When is 'old' too old?

[bobbydean]

When the body breaks down. I can ignore the pain. but I cannot ignore the physical restrictions.

Will probably try another year.

New Mexico draws make it difficult!

 

[devon deer]

That's funny JBM, but very true
And like them, i was a flat lander, i thought one of them was going to be a flat liner!
See you in 2016 no doubt, a bit older but still just as keen.

idnative48...great photo!

Cheers

Richard

i bet you have a few good yrs left for chasing elk. i hear that on your last elk hunting trip you out hiked a cpl guys half your age
as long as the feet still work keep putting them 1 in front of the other till you reach the top

 

[Gr8bawana]

I don't think I can put an age on when "too old" is. For me I think it will be when it stops being fun because I am no longer able to climb the mountains and seems like a chore. I will not become a hinderance to my son and hold him back because I can't keep up. At 53 I still have a lot of good years of hunting left.
When it gets to that point I will just hang around camp with a tag in my pocket and do the cooking and other chores so the young guys can put in a full day and come back to a hot meal. My dad hunted with us well into his mid 70's and did just that and also managed to get a nice little buck from camp.
Not to mention I will also guard the beer cooler. http://onyourownadventures.com/hunttalk/attachment.php?attachmentid=50849&stc=1&d=1448147060

 

[devon deer]

I had a first hand insight into Elk hunting when i met up with a Montanan on my most recent hunt, he asked to join us on a day hunt.
The day before i watched him chain sawing logs and throwing them around like they weighed nothing, not a big guy, but a lean mean machine!
We hunted together for a while and then split up to rejoin in another area, not a really strenuous hunt, but not that easy either, when i found him again i could see he was crouched down, i knew he was onto something, a bunch of cow elk not 30 yards from him passed by, then some small, but not legal bulls showed, until he got busted by another cow, he showed me how to do it that day, he is 73 years old and apart from an injury when his Mule threw him down a mountain last year he is probably fitter than me, something for me to aim for in the years to come.

Cheers

Richard

 

[steveo]

I am 67 now and will be 68 when I go to Wyoming in 2017. You wont go as long or as far as the old days but you can still go slowly. My suggestion for you solo guys is to find a younger guy in his 40's to be you partner. They can go harder and carry more so you can still contribute knowledge and equipment.

 

[270elk]

I just finished a grueling Az unit 27 elk hunt. At 66 we hiked 4-6 miles a day mostly up an down. I worked all summer to get in the best shape I could. I do notice that the amount of time it takes to recover is longer in durations. I am planning a Wyoming hunt this fall and will start the workout program in January. I am a big proponent of yoga being part of your work out routine.

 

[troydave]

I will be 67 in just a couple of months. I live and hunt in the Cabinet Mountains. Most people from Montana know there is no easy way to get around in this area. I had a quad bypass when I was 45 and have seven stents put in place in the years since then. Two years ago I killed a Mountain Goat with a bow and just this past week-end I was able to be in on treeing three Mountain Lions in one day. I hunted over 40 days with both archery and rifle this past year. The only time I notice my age is when my mind tells me I am able to do something and half-way through it my body reminds me. My family is more aware of my age than I am. Hopefully I will never tell myself I can't do something because I am to old.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

Your never to old !!!! You go until you can't go !! My dad is 75 and still hunts , he put down a Rosevelt Elk this November! Age is irrelevant, it just depends on each persons body and when it gives out .

 

[windymtnman]

Here's my two cents.....
I retired at 60, moved to the mountains, live at 8600 ft. elevation, and am out being active everyday. I'm 66 yrs. old now.
My favorite activities are hunting, hiking, and packing in with my horses/mule. Just today, my wife and I went out in the backcountry hiking.
I know I'm not 50 anymore, but still have a lot of years left in me, barring unforeseen circumstances. I'm already planning next years Elk hunt, where I plan to pack a camp up high on the mountain. I'll have to bring the pack string out, and hike back in, as there's no decent place to keep the horses up there.
I attribute my status to a little luck perhaps, but also a lifetime of fitness and healthy living. I ran long distance on rolling ground all my life, lifted weights and pretty much just kept in shape. I think that has kept me in both good muscular shape, but also cardiovascular shape too. My biggest concern, is my vision and hearing aren't what I wished they were. Oh well, I'll just need more luck to fill a tag. If I get a Bull, I plan on bringing it out alone. It will be a bit of work, but I'm not at all worried about the task. In fact I'm looking forward to it!

