# For you hunters 55 and older



## Milkman

Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.

I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together. 

I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.


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## Nicodemus

I will hunt and fish till I die, and preferably that will be in a favorite swamp with my single shot rifle in hand.


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## gregj

I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.


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## Milkman

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.



An atv will help you then.


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## shdw633

Like many I'm sure, I hope my final day is in the stand.  Hopefully the stand that is the farthest back in the woods and in a box blind because I want my hunting buddies to have a great story about what a nightmare it was to get me out of the woods!!!


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## Atlanta Dawg

*Great Idea !*



Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> 
> If this should come to fruition-there should be some sort of sign on process in which anyone that wants to be on it has to somehow declare their birthdate-so that the forum could not be hijacked so easily. I am on a couple sites that have 60 and older-there is no restricted access-but with technology being what it can be-Why not ??


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## doenightmare

I don't quite qualify to post in this thread so I won't.


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## Tideup

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.



I'm 57 and having foot surgery 8/17 to fuse bones in my foot. I will be in a walking boot opening day of gun season, but i will be there if I have to put a ground blind around my Mule.....already ordered on that it will fit in.

I ain't quitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## riprap

Not 55 but I do and have hunted with plenty that are. Hunting is lower on the priority list. When I was younger the roads on Friday night and camps were full of deer hunters especially on opening gun day and doe days. Now days it doesn't take much of excuse to keep people home. I think the womenz have more of a say so than they use to.


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## 01Foreman400

I feel discriminated against........


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## Dirtroad Johnson

01Foreman400 said:


> I feel discriminated against........



Naw, you just lucky.


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## Thunder Head

I used to hunt next door to a guy who is in a wheel chair. He had a rig built so he could get out of the chair and on his 4 wheeler. He had 3 sided blinds built so he could just pull his atv in there and hunt. He killed some nice deer and turkeys like that.

If theres a will there way !!!!


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## Gbr5pb

If we give up hunting what would we do?


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## 01Foreman400

Dirtroad Johnson said:


> Naw, you just lucky.



That's a good way to put it I suppose.


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## GeorgeShu

Just turned 70 and still looking forward to hunting this fall. I walk a little slower and appreciate shooting rails on my ladders. Used to hunt alone a lot but now prefer to have someone else in the woods with me. Don't even consider not hunting......  But don't shoot as much as I used to, lots more watching than shooting, just as enjoyable.


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## GT-40 GUY

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.



I use my Honda 300 ATV.

gt40


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## kmckinnie

I don't feel 55. I sometimes walk a mile in and out. Lots of times its hundreds of yards. 1/4 mile or more. I don't feel like walking the mile. . 
If u see me running & I'm in the woods.... Look behind me and you will see a warden.


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## fishtail

Alright GT. 
Even though you old and decrepit, lassoing still ain't legal


55 this season, thankfully I joined a club my 8 year old grandson and his father are in so they can help the "old man" along.
Did get a compliment though from my grandson. 
He said I was the only man over 50 something he knows that still had all his hair and teeth.


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## biker13

65 and still get out.Its Ladders now and not as long in the stand.Guess I will keep on keeping on til I'm done.Going for an alligator next wed on Seminole.


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## Nicodemus

Since I can`t walk mile after mile like I used too, this electric buggy is worth its weight in gold to me.


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## joedublin

I am 82, a cancer and heartfailure survivor, and I'll be chasing deer in SW GA this season, just like the years before, until my Father and my God calls me home. That's the way I want to live and the way I want to go home. I'd love to go hunting with Nic just once before I do go home.


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## six

Grew up with a little wild child no fear mentality and have paid the price.   I'm 56 and have been pretty much rebuilt.  Four shoulder surgeries, three elbow surgeries, two hand surgeries, two knee surgeries and one ankle surgery and consider myself extremely lucky compared to some.  .  I survived the first 56 years and gained some wisdumb along the way.  So I figure I'm good for at least another 56 years now.


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## robert carter

I`m 55 and can`t imagine not hunting. I hunt mostly public land all with a tradbow. I never drag a deer or hog. It gets boned out and in the back pack where it falls. My average kill is probably a mile from the truck. Deer and pigs together usually around a dozen a year. Thank you Lord for not only the health but Will to get it done.


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## 280bst

Just turned 67 still going checking camera's scouting and such get a kick listening to younger folks they seem to over think everything as far as quitting well hunting and gardening is what keeps me going. As far as feeling 67 I don't know never been 67 before Good Luck to All this season


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## Triple C

Just turned 60.  Best thing us over 50 guys can do is stay active.  Get in the gym and do strength training and heavy cardio.  Or, at the least, walk a few miles every day.  Read the book, "Younger Next Year" bout 4 years ago and made a huge lifestyle change regarding nutrition and exercise.  Pay no attention to my home made biscuit n gravy pics from the farm.  Just the occasional indulgence...


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## shdw633

01Foreman400 said:


> I feel discriminated against........



You'll get here quicker than you think, trust me on that!!


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## shdw633

joedublin said:


> I am 82, a cancer and heartfailure survivor, and I'll be chasing deer in SW GA this season, just like the years before, until my Father and my God calls me home. That's the way I want to live and the way I want to go home. I'd love to go hunting with Nic just once before I do go home.



Go get em Joe!!!!  Hope you bust a monster this year!!!


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## Deerhead

When I was a teenager... we had a retired principal.  He always said he wanted to dye in the woods while hunting with his dogs.  Well guess what... he got his wish and his dogs never left his side.


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## dixiecutter

might lay up in a pontoon boat when (if) the late years comes and take it slow. dont know yet. depends on what my wife wants to do and if she's still good looking


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## fflintlock

I'm only 59 and do pretty dang well in the woods thank you...
Actually, I'm not at all gunho and real serious about it like I use to be. I still want to go and i still hit the woods as often as possible. I take great leisure in a quite stroll through the woods. I quit hunt'n trophies a long time ago. I just love being out there. I still get my deer, I just tend to do more small game hunting now a days. I feel its more relaxing, for me any way. Plus it gives me more time with my grandsons in the woods. You'd be surprised how much a young child can learn about life in general, just by strolling through the woods. 
I actually believe some folks just grow weary of all the hype associated with hunting in the 21st century. Perhaps they forgot about what its  really all about. It is definitely crazier out there today, that's for sure. But, I believe I'll hunt till i keel over dead. I just have too much fun out there to just give it up.


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## Dirtroad Johnson

Triple C said:


> Just turned 60.  Best thing us over 50 guys can do is stay active.  Get in the gym and do strength training and heavy cardio.  Or, at the least, walk a few miles every day.  Read the book, "Younger Next Year" bout 4 years ago and made a huge lifestyle change regarding nutrition and exercise.  Pay no attention to my home made biscuit n gravy pics from the farm.  Just the occasional indulgence...



You are right, them biscuits & gravy show look tasty too.


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## swamp hunter

If you see some Drag Marks on the trail...that's me crawling back into the swamp on my final hunt...


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## Bucky T

I sure hope I'm not considering myself old at 55..

Now...  If I'm lucky enough to make it to 85, I might consider it. Lol


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## shdw633

Bucky T said:


> I sure hope I'm not considering myself old at 55..
> 
> Now...  If I'm lucky enough to make it to 85, I might consider it. Lol



Your brain never considers you to be old at any age.....it's the rest of your body that will consider itself old!!!


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## TJay

I'm 62 and still looking forward to going hunting every season.  My priorities have changed somewhat but I'm still hunting and climbing like always.  I agree with what was said about staying active and finding an exercise program you can live with.  And most importantly, I still love fresh venison!


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## bilgerat

I just turned 58 and I haven't slowed down either, if anything I ramped it up in the last few years, as I get older I have found that I have more time and $ to spend perusing my passion for deer hunting. I take it more seriously lately and get to travel more to different states and a trip to Canada each year. Just hope My health permits me to continue for many more years.


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## oppthepop

Just hit 60 - will stop when my family puts me in the ground. Thankful to have a son to hang the lock ons though! Still do most anything I have always done. I pray for the Good Lord's blessings on my health so I can continue what I love and do it with my children and grand children. And can I say that "Beast 48's" and John Deere makes it much more doable!


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## JohnK

I'm 66 and still going by myself ok. We have a couple of guys that run a generator all night for their cpap and stay hooked to oxygen bottles most of the day but morning and afternoon they still go to the stand.....get some deer too.


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## KyDawg

I am 70 and know there are things that I can not do that I did even 10 years ago. As long as I stay within my limits I do fine. Just every once and a while, I forget how old my body is and overdo it. I usually pay for it the next day. These hills up here have gotten  a lot steeper than they use to be.


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## Crakajak

The older I get,(57) the more I enjoy a quiet ride to the deer woods in my truck,a slow wake up rollcall in the a.m. and fine dining at the deer camp.Not to mention indoor plumbing.


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## MYRX

If it is your passion, I think you find a way. Some years back, I shot an 8 pointer 17 days after having a stent. Cardio doctor could not believe I went hunting. Two years ago, the year I turned 60, I took my largest buck ever, (16 pointer) the week before Christmas.  This year, I entering bow season with a fractured wrist.  True, physical impairments can slow you down, but as long as you keep your passion, you will find a way to continue.  Now I just do things smarter too.


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## Beagler282

01Foreman400 said:


> I feel discriminated against........



You can start a forum for us "Young lives matter"


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## Stroker

Turned 65 this year, still going strong, and hunt/fish 90% of the time by myself. 50% of the time I climb 30+ feet. I don't own a 4 wheeler, I walk in and out. I don't drag them out anymore, now I use a heavy duty large tire hand truck with ratchet straps to take the load off my old legs and back. My only concern is dying on the ground where the coyotes can get to me, hope they leave enough for ashes so family and friends can throw me a kegger wake.


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## livetohunt

55 is still young..I'm 48 and hunt as hard as I ever did in younger days. I can,t imagine that will change at 55 unless a health issue occurs. Staying in shape is the key.


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## JustUs4All

Health is the key, gentlemen.  I will be 69 mid season this year and was going pretty strong until a quad by-pass 5 years ago then 2 years ago an accident required a shoulder replacement.  The by-pass let me up easy but the shoulder has really slowed me down and is still painful.  Thankfully I have a neighbor who is younger and loves to hunt.  He helps with stands and some work around the place bus most importantly he keeps after me to get after em.  
Without the encouragement it would probably be easier to talk about it than to do it.


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## Heavy Chevy

I am 61 and don't get around like I use to went squirrel huntin yesterday .Just being in the woods and raising up my old Remington model 550-1 rifle and looking thru the scope is better medicine than anything the DR. can prescribe.I ain't  quittin!!!!


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## swamp hunter

It ain't old age that's gonna kill me...It's the dang Lease payments and such...


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## AliBubba

Age is about mind over matter, if you don't mind it doesn't matter...


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## 35 Whelen

62, hunt OTG, public land, walk well over a mile in, hunt all day, still drag deer out myself, and hunt quite often by myself.  Not planning on quitting any time soon!


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## Twiggbuster

Just turned 57 and still excited about bow season.
Just love the woods. Keep telling my wife going to do it long as I can. Got to do it for my sanity in this crazy world .
My biggest regret - taking up turkey late. Might be my favorite.
Might.


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## BowanaLee

Hey, old lives matter too. I'll turn 61 Sept 14th. I get bow season for my birthday. As long as the big guy allows me to climb around on houses, reckon I can climb trees too ? 
I figure on carrying my back pack full of camera gear and climber every afternoon ?  I'll see if I can get another year out of him ?  The way this country's headed it looks kinda doubtful ?


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## Bubba_1122

I'm 60. Have a few health issues, but haven't really let that stop me from being in the woods. 

I don't go quite as deep into the woods. as I used to I'm not quite as mad as I used to be at the deer (but I'll still generally shoot one or two every year). Will probably retire the Summit this year (just cause hurt myself climbing a tree using it last year). But I'll still be out there, primarily shooting a bow (yep - it's on 60 lbs instead of 70 but will still sling em). And I'll confess, I'm a sissy, because I have a Yamaha Rhino and will drive that into the woods to load up a deer (ratchet straps are my friend). 

I have 5 grandkids. My hope and desire is that I'll be able to share my love of the outdoors with them, and that maybe when they get older they'll carry ol Papa to the woods with em from time to time.

My greatest love is ducks and turkey hunting. Didn't hunt ducks as much last year because of outside obligations, but man I love it. Turkey hunting has become an affliction. Like a little kid on Christmas eve when turkey season comes in.


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## Gun Guru

I'm 73 and still go. My wife tells people that I don't hunt but I just like to sit in the woods. Probably a lot of truth in that. I love going to the camp but could care less if I get a deer. A hog or coyote is a different matter.


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## spurrs and racks

*well,*

I can see myself scaling back the deer hunting it's just not as fun for me as it once was and my house is full of trophy deer mounts. My wife said after last season I cannot mount another deer head.

But, I will turkey hunt all the days of my life. And when the day comes that I cannot I hope all of my grand children are grown and all of my affairs are in order. 

s&r


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## Hooty Hoot

Legs, knees and hips are bothering me now so I am not as mobile as I once was. This has cut down some of my enjoyment but hasn't destroyed it. Can't invest the shoe leather on a place like I once did. Woods time is still my best therapy and I'll go as long as I still can.


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## gregj

Used to hunt in Michigan's U.P.  in the 80's,.   One of my cousins hunting partners was in his mid eighties and he 
didn't come back form hunting in the evening.  Guys found him dead from natural causes in his ground blind and a nice 8 point buck about
40 yards out  laying dead too.  He died doing what he enjoyed most.   I wouldn't mind going that way either.


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## Milkman

gregj said:


> Used to hunt in Michigan's U.P.  in the 80's,.   One of my cousins hunting partners was in his mid eighties and he
> didn't come back form hunting in the evening.  Guys found him dead from natural causes in his ground blind and a nice 8 point buck about
> 40 yards out  laying dead too.  He died doing what he enjoyed most.   I wouldn't mind going that way either.



What a way to go. If we could all be that lucky.


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## Jeff Phillips

I have told my kids that I plan to die in my climber!

Don't worry about lowering me, if I'm dead just cut the strap. Probably be easier to get me out if I was field dressed...


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## Nicodemus

gregj said:


> Used to hunt in Michigan's U.P.  in the 80's,.   One of my cousins hunting partners was in his mid eighties and he
> didn't come back form hunting in the evening.  Guys found him dead from natural causes in his ground blind and a nice 8 point buck about
> 40 yards out  laying dead too.  He died doing what he enjoyed most.   I wouldn't mind going that way either.





Milkman said:


> What a way to go. If we could all be that lucky.




Indeed.


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## formula1

*re:*

56 here.  I still hunt but not as much and just happy to fill my freezer so a nice fat doe will suffice.  I have shot some really nice bucks over the years so I pretty much feel I've been successful at it.  Still have a son I take with me so he can enjoy it too and that makes it more worthwhile.

I really cannot thank the Lord enough for His blessing of time spent in the woods.  I will do those things in some capacity as long as He wills.


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## Red dirt clod

*Just taught grandson how*

To shoot a BB gun a couple weekends ago. When he hit the jug for the 1st time the look on his face was pure joy to see. Nope ain't stopping.


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## pop pop jones

Well, I'm 63. My son in law, his brother, a friend of theirs and myself hunted the BFGrant hunt last year. Set my stand
the afternoon before the first day. Saturday morning as I was climbing up, my right lung collapsed. I set there, hoping to get a shot, till they called me in. 1 and a half hours later, SIL came and helped me out. I stayed in camp another day before my wife and son drove down after me. I had surgery 2 days later. We've just put in for the hunt again. I'll be in a ground blind this year. I thought I was finished, who knows, may be this year. Good luck guys.


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## 95g atl

I use to think 55 was ANCIENT.....

Even though I still have a ways to go, when I stop and think about it, darn, it's not that far off.

Can't stop the clock.


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## Nicodemus

The years, they go by fast, and every year, they speed up. Live each day to the fullest, and don`t just exist, LIVE, and live well.

Be thankful for each and every day.


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## ReelAffair

Well, next week I'd be able to post in the 55 and older forum.


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## RossVegas

I'm only 49, but I have arthritis. Long walks, especially on hilly terrain about kill me. I've been on a lease the last several years, using an atv. I'm back to public land this year.  It'll probably limit what I can do, but I'll ne out there every chance I get.


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## Dusty Roads

*Forever Vigilant!*



Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.


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## rjseniorpro

*still kicking, just not as high*

I'm 68 and still love the Deer woods, just in a different way. I haven't killed a Deer in 5 years, just let them walk and enjoy the memories. Enjoy the camping, cooking, napping, stories, cameras, UTV, camp fires, and time with the wife. If I saw a big Buck, I would probably just take a picture of him, but don't let a hog or cote come my way.....I've had the same small tract leased for 37 years and my Dad and two brothers have passed, but the memories are still alive and I cherish them.


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## 95g atl

Nicodemus said:


> The years, they go by fast, and every year, they speed up. Live each day to the fullest, and don`t just exist, LIVE, and live well.
> 
> Be thankful for each and every day.



You are so correct, sir.  I realize that more and more as each passing day goes by!  Funny, as a young man this wasn't even on my mind.  Now at 42, I think about it often.  Hopefully God will keep me on this earth long enough to raise my son, get him off to a good start when he is an adult, and I will be able to see my grandchildren.

With that said, I gave up my corporate career and that lifestyle to spend more time with my son and actually enjoy life.  The 60+ hour weeks AND huge income just is not worth it in my opinion.  I watched my father do it and he worked until he was unable due to cancer.  I don't believe he enjoyed life to its fullest.

If y'all don't mind a pre-55 guy lurking here, I'd like to hang around.


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## BowArrow

From my avatar, you can see I started young. I am 78 and had two cancers and heart attach. Started bowhunting in 1966 and am full time bow. I hunt by myself except for going to Ossabaw with my friend who is 81. I have taken up summer time hog hunting at Fort Stewart where I camp by myself. Planted a food plot this week and put up stands. Hunt six different properties and have stands up on most. Had special utility trailer made to carry all of my hunting and camping gear. Can stay for days and take a shower ever day with a pressurized water system on my 4.5 x 7 trailer. I know it is not a good idea to hunt or fish by yourself but I am not going to sit home and look at four walls.


