How old is too old to hunt?

[Straight Arrow]

After climbing up over Headquarters Pass down into the North Sun River in the Bob, a fellow in his early seventies rode up to us with a group of dudes and an outfitter. He asked my wife, "How old are you? How old is that old guy ... and how did he get here?" She replied, "Me, early seventies; him, late seventies ... we hiked over the pass." The dude said, "I'm on a bucket list ride into the Bob, but now I have renewed interest in hiking myself into the wilderness!"
Mom, who lived to 101, always said, "Move it ... or lose it!"
Still elk hunting and hiking at 79 this week (albeit somewhat slower than last decade), Straight.

 

[marshman]

My dad called it quits in his late 40’s, but he didn’t have the love for it.

I, personally, would have a hard time coming up with a better way to go out than to take a little nap out hunting that I don’t wake-up from.

Yep, me too.

 

[marshman]

Old is a state of mind if you don't pay any attention to the snap crackle pop your body makes.

Ha Ha got a few of those creaks and pops myself. Shoulder repair, double hip replacement, Lasik surgery and left ankle surgery. Age does not matter. Just keep replacing parts if you can and never stop moving!

 

[steveshuntn1]

There’s a man, Mr. Sanders who hunts the same public as I do and he was doing it 10 years before I was born. He is closing in on 90 now and he still hunts three or four times a a week. He drives the same red 68 Chevy 2wd truck and shoots a 8mm Remington that he reloads his ammo for because he can no longer buy it.
He hunts one of two pipelines sitting on a stool from daylight until 2 pm and he’ll go home if someone is there and just come back the next day. They are easy to get to so that’s why he only hunts there.
If he kills a deer he has a wheelbarrow that he loads them in and pushes them out. It takes him hours to do it. He only shoots bucks, but size doesn’t matter.
He says he’ll hunt until he can no longer get the deer in his wheelbarrow and push them out.
I gave Mr. Sanders my number and told him to call anytime…we’d get his deer out if he can’t.
I hope to hunt as long as Mr. Sanders has.

 

[devon deer]

I'm so pleased my non hunting wife isn't a member on here!
(so says a 63 year old member)

 

[Dave N]

62 here and I can say that due to the situation I have here plus tearing up my other knee that my hunting days are over. I'll keep getting a hunting license for small game and doves but no more deer or anything big.

 

[noharleyyet]

After climbing up over Headquarters Pass down into the North Sun River in the Bob, a fellow in his early seventies rode up to us with a group of dudes and an outfitter. He asked my wife, "How old are you? How old is that old guy ... and how did he get here?" She replied, "Me, early seventies; him, late seventies ... we hiked over the pass." The dude said, "I'm on a bucket list ride into the Bob, but now I have renewed interest in hiking myself into the wilderness!"
Mom, who lived to 101, always said, "Move it ... or lose it!"
Still elk hunting and hiking at 79 this week (albeit somewhat slower than last decade), Straight.

View attachment 305802

When I grow up I wanna be like ^^^this guy...

 

[Irrelevant]

When I grow up I wanna be like ^^^this guy...

You and me both.

 

[fmnjr]

Be willing to bet in hunter gatherer societies the aging hunter kept on going until they just plain fell out. If the aging ones were lucky enough to get old pretty sure they wouldn’t give it up. Kinda goes hand in hand with the warrior way. Never say die.

 

[Straight Arrow]

When I grow up I wanna be like ^^^this guy...

'Careful what you wish for. I can't hear, can't remember what day it is ... but I can hike and hunt like hell!

 

[mdcrossbow]

My Grandfathers response to every question He was cherokee and I respond in like

"I ain't dead yet ! "

 

[35Remington]

I'll be 68 next month and have hunting partners who are 53 and 51. I don't try to keep up with them. I just hunt the same general area and look for flat ground and stumps. I generally go from dawn to noon or 1 pm. 5 or 6 hours, and then I'm ready for camp. I'll keep going on until it's not fun.

 

[Flintlock hunter]

I've had two heart valve replacements, on my third pacemaker, have congestive heart failure, and enough trouble breathing that I have disability permits to "use a vehicle as a blind".
I use an ATV to get to my stand, and a Warn winch to load up my deer on the front rack.
I'm 72 and shot my deer last Saturday.

I LOVE deer hunting.

 

[MoeMiguelouch]

When my age was between 80 and 83 i killed a half dozen Cape Buffalo and large assortment of plains game. Now i am 85 and during the past year had a few health issues. Think i will hang up hunting the desire not what it used to be..

I have really enjoyed your posts over the years, especially on David E Petzal's F&S blog. Your advice was golden and I have followed many of your recommendations, including making a list at the end of a hunt to include what you used and what you would want for the next hunt. Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

[Redmt]

I'm 72 and try to get out every day. Whether it's just plinking ground squirrels, actually hunting for piggies or deer in season. I lost my hunting buddy 6 months ago the day before he was leaving for an elk hunt at age 86.

 

[Tradewind]

Life, like every battle, is won in the will.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

Figure my last hunts will be Arizona doves in December. Hope to do that in my 90's.

 

[Ben Long]

My dad is 90. He hunted every morning of the 2023 Idaho elk season on his farm (on foot). Then the day after the season closed he broke his hip changing a tire. And he has healed up pretty good so I'm not surprised if he's out there again come October. Even if not, that's a high mark to aim for.

 

[Dubz337]

I think the general guideline is half your age plus seven.

 

[2rocky]

When my dad turned 80 he quit "Running the Brush" on the Deer Drives. It still pains him to sit on a stand, so I'm not surprised when he ends up a half mile from where got dropped off, as he takes an easy run along the edge of the brush at the edge of a canyon.

He still takes his pointer out for bird hunts at the bird clubs, but many of his hunting buddies are losing mobility so his hunting companion pool is shrinking. This year he "didn't want to deal with the BS" of setting up the out of state bird hunt so it didn't happen since no one else wanted to either. I just remember the young guys were out walking the old guys so there was not a straight line in the fields.