There are so many of us who have shared the same story. I think back to the times of hauling in dozens of duck decoys on bitter cold days or turkey hunting on cold rainy mornings and loving the adventures. Today thinking of it, my body screams for Ibuprofen. The body does tell you when to walk away and the heart shows you a new direction. One thing for sure, fishing in the Fall is awesome and beautiful plus the crowds are gone. Good luck as you move forward.

 

There are so many of us who have shared the same story. I think back to the days of hauling in dozens of duck decoys on bitter cold days or turkey hunting on cold rainy mornings and loving the adventures. Today thinking of it, my body screams for Ibuprofen. The body does tell you when to walk away and the heart shows you a new direction. One thing for sure, fishing in the Fall is awesome and beautiful plus the crowds are gone. Good luck as you move forward.

Looking forward to it.
Thanks.

 

My friend and I planned to hunt until were 70, we made it we made until we turned 68. It's been 5 years now and I miss it every year. I don't miss getting up at 4:00 am though. It was a good decision, and it was time. The next chapter of my life brought new adventures. My hunting partner is now my fishing buddy, and we try to get out once a week. Embrace the change and whatever you do, never quit!

 

Cool.
I still wake up at 4 every morning (habit) but I have to, if I want to be awake by sunrise.
😄

 

I quit hunting when I was in my early 20s. There were multiple reasons.

I'm on Medicare now...

Still shoot a bit and fish whenever I can.

 

I will join the band here and sing the same song. My mind told me all along I was invincible and would never stop. Life deals the cards and you play with what your dealt. I have not quit at 70 but I certainly am changing my ways and approach. I will most likely be modifying my efforts again this fall. This summer not only threw me a curve ball but I got smacked hard. A stay in the hospital and a couple days in ICU with breathing trouble, that continues, means a serious adjustment. I have fished more for the last few years and turkeys are about all I hunt now. I will not give up easily and I will do all my old body can until they bury me.

 

God bless you.
Long live the king.
😎

 

Dyed in the wool, waterfowler, here.
For me, it was the culmination of having my Labradors, cross 'the bridge'. Told my wife that I just could not do it again.
There was nothing left of my heart, after 4 Labs lost. been 20 yrs. As I write this, my gaze goes to a photo, of my first Lab, sitting calmly, in the blind, with me. Damn, I miss it so. Yes, I wear my dog heart, on my sleeve. I quit.

 

Dyed in the wool, waterfowler, here.
For me, it was the culmination of having my Labradors, cross 'the bridge'. Told my wife that I just could not do it again.
There was nothing left of my heart, after 4 Labs lost. been 20 yrs. As I write this, my gaze goes to a photo, of my first Lab, sitting calmly, in the blind, with me. Damn, I miss it so. Yes, I wear my dog heart, on my sleeve. I quit.

I understand.
That stings

 

Right there with you. Didn't think I'd ever stop hunting. Here I am, the fire has lowered. I seem to get more enjoyment from watching wildlife than taking them now. Still fishing alot tho.

 

Hunting does get harder as I age. Had to make some changes in tactics. Good luck to you in all your outdoor pursuits!

 

Hunting does get harder as I age. Had to make some changes in tactics.

I hear you.
I was at the point of having to hunt the ground, which is o.k. but not nearly productive enough, in a low deer population area.

 

Same here guys. Limited to hunting from a blind now and just hunting evenings.

 

Any of you old retires got any of them good spots that need hunting?

 

Sure, Sonny. Whatcha willing to pay? Send me lots of money and I'll send you my map of Super Secret Hot Spots.😂😂😂😂

 

I'm 62 but still love to hunt and fish. I still use a climbing stand, but I need a 4 wheeler to help me get deer out now. I'm usually pretty far from the truck and can't drag that far. I definitely feel the older age creeping in!

 

Hunting close enough to the truck is a very real concern anymore.

 

Life is about decisions and so far I havnt had to give anything up.

Well, maybe change how I do hunt

Ladder stands and ground sets

Havnt used a climber in about 10 years

I do miss just taking a shot in the dark to pick the right tree and up i'd go.