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## 95g atl

BowArrow said:


> I have taken up summer time hog hunting at Fort Stewart where I camp by myself. Planted a food plot this week and put up stands. Hunt six different properties and have stands up on most. Had special utility trailer made to carry all of my hunting and camping gear. Can stay for days and take a shower ever day with a pressurized water system on my 4.5 x 7 trailer. I know it is not a good idea to hunt or fish by yourself but I am not going to sit home and look at four walls.



PM me if you want a buddy to hunt hog in Fort Stewart every so often.  I've been meaning to get down there to register weapons and pay the fee.  I would use a firearm, VS bow, however......


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## HighCotton

GeorgeShu said:


> Just turned 70 and still looking forward to hunting this fall. I walk a little slower and appreciate shooting rails on my ladders. Used to hunt alone a lot but now prefer to have someone else in the woods with me. Don't even consider not hunting......  But don't shoot as much as I used to, lots more watching than shooting, just as enjoyable.



Glad to see you are still kicking George.  Hope all is well with you.  I'll continue to hunt as long as I can and as long as it's enjoyable.  So far, I haven't slowed down much but I do sometimes prefer afternoon hunts rather than morning hunts these days.


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## Bodine

64 this season, as soon as it turns cool I'll be walking the woods again. Walking the woods and interpreting sign is what I love.
No need to be in a hurry, no need for a motor driven vehicle.
For the last 15 years I have shared my knowledge with the children in our group, placing climbers for them and showing and telling them why they are setting up where they are.
Some of these children now have children, and I will be working with them too.
We have killed some nice ones together and they get to pull the trigger.


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## old florida gator

I have had three surguries , this year and turned 71 since last season i still get out and walk ride my fixed bike and am looking foward to another hunting sason, will keep hunting as long as i am able. God willing and the creek don't rise.


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## Milkman

old florida gator said:


> God willing and the creek don't rise.



Glad to hear the surgery didnt stop you. Go ahead and make a foot log crossing in advance of the creeks rise


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## DLH_Woodstock

gregj said:


> Used to hunt in Michigan's U.P.  in the 80's,.   One of my cousins hunting partners was in his mid eighties and he
> didn't come back form hunting in the evening.  Guys found him dead from natural causes in his ground blind and a nice 8 point buck about
> 40 yards out  laying dead too.  He died doing what he enjoyed most.   I wouldn't mind going that way either.



AMEN to this and the angles say


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## Dirtroad Johnson

Back in 61 or 62 my dad & 3 friends went out of town deer huntin' down around Brunswick or maybe Homerville. My dad & 2 of his friends were in their 30's & Mr. Fletcher was a lot older (senior citizen) & when they arrived where they were gonna hunt, they suggested to pair off so someone would know the general area that the other would be but Mr. Fletcher told my Dad & the others No that he knew these woods like the back of his hand. When he didn't show back up to the truck on time, they got really concerned when the minutes turned into hours & they had blew the truck horn, hollered, the 3 of them stomped - yelled all thru the woods without finding him. I remember standing by my mama when my Dad had called on the phone & said he was afraid something bad was wrong & they had notified authorities. They had folks on foot, horses & a helicopter searching. He was found the next morning by someone on foot sitting down leaning against a tree with his legs crossed & gun across his lap. He had died of a heart attack. We lived about half mile from Mr. Fletcher & my dad farmed his land on halves. All 4 are no longer with us. I woulda been 6 or 7.


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## kmckinnie

Thanks for sharing that story. The man had a way of living & a great hunt that morning before the clock ran out of time.


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## elfiii

shdw633 said:


> Like many I'm sure, I hope my final day is in the stand.  Hopefully the stand that is the farthest back in the woods and in a box blind because I want my hunting buddies to have a great story about what a nightmare it was to get me out of the woods!!!



Me too!


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## Nicodemus

Dirtroad Johnson said:


> Back in 61 or 62 my dad & 3 friends went out of town deer huntin' down around Brunswick or maybe Homerville. My dad & 2 of his friends were in their 30's & Mr. Fletcher was a lot older (senior citizen) & when they arrived where they were gonna hunt, they suggested to pair off so someone would know the general area that the other would be but Mr. Fletcher told my Dad & the others No that he knew these woods like the back of his hand. When he didn't show back up to the truck on time, they got really concerned when the minutes turned into hours & they had blew the truck horn, hollered, the 3 of them stomped - yelled all thru the woods without finding him. I remember standing by my mama when my Dad had called on the phone & said he was afraid something bad was wrong & they had notified authorities. They had folks on foot, horses & a helicopter searching. He was found the next morning by someone on foot sitting down leaning against a tree with his legs crossed & gun across his lap. He had died of a heart attack. We lived about half mile from Mr. Fletcher & my dad farmed his land on halves. All 4 are no longer with us. I woulda been 6 or 7.





No words needed.


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## Jim Boyd

I will be 60 in January. 

I am at a loss to explain how 6 decades went past. 

There are not near enough memories yet, I have not told all my friends often enough how much I care for them and I have not yet fully shown my bride how wonderful she is. 

I still have more work to do. 

Hunting.... well, that is basically icing on the cake. 

Our SC rut is in late October and I will be trying to get an arrow through one - and then 10 days later will head to Illinois for almost two weeks. 

I am slower and more deliberate than before - and the shoulder issues (and a good case of fear of standing up in a deer stand) have chased the compound and replaced it with a crossbow - and I would say that being on a long leash at home and the fact that I CAN still hunt have put me in the same league as Lou Gehrig.... one of the luckiest men alive. 

I thank God and my wife for all of these things. 

Best of luck to all.


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## model88_308

Me, I still wonder how I lived thru my misspent youth, never mind a career in the military that took me off this wonderful nation's soil for 8 years of my life. Thank you God for leading me home alive and kicking.

I missed a lot of time (years) of hunting to my service, but now feel it's made me more appreciative to the time I've had since.

I enjoy all my hunts now, but the ones most special to me are the ones I plan to share on the Wounded Warrior hunts I now sponsor. I guess I could spend the $$ on another Alaska hunt, but it makes me feel better using it on a hunt & gift to a Wounded Warrior and sharing that hunt with him.

Color me old, that's fine. Color me old fashioned, that's fine as well. But please also color me as someone smiling as a WW takes his new rifle in hand for the first time because there ain't nothin like that.

Yup, I'm old, but I dare you to tell me your thrills hunting are bigger than mine.


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## dixiecutter

^thank you for your service.


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## Randy

I will hunt as long as I can.  But getting old sucks.  I used to wake up feeling like a million dollars.  Now I wake up feeling like a bounced check.


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## Lindseys Grandpa

I am 60, still love to hunt,fish and play golf. If i die doing any of three i will be lucky. I don't go as far back in woods as i used to, don't climb as high as i used to, never climb w/o a safety strap. Try to kill my meat deer where i can get a 4 wheeler close. Went thru the if its brown its down stage, became a trophy hunter but have outgrew that and now i am a meat hunter.  My favorite ways of fishing are anchoring and sitting or drifting taking it easy.


----------



## HunterK

56 and have no plans to give it up anytime soon, only health issue I have are my knees, they get sore from time to time but I still play ball and spend as much time as I can in the woods.........My signature on my posts is what keeps me in the woods. Told my wife, when I die cremate me and scatter me at deer camp, wherever that may be.


----------



## Triple C

Randy said:


> I will hunt as long as I can.  But getting old sucks.  I used to wake up feeling like a million dollars.  Now I wake up feeling like a bounced check.



Too funny!!!


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.


I've already given my wife instructions for when I get to the point that I can no longer go to the woods on my own power. She is to take a pillow and a blanket and a snack or two with something to drink, take me out deep into the deer woods and let me get comfy up against a tree and let nature take it's course from there. 

A nursing home just ain't the way I want to roll. They'll spend all of their time runnin me down or strapping me to my bed, cause I ain't gonna stay in no old folks prison if I can help it.


----------



## Bucky T

Miguel Cervantes said:


> I've already given my wife instructions for when I get to the point that I can no longer go to the woods on my own power. She is to take a pillow and a blanket and a snack or two with something to drink, take me out deep into the deer woods and let me get comfy up against a tree and let nature take it's course from there.
> 
> A nursing home just ain't the way I want to roll. They'll spend all of their time runnin me down or strapping me to my bed, cause I ain't gonna stay in no old folks prison if I can help it.



You might have some old widows trying to sneak into your room every night too....  I've heard some stories about those places..


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Bucky T said:


> You might have some old widows trying to sneak into your room every night too....  I've heard some stories about those places..



Don't say that too loudly or Quack might have himself committed early.


----------



## Nicodemus

Miguel Cervantes said:


> I've already given my wife instructions for when I get to the point that I can no longer go to the woods on my own power. She is to take a pillow and a blanket and a snack or two with something to drink, take me out deep into the deer woods and let me get comfy up against a tree and let nature take it's course from there.
> 
> A nursing home just ain't the way I want to roll. They'll spend all of their time runnin me down or strapping me to my bed, cause I ain't gonna stay in no old folks prison if I can help it.





As God is my witness, I will never set foot in a nursing home. I`ve already got two trees picked out. A big cypress here in the Kinchafoonee swamp close to the house where I hunt, and a huge water oak in the Seminole swamp down at the cabin where I also hunt. 

I just got to decide which place....


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> As God is my witness, I will never set foot in a nursing home. I`ve already got two trees picked out. A big cypress here in the Kinchafoonee swamp close to the house where I hunt, and a huge water oak in the Seminole swamp down at the cabin where I also hunt.
> 
> I just got to decide which place....



Well, until that day comes we need to have an "Old Codgers Gathering".........

Still don't know why we can't have an Old Codgers sub-forum. Band anyone under 55 that posts in it.


----------



## MudDucker

I want to be reaching down to retrieve a down bird and suddenly realize I am in heaven!


----------



## Milkman

This old codger rode a tractor all day planting food plots by myself
Don't need those wet behind the ears whippersnappers


----------



## Killdee

Don't look like we need a sub forum, this joint is slap full of oldies but goodies. Maybe a whippersnapper sub for the know it alls....


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Killdee said:


> Don't look like we need a sub forum, this joint is slap full of oldies but goodies. Maybe a whippersnapper sub for the know it alls....



We already have several of those. Just take a gander in the Religious / Atheist debate sub-forums.


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> This old codger rode a tractor all day planting food plots by myself
> Don't need those wet behind the ears whippersnappers



This morning my bones and muscles are telling me I should have had help yesterday


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> This morning my bones and muscles are telling me I should have had help yesterday



Next time holla. We're practically neighbors. No need in you hogging all of the pain.


----------



## NE GA Pappy

my back has been bothering me for a couple weeks now, but I did manage to plow about 16 food plots over the past couple weeks, and work over 90 hours at work too.  Today I am taking my son to his 2nd mountain bike race. He placed 20th in his first one, out of somewhere around 100 riders.  Hope he has a good race tomorrow. He enjoys the bike riding, but has already told me we have to make sure the smokepole is ready and sighted in for next weekend.  lol   I love to spend time with my kids in the woods. It doesn't matter if it is camping, fishing, hunting, or just walking around.  Glad they enjoy it too.  Dylan is already planning our Thanksgiving sqwerl hunt at my dads with his cousins too.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

NE GA Pappy said:


> my back has been bothering me for a couple weeks now, but I did manage to plow about 16 food plots over the past couple weeks, and work over 90 hours at work too.  Today I am taking my son to his 2nd mountain bike race. He placed 20th in his first one, out of somewhere around 100 riders.  Hope he has a good race tomorrow. He enjoys the bike riding, but has already told me we have to make sure the smokepole is ready and sighted in for next weekend.  lol   I love to spend time with my kids in the woods. It doesn't matter if it is camping, fishing, hunting, or just walking around.  Glad they enjoy it too.  Dylan is already planning our Thanksgiving sqwerl hunt at my dads with his cousins too.



You could invite Debs!!! Supposedly he is the self proclaimed squirrel killin guru of Georgia.


----------



## NE GA Pappy

these are not union sqwerls


----------



## TimBray

Nicodemus said:


> The years, they go by fast, and every year, they speed up. Live each day to the fullest, and don`t just exist, LIVE, and live well.
> 
> Be thankful for each and every day.



Well said, Nic.  

62 in February- disc surgery in neck in '08, both knees replaced in '10, L. shoulder replaced in '12. Move slower than I used to and hurt more the next day. Praying the Good Lord will leave me enough time to get my 3 y.o. grandson into the woods before he calls me home. Like most on here, when that time comes, I hope it's in the woods or wettin' a hook.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Next time holla. We're practically neighbors. No need in you hogging all of the pain.



I appreciate the offer.  But I was way down in the southern edge of Putnam near lake Sinclair.


----------



## WNewman

I'm 53, but my Father in law is 84 this year.  He's been claiming that every year is his last for at least 10 years.   We started building box stands for him a while ago and he doesn't use the high ones anymore but he still hunts Muzzy and Firearms season.

He loves the woods and we think wouldn't last long without being able to look forward to going out there.    I tried hunting because his wife and daughter (my wife) didn't want him driving down there by himself anymore about 6-7 years ago. (His brother lives down there, he wasn't hunting alone).   I've come to love it as well.  (Which apparently surprised the heck out of most of the family!)  

As you guys know, we both feel there is just something about sitting in the stand as the forest starts waking up that is just God inspired.


----------



## deerstand

best story i ever read was about an old timer that didnt return from a deer hunt, his wife sent their son in law to check on him... he found him in his favorite stand ...passed away....when the son in law started down the stand,, out in front of the stand, was a huge 10 pointer ( cant remember exactly) ... theory is when he shot the buck of his life, he got so excited he had a heart attack.... what a way to go...


----------



## releehweoj

Soon to be 58 - been hunting off and on for nearly 50 years now.  My son showing interest at age 11 got me going again and except for a 4 year period while he was away at college I've been hunting steady ever since.  Both children are married now and my first grandchild showed up in August.  Hoping for more in the near future.  Can't wait to start a new generation off loving the outdoors.  I'm fortunate enough to hunt with some great like-minded guys who all really enjoy each other's company.  A couple of the oldest guys just come to camp to hang out and rarely go into the woods.  I'm not there yet - still enjoy the hunt but I also enjoy just watching and hearing the woods wake up in the mornings.  I'll put down a fat doe for eatin' but I'm very selective when it comes to shooting a buck and most of my fellow club members operate the same way.  As far as my health, I have a couple of issues and I don't have the strength and stamina I once had - have learned to work around them and to work smarter.  I'm newly retired and put a lot of time in on our lease because I enjoy doing it.  I plant and manage all the food plots for my club and I swear, I enjoy that process as much (or maybe more) as the hunting.  I plan to keep moving as long as the Good Lord allows me to and when it's time to check out I hope I'm in the woods.


----------



## BriarPatch99

I'll be 61 just about the time the rut starts up good here in my area, that is when I spend the most time in the stand. My knees are wore out from all the years walking a mail route and they limit my climbing somewhat...   

I had to give up bow hunting due injuries  to a shoulder, that to me was some good time in the woods except for the heat and skeeters! 

I have never been a very good hunter... but I do love to roam the woods and enjoy nature... hope to get to enjoy it for a while longer ! 

I spend about as much time reloading, shooting and getting "ready" to go hunting as I do hunting ... I count it all as enjoying myself ....

Count me in on the subforum for the older folks ... I'd enjoy a old folks gathering if within a reasonable drive .... I'd like to be able to put some faces to some names ....


----------



## joedublin

Hey, guys, how about us 80 year olds and older...a lot of us are still hunting and have a lot of years of experience...and a few more years to go   !!!


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

BriarPatch99 said:


> I'll be 61 just about the time the rut starts up good here in my area, that is when I spend the most time in the stand. My knees are wore out from all the years walking a mail route and they limit my climbing somewhat...
> 
> I had to give up bow hunting due injuries  to a shoulder, that to me was some good time in the woods except for the heat and skeeters!
> 
> I have never been a very good hunter... but I do love to roam the woods and enjoy nature... hope to get to enjoy it for a while longer !
> 
> I spend about as much time reloading, shooting and getting "ready" to go hunting as I do hunting ... I count it all as enjoying myself ....
> 
> Count me in on the subforum for the older folks ... I'd enjoy a old folks gathering if within a reasonable drive .... I'd like to be able to put some faces to some names ....



Got a Dutch Oven Cookoff gathering this January up in Cleveland. Most of us that cook in Dutch Ovens are old geezers.  Just check out the gathering forum.


----------



## BriarPatch99

D.O.C.  ....  Thanks ...  I'll check that out ....


----------



## Forest Grump

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.





Nicodemus said:


> I will hunt and fish till I die, and preferably that will be in a favorite swamp with my single shot rifle in hand.



I would be honored to attend the service, & will attend if invited unless I precede you...



I don't see the advantage in either growing old or dying, & refuse to do so; but I applaud your sacrifice & will miss you both


----------



## lagrangedave

Well dang, good thread. Hugh I would be honored to attend. Probably need to do some curing. Your son's Raleigh Tabor knife still rides in the tool box of my 4 wheeler.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

lagrangedave said:


> Well dang, good thread. Hugh I would be honored to attend. Probably need to do some curing. Your son's Raleigh Tabor knife still rides in the tool box of my 4 wheeler.



He'll be glad to get that one back. Dang young whippersnappers would lose their head if it wasn't attached.


----------



## SakoL61R

56 this season and thanking the Lord for my good health and blessings present and past.  As far as my love of hunting, I believe I will probably pass away "in the stand".

Daddy is 86 and got a knee replacement several weeks ago.  He recently said he'd be ready to hunt in December.  

Acorn don't fall too far from the tree......

Count me in for the Old Codger forum.


----------



## Milkman

I have it on pretty good authority that Administrators can go behind the secret curtain and create new sub-forums. 

