Please help me understand...

[sharpshooter97]

Makes complete sense to me, he's out there enjoying what he loves to do whatever way he can. I'm sure at his age he could care less about filling a tag he's out there just to be there. There's a lot more to hunting than who can go the farthest for the longest and shoot the biggest buck.

 

[tarheel]

Not me. Gonna drag my ass out for as long as I can. mtmuley

Not me either. My Grandfather killed his last whitetail at 79 and a few minutes later died of a massive coronary. 25 years later my Father killed his last whitetail also at 79 and on 11-22 at the age of 76 I killed a whitey, loaded it onto the tailgate of my truck, skinned, gutted and processed it myself, but I sure had a bitch of a time getting it onto the tailgate. Will be back in the woods Tuesday and Thursday but hopefully my buddy will be there if I get another one.

 

[choc dogs]

When I was about 12 or 13, my brother and I were headed back from a day of hunting and coming down off a ridge in timbered country to the horse trail, we encountered an old man hunting. He was slowly hunting his way up the trail about an hour before evening shooting light.

This old guy was probably in his 70s and was missing his left arm. In his right hand was an old silvered out lever action with iron sights. We talked to him for a couple of minutes about if we had seen anything. When we headed down the trail he was still headed up. He was about 1 & 1/2 miles from the truck.

When we got back to the truck there were a couple of younger guys there who quizzed us about if we had seen this old man somewhere up the trail.
They said he was a father in law to one of them, and they just couldn't keep him close to the truck. They were a little bit worried but said he had always made it back before, so they hoped he would this time.

I was impressed, still am.

I kinda hope this is the way it ends. in 25 years or so

 

[geetar]

I’ll gladly help an older hunter get their deer out of the field. Just glad to see they are getting out of the house and getting in the field. I do understand you question though.

 

[F250]

I am "on call" for several older family friends that are physically unable to take care of a deer if they down one. They simply want to be able to sit on the edge of a field, or maybe get into the woods a short distance. I have had to "respond" for a couple of them.

 

[88man]

I know of two men who were in there late 70's died within seconds of firing their last shot. One dropped a nice Bull in Montana and the other a whitetail doe in Pa. It does happen.

 

[rjthehunter]

I've helped "that guy" before in ND. Older gentleman, still walked pretty good but definitely not in shape to drag a deer. We drove past and saw him out in a field sitting there. Looked through the binos and saw he had a deer. Brought a sled out there and helped him get it into his truck. It was a ND Giant. Biggest buck I've seen in ND. He was so proud. He said he had been watching it for a few days and knew his route everyday and got to his spot before daylight and waited for him. Just like clockwork the buck showed up and this old man shot the biggest deer of his life. I am always more than willing to help another hunter. I can gut a deer faster than anyone I know so 9/10 times I will help whenever the opportunity arises. Helps keep me in shape dragging deer around the woods!

 

[idelkslayer]

This will be me, but the nurse will be younger.

 

[sbhooper]

Not me. Gonna drag my ass out for as long as I can. mtmuley

As soon as you get too broken down, you can come down and hunt with me. We can probably find some under-200 yard freezer fillers, that you can kill with that super whiz bang blaster that you carry.

As to the original post, I get what that guy was doing, but it is indeed a head scratcher. I guess that it is a good thing, that he is trying to stay out there and he is supporting the game department, through permits. There is a limit, though.

The deer skull that I posted here, was from an old buddy that is kind of like that. He knows that he cannot do it by himself. His son hunts with him opening weekend and then has to go home. He cannot go back to his little ranch and hunt by himself, as he cannot get down and up again. He cannot even dress a deer, but really likes to go. I hunt a little bit during the main firearm season, but no big deal. I told him that I will go with him anytime that he wants to go. We both shot bucks and had a glorious time sitting in his permanent blind. It was a ton of fun, but he could not have done it without help. I will continue to help him, as long as he can still go.

I also ran into a guy hunting elk in Wyoming one year, that was not far off that condition. He was moving very slowly up a canyon, using a walking stick. He just went up a ways and sat down. There was always a chance that his son and the others in his group would shove something off the mountain to him. He had limited mobility and limited chances, but he was still out there doing it.

 

[2rocky]

My Dad made an antler plaque from my grandad's last buck and it hangs in my uncle's home and is labelled as such. I'm glad they were able to be there for the hunt, and I remember the occasion was quite celebrated even though at the time we didn't consider it his last buck. Thank goodness for OTC tags, and hunting clubs that can support young kids and elderly hunters with a group of young go getters who will track and drag the bucks out While the Oldest and youngest sit together on a stand...

 

[bushman13]

Similar experience during 4th elk here in CO. I'll preface this with I totally understand the people who say do it until you can't. Been there with my father who was dying of cancer. But there are other implications, like possibly putting other search and rescue type people at risk.

Only 1.5 miles back in and I come across a 78yo guy having a little trouble getting down the trail. We stop and talk for a bit.
He isn't dressed properly, definitely not in hiking shape. He has a foreign carbine with a small bore and a giant square hole in the stock. I'm pretty good at picking out older military type rifles and I haven't a clue what this gun was.
To each his own, but I did start thinking about his safety almost immediately. I would have felt better not leaving him to continue down the trail alone, but I hadn't seen another member of his party since early that morning.

I came accross a gentleman yesterday. Older fella, sitting in his vehicle, looking out accross this "field".
Stopped to chat with him. He was hunting (deer in PA). Had his rifle next to him, magazine on the dashboard.
Claimed he couldn't walk very well. Had a black eye from a tumble on a step earlier in the week.
Claimed he was "good to 300 yards, to the treeline". I ranged it. 518 yards.
Coming back to the parking area 3hr later, he was at the front of his vehicle chatting with some other hunters, leaning heavily on his cane.

While i'm all in for someone to continue what they love, i just couldn't stop wondering...
What the heck he was gonna do if he did shoot a deer?

This is not the first time i've run accross this.

Thankyou for your time!