Sit for hours on a terrible seat and see nothing but birds or tree rats?

But enjoy getting out!

Most years I have to put life on hold to start late October.
After all the boating and chartering stops.

 

I'll be the first to admit that I miss sunrises and big winds on the lake from my waterfowling days. Nothing like a November sky, a skein of divers or a flock of Mallards busting in over the blocks. I really miss the Spring turkey woods and the shows that unfolded as the day broke. I enjoyed them beyond words as those times were a panacea, a cure all for me. Two new knees, an ailing hip, a couple of industrial accidents that left my back being mean, degenerating discs in my neck and arthritic hands make me realize that I no longer belong in the starting lineup. I no longer trust my legs when wading streams or crossing fallen timber but it is all good. Very good. I still can wade my shoals and flats, still use Nature to heal wounds and still enjoy sunrises and sunsets just like everyone else. The players have changed but the game still remains the same. Life is so good.

 

I will join the band here and sing the same song. My mind told me all along I was invincible and would never stop. Life deals the cards and you play with what your dealt. I have not quit at 70 but I certainly am changing my ways and approach. I will most likely be modifying my efforts again this fall. This summer not only threw me a curve ball but I got smacked hard. A stay in the hospital and a couple days in ICU with breathing trouble, that continues, means a serious adjustment. I have fished more for the last few years and turkeys are about all I hunt now. I will not give up easily and I will do all my old body can until they bury me.

I hear this! Back when I was about 50, I guess, I was at my Mom's doing some work for her and she mentioned that at my age I might think about taking it a little easy. My response was, "Like Hell!" She knew I was an outdoorsy person, and I told her I meant to keep on doing exactly what I had been doing for as long as I could do it. Well, unfortunately that day has come. In April of 2023 I had a heart attack. I guess it wasn't a great big one, but it was big enough to land me in the hospital and have two stents implanted. I feel fine now, but the BP meds that I'm on, plus maybe just being 72 years old, make it impossible for me to fight the cold anymore.

And the fact that I got my cataracts done early in 2022, and my distance vision is now 20/20, I thought I would be a hunting magician! I did get one great year of pheasant hunting out of it. I got to be a pretty good shot once my hunting buddy basically taught me how to shoot. I used to be really bad! He taught me about "cheek weld" and to get my cheek down on the stock. But in the Fall of 2021, my cataracts were so bad I couldn't drive when it was dark, and you had to do that to hunt stockers at my club. There were a lot of early birds, and I'm not talking about the pheasant. Guys would be out there in the pre-dawn darkness posted on the spots they wanted to hunt.

But the Fall of 2022 I could drive at night, and I was pure death on those big pretty birds. I don't think I missed a single bird that season! I do miss hunting.

I'm 62 but still love to hunt and fish. I still use a climbing stand, but I need a 4 wheeler to help me get deer out now. I'm usually pretty far from the truck and can't drag that far. I definitely feel the older age creeping in!

I felt the same way at your age, and it's amazing how quickly it can creep up on you at that time of life. One day you're great, the next day it's "what the heck happened?"

 

I took have been cutting back at 72 I loved waterfowling got to be to much work I miss the calling and decoy strategy to fool mother nature I still deer hunt and turkey hunt Turkey being my fave I and my buddies are not as ANXIOUS to be up and in woods before daylight anymore a little rain or to cold shortens my day I do more camp hot lunches and a snooze and get in the last cpl hrs of the day Ground blinds and tree stands are the norm I now plan ahead to how far up or down my body will last Getting OLD is not for sissies for sure The biggest thing is there no young ones following behind me I still miss rabbitt hunting a lot though one two trips and a couple bunnies for hazenpher for old time sakes Im considdering selling a couple guns also OHHH WOhhe is us🤨😢

 

I gave away much of what I had, to the younger kids who are just getting started.
I felt good about that and got some venison out of the deal to boot.