We could do kinda like write  your congressman I suppose

Dear Admin,

I am an old codger and we want our own sub-forum to hangout in without any drivel from young whippersnappers. We promise to always be good and never tell lies about things like this one time at deer camp...................

Sincerely,
Decrepit Old Member


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> I have it on pretty good authority that Administrators can go behind the secret curtain and create new sub-forums.
> 
> We could do kinda like write  your congressman I suppose
> 
> Dear Admin,
> 
> I am an old codger and we want our own sub-forum to hangout in without any drivel from young whippersnappers. We promise to always be good and never tell lies about things like this one time at deer camp...................
> 
> Sincerely,
> Decrepit Old Member



Maybe it's a server space issue. They could wipe out the spiritual debate forums and the duck hunting forums and make room for the old codgers forum.


----------



## Crakajak

You can rest when you dead.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Maybe it's a server space issue. They could wipe out the spiritual debate forums and the duck hunting forums and make room for the old codgers forum.



OHHHH no, I aint gonna go there.... NO WAY 

That unused swap and sell section down the page could be remodeled into something useful.


----------



## Crakajak

Milkman said:


> OHHHH no, I aint gonna go there.... NO WAY
> 
> That unused swap and sell section down the page could be remodeled into something useful.



 limit thread starts per member per day.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> OHHHH no, I aint gonna go there.... NO WAY
> 
> That unused swap and sell section down the page could be remodeled into something useful.



But you'll go there..... 
I'll buy you breakfast at the Pot Luck for that one!
Just name the day.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I have it on pretty good authority that Administrators can go behind the secret curtain and create new sub-forums.
> 
> We could do kinda like write  your congressman I suppose
> 
> Dear Admin,
> 
> I am an old codger and we want our own sub-forum to hangout in without any drivel from young whippersnappers. We promise to always be good and never tell lies about things like this one time at deer camp...................
> 
> Sincerely,
> Decrepit Old Member




How do you recommend we keep the "underage" members out? Ban them as they post?


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> How do you recommend we keep the "underage" members out? Ban them as they post?



That would be a good start, or charge them for admission into the sub-forum.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> How do you recommend we keep the "underage" members out? Ban them as they post?




I like the way you think !!!


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I like the way you think !!!





You ready for me to remove "retired" from your banner, and highlight you in BOLD letters again?


----------



## Atlanta Dawg

*Well...*



Nicodemus said:


> How do you recommend we keep the "underage" members out? Ban them as they post?



I think it would be relatively simple-have each forum member provide a date of birth-(some would of course lie in the initial development so they could access such a board) but thru attrition it would mostly straighten itself out).  

Once the dates of birth were entered into the system the system could be programmed to allow access to only those who's birth dates fall into the acceptable range.

Once an "under aged person) turns 55-they can be invited to join the over 55 Forum automatically.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> You ready for me to remove "retired" from your banner, and highlight you in BOLD letters again?


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


>





One mash of the right button.


----------



## swamp hunter

It's not like milkman went anywhere ..He's still here..floatin along with no responsibility's..
Might as well hire him back on...


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> One mash of the right button.



I triple dog dare you.


----------



## Milkman

swamp hunter said:


> It's not like milkman went anywhere ..He's still here..floatin along with no responsibility's..
> Might as well hire him back on...



But these last 3 years of not being a mod have started me on recovery from the 12 years of being one.   If I were to go back in I may not survive another enlistment.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> But these last 3 years of not being a mod have started me on recovery from the 12 years of being one.   If I were to go back in I may not survive another enlistment.





I have 10 years as a Mod-Admin now, myself. 

One day I will log off and disappear from here forever. But, I have a few things yet to accomplish first.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> I have 10 years as a Mod-Admin now, myself.
> 
> One day I will log off and disappear from here forever. But, I have a few things yet to accomplish first.


----------



## Milkman

We musta had some thread killers come by here


----------



## cathooker

I am 65 years old...I am a little.. ok a LOT slower than I used to be. I have been deer hunting since I was 11 years old. I have only missed two deer seasons since then...one I was in the Army in Vietnam and the other I was in Korea. Last year on October 5th I had lower spine surgery. I had to miss opening day but by November 5th my best friend got me out and a deer hunting I went...oooohhh my wife was livid but I went from then until then end of the season. Now my back is better and I am hunting wide open again. I pray that I will be able to hunt right up to my dieing day....


----------



## frankwright

I will be 70 in November and thank the Good Lord I am still going strong. I have no health issues, never been in the hospital and never had surgery.
I could lose a few pounds but I stay active shooting action pistol games with a lot younger fellows and walking and running several mornings a week and I have an Elliptical machine when I don't want to go out.
I still get fired up about deer and pig hunting, turkey hunting and fishing but I just do it more relaxed. I hunt all day if I want but if I don't I hunt half a day and head for the Air Conditioning.
I like hearing from the older experienced hunters and the things you have gone through give me hope to keep on going but seriously my Wife and I think the thing that keeps us going strong is we hang out with much younger people and share their excitement in the things they do and in turn it makes us think we are young too.


----------



## jinx0760

*56*

To put a spin on a line from Forrest Gump,

Frisky is what frisky does..

Keep moving
Keep hunting
You don't have to kill, to be successful
Let your excitement light the hunting fires of a kid!


----------



## Spotlite

Nicodemus said:


> Since I can`t walk mile after mile like I used too, this electric buggy is worth its weight in gold to me.



I see you backed up and ran all into a deer with that buggy..............................

I like the electric ones for the woods. So much less noise


----------



## KyDawg

I am 70 and my biggest problem is my knees. I can not climb a tree anymore, but have done okay hunting from the ground. Think I do a better job watching the wind and picking the right place to hunt.


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> I have it on pretty good authority that Administrators can go behind the secret curtain and create new sub-forums.
> 
> We could do kinda like write  your congressman I suppose
> 
> Dear Admin,
> 
> I am an old codger and we want our own sub-forum to hangout in without any drivel from young whippersnappers. We promise to always be good and never tell lies about things like this one time at deer camp...................
> 
> Sincerely,
> Decrepit Old Member



Bump


----------



## lagrangedave

ttt


----------



## kmckinnie

Still looking


----------



## Big7

shdw633 said:


> Like many I'm sure, I hope my final day is in the stand.  Hopefully the stand that is the farthest back in the woods and in a box blind because I want my hunting buddies to have a great story about what a nightmare it was to get me out of the woods!!!



That really happened to me!

Friend of mine died 2000 in a tree! He was eat up with diabetes and stopped for a while.

He was giving things away. Guess he knew his time had run.

He killed a deer while in the stand and had a heart attack.
I was a county away so before I got there some of our other friends had got him down and called the law.

We found the deer and everyone said he had "buck fever".

Been a few years since he hunted.

He was only 39 years old and one of my best friends..

R.I.P. Jeff Hogan, Rockdale County , Georgia!


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I have it on pretty good authority that Administrators can go behind the secret curtain and create new sub-forums.
> 
> We could do kinda like write  your congressman I suppose
> 
> Dear Admin,
> 
> I am an old codger and we want our own sub-forum to hangout in without any drivel from young whippersnappers. We promise to always be good and never tell lies about things like this one time at deer camp...................
> 
> Sincerely,
> Decrepit Old Member





Milkman said:


> Bump





Under two (2) conditions. You come back as a Moderator, and look after that particular subforum, and also take back over the On Topic Forum. 

Agreed?   



Regards,

An even older, ornery, Administrator


----------



## kmckinnie

Lols. 

Now that's a bargain at any price !
Mr. Nic came thru.


----------



## Capt Quirk

I only have a couple years before I can genuinely post in this thread... you have been warned in advance


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> Under two (2) conditions. You come back as a Moderator, and look after that particular subforum, and also take back over the On Topic Forum.
> 
> Agreed?
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> An even older, ornery, Administrator


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


>





That ain`t much of an answer.     I figure you can do better`n that.


----------



## Nugefan

Nicodemus said:


> That ain`t much of an answer.     I figure you can do better`n that.



just mash the button Nic ....


----------



## biker13

Do it Do it Do it


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> Under two (2) conditions. You come back as a Moderator, and look after that particular subforum, and also take back over the On Topic Forum.
> 
> Agreed?
> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
> An even older, ornery, Administrator





Milkman said:


>





Nicodemus said:


> That ain`t much of an answer.     I figure you can do better`n that.



I suppose the same generous benefits package I had in the past is being offered?


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I suppose the same generous benefits package I had in the past is being offered?




Yep. For sure and for certain.

Say when....


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> Yep. For sure and for certain.
> 
> Say when....



You gonna put him over the Waterfowlers ain't you?


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> You gonna put him over the Waterfowlers ain't you?



Nah,,,,,,,,,, I think they want to keep that subforum


----------



## dslc6487

I am 71 years old and have loved hunting all my life.  God blessed me with good parents that taught me right from wrong, sometimes at the end of a hickory stick.  I hunted with my father, who taught me the valuable lessons of hunting:  gun safety, respect for God's creatures and animals and that I should never kill any animal except for food, or, in some cases, maybe self defense.  He also taught me to treasure the beauty of this earth that God has given us to enjoy.  Some of my closest moments with my Creator have been when I have been in the woods either by myself, or, following one of the many faithful feist squirrel dogs that I have loved down through the years.  I will hunt until I am not able to hunt any more, either physically or mentally.  And, when that time comes, I will probably step off into the woods and go hunting one more time.  And I think that God will understand


----------



## saltysenior

they have a youth hunt, why not a senior hunt ????   People over 70 who probably paid for licenses most their lives, but now are at a disadvantage..


----------



## 7Mag Hunter

dslc6487 said:


> I am 71 years old and have loved hunting all my life.  God blessed me with good parents that taught me right from wrong, sometimes at the end of a hickory stick.  I hunted with my father, who taught me the valuable lessons of hunting:  gun safety, respect for God's creatures and animals and that I should never kill any animal except for food, or, in some cases, maybe self defense.  He also taught me to treasure the beauty of this earth that God has given us to enjoy.  Some of my closest moments with my Creator have been when I have been in the woods either by myself, or, following one of the many faithful feist squirrel dogs that I have loved down through the years.  I will hunt until I am not able to hunt any more, either physically or mentally.  And, when that time comes, I will probably step off into the woods and go hunting one more time.  And I think that God will understand




Well said...


----------



## limestone

Come March, I will be 73 . My health is still good. I hunt most of time alone. If my time comes when I am in the woods, whats wrong with that. Before I raise my rifle now I do consider the drag out. Most of the time I don't do it.


----------



## SCPO

I am 75 and my hunt buddy of 35 years died Oct 20 last year. He was 75. We had applied for Quota hunt at Joe Kurz for Oct. 19/20/21. Oct 21 first day of gun season. We hunted Thur. and Friday morning. He had to go home at lunch to take care and feed wife who was down in her back. Talked Friday at 11 did a fist bump and left. Got a call at 2pm that he had passed away. I didn't hunt much this season. I'm changing my hunting. Instead of hunting from climber which I prefer to ladder stands for safety. Just not same camping and hunting by yourself.


----------



## Luckybuck

79 but lost vision in right eye due to macular degeneration.  Cannot use scope or any optics to see.  Bummer.


----------



## Jack Ryan

You young guys have sure got a lot of nice plans, LOL.

63 in about a week. I had my snowshoes on today just for fun. Walked a couple laps around my place and up and down the paths I have to use most. Then shoveled the snow off the bridge in the driveway. It was still about zero by the time breakfast was ready.


----------



## Milkman

Good to see more old codgers chiming in


----------



## Howard Parker

63 and planning my next DIY elk hunt. I hope to hunt forever!


----------



## limestone

The older you get the more you realize the killing is not at the top of the list.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

limestone said:


> The older you get the more you realize the killing is not at the top of the list.


----------



## Dan DeBord

Killed my first buck standing in the AT 1971. near bird gap. STILL chasing high ridge bucks. Be 65 Jan 26.


----------



## westcobbdog

doenightmare said:


> I don't quite qualify to post in this thread so I won't.



you there now sucka........


----------



## Bkeepr

I am 58.  I had the joint at the base of my right big toe replaced in May and again in June.  I went hunting, my foot was so swollen I wore men's rubber boots.  I used a walking stick and just took my time...didn't get nuthin but I had fun anyway.


----------



## MYRX

Waiting to see how this turns out as I am turning 64 myself this year. I think I hunt more now than I ever have. (no not retired yet either).


----------



## Jim Boyd

Below is my post, from this same thread - in August of 2016. 

18 months later, I find myself at 61 and love my wife and my life more now than then. 

SC is still strong and added 62 more acres in Illinois. 

My wish is that all of us - young and old - can love each other and love life. I do see a lot of haters on GON, though....



From Aug 2016:

I will be 60 in January. 

I am at a loss to explain how 6 decades went past. 

There are not near enough memories yet, I have not told all my friends often enough how much I care for them and I have not yet fully shown my bride how wonderful she is. 

I still have more work to do. 

Hunting.... well, that is basically icing on the cake. 

Our SC rut is in late October and I will be trying to get an arrow through one - and then 10 days later will head to Illinois for almost two weeks. 

I am slower and more deliberate than before - and the shoulder issues (and a good case of fear of standing up in a deer stand) have chased the compound and replaced it with a crossbow - and I would say that being on a long leash at home and the fact that I CAN still hunt have put me in the same league as Lou Gehrig.... one of the luckiest men alive. 

I thank God and my wife for all of these things. 

Best of luck to all.


----------



## garveywallbanger

The one thing that will put us old codgers out of the game is our eyesight...when that goes dim that will wrap it up for good. Im 57 and some days i see well in the woods...other days i get eye strain or just plain old dont see well. Im still whackin plenty of deer but poor eyesight would be a showstopper.


----------



## LHefner17

please make it 50 and older please please please, i would much rather hang out with you guys than the others. i remember chasing my dad down the driveway crying wanting to go hunting with him and his brothers. years later he told me he done it on purpose so when the time come for me to go i wouldn't miss it for the world and now im 50 and havent missed a season in 40 years. i plan on not missing a season till my time on this earth is done. i treasure the memories of going with my dad and his brothers and friends and listening to the stories around camp and learning to be a true hunter and outdoors man, I thank god everyday for my dad and hero for teaching me not only how to hunt and fish but how to be a man. so if you would be so kind to allow a 50 year old to join in i would be very grateful.


----------



## oldfella1962

shdw633 said:


> Like many I'm sure, I hope my final day is in the stand.  Hopefully the stand that is the farthest back in the woods and in a box blind because I want my hunting buddies to have a great story about what a nightmare it was to get me out of the woods!!!


----------



## oldfella1962

kmckinnie said:


> I don't feel 55. I sometimes walk a mile in and out. Lots of times its hundreds of yards. 1/4 mile or more. I don't feel like walking the mile. .
> If u see me running & I'm in the woods.... Look behind me and you will see a warden.



I'm 55 and have no problem with long walks in & out - unless it's early season and scent control is an issue. My general philosophy regarding physical activity is if you are able to exercise (no training limitations) then by golly exercise! The worst thing you can do to your body is to not use it. Your body is designed to be pushed much further than most of us think it can be pushed. More injuries are caused by inactivity than by consistent, common sense exercise.


----------



## oldfella1962

fflintlock said:


> I'm only 59 and do pretty dang well in the woods thank you...
> Actually, I'm not at all gunho and real serious about it like I use to be. I still want to go and i still hit the woods as often as possible. I take great leisure in a quite stroll through the woods. I quit hunt'n trophies a long time ago. I just love being out there. I still get my deer, I just tend to do more small game hunting now a days. I feel its more relaxing, for me any way. Plus it gives me more time with my grandsons in the woods. You'd be surprised how much a young child can learn about life in general, just by strolling through the woods.
> I actually believe some folks just grow weary of all the hype associated with hunting in the 21st century. Perhaps they forgot about what its  really all about. It is definitely crazier out there today, that's for sure. But, I believe I'll hunt till i keel over dead. I just have too much fun out there to just give it up.



What America needs is more grandfathers like you out in the woods/on the water with their grandkids.


----------



## oppthepop

I'll be turning 62 soon - still hanging off of lock-ons 30 feet up in Illinois. Hunting shooting houses in GA and AL and ground blinds in OH when I'm blessed enough to be able to go. Cataract surgery in both eyes is wonderful, but macular degeneration is taking a toll on the late evening hunts - but I'll go as long as the Good Lord will let me.


----------



## Confederate_Jay

Nicodemus said:


> Since I can`t walk mile after mile like I used too, this electric buggy is worth its weight in gold to me.



I'm a couple years shy of 55 yet, but my electric buggy is priceless to me when I comes to hunting chores.


----------



## Nicodemus

When I was 54 years old I could still put on a set of hooks and climb a 90 foot power pole to work it, climb a 185 foot steel tower and energize on half million volts and work in the middle of the summer in a barehand outfit, run like a striped ape, and jump a 4 foot hogwire fence with a big watermelon under my arm while never missing a stride. 

Now, I can`t hardly climb a stepladder and couldn`t run if my life depended on it, arthritis so bad I cant hardly close my hand to make a fist. Getting old and wore out is tough. I can still sharpen a knife and squeeze a trigger though.


----------



## Hooty Hoot

I will be 64 this year. I don't walk logs and I don't jump ditches anymore. This year, I had no issues and did pretty well all season. But in the past, various ailments slowed me down and limited my mobility. Injuries seem to linger and old injuries revisit but right now I have no complaints. I hope that I feel this good come turkey season.


----------



## Triple C

Confederate_Jay said:


> I'm a couple years shy of 55 yet, but my electric buggy is priceless to me when I comes to hunting chores.



Luv my electric buggy.  Turn 62 this year.  Hit the gym as often as I can.  But don't jump ditches or fences anymore.  Don't kill near as much anymore.  Can't get enough of sitting in a stand with grandkids.  Every season in life has its benefits.  Every decade of life has been my best.  Expecting the 60s to be the same...best decade yet!


