How old is too old to apply for physical hunts?

[MTGunner]

You all are inspiring to this old man. My health is good. My body is worn out. I wake up in the morning in pain. At least it announces that I am alive. I will continue to hunt, slowly mind you. But my mountain climbing days have come to an end. My mind tells me I’m 60. My body tells me differently. With 79 approaching rapidly I am a realist. My career took a toll on this old man. I would NOT change anything.
To you youngsters I say “go for it”! “This ain’t a dress rehearsal”. I have hunted, loved, raised a great family. Now, I’m just taking it slower. MTG

 

[Southern Elk]

This is something that I think about a lot. I’m in my mid 40s and I want to semi retire at 50, hoping that I have many good years in front of me.

My dad will be 78 this year and he is still in great health. He lives down south, but I have no doubt that he could hunt out West. The problem is I can’t really use him as an example for what I will look like in 30+ years. I take after my mom’s side of the family. They are all taller, bigger/heavier than my dad’s family. I’ve tried to manage my weight, but I still could stand to lose about 20 pounds. I’m afraid that being a big guy will mean I’m not in as good of shape when I’m his age.

I have horses, but I still prefer to hunt without them. I haven’t slowed down any yet. I hope it’s many years before I do.

 

[Zim]

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

In my case, I found individual ailments started popping up at age 55. One being heart failure. This required a pacemaker in 2015, then defibrillator last year. This ended my backpacking days instantly due to shoulder strap pressure over device & wires. But the real game changer was joint damage. I blew out a knee three years ago that likely requires knee replacement. That injury ended 40 years of my gym rat routine. Now it’s just biking & swimming. My fitness level took a big hit. The point is, one injury at any time will likely change everything on a dime. So you should prepare for that.

All my Western hunting draw choices have totally changed due to this. I only apply for senior citizen units now. I’m 66 but my units changed at age 63.