 

Myself, I'd probably go back to turkey hunting but the farmer whose land that I hunted passed away and at 71 I've no desire to hunt the crowded public lands in NE Ohio or start knocking on doors again. Fake knees make it hard to get up off the ground but to be honest, I found some great peace in just sitting with my back against an old oak. It was so much easier when I could make the birds come to me. I fly fished for a time but again, uncooperative fingers made tying leaders and knots much more difficult.

To be honest, if I'm forced to return to bank fishing for gills and such, just as I did as a youngster, I'll still be more than grateful to be out. Catching and killing were only a part of the sport.

 

Same.

 

I still love to hunt but shoot more with my phone these days. Most of the critters have names now and I find more excuses to have some more coffee and stay on the porch.
I know it’s coming but won’t quit easily.

 

Getting close myself, but not there yet....I have semi easy hunting(harvesting) , and fishing is down south on the salt water(my fishing passion anymore)....thinking 70 might do it....right around the corner, sad as that is ....it's coming

 

I spent 7 years in Vero beach, Florida and it was the best fishing of my life.
I fished every day, except during hurricane Andrew.

 

For me, throughout my hunting life I went through several transitions as a hunter, and my hunting goals changed as I aged.
I lived, ate and breathed bowhunting for deer. Every free moment it seemed was spent in a treestand. As a young hunter, I arrowed ever deer I could legally, buck or doe.
As I further aged, I felt the passion start to dwindle, so I focused on bucks only for a while. Then for the latter part of my hunting life, I hunted what I considered to be trophy bucks only. Sometimes going a season or two without a deer.
Now, at 68, I rarely hunt. I concentrate on fishing. I have some land, and my home is nestled deep in the woods in some great deer country. I now spend my time feeding and enjoy watching the local deer. They get plenty to eat daily, during the cold months.

 

😎 😎 They get plenty to eat daily, during the cold months.
View attachment 559671

This was enjoyable for myself, back when I owned land (also in a deer heavy area) and had the ability.

Nice trophy room you have there. 😎

 

We enjoy watching in the back yard(city deer) and have many visitors getting a snack.... hunt hocking county ,but I'm loosing the passion for it....still like getting my 2 deer for the year mainly for jerky to share ....the freezer gets full from the salt water fish ....around here the bodies of water have change ,when the good fishing is happening I'm fishing south(pan handle, gulf shores al) then plenty other things to do when I get back ....grateful I can still do it at all

 

LOL,,, Same boat here,,, 74. seems like, I hunted every possible day,,,, going back to age 8, when my Dad cut off a maple branch & built me my first slingshot!
I got my first pacemaker back in 1990. I'm on #6 right now & I really hope to outlive the battery on this one!?
None of that ever slowed me down. I Hunted everything, & fished everywhere possible. I snorkeled & fished from NJ, all the way down the coast to Key West. Even dove the Black Sand Beaches of Kona Hawaii.
OMG,,, where has the time gone!?

Then, kinda lately, THINGS started breaking down. 1' of colon gone, cataracts gone,,,,, back to 20/20! then I just blew a retina. TG it wasn't my shooting eye!! Now, I feel like a one-eyed cyclops! NOW It takes 4-5 stabs just to tie on a hook!
I 'useta' run through the woods chasing deer & squirrels,,, now, I gotta walk slowly & perfectly step over every stick.
Getting Old Sucks!

Anymore, I shudder, just at the thought of sitting in a frosted tree stand, waiting for the sun to come up.
Now, if I muster up enough ambition to get out into the woods, the hardest thing I'll do is fill up the corn feeder, & climb up (one step) into my comphy heated deer blind,,, that's where I have a somewhat reclining, swivel, x-tra warm high back armchair seat waiting.
If the deer don't show up,,, I'll just fold down the shooting table & turn it into a bunk, stretch out & take another nap. ;>)

 

Then, kinda lately, THINGS started breaking down. 1' of colon gone, cataracts gone,,,,, back to 20/20! then I just blew a retina. TG it wasn't my shooting eye!! Now, I feel like a one-eyed cyclops! NOW It takes 4-5 stabs just to tie on a hook!
I 'useta' run through the woods chasing deer & squirrels,,, now, I gotta walk slowly & perfectly step over every stick.
Getting Old Sucks!