----------



## Milkman

I spent all day yesterday working on a couple of ladder stands. Deer season will be here before you know it. 

I bet no young whippersnappers were doing this.


----------



## 35 Whelen

64 this year, thankful that I can still hunt public land on the ground and walk in just as far as ever and still drag out my own deer.


----------



## Rich Kaminski

I will be 66 this year and I plan on hunting into my 80's.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Turning 60 in July got my first grandson living with me. Hope to see him hunting in a few years. 9 months old and loves being outside


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## oldfella1962

95g atl said:


> I use to think 55 was ANCIENT.....
> 
> Even though I still have a ways to go, when I stop and think about it, darn, it's not that far off.
> 
> Can't stop the clock.



yep I turn 56 in a couple of months - more days behind me than in front of me most likely, but I'm not going out without a fight!  And if I had a time machine my 55 year old self can still whip the dog squeezings out of my 18 year old self!


----------



## kingfish

57 this year.  Hitting it just as hard as ever both in the woods and on the water.  The drive is still there but I found myself really enjoying the outdoors more than ever, just not so serious.  I also find that when I scout, I see more than ever because I have slowed down a little.  Also find that I'm a little more careful as far as the risks go.


----------



## Nicodemus

The older I get the more I hunt and fish. Hunted at least 80 days this past gun season.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Nicodemus said:


> The older I get the more I hunt and fish. Hunted at least 80 days this past gun season.



No you didn't. You went picture takin and toted a gun just in case.


----------



## elfiii

I turned 66 last November. If I can breathe I'm going deer hunting. If I can't breathe and I'm dead, somebody take me deer hunting.


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## Nicodemus

Miguel Cervantes said:


> No you didn't. You went picture takin and toted a gun just in case.





For sure! For the first time in 51 years I didn`t kill a deer at all. But I passed up more than most see in a lifetime, and I had myself more fun that I deserve.  And my Lady killed a whopper of a 10 point.  

I can`t wait till next year. Our woods should be full of sho-nuff big bucks.


----------



## Browning Slayer

Nicodemus said:


> I can`t wait till next year. Our woods should be full of sho-nuff big bucks.



You still won't shoot... Getting soft Nic!


----------



## Son

Almost finished the season without one of the bucks i was holding out for. And he was the smallest of the group i was hoping to pick from. Held out for a huge piebald, and a very nice 11 point with split G2's, and a few more nice racks. We've been trying to get this old 7 out since the 15/16 season. He messed up and came to rattling on Jan 13th. I took a couple nice does early season because we like venison, and our does needs thinning a bit each year. Our club did manage to take out three old bucks we wanted out. Few members got nice bucks, heaviest buck was killed by an 8 year old boy. 228 pounds i believe i remember. Was an old heavy six point. Still hunting, i will be 76 in March.


----------



## lagrangedave

Nice deer................


----------



## turkeykirk

elfiii said:


> I turned 66 last November. If I can breathe I'm going deer hunting. If I can't breathe and I'm dead, somebody take me deer hunting.



They can take you out and prop you up in a tree stand with your gun. Probably be the time a world record buck steps out because he knows he’s safe !


----------



## Milkman

Two folks posting up in here that can turn this thread into an old folks subform............... just saying


----------



## old florida gator

73 and and still hard at it. GOOD LORD WILLING AND THE CREEK DON'T RISE I'LL BE BACK NEXT SEASON.


----------



## oldfella1962

kingfish said:


> 57 this year.  Hitting it just as hard as ever both in the woods and on the water.  The drive is still there but I found myself really enjoying the outdoors more than ever, just not so serious.  I also find that when I scout, I see more than ever because I have slowed down a little.  Also find that I'm a little more careful as far as the risks go.



that's important - we don't heal up as fast as we age so it pays to be a little more careful. I nicked my finger on a broad-head in October and I thought it was never going to stop bleeding. Thank goodness I carry duct tape in my rucksack! I think I'll start packing a first-aid kit too.


----------



## doublebarrel

I am 76 and had open heart surgery Nov 2016.I still enjoy hunting and walking in woods but it does not take as much for me these days. BB


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> Two folks posting up in here that can turn this thread into an old folks subform............... just saying



Still old and still hunting.

 Spent the cool hours of 5 days recently working on stands and shooting lanes and such.  After midnight tonight deer season starts next month


----------



## Crakajak

oldfella1962 said:


> that's important - we don't heal up as fast as we age so it pays to be a little more careful. I nicked my finger on a broad-head in October and I thought it was never going to stop bleeding. Thank goodness I carry duct tape in my rucksack! I think I'll start packing a first-aid kit too.


You can get septic(sp?) powder at the barber shop or beauty supply.Stops the bleeding quickly. I usually poke my finger with my knife sometime while gutting ,skinning or cutting up a deer.


----------



## JustUs4All

When you get old maybe you will learn not to poke your finger with your knife.


----------



## Permitchaser

I'm 70 will be competing in a sprint triathlon on Saturday so I'm not thinking  yet about not hunting or fishing or playing golf


----------



## Wayne Dang Davis

Im 4 months shy of 55 but I havnt changed  a thing as of yet. Im sure Ill slow down a bit in time but for now Ill continue to ware out boots


----------



## elfiii

I'm 67 in November and I'm still hard charging in the woods. It's just slower hard charging now.


----------



## Wayne Dang Davis

November here I'll hit 55


----------



## jbogg

I will join the 55 and over club in September.  When I can no longer carry a deer/hog/bear out of the woods I will hunt turkeys.  When I can no longer climb that ridge after Ole Tom I will learn to Trout fish those mountains. And when I am to old to trout fish...Lord take me home.


----------



## Keith Karr

I just turned 61 July 3rd and pretty much do anything I want.....but some days after I do I’m so sore I can hardly walk. Lol

Plan to retire next July. ?


----------



## DeweyDuck

I finally made it to 80 last Thanksgiving;thought it would take a looott longer. I killed my 1st deer at Cedar Creek in 1963. I had an old Savage 300 pump that came from Alaska and I only had 4 bullets with me. Didn't have a clue how to hunt deer; been hard at it ever since. A good trip in those days was if you just saw a deer on the road to camp. Had a few issues in the last 5 years; shot in the back by my legally blind brother in law 5 years ago, 2 new knees, 2 new eyes (cataract surgeries) 2 new hearing aids, and 2 new arteries to my heart this last January, But now I'm in the best shape I've been in the last 10 years so this year will be a goodun. I shot a little 8 pointer last year at 390 yards and I'm gonna get a 500 yarder this year with my new handloads. I shot a 5/8" group at 200 yards with my 7 MM mag so I have good odds to make it happen. Gotta leave my grandsons with a legacy.


----------



## Wide Earp

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.


nah I'm gonna get something to ride!


----------



## DeweyDuck

Permitchaser said:


> I'm 70 will be competing in a sprint triathlon on Saturday so I'm not thinking  yet about not hunting or fishing or playing golf


Good on you sir. After my 5 years of trials and tribulations, my goal was to run-----25 yards! Hehe Did that 2 weeks ago in a footrace with my 5 year old grandaughter.


----------



## MYRX

64 this year. In a new club, have been scouting and erecting stands since January. Still have the urge to be in the woods and enjoy what the creator provided. I am more tender hearted now, and much more selective on what I harvest. No deer taken last year for the first time since I started hunting. I still have that strong desire to get the heck out of bed at 4:30AM and get going, LOL


----------



## Crakajak

JustUs4All said:


> When you get old maybe you will learn not to poke your finger with your knife.



What my eyes see and my hand does are not always at the same place at the same time.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> Two folks posting up in here that can turn this thread into an old folks subform............... just saying




Are you willing to come back as a Moderator and take care of an Old Folks Subforum?


----------



## Meriwether Mike

Turning 59 next month. I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was!!


----------



## Hooty Hoot

You would think that it would require less moderation. Then again, it might require more.


----------



## Kaisrus6

Turned 55 earlier this spring, but my focus this year and for the next several years, Lord willing, will be on my 81 yr old Dad.  He recently had a heart valve replaced, a pacemaker/defibrillator installed, both knees replaced and his left hip replaced.  Still has the fire to hunt and wants to shoot one more deer with his old Model 71 Winchester he's had since he was 12 years old.  My goal is to make that happen.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> Are you willing to come back as a Moderator and take care of an Old Folks Subforum?



Maybe in 21 months and 10 days if it doesn’t conflict with full time hunting, fishing, and membership in the local Hardee,s breakfast club. ?


----------



## Smokepoler

58 yrs old.Been deer hunting since 15 yrs old and  killed my biggest buck ever last Dec 9th,in Georgia and in the snow! (avatar).Have raised one Grandson up hunting who is gone off to college now and have a 5 year old will take out for the first time ever this year. Still loving it!


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> Maybe in 21 months and 10 days if it doesn’t conflict with full time hunting, fishing, and membership in the local Hardee,s breakfast club. ?


I was gonna say why not the local "Pot Luck" breakfast club, but the last two weeks I've tried twice to go there and you couldn't even park near the place it was so packed. Not sure I'd use Hardee's as a second alternative though. Went to Cotton Cafe for a Breakfast Bowl this morning after a drive by assessment of the Pot Luck, full again.


----------



## Crakajak

Mentally I am 45. Physically I am between 39 and 93 depending on the weather.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> I was gonna say why not the local "Pot Luck" breakfast club, but the last two weeks I've tried twice to go there and you couldn't even park near the place it was so packed. Not sure I'd use Hardee's as a second alternative though. Went to Cotton Cafe for a Breakfast Bowl this morning after a drive by assessment of the Pot Luck, full again.



You may be right. I may have to be retired a few years to hang with that hardcore bunch of old guys at Hardee’s


----------



## AliBubba

Hunting like age is mind over matter... if you don't mind it doesn't matter...


----------



## killabig1

All this points to an aging hunter population.
Let's all do our part to recruiting some new young hunters.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

killabig1 said:


> All this points to an aging hunter population.
> Let's all do our part to recruiting some new young hunters.


It would be easier if they would make guns that had buttons to push with their thumbs to fire them.


----------



## KyDawg

I am 72, and health issues have slowed me down a lot. I can no longer climb a tree. My Balance is about shot and I have a hard time navigating rough terrain. I could sit on the ground, but then getting back on my feet is an ordeal. I still try to go a few times each year after Deer or turkey, but I have to set in a chair. I have an extremely hard time trying to filed dress a deer and I am scared of falling and not being able to get back up. I still dove hunt, and able to quail hunt on decent terrain. I will continues as long as I am not a danger to myself or anyone else. I love hunting and have spent a lifetime doing it.


----------



## KyDawg

killabig1 said:


> All this points to an aging hunter population.
> Let's all do our part to recruiting some new young hunters.



Got my Grandsons, 9 and 7 shooting a 22 right now.


----------



## DEERFU

killabig1 said:


> All this points to an aging hunter population.
> Let's all do our part to recruiting some new young hunters.


 Did well with my son till he went to college. Think he likes the women folk and drankin better. Workin on my grandsons now. Stage iv throat cancer and all the health issues and procedures that come with it have slowed me way down. I'm 51


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

DEERFU said:


> Did well with my son till he went to college. Think he likes the women folk and drankin better. Workin on my grandsons now. Stage iv throat cancer and all the health issues and procedures that come with it have slowed me way down. I'm 51


Teach em well. They will remember you forever and be eternally grateful to you for it.


----------



## Mark K

Only 50 but I’ve told my sons if they find me dead propped up against a tree and a spent shell in the chamber to find that turkey before they carry me out. If I’m gonna go I hope and pray it’s somewhere in the woods doing what I love.


----------



## gabowman

As long as I can stay healthy enough to carry myself hunting and fishing and enjoy it then I'll continue on. I hope that carries me right on out.


----------



## one hogman

Just a spring chicken Myself, 66 years young, If I am alive I plan to be in the woods, hunting fishing, trapping, riding my, ATV, or old tractor, I feel SO sorry for the city slickers in this world  that just don't know what they are missing, !!


----------



## one hogman

Hey Anyone heard from mr. Raleigh Tabor, Sharpesblades!! I hope he is doing OK, he sure has dropped off the radar lately...!!


----------



## danlnga

Will be 79 this week. Spent all day Tuesday mowing food plots...HOT!!, but it is still good to get out. I move slower but then I see more, including timber rattlers. It is good to get a rest to shoot off of but OK with no rest inside of 50 yards. I hunt alone some, but I have cell service & maybe 20 minutes from emergency help (County Fire/EMT) When it is my time to go, I cannot think of a better way that leaning back on a white oak in late November.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Any of you young men near Milkman and me we need to hit Pot Luck for breakfast early one morning and have a biscuit and share some stories.


----------



## Gumpbuck

Nicodemus said:


> Since I can`t walk mile after mile like I used too, this electric buggy is worth its weight in gold to me.


Amen to that Brother!


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Any of you young men near Milkman and me we need to hit Pot Luck for breakfast early one morning and have a biscuit and share some stories.



Great idea. 

Gentlemen 
The place Miguel mentions is a popular breakfast restaurant in Monroe Ga. Walton county. That’s about 20 miles west of Athens and 30 miles east of Stone Mountain. 

Maybe we could pick a Saturday morning before the ? season gets here.


----------



## JustUs4All

I don't know nuttin bout no Pot Luck but I could make it to Miss Janes over in Warrenton just about any morning saving maybe rifle opener.


----------



## Milkman

JustUs4All said:


> I don't know nuttin bout no Pot Luck but I could make it to Miss Janes over in Warrenton just about any morning saving maybe rifle opener.



So Jim if us “metro” area old dudes meet at Potluck one morning you are gonna jine in by eating at Miss Janes the same morning??


----------



## Spotlite

Not in the 55 and older group yet...........but happy to see there are those that are and willing to keep on keeping on.

4 wheelers and golf carts can be a helpful tools..............use them!


----------



## JustUs4All

Milkman said:


> So Jim if us “metro” area old dudes meet at Potluck one morning you are gonna jine in by eating at Miss Janes the same morning??



I'd be with you in spirit and good vittles, or y'all could come down & join me.  I'd be good for the communal tip.


----------



## barongan

Pretty interesting posting


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> Great idea.
> 
> Gentlemen
> The place Miguel mentions is a popular breakfast restaurant in Monroe Ga. Walton county. That’s about 20 miles west of Athens and 30 miles east of Stone Mountain.
> 
> Maybe we could pick a Saturday morning before the ? season gets here.



Miguel based on the response thus far we won’t need to reserve any tables huh?


----------



## Cook&Bro

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Any of you young men near Milkman and me we need to hit Pot Luck for breakfast early one morning and have a biscuit and share some stories.



I'm interested in biscuits, coffee, and meeting y'all.  Daughter and SIL live in Walton County.


----------



## Muldoon

I'm 78 and if I make this coming season it will be my 68th season of deer hunting and I've killed lots of bucks and I don't intend to quit until they pat me in the face with a spade! I don't look a bit different from this photo my son took of me with a buck in 2014 for better or worse however it may be received!




Kansas Buck by Sharps Man, on Flickr

And I'm gonna do my best to stick a .58 caliber PRB through this dude's rib cage when season opens!




Untitled by Sharps Man, on Flickr


----------



## Milkman

You old geezers  be careful if you are going out hunting in this heat.


----------



## georgia_home

MM,

this is my first year hunting the left coast.

base elevation, iirc, around 4k feet. peaks 8-11k.

hoping things go well. just figure to go slow, and see how this big old fat boy does with a scouting trip this weekend.

thankfully, it's only mule deer, as opposed to mountain sheep. but i am thinking these places will make cohuta and war woman look like flat land.

i reckon if i gotta go, doing something hunting related would be the way to do it.

looking like the temp range will be 50-90 this weekend.



Milkman said:


> You old geezers  be careful if you are going out hunting in this heat.


----------



## Jack Ryan

killabig1 said:


> All this points to an aging hunter population.
> Let's all do our part to recruiting some new young hunters.



I just don't get all this "We need to recruit new... this or that." Need millennial Harley riders, we need to get the kids hunting, we need what ever.

If you have to recruit, I'd rather they just stuck with golf.

No one ever recruited US. We just saw something we wanted to do, learned about it and started doing it. If people don't want to do something I like, I say GOOD. Leave it alone.


----------



## BowArrow

I am 80, bow only, hunt alone, hunt several different places, use Summit climbers and PSE bow. Car loaded and ready to go several times a week for four months.


----------



## Jim Boyd

BowArrow said:


> I am 80, bow only, hunt alone, hunt several different places, use Summit climbers and PSE bow. Car loaded and ready to go several times a week for four months.



I’ll be 62 this season. 

20’ up suits me fine. 

I hunt Illinois by myself and think nothing of it, in fact - I like it. 

I’d like to rock along another 20 years so BowArrow is an inspiration!!


----------



## poohbear

I'm 57 the fire is still burning but will have to admit it has wained some but still enjoy going and watching the son and grandson enjoy hunting. It warms my heart when just the other day they come to me and said PaPa the the other grandson calls me Pop Pop " we are ready to go to the farmhouse" that's what they call the Hunting prop. I guess time goes on and it's time for the young bucks to take over. But I'm going to hang with them as long as I can.


----------



## Idahomike

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.


I know a guy that has to crawl to his stand,he hasn't given up


----------



## ssmith

Well, will be 77 next month. Hunt from ladder stands but remove one section so not as high. Hunt with crossbow and killed a doe opening day last year. Saw nothing this past Saturday morning. I'll be out there as long as the good Lord allows me to be. Good hunting to you seniors!


----------



## doublebarrel

I am 77 and hunted doves opening day.I have a Brittany and hunt for woodcock and when it is my time to go the woods is a s good a place as any. BB


----------



## jav

61 and still get after it. Gave up lock on stands a couple years ago, just to dangerous hanging by myself. I will be there until I can't.


----------



## kickers

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.



This will be my first year in awhile. Haven’t hunted in six years due to health issues but I’m gonna hunt all I can this year ?????