 

[fishing4sanity]

One of the best shirts I've ever bought from RMEF had an elk on the back and around the elk the statement; "you don't stop hunting because you get old, you get old because you stop hunting." Unfortunately, the truth is we will all get to the point when age/health does put an end to the hunts, but until then the hunts will keep some 'living' in our lives.

 

[elkduds]

Seeking hunting immortality? Mentor younger hunters. Back in the day somebody taught the person who taught you. Without the next generation of hunters, the sport will end; the political battle lost due to apathy.

As for me: 58 going on 45, on the good days.

 

[jcneng]

Same thoughts here at 57 and hunting since I was 8. Hunting with some "kids" in their mid 20's has been fun the last couple years. I am slowly losing the fire to get up at O Dark thirty and the cold cuts a little deeper. I am also getting tired of nature hikes, carrying my bow, in September. The archery elk flame is dwindling, the desire to chase fowl is as strong as ever.

 

[sbhooper]

I notice that it is not as much about the ability, as it is about the desire. It gets harder each year to talk myself into another elk hunt. I can still go wherever I want, physically, but give-a-damn is wearing a little thinner all the time. There is still nothing like a successful hunt, though, no matter what the difficulty.

 

[huntin' lunatic]

I read this post and it got me to thinking. In 2014, my son and I went on a rifle drop camp hunt in Colorado. We hunted the San Juan mountains and didn't see a thing. But was one of our best and greatest hunts. Then in March 2015 I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and my life took a detour through MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. It's been quite a ride. All is well now, my son has a good paying job and now we are planning a guided elk hunt in New Mexico or Wyoming in 2017. I'll be 61 then and may not be but a few months from retiring depending on what the sawbones in Houston says. I deer hunt with a couple of buddies here in Texas and I have used Randy's signature line on them a few times. They don't understand. I've seemed to have stolen that line and use it as my battle cry after my cancer. Hope that's okay Randy. Merry Christmas to everyone and cheers in 2017!!

 

[tkelkhunter]

This post really hits home. I am 55 years old. I had Hodgkin's disease at 26. I have hunted hard my whole life and this year I was planning on doing a lot more upland bird hunting and sitting in a blind duck hunting. Then I drew a Spanish Peaks Mt Goat hunt. I lost 40 pounds and spent 17 days scouting for goats. I was in great shape but I cant breathe. The scarring in my lungs prevents me from breathing and as good of shape as I was in I couldn't do the work that the two men with me could. I made it but it sucked knowing I was in better shape but couldn't keep up. I don't plan on quitting any time soon. I'm staying in the gym and just going at my own pace. I am heading to Wyoming Area 7 next year to hunt elk. Every hunt means so much and I have learned to enjoy the whole experience instead of the size of the animal. I use my optics more than I use to but I hope I'm hunting and enjoying this sport till the very end....

 

[Southwind]

My dad is 83 and he can walk most young men into the dirt. Mostly a bird hunter but he refuses to ever block a field and the 10-13 mile days he relishes. In a normal day he will walk 6 mile round trip to work out at the gym and not unusual to log 20 miles. He just keeps moving, he keeps his mind sharp as a voracious reader and writer.
all three of these guys are over 80, dad is far right.

 

[devon deer]

I have just read through the thread again, some great stories, really gets you motivated, you are a tough bunch, and the answer is, it's down to you!
Like somebody said, 'hunt smarter as you get older', that will be me, if all goes well i will be coming back next year, aged 58, provided i draw that is.
I have started to get fit earlier (i'm never really unfit) this time, joined a local running club, and coupled with frequent hunting outings i should be fine next year, all being well.
So as long as my back account lets me, although not a great year this year, bloody Brexit stopped people wanting to go fly fishing, i will keep coming back to the US every couple of years, spending my kids inheritance!
Cheers
Richard

 

[noharleyyet]

66 and 11/12ths ain't it.

 

[IDFireLass]

My dad shot his last elk at 75. He was lucky the bull walked off a hill towards him as my dad was crossing a hay field. The owner came out with the tractor and loaded for him..

I'm 59 and killed my cow the first part of Dec. I think I'm getting in better condition now than in the last 25 years. Living here in the mountains has been the best move my husband and have done in a long time. I plan on hunting as long as I can put one foot in front of the other.

 

[Granby guy]

My dad finally retired from backcountry elk hunting in 2015 at 73 years old. He killed the bull of his dreams that year and after 56 elk seasons he called it quits for the horseback type hunts. He and my mom still go out on their own and hunt cows every year in the lower country and get them home all by themselves which is their mindset of thinking "we can still do it on our own and we don't need help."