomas]

#44589

Bruce–It’s hard to make a diagnosis over the Internet (although people ask me to all the time and I don’t really mind). But that’s what you need to solve your problem. Arthritis in the hands is usually generalized. If your symptoms are confined to your middle three fingers on your string hand, this could be carpal tunnel syndrome, which I see quite commonly in archers. Treatment consists of a wrist splint (the problem is in the median nerve at the wrist), meds like ibuprofen, and perhaps reviewing your shooting style or dropping in poundage, Surgery may be indicated in severe cases. Cheers, Dr. (in this case) Don

[bruc]

#45658

Thanks Don I appreciate your professional input !

Actually the problem has subsided somewhat. I’ve made a point, now of always wearing mitts outside in our cold Manitoba winter. Lately I have shot very little. My Dad at my age had arthritis quite bad in both hands. Knuckles twice the size as normal,partly due, I think, to working outside lots and not looking after them.
I have dropped my bow weight from 58# to 48# and that has helped.
Thanks again !
Bruce

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