----------



## wvdawg

Just purchased my Senior Lifetime license today.  My son bought me my first new deer rifle in 40+ years as a gift.  Can't walk quite as fast as I used to, but still using ladder stands and ground seats just like always.  Going to keep after them as long as I can and love spending time with my sons and grandsons in the woods.


----------



## MCBUCK

55 tomorrow. 09/12 and still go just like always. I get a bit aggravated finding good properties that hold quality deer. But still have my holes that at least have some deer. It is a bit harder to hunt the highlands like I did but I still hike a few ridges.


----------



## MYRX

64 here. I hunted opening day on new property. Had a spike in velvet feed under me for 18-20 min. Watched him walk off feeding in a new cut area. Still enjoy getting after them. The heat reminded me that I  did not reduce enough in the off-season as was my goal LOL. My ole blue hunting truck stays loaded to go.


----------



## wvdawg

MCBUCK said:


> 55 tomorrow. 09/12 and still go just like always. I get a bit aggravated finding good properties that hold quality deer. But still have my holes that at least have some deer. It is a bit harder to hunt the highlands like I did but I still hike a few ridges.



Happy Birthday!


----------



## Milkman

Here is a pic from last bow season. I had pretty much given up bow hunting until my oldest grandson got interested. The day I got this buck was the first time he and I ever bow hunted together. I put him on what I felt was the best place. But as it worked out I was in the right place at the right time. September 16, 2017. 
But being older and having a grandson to encourage me worked out.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> Here is a pic from last bow season. I had pretty much given up bow hunting until my oldest grandson got interested. The day I got this buck was the first time he and I ever bow hunted together. I put him on what I felt was the best place. But as it worked out I was in the right place at the right time. September 16, 2017.
> But being older and having a grandson to encourage me worked out.


Nice buck and even better memories.


----------



## Silver Britches

Great, healthy looking deer, MM!


----------



## Milkman

Silver Britches said:


> Great, healthy looking deer, MM!



He weighed 195. Glad I had my son and grandson with me.


----------



## Silver Britches

Milkman said:


> He weighed 195. Glad I had my son and grandson with me.


I was going to say, not only do you have a hunting partner, you have a loading partner.  That big boy right there would be hard to load by yourself.


----------



## Triple C

MM...Memory maker moment for sure!  Thx for sharing.


----------



## Milkman

Silver Britches said:


> I was going to say, not only do you have a hunting partner, you have a loading partner.  That big boy right there would be hard to load by yourself.



Cameron has been a deer killer since he was 7 with a gun. I’m glad he is getting into bow hunting too. He got a yote with the bow a few days  ago.


----------



## squirrelman43

Little story about older hunters . We maybe slower but we see more in our observations in the hunting woods . I am 67 and move lots slower than I did 50 years ago . Can anyone top this story ?  I was scouting on a hillside the other day when a sparkle in the leaves that looked like a dew drop caught my eye being curious I looked again I bent down and picked it up to my surprise I had a diamond in my hand . My Twin brother was with me and I ask him to look at what I had found he looked in the palm of my hand and said nobody will ever believe us . 
This is a true story  .   Squirrelman43


----------



## DeweyDuck

joedublin said:


> I am 82, a cancer and heartfailure survivor, and I'll be chasing deer in SW GA this season, just like the years before, until my Father and my God calls me home. That's the way I want to live and the way I want to go home. I'd love to go hunting with Nic just once before I do go home.


joe I'll be 81 in Nov. Still at it but takin long range shots now; don't need to wory about scents or noise at that range. Got one at 390 last year, 1 shot through the heart, prolly gonna extend that this year. Got a shooting bench set up at 500 yards from where I hope to spot one. Trying out some great  handloads for my 7 mag this year. And I'm not just taking pot shots; I practice a lot and am shooting 2 inch groups at 300 and 6 inch at 500.


----------



## one hogman

TTT keep it moving us  Seasoned Citizens are out there!!


----------



## 4HAND

That's awesome that y'all are still hunting. I hope I'm able to do that when I'm "seasoned".

My granddaddy killed his last deer at 97 if I remember correctly. He shot "her" out the window of his hunting camp. He told me "she won't be in my collard patch anymore".

Oh yeah, it wasn't doe season either. Lol
He lived to the ripe old age of 104.


----------



## Milkman

Anyone want to tell their cataract surgery results? I just had my first eye done and so far so good.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> Anyone want to tell their cataract surgery results? I just had my first eye done and so far so good.




I have them in both eyes, was diagnosed two weeks ago. Looks like I`m gonna have to do something about the everlasting things.


----------



## fredw

Marvin, you know most of  my story but for others....

Cataract surgery was a non-event.  Toughest thing I had to endure was multiple needle sticks while they were trying to find a vein for the IV.  I wore a fiberglass cover over the eye at night for the first week.  No bending over and I couldn't lift anything heavier than ten pounds.  After seven days the doctor released me with no restrictions.  I was shooting doves on the eighth day.

I did have to take eye drops for four weeks and that finished up yesterday.  

Back to my regular eye physician today.  She double checked things and said everything looked great.  Ordered new glasses (my existing prescription for the eye I had the surgery on is no good with the improved vision).


----------



## South Man

maybe we can get a forum going????


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> Anyone want to tell their cataract surgery results? I just had my first eye done and so far so good.



Went for my 1 week follow up today. We decided to go ahead and do the other eye next month. He says that I will likely only need reading glasses after that.


----------



## danlnga

DEERFU said:


> Did well with my son till he went to college. Think he likes the women folk and drankin better. Workin on my grandsons now. Stage iv throat cancer and all the health issues and procedures that come with it have slowed me way down. I'm 51



Same here til he went to college. Now he knows it all. Changes jobs once a year & we don't hear from him much since he disrespected his mother in front of me. He will not do that again. Guess I am just old fashioned that way.


----------



## danlnga

Milkman said:


> Went for my 1 week follow up today. We decided to go ahead and do the other eye next month. He says that I will likely only need reading glasses after that.



My wife had it last year (Oct 2017). Just be sure to follow the routine exactly with the schedule for the drops afterwards & it should be OK. My wife can see better now than she ever did. She is 79.


----------



## Milkman

danlnga said:


> My wife had it last year (Oct 2017). Just be sure to follow the routine exactly with the schedule for the drops afterwards & it should be OK. My wife can see better now than she ever did. She is 79.



Yep
Finishing my third week with the drops now. I will finish on the 16th with my left eye and then start back with my right eye on the 19th.


----------



## Nicodemus

I`ve just been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. Reckon a good time to get them taken care of will be just as soon as deer season ends, and hope I`m healed up good before turkey season starts.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> I`ve just been diagnosed with cataracts in both eyes. Reckon a good time to get them taken care of will be just as soon as deer season ends, and hope I`m healed up good before turkey season starts.



The

My doctor said the healing is complete when you finish the month of putting drops in. So if you are doing both it will be a month for each eye. 

Also if you don’t already know it there are two options on the implants. One is distance vision only. The other is distance and reading combined. Most insurance doesn’t cover the full cost of the combination type.


----------



## Milkman

If anyone young is reading along be aware us older folks require more maintenance.

I got both cataracts fixed in November and December. Now I am going to get a shoulder fixed.
Orthopedic doctor is going to do a repair on some tears and spurs with a scope. Hopefully I can recouperate and get the therapy over in time to enjoy some deer farming in a few months.


----------



## Nicodemus

Gettin` old ain`t for weaklings.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Good luck with that I had both hips scoped and repaired during 2015 deer season and they still not right! Yes getting old not for wimps


----------



## Bodine

Had both eyes done a year ago, best thing I ever did,  Threw away my glasses and have much better low light eye sight.


----------



## shdw633

Getting both of my knees replaced this year.  First one should be within the next month followed by the second one about 3 months later.  I am a little nervous about next seasons hunting.  Hoping to still be able to use a climber and climb a ladder into a box stand.  Actually not a little nervous, I am a whole lot nervous!!  Plus I want to be able to hunt Illinois and Michigan and both those locations require a lot of leg work to have a good hunt.


----------



## Hooty Hoot

My left shoulder feels as though it is made from spare parts. I purchased a new shotgun a few days ago in the hopes of reducing some of the recoil I was experiencing with my 1300. I'm just not as tough as I once was. I also have cataracts but not bad enough just yet. Aches and pains come and go. Hips bothered me this year and I lost sight in my right eye several years ago. I can pick up movement better with one eye than I ever could with two so it ain't all bad. Like someone else said; Getting old ain't for sissies.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Got a grandson be 2 in April just want to be able take him hunting and fishing a little his dad not going to do it


----------



## Milkman

Gbr5pb said:


> Got a grandson be 2 in April just want to be able take him hunting and fishing a little his dad not going to do it



You are in for one of life’s greatest gifts There is something special about hunting and fishing with the grandkids. 

My oldest is about to turn 15 and is getting bigger bucks than me or his dad now. But he had some good training.


----------



## Jim Boyd

I am still a youngster (62) and I know the day will come but it ain’t right now. 

I am more cautious these days but 12 hours at 20 feet in 20-30 degree temps is still fine with me. 

One day I may even give up the bow and go back to a centerfire but that ain’t right now either. 


Old guys rule! (hope I still feel like that when I get old)


----------



## Wayne D Davis

Turned 55 back in Nov. Some days I feel like Ive been ran over (led a crazy life style).  But so far I havnt missed a beat. I think Id crawl to the woods if I had to.


----------



## Darkhorse

I'm 66 now and things are wearing on me. I had my left knee replaced several years ago and it turned out great. A couple of years later the left hip got replaced and it turned out not so great. Better than it was but still in constant pain.
The right knee is gone, to the point something will have to be done shortly.
I have spinal stenosis and 3 years ago they said it need operating on right away. I've toughed it out so far but it's getting tougher than me now.
I have deteriorating joint disease in both shoulders. It's been bothering me for years but now it's getting critical. Worst thing about the shoulders is it's affecting my shooting in negative ways.
I'm missing a disc in my upper neck from high school football. But it doesn't bother me much anymore.
Just before deer season I was diagnosed with diabetes. I had no idea how this would effect me or how I'd know it but I learned some things. When my sugar gets too low my eyesight gets real blurry and my brain goes on the blitz. I had a couple of bucks chase a doe right by me, and saw what I was sure was a couple of good bucks but couldn't see well enough to know for sure and couldn't raise my rifle to shoot them when I wanted to. At least the fix for this was easy. 3 sugar packs will get me back to normal. I carry peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and poptarts when I go deer hunting.
I don't get as much done as I used to but somethings must be done daily. I have 6 Arabian horses to care for. Worse I have a stallion. A stud horse changes the dynamics of daily life a great deal.
All this is hard on me. I used to be very active. I taught Tae Kwon Do and was a serious practitioner also. Ran 8 to 12 miles a day. I bench pressed 315 pounds twice when I was 55.
Now I'm just a shadow of that person and the future is not bright.
Some of us are fortunate that we can get into advanced age and still climb to the top of the mountain.
Some of us can hardly get out the door.


----------



## MYRX

What I have noticed, (I am just about to turn 65) is that I am really run down after the deer season. Almost like an old buck...LOL I need recovery time or I get a flu. I push myself hard Bow season into December, then the endurance just runs out. I thank the Lord I can still use a climber, see, walk without pain. I have noticed a loss of strength, which means I have to ask for help now to relocate stands.  I can't stay up past 9:30PM if I plan to have a good hunt the next AM. Overall, each day in the woods is more special. I don't have siblings that hunt, and no grandchildren to teach which is sad for me. (I spent much time talking my sons to the woods and even out west but they choose to walk away from hunting, golf is their life).


----------



## Nicodemus

Darkhorse said:


> I'm 66 now and things are wearing on me. I had my left knee replaced several years ago and it turned out great. A couple of years later the left hip got replaced and it turned out not so great. Better than it was but still in constant pain.
> The right knee is gone, to the point something will have to be done shortly.
> I have spinal stenosis and 3 years ago they said it need operating on right away. I've toughed it out so far but it's getting tougher than me now.
> I have deteriorating joint disease in both shoulders. It's been bothering me for years but now it's getting critical. Worst thing about the shoulders is it's affecting my shooting in negative ways.
> I'm missing a disc in my upper neck from high school football. But it doesn't bother me much anymore.
> Just before deer season I was diagnosed with diabetes. I had no idea how this would effect me or how I'd know it but I learned some things. When my sugar gets too low my eyesight gets real blurry and my brain goes on the blitz. I had a couple of bucks chase a doe right by me, and saw what I was sure was a couple of good bucks but couldn't see well enough to know for sure and couldn't raise my rifle to shoot them when I wanted to. At least the fix for this was easy. 3 sugar packs will get me back to normal. I carry peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and poptarts when I go deer hunting.
> I don't get as much done as I used to but somethings must be done daily. I have 6 Arabian horses to care for. Worse I have a stallion. A stud horse changes the dynamics of daily life a great deal.
> All this is hard on me. I used to be very active. I taught Tae Kwon Do and was a serious practitioner also. Ran 8 to 12 miles a day. I bench pressed 315 pounds twice when I was 55.
> Now I'm just a shadow of that person and the future is not bright.
> Some of us are fortunate that we can get into advanced age and still climb to the top of the mountain.
> Some of us can hardly get out the door.




I commend you and tip my hat to a man with courage and strong heart.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> I have them in both eyes, was diagnosed two weeks ago. Looks like I`m gonna have to do something about the everlasting things.



You planning to get the cataracts done this year Nic?


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> You planning to get the cataracts done this year Nic?




I`m hoping to. Trying to line up a another eye doc to check my eyes.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Any of you young men near Milkman and me we need to hit Pot Luck for breakfast early one morning and have a biscuit and share some stories.





Milkman said:


> Great idea.
> 
> Gentlemen
> The place Miguel mentions is a popular breakfast restaurant in Monroe Ga. Walton county. That’s about 20 miles west of Athens and 30 miles east of Stone Mountain.
> 
> Maybe we could pick a Saturday morning before the ? season gets here.



Ok
We never got this off the ground last fall.  Does anyone want to do a breakfast get together in Monroe Ga this late winter/ early spring?

Tagging a few local members

@Miguel Cervantes
@01Foreman400
@Arrow Flinger
@Hoss
@MYRX
@Big7
@Cook&Bro
@DeucesWild
@whitedog
@Jody Hawk
@Mechanicaldawg


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> Ok
> We never got this off the ground last fall.  Does anyone want to do a breakfast get together in Monroe Ga this late winter/ early spring?
> 
> Tagging a few local members
> 
> @Miguel Cervantes
> @01Foreman400
> @Arrow Flinger
> @Hoss
> @MYRX
> @Big7
> @Cook&Bro
> @DeucesWild
> @whitedog



If it involves food you can always count me in.


----------



## garveywallbanger

We are all on a big ship - on a cruise across the world and in spite of the danger of being swept away at any time or perhaps because of the danger one is not allowed to be depressed or unhappy. The way the world works which is badly - leaves a strong incentive to live purposefully and to be determined about living well. There are no happy endings. Death is horrible, final and frequently premature so an unhappy ending does not undermine a rich and energetic life


----------



## oldguy

Old Shakespear said it best:
Cowards die many times before their death.
Of all the wonders I yet have seen it seems to me most strange
that men should fear, seeing that death a necessary end
will come when it will come.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

garveywallbanger said:


> We are all on a big ship - on a cruise across the world and in spite of the danger of being swept away at any time or perhaps because of the danger one is not allowed to be depressed or unhappy. The way the world works which is badly - leaves a strong incentive to live purposefully and to be determined about living well. There are no happy endings. Death is horrible, final and frequently premature so an unhappy ending does not undermine a rich and energetic life





oldguy said:


> Old Shakespear said it best:
> Cowards die many times before their death.
> Of all the wonders I yet have seen it seems to me most strange
> that men should fear, seeing that death a necessary end
> will come when it will come.



Dangit boys!!!

Y'all gonna talk all day or y'all gonna come eat breakfast?


----------



## bowhunterdavid

I still have one more year before i turn 55, so i will post a comment then. . My dad will turn 80 this year and still loves to hunt as much as i do. He wont do any over night trips anymore because he likes his on bed to good he says. I am so thankful to have him around and healthy even though he has slowed down a lot these days. He says all he needs to kill a deer is his old browning auto 308 and a pack of Red Man Chew.


----------



## oldguy

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Dangit boys!!!
> 
> Y'all gonna talk all day or y'all gonna come eat breakfast?


I'm in SOWEGA, a long way to ride for breakfast, if I was closer I would. Sounds like fun.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Does sound good would like to put a face on some of these people!


----------



## Rich Kaminski

I'll be 67 and still hunting this year and many more. I have friends who hunted well into their 80's and the older we get - the better hunters we become. For instance my first time out last year I let 4 does walk during the first day of black powder season, then I hunted opening day rifle season and shot a large buck 13 minutes after leaving the hunting camp in the morning. Don't worry because I am writing a book on how to become an expert hunter and I will share all of my knowledge with you.


----------



## SCPO

Will be 77 in May. Still use a climbing stand. Run and gun Turkey hunting. I did trade my 2008 Rancher ES for a 2018 Foreman Rubicon ES with power steering. Guess  I'm getting lazy.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Dangit boys!!!
> 
> Y'all gonna talk all day or y'all gonna come eat breakfast?



I’m thinking we won’t need a very big table


----------



## Milkman

Gbr5pb said:


> Does sound good would like to put a face on some of these people!



Mine is quite handsome. I can’t say about some of these others


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> Mine is quite handsome. I can’t say about some of these others


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> I’m thinking we won’t need a very big table


I'm thinking this Saturday is a good morning to do this, the earlier the better to beat the crowd. Plus the weather / temps aren't going to be worth doing much else that early in the morning.


----------



## Milkman

Miguel Cervantes said:


> I'm thinking this Saturday is a good morning to do this, the earlier the better to beat the crowd. Plus the weather / temps aren't going to be worth doing much else that early in the morning.



I can’t commit until maybe 2/23. Gone to lake this weekend and having shoulder surgery on 2/13. 

I may still be heavily sedated on 2/23 but you could come give me a ride. ?

