How old is too old to apply for physical hunts?

[T Chris]

I was just reading the comments in another thread about moose, sheep and goat applications and I saw several members here indicating that they are getting up there in years and are considering not applying in the future. As I write this post, I’m 54 and hoping to retire in a couple years and then utilize my new freedom to hunt significantly more than my current vacation allowance affords me. As I think about this, I wonder how long I can expect to be capable of mountain hunting over great distances with only my trekking poles and a good pack.

So I’m looking to the old timers here to give me some hope that I can continue hunting well into my 60s and hopefully even into my early 70s. And yes, I’m sure anyone can hunt until they are 100 if they just get in a vehicle and hunt high fence. I mean real hunting that requires stamina and physical ability. What do you think? I’m looking for real experience and examples. Thanks

 

[SAJ-99]

I was just reading the comments in another thread about moose, sheep and goat applications and I saw several members here indicating that they are getting up there in years and are considering not applying in the future. As I write this post, I’m 54 and hoping to retire in a couple years and then utilize my new freedom to hunt significantly more than my current vacation allowance affords me. As I think about this, I wonder how long I can expect to be capable of mountain hunting over great distances with only my trekking poles and a good pack.

So I’m looking to the old timers here to give me some hope that I can continue hunting well into my 60s and hopefully even into my early 70s. And yes, I’m sure anyone can hunt until they are 100 if they just get in a vehicle and hunt high fence. I mean real hunting that requires stamina and physical ability. What do you think? I’m looking for real experience and examples. Thanks

There is no single answer. Everyone's body gives out at a different time. Hopefully you haven't noticed much change yet. LOL. The reality is none of us get out of here alive, so do it while you can. I too have looked at things like the odds for sheep and wonder how long I buy that lottery ticket. It's more a cost vs odds than it is time.

 

[T Chris]

There is no single answer. Everyone's body gives out at a different time. Hopefully you haven't noticed much change yet. LOL. The reality is none of us get out of here alive, so do it while you can. I too have looked at things like the odds for sheep and wonder how long I buy that lottery ticket. It's more a cost vs odds than it is time.

I agree there isn’t a single answer, but there can be examples of what others have experienced based on their own personal experience. That’s what I’m asking.

 

[Big Fin]

I'm going to be 62 in November. I signed up for a backpack caribou hunt this August as a motivation to not let my body fall apart sooner than Father Time will disassemble the pieces. I am stunned at how fast things have changed since age 55.

However much preparation you do, it probably won't be enough. If you are semi-sedentary/sedentary, plan a hunt accordingly, or get to a higher plane of fitness, today. You might mentally "tough it out," but the physics and physiology of the human body in a state of indolence is not going to do what your mind is asking it to do.

By the time we get to 55, we all have something(s) that impair our mobility or strength. For me, the challenge has been making accommodations for an accumulation of lifetime injury/damage. I'm lucky to have never encountered a knee or ankle problem, something that many hunters struggle with. My shoulders sound like a bag of marbles when I do a jumping jack, but that's the case for pretty much any person I know over age 50. I lost the two tendons on the outside of my right wrist in 2023, so finding ways to modify exercise for that has been a pain. I detached a posterior tibial tendon, which is another PITA, but with orthotics, is manageable.

I'm doing another video course for MTN TOUGH, Always Ready 50+ (I think they should title it 60+). It launches next month. We're on week 12, the final week. Yesterday I did a 45 minute workout, the core of which was a 45# pack workout at 3mph at a 15% incline interrupted by step ups, reverse lunges, and plank 20# pull throughs, all while wearing the pack. Brutal. Every joint hurts this morning. Tells me that I better get my arse moving more before August.

Rambling thoughts from a guy who dreams of mountain hunting for another 15 years. Time will tell.

 

[JohnBud]

I'm going to be 62 in November. I signed up for a backpack caribou hunt this August as a motivation to not let my body fall apart sooner than Father Time will disassemble the pieces. I am stunned at how fast things have changed since age 55.

However much preparation you do, it probably won't be enough. If you are semi-sedentary/sedentary, plan a hunt accordingly, or get to a higher plane of fitness, today. You might mentally "tough it out," but the physics and physiology of the human body in a state of indolence is not going to do what your mind is asking it to do.

By the time we get to 55, we all have something(s) that impair our mobility or strength. For me, the challenge has been making accommodations for an accumulation of lifetime injury/damage. I'm lucky to have never encountered a knee or ankle problem, something that many hunters struggle with. My shoulders sound like a bag of marbles when I do a jumping jack, but that's the case for pretty much any person I know over age 50. I lost the two tendons on the outside of my right wrist in 2023, so finding ways to modify exercise for that has been a pain. I detached a posterior tibial tendon, which is another PITA, but with orthotics, is manageable.