Getting old ain't for sissies.

 

I took have been cutting back at 72 I loved waterfowling got to be to much work I miss the calling and decoy strategy to fool mother nature I still deer hunt and turkey hunt Turkey being my fave I and my buddies are not as ANXIOUS to be up and in woods before daylight anymore a little rain or to cold shortens my day I do more camp hot lunches and a snooze and get in the last cpl hrs of the day Ground blinds and tree stands are the norm I now plan ahead to how far up or down my body will last Getting OLD is not for sissies for sure The biggest thing is there no young ones following behind me I still miss rabbitt hunting a lot though one two trips and a couple bunnies for hazenpher for old time sakes Im considdering selling a couple guns also OHHH WOhhe is us🤨😢

That's how I broke into hunting, and I miss it too. I and the next door neighbor kid were buds, and his Dad ran Beagles. I'd go with them when they'd take Molly, yes I remember that dog's name 60+ years later, for a run. We'd go to a big field behind a nearby steel fabricating plant that was loaded with bunnies. The bunnies would run into the steel yard behind the plant to take refuge where you couldn't get at them. Eventually, they took her out to hunt, and I asked if I could go along. My friend asked his Dad and his Dad said he was okay with it if my parents were, so I should ask them. A confab was arranged and he told my folks that the first thing he would teach me is fun safety, and only after I passed muster could I go along. So my folks said okay!

LOL,,, Same boat here,,, 74. seems like, I hunted every possible day,,,, going back to age 8, when my Dad cut off a maple branch & built me my first slingshot!
I got my first pacemaker back in 1990. I'm on #6 right now & I really hope to outlive the battery on this one!?
None of that ever slowed me down. I Hunted everything, & fished everywhere possible. I snorkeled & fished from NJ, all the way down the coast to Key West. Even dove the Black Sand Beaches of Kona Hawaii.
OMG,,, where has the time gone!?

Then, kinda lately, THINGS started breaking down. 1' of colon gone, cataracts gone,,,,, back to 20/20! then I just blew a retina. TG it wasn't my shooting eye!! Now, I feel like a one-eyed cyclops! NOW It takes 4-5 stabs just to tie on a hook!
I 'useta' run through the woods chasing deer & squirrels,,, now, I gotta walk slowly & perfectly step over every stick.
Getting Old Sucks!

Anymore, I shudder, just at the thought of sitting in a frosted tree stand, waiting for the sun to come up.
Now, if I muster up enough ambition to get out into the woods, the hardest thing I'll do is fill up the corn feeder, & climb up (one step) into my comphy heated deer blind,,, that's where I have a somewhat reclining, swivel, x-tra warm high back armchair seat waiting.
If the deer don't show up,,, I'll just fold down the shooting table & turn it into a bunk, stretch out & take another nap. ;>)


View attachment 559676

Oh man! That's living! I wouldn't go up in the air anymore either even if I could handle the cold. I was deer hunting with my BIL in SE Ohio years ago, and had put up a hanging stand with a climbing stick. One day we awoke to a "freezing fog"! I get to that stand and the climbing stick and the stand were pure white with hoarfrost! There was no way I was going up that day, I just stood at the base of the tree until it was lunchtime.

And Doboy, sent you another PM.

 

 

If I give up deer hunting, it won't be because of physical issues. It'll be because of lack of opportunity. Moving to NE Ohio set me up for the biggest disappointment in my life. Thousands of acres of public land just getting absolutely pummeled on a yearly basis. The fishing isn't much better save the steelhead runs. I'm kinda stuck, so I just keep on keeping on....

 

My hunting days are over, so are my fishing days. My balance is not what it was. To unstable. To hard to walk on unleval ground. Sold my hunting guns.

 

I can understand that, somewhat.
I used to be so sure footed. Not anymore.
It is off putting, to put it mildly.
Thinking about fishing the rocks this year (steelhead) makes me a bit nervous, in the back of my mind.

 

Understand that. I need something to put my hand on or I feel that I'm going down.

 

YUP!