Are any of you other guys gonna jine in??  They got sho nuff good country breakfast.


----------



## Crakajak

I won't be able to make this weekend or the 23rd. Having rotator cuff surgery on the 19th. Got lots of things to do before then.Ya'll have fun.


----------



## Milkman

Crakajak said:


> I won't be able to make this weekend or the 23rd. Having rotator cuff surgery on the 19th. Got lots of things to do before then.Ya'll have fun.



Good luck and wishes for a quick recovery from the surgery. 

Rotator cuff repair is one of the things I’m having on 2/13. I’m hoping I would be up to eating out 10 days later.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Milkman said:


> I can’t commit until maybe 2/23. Gone to lake this weekend and having shoulder surgery on 2/13.
> 
> I may still be heavily sedated on 2/23 but you could come give me a ride. ?
> 
> Are any of you other guys gonna jine in??  They got sho nuff good country breakfast.


Remind me closer to the 23rd. I'm old, I can't remember that far out.


----------



## Crakajak

Milkman said:


> Good luck and wishes for a quick recovery from the surgery.
> 
> Rotator cuff repair is one of the things I’m having on 2/13. I’m hoping I would be up to eating out 10 days later.


Hope your goes very well.We ain't getting any younger and need all the extra days we can get.
If it is orthoscopic recovery is 2-3 weeks. If they split your shoulder like gutting a deer it is 3-6 months.


----------



## Crakajak

Miguel Cervantes said:


> Remind me closer to the 23rd. I'm old, I can't remember that far out.


4 a.m. O.K. I need your house phone # I have a telmarketer in Asia will put that day and time in his robocaller.


----------



## Miguel Cervantes

Crakajak said:


> 4 a.m. O.K. I need your house phone # I have a telmarketer in Asia will put that day and time in his robocaller.


I have AT&T call protect. He won't make it through.


----------



## Timberman

I’m staring 55 in the face so I’m bout to join the club. I still get around pretty good considering.

I should be able to see a few more sunrises above 3000’ before I am relegated to the flat lands.


----------



## Gbr5pb

old fella told me and a friend at Cohutta that he used to hunt there more before he retired to South Georgia! We didn’t understand at the time but do 100% now!


----------



## Milkman

Bump for stories, questions, comments, lies, or other various and sundry posts.


----------



## Nicodemus

Timberman said:


> I’m staring 55 in the face so I’m bout to join the club. I still get around pretty good considering.
> 
> I should be able to see a few more sunrises above 3000’ before I am relegated to the flat lands.
> 
> View attachment 958418




We have some mghty fine sunrises and sunsets here in the flatwoods and swamps too. And a lot more game. Come on down.


----------



## XIronheadX

Thanks Nic. As I get older I appreciate a good pic. Relaxing to look at on a rainy day. I wish I'd carried a camera more when I was younger. The few pics from way back, mean a lot.


----------



## Milkman

Okay seniors.
Who among us is retired, semi retired, retiring soon, etc.

What is your employment status?

I am almost 64. My status is full time employment planning to retire in May 2020.


----------



## TimBray

64- retired several years ago. Worked part-time until last May when wife developed some health issues. She's all better now and I'm thinking about another part-time job.


----------



## Buck70

Not 55 yet (almost), but have been retired since 2016.


----------



## hdgapeach

55 years
Status:  Full time without a hint of retirement in sight.  Wish the good Lord wooda mentioned something about mandatory retirement in the good Book somewhere (lol).

Second start on life nearly 20 years ago set me back to zero on the retirement thing.  It's all good, though.  I done did it right this time!!  Love the job, the new wife, where I reside......Life is GOOD!


----------



## Nicodemus

Been retired since January 2012. About all I do is hunt, fish, tend a garden, and various hobbies that pertain to hunting, fishing, and primitive skills.


----------



## AliBubba

Nic, you living the life... keep on keep'n on!


----------



## Gbr5pb

60 been retired since October 2017 full time babysitter for 2 years old grandson. Get to hunt and fish around the edges


----------



## Jimmypop

Retired in 1991, will be 77 this week. Get to do about anything I want as long as she approves of course. Hips and back are gone . Had to get a new 4 wheeler in case the old one don't want to start when I want to go to the stand. It hasn't been bad.


----------



## Wayne D Davis

hdgapeach said:


> 55 years
> Status:  Full time without a hint of retirement in sight.  Wish the good Lord wooda mentioned something about mandatory retirement in the good Book somewhere (lol).
> 
> Second start on life nearly 20 years ago set me back to zero on the retirement thing.  It's all good, though.  I done did it right this time!!  Love the job, the new wife, where I reside......Life is GOOD!


Same here. The end of 2009 I started my life over. Been full time self employed since then. Hopefully I'll get a few years off but nothing planned. But making my own hours helps during turkey, and deer seasons. Long as the bills getting paid I head to the woods


----------



## Crakajak

I,m 60 and would have retired 15 years ago if I didn't get married 35 years ago.Best decision I made in my life.Money ain,t evathing,but you do have to have some.


----------



## Cool Hand Luke

Be 55 in July. Self-employed for 22 years and hope to retire in 10 years or less. Being your own boss is good and bad. If you ain't workin then you ain't paying the bills. Need some young bucks to climb ladders all day but hard to come by....


----------



## Keith Karr

I’ll be 62 on July 3rd and will retire on July 31st. I’ll leave having 41 years 4 months with Ga Power. 

I’ve been blessed with good health so far and plan to continue doing my regular job with GPC 1-2 days per week. 

Just bought Kubota L4701 and a bunch of implements and look forward to using it on 1000+ acres in Meriwether county. 

Got seven grandkids and plan to do some fishing, camping and watching a bunch of their ball games. 

?


----------



## Ruger#3

I'm 67 and still work everyday, call me silly but it keeps me sharp.
The day I don't like it I'll walk out of here.

I still hunt and fish regularly though move a little more carefully these days.
Nic's advice on using a walking stick has made getting around more comfortable.
Got my first grand baby this year, see the braggin pics forum.

Health wise, I'm good for an old fat guy.
I've had cervical fusion, C-4,5 & 6 for almost 20 years now.
Too many bumps & Gs flying low level for too many years in the military.
May have to have the cataract surgery as it's messing with my shootin eye.
I plan on being on a mountain top Saturday morning looking for a gobbler.


----------



## Esau

I will be 55 in 27 days. Full time employed, will be for 5 more years. I spend all of my free time outdoors. I hunt, fish, hike, paddle, and grow as much of my own food as I can. I'm lucky, my wife is happy working in the garden, and she puts up with me.


----------



## Buck_ruttin

When I die I hope I'm up a tree doing what I enjoy hunting!


----------



## shdw633

I'm 58, working full time right now and am looking to start slowing down in the next year and a half.  Don't think I will fully retire because the job I do allows me the flexibility to work as much or as little as I want to, though once I hit 65 I don't know that I'll continue doing it, depends on how strict momma is with the purse strings.


----------



## Jack Ryan

64, been retired back in aught nine.


----------



## BriarPatch99

This is past February 28th made 10 years since I retired  .... Since then .... I had cataracts removed from both eyes, gall bladder surgery, kidney stone surgery and in the process of getting a neck fusion C7 .... got a knee that bone on bone ....

Who was it that said "Golden Years" .... 63 working on 64 ...now

I still like to hunt and fish as much as I ever did .... I just don't go as much as I used to ....

Nic... Go get them eyes fixed ....best thing I ever did .... I can see like I was 20 again except for the readers I tote for fine print .... Heck in good light I can even make that out !!!

When I get this neck fixed ...I'll be ready to sling that new fly line  and maybe a catalpa worm off the Satilla sandbar for some redbreast....


----------



## saltysenior

must have somehow missed them  ''golden years''  I'm 80 and now in the ''burnt toast'' years....


----------



## Moving Man

Try an electric bike for mobility.  They are quiet/silent fun to ride and get ya anywhere.  Easy to load into a truck.  Plus the deer do not seem to see you as a threat when on a bike,.. they just look at you with curiosity.

Here is my ride and shoot setup,..  notice the strap through the trigger,..  so ya ride along and when ya see a deer you point the bike at the deer and jam on the breaks.  Bam the gun fires!

Yes the last part was a joke,..

just turned 54 so harder to hike far as I used too.

This bike will go 14 miles if you do not peddle assist and just use the throttle it.  Top speed 20 mph.  cost 1500 new.  Plus flying around on it ya feel 10 years younger no joke,..  big hill and ya hit the juice and up ya go!  Can't stop this bike!

Fat tires go anywhere even through 6 inches of snow.  (not that you folks gotta worry about that!)


----------



## bany

Moving Man said:


> Try an electric bike for mobility.  They are quiet/silent fun to ride and get ya anywhere.  Easy to load into a truck.  Plus the deer do not seem to see you as a threat when on a bike,.. they just look at you with curiosity.
> 
> Here is my ride and shoot setup,..  notice the strap through the trigger,..  so ya ride along and when ya see a deer you point the bike at the deer and jam on the breaks.  Bam the gun fires!
> 
> Yes the last part was a joke,..
> 
> just turned 54 so harder to hike far as I used too.
> 
> This bike will go 14 miles if you do not peddle assist and just use the throttle it.  Top speed 20 mph.  cost 1500 new.  Plus flying around on it ya feel 10 years younger no joke,..  big hill and ya hit the juice and up ya go!  Can't stop this bike!
> 
> Fat tires go anywhere even through 6 inches of snow.  (not that you folks gotta worry about that!)


I like the bike! Will it drag an animal out? 
58 this year and reckon I’ll work til I can’t, couldn’t hardly walk last night but I can this morning!! Work for myself and am learning what I shouldn’t be doing, (sold the 40’ ladder) and hunting isn’t one of them!


----------



## Jack Ryan

Wear sun screen.


----------



## Moving Man

It would not drag out an animal but some put a cart on the back and then you could.  

In general I exit, dump the bike and go back in sometimes with help.  That allows the deer to die in peace too.

Also here is a video on the benies of electric bike while hunting


----------



## Milkman

Proof that I ain’t ready for the rocking chair quite yet. 

http://forum.gon.com/threads/a-weekends-work-for-an-old-man-also-see-post-14.940528/#post-11660163


----------



## Designasaurus

63 and hope I never get to the point I cannot hunt.  I think I could walk to Tennessee if I didn't have to hurry.


----------



## Dub

Moving Man said:


> Try an electric bike for mobility.  They are quiet/silent fun to ride and get ya anywhere.  Easy to load into a truck.  Plus the deer do not seem to see you as a threat when on a bike,.. they just look at you with curiosity.
> 
> Here is my ride and shoot setup,..  notice the strap through the trigger,..  so ya ride along and when ya see a deer you point the bike at the deer and jam on the breaks.  Bam the gun fires!
> 
> Yes the last part was a joke,..
> 
> just turned 54 so harder to hike far as I used too.
> 
> This bike will go 14 miles if you do not peddle assist and just use the throttle it.  Top speed 20 mph.  cost 1500 new.  Plus flying around on it ya feel 10 years younger no joke,..  big hill and ya hit the juice and up ya go!  Can't stop this bike!
> 
> Fat tires go anywhere even through 6 inches of snow.  (not that you folks gotta worry about that!)




That's awesome.






Moving Man said:


> It would not drag out an animal but some put a cart on the back and then you could.
> 
> In general I exit, dump the bike and go back in sometimes with help.  That allows the deer to die in peace too.
> 
> Also here is a video on the benies of electric bike while hunting





Pretty nifty bike.





Milkman said:


> Proof that I ain’t ready for the rocking chair quite yet.
> 
> http://forum.gon.com/threads/a-weekends-work-for-an-old-man-also-see-post-14.940528/#post-11660163





Well done !!!!


----------



## Dub

Hooty Hoot said:


> My left shoulder feels as though it is made from spare parts. I purchased a new shotgun a few days ago in the hopes of reducing some of the recoil I was experiencing with my 1300. I'm just not as tough as I once was. I also have cataracts but not bad enough just yet. Aches and pains come and go. Hips bothered me this year and I lost sight in my right eye several years ago. I can pick up movement better with one eye than I ever could with two so it ain't all bad. Like someone else said; Getting old ain't for sissies.




I hear ya.

My right shoulder is a grinding mess.  It's overdue for replacement. 

One thing that's helped me bigtime....sloughing off recoil.   My last two shotguns have been Berettas that were equipped with their Kick-Off system.  It works like an absolute charm.  Sporting clays all day or patterning  turkey loads are pieces of cake.

I've sold off all my magnum rifles, except one...a 270 WSM.  It's even been tampered with a little bit by me adding a Sims Limbsaver pad to it.  Doesn't get used so much as the regular ole rounds like .270 Win or other similar.  

Beretta really did their homework on the A400 & A350 scatterguns.  Highly recommend them.  My shoulder can hang in there now....as I'm putting off replacement as long as I can.


----------



## bilgerat

if'n I tried one them elect bikes some one would have to come rescue Me out from under it in a ditch or washout cause the roads on My club are bad.  Ill stick with My side by side.


----------



## mattuga

Has anyone purchased on of the budget versions of an electric bike?  Sounds like if under 750 watts they would be legal on a WMA.


----------



## XIronheadX

Looks like I joined the club a few weeks back. The only retirement is death I reckon. Still logging miles in the woods. Carrying granddaughter on my shoulders. Gotta keep pushing or the rust will take over.


----------



## shdw633

mattuga said:


> Has anyone purchased on of the budget versions of an electric bike?  Sounds like if under 750 watts they would be legal on a WMA.



http://forum.gon.com/threads/electric-bike.943410/

Check Triple C's response


----------



## dwhee87

We lost an old hunter a few year ago...Dr. Jack. He was in his 90's. We would take him out to a pop up blind, and put him in it, with a forked stick to hold his gun up. we'd come back a few hours later, and he'd still be in the same position we left him in. Once, we thought he froze to death. He always had a smile on his face on the ride back in to camp in the Mule. He didn't die at camp, but pretty sure if he had a choice, that'd be where he'd have gone.

Going out doing something you love is the only way. Hope I'm that lucky. My granddad dropped dead on the golf course at 87, still shooting his age.


----------



## formula1

Almost 59 and doing an archery rut hunt this fall. My son is going with me so I'll let him do most of the work. Still weighing a compound vs. Crossbow. I can still shoot but I'm down to pulling 55 lbs and my eyes ain't so good. But I'm going.


----------



## dwhee87

formula1 said:


> Almost 59 and doing an archery rut hunt this fall. My son is going with me so I'll let him do most of the work. Still weighing a compound vs. Crossbow. I can still shoot but I'm down to pulling 55 lbs and my eyes ain't so good. But I'm going.


59!? You're still a young whipper-snapper. No shame in a cross bow. I've killed more with a crossbow in the last  5years than I did with a bow.


----------



## bilgerat

Ill be 61 this season m Im forgoing My annual trip to Ontario and doing My first midwest guided bow hunt in Northern Missouri , Im thinking going cross bow too.


----------



## South Man

Just turned 55 in May and headed either MO or Iowa for first time if I get drawn!


----------



## BowArrow

I am 81 and have bowhunted over 50 years and have not slowed down. Hunt by myself and have 8 different places I hunt from my sub-division to Fort Stewart which is 50 miles. Am hog hunting FS this summer and doing some scouting for deer season. I do some hard exercising every day except Sunday which keeps me in shape to climb trees. Hunting by myself is not the safest thing to do but I got to be out in woods looking for tracks. No bait, camera, scents or calls. Just my PSE and Summit.


----------



## Esau

I am now in the club. I turned 55 in April. I still do all the things I always have just a bit more slowly and carefully. I hunt, fish, hike and paddle canoes. I hunt with a long bow and an old side lock muzzle loader. I fish mostly with a fly rod. I don't use 4 wheelers. I walk in and drag out. I hope I can keep it up for as long as possible.


----------



## Triple C

BowArrow said:


> I am 81 and have bowhunted over 50 years and have not slowed down. Hunt by myself and have 8 different places I hunt from my sub-division to Fort Stewart which is 50 miles. Am hog hunting FS this summer and doing some scouting for deer season. I do some hard exercising every day except Sunday which keeps me in shape to climb trees. Hunting by myself is not the safest thing to do but I got to be out in woods looking for tracks. No bait, camera, scents or calls. Just my PSE and Summit.



BowArrow...You are da man!!!  Every outdoorsman's dream is to be doing what you are doing at 81.  I'm 63 and working hard to stay in decent shape.  Don't want to be in the "done give up" crowd at 70.


----------



## Lilly001

At 62 I still do most of what I always have, it just hurts more and longer......


----------



## Nicodemus

BowArrow said:


> I am 81 and have bowhunted over 50 years and have not slowed down. Hunt by myself and have 8 different places I hunt from my sub-division to Fort Stewart which is 50 miles. Am hog hunting FS this summer and doing some scouting for deer season. I do some hard exercising every day except Sunday which keeps me in shape to climb trees. Hunting by myself is not the safest thing to do but I got to be out in woods looking for tracks. No bait, camera, scents or calls. Just my PSE and Summit.




The way my knees are, I`m not gonna make as far as you have, and while I admire no man, I tip my hat to you, Sir. The best to you.


----------



## shdw633

Moving Man said:


> It would not drag out an animal but some put a cart on the back and then you could.
> 
> In general I exit, dump the bike and go back in sometimes with help.  That allows the deer to die in peace too.
> 
> Also here is a video on the benies of electric bike while hunting



For those that are veterans out there Rambo bikes has a great deal going on for their 750 watt mid-drive G3 model. Regularly it's $2600 plus but they have it on their website on sale for $1599 plus you get free bike rack and fenders (this weekend for fathers day). That's a good deal on it's own, but if you are a veteran you can request a code from them and get the bike for 20% less as a military discount, that's only $1280 for the bike. If you have done any research at all on electric bikes you will know that's an outstanding deal on a mid drive electric bike, especially a Rambo bike. I just thought I would pass that along.