I'm doing another video course for MTN TOUGH, Always Ready 50+ (I think they should title it 60+). It launches next month. We're on week 12, the final week. Yesterday I did a 45# pack workout for 45 minutes, 3mph at a 15% incline interrupted by step ups, reverse lunges, and plank 20# pull throughs, all while wearing the pack. Brutal. Every joint hurts this morning. Tells me that I better get my arse moving more before August.

Rambling thoughts from a guy who dreams of mountain hunting for another 15 years. Time will tell.

Thank you for that. There are many of us out here that would benefit from the 60+ version of MTN TOUGH.

 

[wytex]

You just have to hunt smarter in very physical areas. Not slowing down just yet here but I don't put myself in any position to get hurt if I can help it.
50's are good years, 60's are where you start feeling it more every day.
Stay in shape and go hunt.
Hitting the gym 4 times a week certainly helps me stay fit enough for physical hunts at this time but I'm not going into some hell hole to get an animal.

 

[brownbear932008]

I see the same post and I've pondered the same question. I really want to mountain goat hunt once before I die. I've been wondering when that may not be a realistic choice. I would think it could be a real struggle for most people above 60 on average. But, everyone is different and some hold together longer.
I don't want to be that guy that draws a tag someone could've actually filled and I couldn't give it the justice it deserves. I don't know there is a clear cut answer to the question. I try to look at units and decide if it's doable before applying especially sheep, all goat hunts are pretty much a physical struggle for most guys and there are not but a few that could be easier based on animal locations and access.
I often wonder if a lot of the tags drawn are even hunted once the tag holder has it in hand and realizes it's not physically possible after a day or two.

 

[fowladdict]

This got me thinking...I wonder what the average age is for guys drawing NR tags for sheep, moose and goats are these days (Point states).

Edit: My dad's former co-worker drew moose in WY at age 74 with max Moose points.

 

[brymoore]

I took my dad on his first elk hunt when he was 65. Real wilderness type deal. He did fine except for complaining about his bad back after we killed two elk two miles from camp. I spent two days packing elk solo. He climbed around for mule deer too.

There are easy and hard places to hunt. Change your tactics to match your body as you get older. I’m always joking about getting a horse but it might happen if I need its help to climb mountains and pack elk.

 

[noharleyyet]

You just have to hunt smarter in very physical areas. Not slowing down just yet here but I don't put myself in any position to get hurt if I can help it.
50's are good years, 60's are where you start feeling it more every day.
Stay in shape and go hunt.
Hitting the gym 4 times a week certainly helps me stay fit enough for physical hunts at this time but I'm not going into some hell hole to get an animal

Yessir...non injurious resistance training with 5-7 week days of prioritised cardio. No hell holes, death marches, or motorcycles.

 

[T Chris]

Yessir...non injurious resistance training with 5-7 week days of prioritised cardio. No hell holes, death marches, or motorcycles.

I like the “no motorcycles” comment

They’re a source of serious injury the way I see it.

 

[WapitiBob]

Just turned 70 and am hunting 3 states this year; I try to hunt smarter, not harder.

 

[SAJ-99]

My answer is 67 yrs 43 days. Maybe 44 days if you lived a clean life.

I found the previous thread on this topic. Lasted about 6 months and provided no help to your question.

How old is too old to hunt?

If one is fundamentally healthy and can deal with all the things that crop up with old age, then it shouldn't be a problem. How old is the oldest hunter you know?

www.hunttalk.com

 

[pabearhunter]

Well I guess I am just lucky. I just turned 77 and hunt alone when the wife can't go. I walk 3 to 5 miles a week lift some weights on the days I don't walk. I start shooting my Mathews compound in may and practice till bow season is over. I live in Pa. so we do have some pretty good climbs. I just TAKES A LITTLE LONGER TO GET TO THE TOP. If you don't have something seriously wrong with you stop complaining and start working forward to a great hunting season.

 

[T Chris]

My answer is 67 yrs 43 days. Maybe 44 days if you lived a clean life.

I found the previous thread on this topic. Lasted about 6 months and provided no help to your question.

How old is too old to hunt?

If one is fundamentally healthy and can deal with all the things that crop up with old age, then it shouldn't be a problem. How old is the oldest hunter you know?

www.hunttalk.com

In my defense I think my question is more focused than the other thread. Really looking at tough and physically demanding hunts. I have no expectation that I will receive a definitive age at which folks are too old, but we are hearing from real life examples of folks that are in their 60s and 70s and how they are handling their hunts.

 

[SAJ-99]

In my defense I think my question is more focused than the other thread. Really looking at tough and physically demanding hunts. I have no expectation that I will receive a definitive age at which folks are too old, but we are hearing from real life examples of folks that are in their 60s and 70s and how they are handling their hunts.