----------



## Milkman

I started a thread here that may be of interest to you. 

http://forum.gon.com/threads/medicare-part-d-question.946658/


----------



## Milkman

Some of you can appreciate that I know this. 
There are 176 working days until I retire. That does not include the days I will take off between now and May.


----------



## Dutch

I plan on dying in the stand or on the water...screw dying in bed.


----------



## bfriendly

I can’t wait til I get to go everyday........


----------



## Gbr5pb

bfriendly said:


> I can’t wait til I get to go everyday........


Haha thought that myself but now babysitting at least 3 days a week


----------



## elfiii

I'll be 68 this November and I'm still determined to meet the Great Spirit in the woods with my weapons and wampum close by. In the mean time I'm not as good as I once was but I'm good once as I ever was.


----------



## oldguy

BowArrow said:


> I am 81 and have bowhunted over 50 years and have not slowed down. Hunt by myself and have 8 different places I hunt from my sub-division to Fort Stewart which is 50 miles. Am hog hunting FS this summer and doing some scouting for deer season. I do some hard exercising every day except Sunday which keeps me in shape to climb trees. Hunting by myself is not the safest thing to do but I got to be out in woods looking for tracks. No bait, camera, scents or calls. Just my PSE and Summit.


I'm only 73, but I want to be like you when I grow up!


----------



## switchbackxt1

I’m 58 just had Back Surgery and having a fit because I cannot drive yet. Surgery was performed a month ago and walking and exercises. Just taking it slowly bow season is probably out but rifle season will be welcomed. I’m going to hunt and fish and work until I simply cannot go or pass away. That’s just the way it is. When you love the outdoors it’s


----------



## Milkman

4 months since a post. We musta been deer hunting.

What’s  up ?????

I hear @Nicodemus qualifies for Medicare now ,  Congrats!!!

I qualify this May.


----------



## oldguy

GREAT SEASON!
Topped off the freezer this a.m. Blessed.
Reckon I'll set a few traps for coyotes and beavers now. Anybody want/need a hide for something?
Might try to kill a hog with my Big Jim's "Thunder Child"bow.
Heck, it don't look like it right now, but we'll be wading the creeks and the river 'fore you know it!


----------



## Wayne D Davis

Turned 56 back during the rut and about forgot about it


----------



## hdgapeach

Milkman said:


> 4 months since a post. We musta been deer hunting.
> 
> What’s  up ?????
> 
> I hear @Nicodemus qualifies for Medicare now ,  Congrats!!!
> 
> I qualify this May.




Dang!  I literally forgot about the thread.  Must be "part timers" creepin' in on me already (or again? I can't ever remember........).


----------



## Timberman

I was busy being old


----------



## XIronheadX

55 and still ruttin. Ripped 2 trees out of the ground this morning. Wish I was headed out in the woods tomorrow.


----------



## brdyhll

gregj said:


> I figure as long as i can walk in the woods, i'll hunt.
> When it comes to the point that i have trouble walking in the woods then MAYBE i'll think about giving up.


Told
My dad that I’d push him into the woods in a wheelchair if I had too. Never got the chance but would’ve gladly done it if I’d gotten a chance or needed too. Hope that I get to hunt till I die, but if I can’t walk I hope my boys love me enough to shove me into a spot so I can still go


----------



## phillips david 123

I'm fixing to turn 69. I'm bow only for deer. I hunt 4 to 5 days a week. I hunt deer from mid Sept to mid Jan then i hunt hogs at night from mid Jan to mid March then i hunt turkeys from mid March to mid May then i start working towards the next deer season. Please don't make me quit.


----------



## Milkman

TTT


----------



## Twiggbuster

Seeing a few thread responses of guys giving it up for various reasons. If you are physically suffering I hope you find relief. Getting older ain’t no picnic. If are not feeling it mentally or spiritually, I hope find something to fill the void.
I need to go find my turkey hunting tote.
I see maples tips are showing color, won’t be long now!


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> 4 months since a post. We musta been deer hunting.
> 
> What’s  up ?????
> 
> I hear @Nicodemus qualifies for Medicare now ,  Congrats!!!
> 
> I qualify this May.




I need all the help I can get. But I`m still hunting, fishing, and living life to the fullest. 

Actually found a little temporary relief for the arthritis in my hand. A TENS unit. Works wonders for a couple of hours afterward. Doesn`t do anything for the knees though.


----------



## Milkman

I have one of those little battery powered tens units that I use on my neck and shoulder. Mine doesn’t zap me like the 120 volt models at the physical therapy office. Maybe I need a better one.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I have one of those little battery powered tens units that I use on my neck and shoulder. Mine doesn’t zap me like the 120 volt models at the physical therapy office. Maybe I need a better one.




This one I just got ain`t much bigger`n a pack of cigarettes , but it will light you up if you crank it on up.


----------



## HughW2

Nicodemus said:


> Since I can`t walk mile after mile like I used too, this electric buggy is worth its weight in gold to me.


Nic,

Is your buggy gas or electric? 4WD?


----------



## Nicodemus

HughW2 said:


> Nic,
> 
> Is your buggy gas or electric? 4WD?




The one pictured is all electric and 2wd. I have another one that is gas powered, 4wd, with a winch on front. I use the gas powered one more for work in the woods than hunting though.


----------



## HughW2

How does the electric do out on trails? I guess fine in dry weather but mud would give it fits.  I love electrics for stealth, but have always wondered how dependable they would be on soft ground.


----------



## Milkman

HughW2 said:


> How does the electric do out on trails? I guess fine in dry weather but mud would give it fits.  I love electrics for stealth, but have always wondered how dependable they would be on soft ground.



I have some slick red hills that mine does fine on. It slides sometimes like any vehicle does but pulls fine. I have the knobby tires. Mine is similar to the red one in Nics picture.
I have not ventured into swampy bottoms where water is standing.


----------



## Jim Boyd

Been 4.5 years since this thread was started. 

The 55+ crowd is basically now the 60+ crowd. 

At 63, I am quite happy about how things have evolved. 

Still building stands, planting plots, planting trees, scouting, moving stands and getting it done. 

Now, 5 years from now, I will be 68, not sure what that will look like!

Will most likely be retired by then and collecting SS. Gonna postpone the SS as long as I can to maximize the monthly amount and gonna work a while to maximize the investments. 

Life is good, God is great and I have a wonderful wife. 

When I look back over the decades, I could never have predicted such a great outcome. 


Best of luck, men and women!!!


----------



## coolbreezeroho

5 Months and I can join.....


----------



## Milkman

Jim Boyd said:


> Been 4.5 years since this thread was started.
> 
> The 55+ crowd is basically now the 60+ crowd.
> 
> At 63, I am quite happy about how things have evolved.
> 
> Still building stands, planting plots, planting trees, scouting, moving stands and getting it done.
> 
> Now, 5 years from now, I will be 68, not sure what that will look like!
> 
> Will most likely be retired by then and collecting SS. Gonna postpone the SS as long as I can to maximize the monthly amount and gonna work a while to maximize the investments.
> 
> Life is good, God is great and I have a wonderful wife.
> 
> When I look back over the decades, I could never have predicted such a great outcome.
> 
> 
> Best of luck, men and women!!!



Good stuff Jim
I know from following your adventures posted here that you are no doubt in good physical condition for someone our age. If I were in better shape I would continue to work too for the same reasons.
Now I also know that mentally you ain’t right and suffer from the same addiction many of us do.  I hope there is no cure or rehabilitation for that.


----------



## Jim Boyd

Milkman said:


> Now I also know that mentally you ain’t right and suffer from the same addiction many of us do.  I hope there is no cure or rehabilitation for that.



I would love to tell that comment hurts my feelings - but I resemble that remark!

I am def not in great shape. Need exercise and to lose 30 lbs. 

Think us old codgers are in the same boat - we suffer an affliction, we are happy about it and we have absolutely no intention of changing. 

God bless ya, brother !!


----------



## HughW2

Yep, I am right behind most of you.  Just a few months till I can start tapping the 401-k, but I plan to work till SS.  I have to keep earning to support this habit!  I aspire to finally retire in a situation similar to y’all’s!


----------



## ssmith

Be 79 this coming season and still at it May use a box blind instead of ladder stand more this coming fall . If you find me deceased in the woods best place to find me enjoying it till the end


----------



## TJay

Yep I'm 66 and while I've scaled back a good bit I still enjoy climbing trees and sitting til my butt gets numb waiting on a buck or a tom.  The really good thing for me is that I'm just not as "driven" as I was when I was younger.  Used to be I hated missing a weekend or if the weather wasn't favorable I still felt obligated to be out there slugging it out rain or shine.  Not anymore.  I think I've finally reached the point where being successful has taken a back seat to just being immersed in God's creation and sharing a camp with old friends.


----------



## Triple C

TJay said:


> Yep I'm 66 and while I've scaled back a good bit I still enjoy climbing trees and sitting til my butt gets numb waiting on a buck or a tom.  The really good thing for me is that I'm just not as "driven" as I was when I was younger.  Used to be I hated missing a weekend or if the weather wasn't favorable I still felt obligated to be out there slugging it out rain or shine.  Not anymore.  I think I've finally reached the point where being successful has taken a back seat to just being immersed in God's creation and sharing a camp with old friends.


Rigth there with you TJ.  Being amongst friends n family during hunting season is bout as good as it gets.  Don't give a flip if I kill something or not and mostly just watch the critters come and go from the stand.  I was at the farm this weekend and solo yesterday morning.  Got 35 to 40 acres of bottom land interspersed with big hardwoods n beaver sloughs and bordered on the south end by a creek.  There's parts of it I've never seen in the past 10 years so yesterday morning I took off on a hiking trek to see if I could get back to the far corner.  Imagine beaver ponds, large swampy openings, big hardwoods and you get the picture.  I made it all the way back and couldn't believe how beautiful it is back there.  The recent floods had it almost like it was cleaned out and made it relatively easy to walk.  Thought to myself in my younger days I'd have a stand hung back in there.  Something about just being out enjoying nature in it's purest element is soothing to the soul.


----------



## shdw633

coolbreezeroho said:


> 5 Months and I can join.....



Don't rush it!!


----------



## coolbreezeroho

Trying to take it slow and steady


----------



## 62hunter

57 pushing 58. Getting to and from hunt locations still the same, just can't haul something out like I used to. Being outdoors for whatever reason is another opportunity to see what God is capable of.


----------



## Buford_Dawg

I joined the club last year. Slowed down myself the last few years.  No more climbing tree stands, prefer double ladders and ground blinds.  Could care less if I kill anything all season, doesnt matter any more.  Just being in the woods and spending as many weekends as possible in deer camp is what makes me happy now.  Prefer to watch game .vs. kill it, however if a big old buck or a longbeard shows up, so much the better.  I hope to retire in next few years and enjoy it as much as some of you are.


----------



## Milkman

Lots of us posting in this thread are being affected by all the steps being planned to help slow the spread of Coronavirus. 
Lots of us are being affected by the downturn in the stock market largely based on Coronavirus fears. 
Lots of us are among those believed to be high risk for the ill effects of the disease. 

Anyone want to share how Coronavirus has affected your life??


----------



## fishman1957

401k took a small hit hopefully won't effect my health looking forward to hearing a gobbler next week , never cared for turkey meat much but I love to hear one gobble


----------



## Buford_Dawg

401k has taken a 10.5 % hit so far, expect that to probably go as far as 15% at some point over the next few months, then start moving back up.  My plans have always to retire at 60, still expecting that but if the market is slow to recover (>3 Years), then I may be pushed back to 62.  Time will tell.  We are trying to do things we always do, just avoid large crowds.  If everyone just shuts down and stays home, then pretty much all small businesses and such will go under.  They need our support.


----------



## Mommasue

riprap said:


> Not 55 but I do and have hunted with plenty that are. Hunting is lower on the priority list. When I was younger the roads on Friday night and camps were full of deer hunters especially on opening gun day and doe days. Now days it doesn't take much of excuse to keep people home. I think the womenz have more of a say so than they use to.



Depends on what woman ya got I reckon, mines 64 and she in the woods as much as I am during season


----------



## Milkman

I was going to retire soon. I may decide to wait until the stock market recovers.


----------



## Jim Boyd

To start, 25% reduction in 401k funds -  and we are nowhere near the end.

Likely means at least another year - maybe 2-3 to work before retirement. 

Was supposed to work in Houston this week and Dallas the week following (delivering training) and both of those are postponed.  

The sky is not falling and we are still blessed!


----------



## YankeeRedneck

This is a great thread thanks for raising it from the dead!!
I too am pushing 57 and go a little slower than I used too butt...I still have that burning desire to see a nice buck or fox and spend time in the woods with God and family. I have an old tree lounge in the garage and haven't used it in years and every time i see it i say this is the year!! but I am afraid it's to heavy and i really enjoy ladder stands now.
P.S.I am NOT even going to look at my 401K I work in the airline industry


----------



## Buford_Dawg

Buford_Dawg said:


> 401k has taken a 10.5 % hit so far, expect that to probably go as far as 15% at some point over the next few months, then start moving back up.  My plans have always to retire at 60, still expecting that but if the market is slow to recover (>3 Years), then I may be pushed back to 62.  Time will tell.  We are trying to do things we always do, just avoid large crowds.  If everyone just shuts down and stays home, then pretty much all small businesses and such will go under.  They need our support.



Oh well, I was wrong, real wrong, 401k took another 6% hit yesterday, now sitting at 17% down, Jim Boyd may be on target with his prediction of 25%.  It that is true, my desire to retire in 3 years has taken a huge nosedive.  Cant wait to get to camp Friday afternoon and forget all this mess for a few days and chase turkeys.


----------



## Jim Boyd

Buford_Dawg said:


> Oh well, I was wrong, real wrong, 401k took another 6% hit yesterday, now sitting at 17% down, Jim Boyd may be on target with his prediction of 25%.  It that is true, my desire to retire in 3 years has taken a huge nosedive.  Cant wait to get to camp Friday afternoon and forget all this mess for a few days and chase turkeys.



I don’t beleive the sky is falling (it’s not) but if you have a portfolio that is a fairly equal mix of stocks and bonds, I think a prediction of a 40-45% drop in fund total is very likely and realistic. 

For younger folks with a more aggressive portfolio, the reductions will likely be greater than that. 

18K on the Dow will surprise no one at this point and we can see 16K. 

If we see the latter, the Dow drop will be roughly - what - 45%....

No worries, if I have to work a few years longer (I am 63), I can totally deal with that. 

Above all - be safe and don’t panic with your money.


----------



## SCPO

Be 78 in couple months. I use 4-wheeler more. Don't run and gun during turkey season anymore.


----------



## Triple C

Buford_Dawg said:


> Oh well, I was wrong, real wrong, 401k took another 6% hit yesterday, now sitting at 17% down, Jim Boyd may be on target with his prediction of 25%.  It that is true, my desire to retire in 3 years has taken a huge nosedive.  Cant wait to get to camp Friday afternoon and forget all this mess for a few days and chase turkeys.


This one is really, really weird BD.  As bad as 2009 financial crisis was, this one has much more panic around it.  It's like folks are are all walking around with deer in the headlights look.  And I 'm one of em!  Nothing, including financial crisis, has caused a total shutdown of our entire economy overnight like this has.  Ain't nobody gonna get out of this without experiencing financial pain in one form or another.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Not going to look at my TSP. Get a quarterly statement and I’m sure it will be ugly! Already retired so may have to cut back more! Hopefully can find enough to pay lease if it’s not sold


----------



## doctordmin

As long as I am able I'm going to be in the woods, scouting, checking my game cams, hunting deer, using my climber, looking for sheds. Just enjoying God's creation Can't walk as far as I used to, have to take more breaks but have an ATV for back-up. (70 years old). My engine light comes on more than it used to, but I get repaired and keep going.


----------



## Bud Man

Looking forward to October 18 , that will be my last day with corporate America lol . 36.5 yrs. with one employer and leaving at 55. My wife is a little older and has been retired for 3 yrs. waiting on my day.   For some reason, just a gut feeling , I got 86% out of the stock market in July of last year and man am I glad now . Dumb luck I guess. Looking forward to having my schedule instead of a job schedule. I love the outdoors and cant wait.


----------



## Milkman

Bump for any corona virus related old folks stuff ?????


----------



## 4HAND

I'm 54 & planning on working 5 more, Lord willing.
33 years is enough.


----------



## shdw633

4HAND said:


> I'm 54 & planning on working 5 more, Lord willing.
> 33 years is enough.



I said that when I was your age....now I'm 59 and will work another 6 before I hang up my shingle.  I got too good of insurance to retire now.


----------



## Jim Boyd

Milkman said:


> Bump for any corona virus related old folks stuff ?????



All good here.

People are affected though.

Lost my Illinois hunt partner for at least this year / they are requiring him to use his vacation while the office is shut down.

There will be more impact to come - but the sky is not falling.

This too will pass.

Be safe, all and be smart.


----------



## Milkman

I gotta go get my first ever nuclear stress test and echocardiogram this Thursday. That is if they don’t cancel it. 

After that I’m thinking of sheltering in place down to our place on Sinclair and loading up on a heavy dose of pine pollen for a few days. I will drown a few minnows but not pose a threat to the crappie population.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I gotta go get my first ever nuclear stress test and echocardiogram this Thursday. That is if they don’t cancel it.
> 
> After that I’m thinking of sheltering in place down to our place on Sinclair and loading up on a heavy dose of pine pollen for a few days. I will drown a few minnows but not pose a threat to the crappie population.




Good luck with it. I had one last year and it took a lot out of me. Took me two weeks to get completely over it. That thing was tough.


----------



## Milkman

Thanks Nic. I haven’t heard that before.


----------



## HughW2

Hope the procedure and your recovery go smoothly Milkman.  Best wishes.


----------



## dutchie49

I'm 62 and still use my climber every season, proper harness of course.