We are about the same age so I get the question. I ask it to myself all the time. There are lots of variables. Do you hunt alone? If no, how old are other hunters? Most of the problem is physical issues getting some out. In regards to terrain, things like antelope hunts will be easier and allow you to hunt at an older age than elk which will be easier than mountain goat.

Sure, I’m an idiot and applied for Mountain Goat, but the thought of doing it DIY gets more complicated each year.

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I'm going to be 62 in November. I signed up for a backpack caribou hunt this August as a motivation to not let my body fall apart sooner than Father Time will disassemble the pieces. I am stunned at how fast things have changed since age 55.

However much preparation you do, it probably won't be enough. If you are semi-sedentary/sedentary, plan a hunt accordingly, or get to a higher plane of fitness, today. You might mentally "tough it out," but the physics and physiology of the human body in a state of indolence is not going to do what your mind is asking it to do.

By the time we get to 55, we all have something(s) that impair our mobility or strength. For me, the challenge has been making accommodations for an accumulation of lifetime injury/damage. I'm lucky to have never encountered a knee or ankle problem, something that many hunters struggle with. My shoulders sound like a bag of marbles when I do a jumping jack, but that's the case for pretty much any person I know over age 50. I lost the two tendons on the outside of my right wrist in 2023, so finding ways to modify exercise for that has been a pain. I detached a posterior tibial tendon, which is another PITA, but with orthotics, is manageable.

I'm doing another video course for MTN TOUGH, Always Ready 50+ (I think they should title it 60+). It launches next month. We're on week 12, the final week. Yesterday I did a 45# pack workout for 45 minutes, 3mph at a 15% incline interrupted by step ups, reverse lunges, and plank 20# pull throughs, all while wearing the pack. Brutal. Every joint hurts this morning. Tells me that I better get my arse moving more before August.

Rambling thoughts from a guy who dreams of mountain hunting for another 15 years. Time will tell.

Question for us "younger" folks that look to you as a role model and person to learn from both mistakes and successes. Do you think if you'd started MTN TOUGH or similar organized workouts any earlier in your life that you would be in a better position physically? IIRC you used to just do big hikes all summer then a couple years back switched over to MTN TOUGH? I'm 38, doing the Exo Experience Challenge and put in for unlimited sheep as more of just a way to dip my toes in and have some measurable goals and a hunt to "prepare" for. Several of my friends in their 30's have done or are doing MTN TOUGH but I think I am similar to how you probably were in your 30's and 40's and pretty much despise gyms and working out so have subscribed to your hikes for the past decade or so. I would rather hike all day in the mountains than spend 30 or 60 minutes in a gym, but I do realize I can't do that everyday so am coming around to the benefits of organized domesticated physical activity in my basement. The step-ups have been an eye opener at how weak my quads seemingly are, curious to see how this translates on the next big hike I do later this month.

I had ACL replacement and meniscus repair at 35 and never felt like I quite got my legs back since then despite regimented PT for 6 months following surgery. My right knee sounds more like crunching a bag of potato chips when I do squats but I have little to no discomfort .

 

[MTTW]

I will be 64 in September and I still hunt the places I have hunted for 50+ years.

The biggest change for me is I am fatigued the second day. Now I hunt every other day in rifle season. I have a horse that I keep just so I can hunt the places that I want to. I seldom hunt with the horse he just gives me the confidence to hunt tough places and be able to recover elk in 1 day.

Every once in a while I feel like I am in good shape and will go consecutive days and I regret it every time. It has been this way for probably the last 5 years.

At this point I would have no problem hunting goats or sheep. I consciously keep track of the return trip and sometimes turn back earlier than in younger years because I find that when I reach my limit there is no reserve for the return trip. I have layed down for an hour or so before in order to make it back to the truck.
I will keep doing it until I can't, I have no idea how many more years that will be.

 

[Big Fin]

Question for us "younger" folks that look to you as a role model and person to learn from both mistakes and successes. Do you think if you'd started MTN TOUGH or similar organized workouts any earlier in your life that you would be in a better position physically? IIRC you used to just do big hikes all summer then a couple years back switched over to MTN TOUGH? I'm 38, doing the Exo Experience Challenge and put in for unlimited sheep as more of just a way to dip my toes in and have some measurable goals and a hunt to "prepare" for. Several of my friends in their 30's have done or are doing MTN TOUGH but I think I am similar to how you probably were in your 30's and 40's and pretty much despise gyms and working out so have subscribed to your hikes for the past decade or so. I would rather hike all day in the mountains than spend 30 or 60 minutes in a gym, but I do realize I can't do that everyday so am coming around to the benefits of organized domesticated physical activity in my basement. The step-ups have been an eye opener at how weak my quads seemingly are, curious to see how this translates on the next big hike I do later this month.

I had ACL replacement and meniscus repair at 35 and never felt like I quite got my legs back since then despite regimented PT for 6 months following surgery. My right knee sounds more like crunching a bag of potato chips when I do squats but I have little to no discomfort .

Yes, if I had been diligent about workouts in my younger life, I think I would be in a better position today. Too much sitting over the years results in a core/back that just isn't what it could have been.

I started MTN TOUGH after my arm injury. I needed some help in understanding how I could modify certain exercises. In their assessment or me, it became obvious I had let that injury derail a lot of my normal routine. Honestly, I was in terrible physical shape. Marcus, seeing me struggle in the hunting season of 2023, politely suggesting I talk to the MTN TOUGH folks. He didn't want to come out and say it, but he was seeing my struggles that season.

I still like hiking. Good for my mind and my body. It gives me a different workout than in the gym that I think is helpful, especially for my ankles, knees, feet. I will hike until I can't walk. In the winter hiking comes with more challenges; snow, short days, cold, etc. A gym routine has kept me from falling completely off the wagon in the winter.

I look at some guys I know my age who were diligent about workouts and I see what my sedentary accounting life cost me. At the time, I could justify it as more billable hours, but I wasn't aware at the slow erosion it would have to my total fitness. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish that I had made time for 30-45 minutes of mixed cardio and strength workouts. Life would be easier now.

I also wish I was better about nutrition. I have a sweet tooth problem. I don't drink, smoke, or eat fast food and soda pop. But, my body has an ice cream and chocolate detection system that I've never been able to turn off. I'm 6' 2" and I weigh 210. I'd like to lose 10#, which I will be the end of hunting season. I should probably be 20# lighter. But, I struggle with the sweet stuff, so that might never happen.

We were talking at MTN TOUGH yesterday after the pack workout. If I had gained 1.5# per year while working at the office, that would have been the 45# I carried in that workout. It struck me how much more work it is for the person 30, 40, 50+pounds overweight. If my body had that 45#, I'm not sure I have the mental fortitude to get back on track. I hope I would. 1.5# per year is only 2 oz. per month. Had I been better at nutrition, I suspect this 10# I want to lose would have never been there.

What I notice more than anything at this age is the need for setting my own pace and getting adequate rest. Too fast and I burn out quickly. Up too late and I'm not worth a crap the next day.

Summary to your question - Yes, I think if I had done more than just hiking while being a desk jockey, I think it would have been very beneficial today.

 

[TOGIE]

Question for us "younger" folks that look to you as a role model and person to learn from both mistakes and successes. Do you think if you'd started MTN TOUGH or similar organized workouts any earlier in your life that you would be in a better position physically? IIRC you used to just do big hikes all summer then a couple years back switched over to MTN TOUGH? I'm 38, doing the Exo Experience Challenge and put in for unlimited sheep as more of just a way to dip my toes in and have some measurable goals and a hunt to "prepare" for. Several of my friends in their 30's have done or are doing MTN TOUGH but I think I am similar to how you probably were in your 30's and 40's and pretty much despise gyms and working out so have subscribed to your hikes for the past decade or so. I would rather hike all day in the mountains than spend 30 or 60 minutes in a gym, but I do realize I can't do that everyday so am coming around to the benefits of organized domesticated physical activity in my basement. The step-ups have been an eye opener at how weak my quads seemingly are, curious to see how this translates on the next big hike I do later this month.

I had ACL replacement and meniscus repair at 35 and never felt like I quite got my legs back since then despite regimented PT for 6 months following surgery. My right knee sounds more like crunching a bag of potato chips when I do squats but I have little to no discomfort .

I think you're honing in on the key thing. The trend I see is everyone saying "I despise the gym, I'd rather hike and run everyday" and then they don't ever hike or run. Partly because anyone with a real job can't hike every day, especially when it may take 30-60 minutes to drive to a trailhead worth hiking. And the other thing is double pronged, I find people despise running more than gyms. Then they end up doing nothing. Because they're not serious about it. If you were serious, you'd do whatever you have time and ability to do.

In the end, you gotta find something you can do and WANT to do, everyday.

I've become a gym rat, because that's all I can realistically do every day. And I do it, every day. You begin to become addicted to it.

Now, I'm not weight lifting rat, my personal rule is however much time i have to workout, a minimum 50% of is dedicated fairly high intensity cardio. I usually split that 50% between the stairclimber and treadmill. Then get on to total body lifting. Lots of compound exercises, lots of lower body.

I'm strongly motivated by having a long health span, and an ability enjoy my hobbies late into my life, and most importantly an ability to enjoy doing hobbies with my kids late into life, whatever those are.

Also, everyone talks about fitness while kinda shoving nutrition and sleep under the rug. I'd quite frankly put both nutrition and sleep as more important than fitness if we're purely talking about your health span.

just my two cents. i'm one of the younger guys too.