----------



## mlandrum

Ya’ll ever thought about giving one of those ole wore out hunters  that taught you how to hunt rather than useIng them as a illustration to boost your selfish desires- I’m a Vietnam Vet and 90% disable and look at a lot of U-Tube hunting and fishing and can still take my little .308 and hit the bulls eye , and by the way a disable veteran doesn’t have to have a leg or something else blown of to be a doable war veteran. This year I got 4 deer and 3 hogs and had to call my grandsons to help me drag them out but there’s a lot of other ole coots sitting home watching U-Yube wishing someone  would call them and  at least make an offer to go with you. Signed: OLD COOT


----------



## Handgunner 45-70

I'M 63 had heart attack back in may and man it really has slowed me down. but still hunting and fishing when I get chance. This Corona Virus got us all scared. Today they were talking up to 200 thousand more will die in U.S. before it starts to end. Make one afraid to go out the house anymore. 100 % disabled Vet. here also. And hope  when my time comes that I am in the woods.


----------



## Milkman

I will take a moment to make an observation from an older point of view. I admit that I don’t read much normally over in the political forum. But like many of us I have recently with the ongoing serious Covic-19 tragedy.
The sparse reading I did over there in the past made me aware that there are those among us who claimed to despise any form of government. Local, state, national no matter. They think society could exist with no government. These same people and another group likewise HATE all politicians. Everyone from small town council members to POTUS.

Now fast forward to the pandemic of 2020. These same haters/people are of the opinion that it’s the responsibility of these governments and despised politicians to solve the pandemic problems!!!

Am I the only one seeing this?


----------



## 4HAND

Milkman said:


> I will take a moment to make an observation from an older point of view. I admit that I don’t read much normally over in the political forum. But like many of us I have recently with the ongoing serious Covic-19 tragedy.
> The sparse reading I did over there in the past made me aware that there are those among us who claimed to despise any form of government. Local, state, national no matter. They think society could exist with no government. These same people and another group likewise HATE all politicians. Everyone from small town council members to POTUS.
> 
> Now fast forward to the pandemic of 2020. These same haters/people are of the opinion that it’s the responsibility of these governments and despised politicians to solve these problems!!!
> 
> Am I the only one seeing this?


No sir, you're not. I read some things on here that reek of "sovereign citizenry". That's very concerning.


----------



## BowArrow

I am 82 and survived a widow maker heart attach and two cancers one which required a stem cell transplant at Emory Hospital. I had a great 2019 season with my new BowTec SR6 bow. I can still drag them 300 yards with my two wheel cart although it is getting harder. This will be season number 55 with a bow for me. I let my back seat down in my car and load it up with hunting gear for the four month long deer season. I converted one of my bedrooms to an exercise room in November which allows me to exercise any time day or night. I do ten exercises ever day including a bow exerciser. Will be shooting for 1,500 push ups in one day next month. Got to be able to climb trees and draw my bow for a few more years.


----------



## 4HAND

BowArrow said:


> I am 82 and survived a widow maker heart attach and two cancers one which required a stem cell transplant at Emory Hospital. I had a great 2019 season with my new BowTec SR6 bow. I can still drag them 300 yards with my two wheel cart although it is getting harder. This will be season number 55 with a bow for me. I let my back seat down in my car and load it up with hunting gear for the four month long deer season. I converted one of my bedrooms to an exercise room in November which allows me to exercise any time day or night. I do ten exercises ever day including a bow exerciser. Will be shooting for 1,500 push ups in one day next month. Got to be able to climb trees and draw my bow for a few more years.


You, sir are amazing.


----------



## Jim Boyd

Milkman said:


> I will take a moment to make an observation from an older point of view. I admit that I don’t read much normally over in the political forum. But like many of us I have recently with the ongoing serious Covic-19 tragedy.
> The sparse reading I did over there in the past made me aware that there are those among us who claimed to despise any form of government. Local, state, national no matter. They think society could exist with no government. These same people and another group likewise HATE all politicians. Everyone from small town council members to POTUS.
> 
> Now fast forward to the pandemic of 2020. These same haters/people are of the opinion that it’s the responsibility of these governments and despised politicians to solve the pandemic problems!!!
> 
> Am I the only one seeing this?



One need not look far to find hypocrisy.  

Like anything else, and this includes politics - anyone or anything at either extreme of an issue can be dangerous.


----------



## old florida gator

10/4


----------



## Wayne D Davis

BowArrow said:


> I am 82 and survived a widow maker heart attach and two cancers one which required a stem cell transplant at Emory Hospital. I had a great 2019 season with my new BowTec SR6 bow. I can still drag them 300 yards with my two wheel cart although it is getting harder. This will be season number 55 with a bow for me. I let my back seat down in my car and load it up with hunting gear for the four month long deer season. I converted one of my bedrooms to an exercise room in November which allows me to exercise any time day or night. I do ten exercises ever day including a bow exerciser. Will be shooting for 1,500 push ups in one day next month. Got to be able to climb trees and draw my bow for a few more years.


I sure admire your style. If I'm blessed to live long as you im sure I'll still hunt.... probably from a tailgate tho


----------



## Triple C

BowArrow said:


> I am 82 and survived a widow maker heart attach and two cancers one which required a stem cell transplant at Emory Hospital. I had a great 2019 season with my new BowTec SR6 bow. I can still drag them 300 yards with my two wheel cart although it is getting harder. This will be season number 55 with a bow for me. I let my back seat down in my car and load it up with hunting gear for the four month long deer season. I converted one of my bedrooms to an exercise room in November which allows me to exercise any time day or night. I do ten exercises ever day including a bow exerciser. Will be shooting for 1,500 push ups in one day next month. Got to be able to climb trees and draw my bow for a few more years.


Every hunter's hero!


----------



## bowhunterdavid

BowArrow said:


> I am 82 and survived a widow maker heart attach and two cancers one which required a stem cell transplant at Emory Hospital. I had a great 2019 season with my new BowTec SR6 bow. I can still drag them 300 yards with my two wheel cart although it is getting harder. This will be season number 55 with a bow for me. I let my back seat down in my car and load it up with hunting gear for the four month long deer season. I converted one of my bedrooms to an exercise room in November which allows me to exercise any time day or night. I do ten exercises ever day including a bow exerciser. Will be shooting for 1,500 push ups in one day next month. Got to be able to climb trees and draw my bow for a few more years.


I got some friends in there 50's that complain about pulling a bow back because there shoulder hurts. I try to tell them a 40 pound bow with a sharp broadhead will work. I am going to share your post with them. You Sir are amazing,, Keep going at it Sir.


----------



## Triple C

*A "hold my beer and watch this" moment that some of you 55 and older guys can relate to:*

I turn 64 in a couple of months and like every one else says, the mind is still 18 when they body knows better.  Bout a month ago I was at the farm and late in the day on a Saturday, I decided to hop on my e-bike and take a spin around the farm.  I've had this thing for a couple of years and love it...until the interior roads turn to mush like they do at the end of winter and early spring.

I'm cruising down one of my interior roads and come around a curve to see about a 10 yd long steak of black yuk muck.  I stopped and thought to myself, self...you can easily negotiate that.  Off and I and hit the spot with plenty of speed and without hesitation, the front wheel slides out from underneath me and down I went.  

Here's the funny part...Once I realized I had no broke ribs or bones, I attempted to get up.  It was embarrassing to say the least and glad no one was there to watch. Attempting to right myself in an upright position while wallowing in slick muck took more than one try.  Back down i went.

Came back to the cabin covered in muck.  Stripped down to my birthday suit underneath the pavilion and showered no worse for the wear.


----------



## oldguy

I've seen where some folks pay big money to get covered in mud like that. Might make your skin purty!


----------



## Milkman

Triple C said:


> *A "hold my beer and watch this" moment that some of you 55 and older guys can relate to:*
> 
> I turn 64 in a couple of months and like every one else says, the mind is still 18 when they body knows better.  Bout a month ago I was at the farm and late in the day on a Saturday, I decided to hop on my e-bike and take a spin around the farm.  I've had this thing for a couple of years and love it...until the interior roads turn to mush like they do at the end of winter and early spring.
> 
> I'm cruising down one of my interior roads and come around a curve to see about a 10 yd long steak of black yuk muck.  I stopped and thought to myself, self...you can easily negotiate that.  Off and I and hit the spot with plenty of speed and without hesitation, the front wheel slides out from underneath me and down I went.
> 
> Here's the funny part...Once I realized I had no broke ribs or bones, I attempted to get up.  It was embarrassing to say the least and glad no one was there to watch. Attempting to right myself in an upright position while wallowing in slick muck took more than one try.  Back down i went.
> 
> Came back to the cabin covered in muck.  Stripped down to my birthday suit underneath the pavilion and showered no worse for the wear.
> View attachment 1012199View attachment 1012200



Maybe people our age should stick with 4 wheels.


----------



## mlandrum

I saw a  Electric Wheel Chair today and the guy was flying and I thought ,  hum, I think I can hook a deer cart to that and get my deer and hogs out of the woods this year---- Still Thinking!!!! I'll be 73 in November


----------



## Milkman

mlandrum said:


> I saw a  Electric Wheel Chair today and the guy was flying and I thought ,  hum, I think I can hook a deer cart to that and get my deer and hogs out of the woods this year---- Still Thinking!!!! I'll be 73 in November


 
Electric golf cart is your answer


----------



## shdw633

Triple C said:


> *A "hold my beer and watch this" moment that some of you 55 and older guys can relate to:*
> 
> I turn 64 in a couple of months and like every one else says, the mind is still 18 when they body knows better.  Bout a month ago I was at the farm and late in the day on a Saturday, I decided to hop on my e-bike and take a spin around the farm.  I've had this thing for a couple of years and love it...until the interior roads turn to mush like they do at the end of winter and early spring.
> 
> I'm cruising down one of my interior roads and come around a curve to see about a 10 yd long steak of black yuk muck.  I stopped and thought to myself, self...you can easily negotiate that.  Off and I and hit the spot with plenty of speed and without hesitation, the front wheel slides out from underneath me and down I went.
> 
> Here's the funny part...Once I realized I had no broke ribs or bones, I attempted to get up.  It was embarrassing to say the least and glad no one was there to watch. Attempting to right myself in an upright position while wallowing in slick muck took more than one try.  Back down i went.
> 
> Came back to the cabin covered in muck.  Stripped down to my birthday suit underneath the pavilion and showered no worse for the wear.
> View attachment 1012199View attachment 1012200




Don't feel too bad....I've went down three times and once was because of mud and yes it is embarrassing trying to get back up...even with no one around!!  I can drive mine through sugar sand with no problem but for some reason that front wheel just does not like mud and gets squirrely on me every time.  Glad you're ok and hope you didn't do any damage to the bike!!


----------



## shdw633

Milkman said:


> Electric golf cart is your answerView attachment 1020741



Do you have a winch on the front of your cart??


----------



## Milkman

shdw633 said:


> Do you have a winch on the front of your cart??



No. I have a portable 12 volt winch but have never had to use it for getting the cart unstuck. I don’t take it into wicked places like you would a 4wd vehicle.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/pro-lift-portable-electrical-winch-2-000-lb-capacity


----------



## mguthrie

01Foreman400 said:


> I feel discriminated against........


No worries. You’ll get there soon enough


----------



## old florida gator

75 AND STILL KICKING DONOT LIKE HOT STEAMY WEATHER BUT ENJOY GOD'S CREATION ANYWAY I CAN ,


----------



## Katalee

Social Security pays me to hunt and fish. That would make me a professional.


----------



## LifeLongHunter

Working 6 days a week to get there! 18 more months and will be on the home stretch!


----------



## South Man

I am 56 now I am nearing the stretch!


----------



## Wifeshusband

biker13 said:


> 65 and still get out.Its Ladders now and not as long in the stand.Guess I will keep on keeping on til I'm done.Going for an alligator next wed on Seminole.


----------



## Wifeshusband

65, and, yep, ladders, and the ladder are getting shorter to. Lord, I remember back in the 70's, couple of 2x4's with a sheet of plywood
across two trunks up 20-25 ft. No safety harness. We were young, strong and foolish back then and have lived to tell about it. Climbers came along 
to save us, but I had my incidents with them. Once lost the bottom portion from about 20 ft., it and the rifle hit the bottom. I managed to catch the top part as I went through it, and swing my legs around tree, to eventually "shinny" my way down. Good thing I had so much practice during my childhood.


----------



## Buckstop

Joined the club two years back. Noticed over the last 5 years, without any conscious decision, my climbers got phased out and box blinds and double ladders got phased in. Figured out more about what I want to get out of it these days. Still looking forward to the next season and hopefully several more.


----------



## CroMagnum

Im getting long on the tooth myself but still very mobile (thank God). I am thinking about an electric bike in another few years so I can get deeper into the woods.


----------



## Wayne D Davis

Coming up on 57 and still climb. Just got two new climbers for the upcoming season


----------



## Wifeshusband

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Let us not forget Clyde Roberts, who died a couple of years ago. He was still hunting deer in a wheel chair when he was 100 years old. Take a gander at the geezer--amazing.  I'll be long gone before then.


----------



## Stroker

I'll be 69 in less than two weeks and still climb "if" the location is best hunted from a climber. Got a few ladder stands as well, but in the last 10 years I've killed the majority of my deer from the ground sitting in brush blinds(aka>snake pits) that I build.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Turn 62 if I live to 14th. Timber company cleared about a acre plot in front of box stand last year. When finally got fall mix to come up realized sitting in a chair under a roof with sides and seeing deer every time I set was pretty nice! Good signal could keep up with scores and live from the tree was pretty nice too! Haha call me a wuss


----------



## Milkman

Gbr5pb said:


> Turn 62 if I live to 14th. Timber company cleared about a acre plot in front of box stand last year. When finally got fall mix to come up realized sitting in a chair under a roof with sides and seeing deer every time I set was pretty nice! Good signal could keep up with scores and live from the tree was pretty nice too! Haha call me a wuss



Not a wus at all. That is proof that you have arrived at an understanding of why you hunt. For enjoyment!!!!
I have several stands like you described. I sit in them to hunt and even in the off season just to watch Gods creation. 

Cold and wet hunting is a thing of the past for me.


----------



## GeorgiaGlockMan

Gbr5pb said:


> Turn 62 if I live to 14th. Timber company cleared about a acre plot in front of box stand last year. When finally got fall mix to come up realized sitting in a chair under a roof with sides and seeing deer every time I set was pretty nice! Good signal could keep up with scores and live from the tree was pretty nice too! Haha call me a wuss


Lol.

If you call that box blind a "sniper's nest", you'll feel better about yourself..

I learned that from elfiii.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Wayne D Davis said:


> Coming up on 57 and still climb. Just got two new climbers for the upcoming season


Keep climbing while you can. The day will come when you can't.


----------



## CaptKeith

Almost 65 and hunting public Land.  Can’t draw my bow due to a bum shoulder now, so I bought a crossbow last year. I’m no longer comfortable climbing, so I bought a Ghost Blind.  As you can see, while I can’t do as much, I can buy more toys To compensate!


----------



## georgia_home

55. Decided to start getting ready for an antelope hunt coming this year. 

When the rona set in, started walking daily several miles per day, Hills, level, and just a little jog at a few spots along the way. 

June 22, crossing the street. Last step before curb. Twisted my right knee. 

Xrays, ultrasound, mri. Damaged manuscus, partial torn lateral collateral ligament,  tendinitis, and of course arthritis. Oh boy. Got a cortisone shot.

Pinched nerve in neck popped up about a week and a half ago.

Hunt starts next Saturday. Oh boy, this is gonna be fun! I am going, but the medicine cabinet will be there. Hope things work out.


----------



## Milkman

georgia_home said:


> 55. Decided to start getting ready for an antelope hunt coming this year.
> 
> When the rona set in, started walking daily several miles per day, Hills, level, and just a little jog at a few spots along the way.
> 
> June 22, crossing the street. Last step before curb. Twisted my right knee.
> 
> Xrays, ultrasound, mri. Damaged manuscus, partial torn lateral collateral ligament,  tendinitis, and of course arthritis. Oh boy. Got a cortisone shot.
> 
> Pinched nerve in neck popped up about a week and a half ago.
> 
> Hunt starts next Saturday. Oh boy, this is gonna be fun! I am going, but the medicine cabinet will be there. Hope things work out.



Welcome to Seniorhood. Something will hurt most days. But that’s OK. Good luck with the antelope!!!


----------



## Milkman

I took another step in the ever evolving life of Senior citizenship a few days back. I retired after over 48 years of working full time. 
There is an odd coincidence that deer season is opening just a few days after my retirement ?


----------



## Triple C

Turned 64 this summer.  Still setting new ladder stands but they’re a whole lot shorter than years ago.  No shoulder issues so far and will be slinging arrows from a trad bow again this year.


----------



## Triple C

I’ll add that I continue to do strength training 3 days a week and mix in cardio in an effort to keep the legs n shoulders working well, despite a few pains here n there.


----------



## buckmanmike

Congrats Milkman. I'll be joining you shortly. Im still on disability from surgery until the 21st. After that, retirement. And like you said, just happens to coincide with deer season.


----------



## Bubba_1122

I'll soon be 65. I move slower than I used to. I run out of gas sooner. I choose to kill a lot less deer (last year I shot 8 hogs and zero deer). Mostly enjoy hunting specific deer these days. Also love turkey hunting and shooting the little woody hole I have access to. I shoot turkeys and woodies with a 28 gauge because of some neck issues/surgery I've had. Figured out that I can use TSS to make that a heckova good option for that (straight TSS for turkeys and blended steel and TSS for ducks). A little more expensive but it's an effective way for me to hold on to what I love.

I just love being in the woods. My 9 year old grandson will be hunting with me some this year. Will be his first time deer hunting. That'll be special.

Have had some other health issues but those seem to be doing pretty well so that's not stopping me at this point. I'm grateful for that. 

I've set up a couple of ladder stands and a tower stand by myself this weekend (I use my brain more than my back to lift things nowadays). For instance I have an ATV that has a winch. I can go up a regular ladder and put a strap with a metal carabiner on it above where the top of a stand will be. Can run the cable through that to lift a stand with the electric winch to put it on a tree (I don't have 20' stands anymore (prob more like max 12-14 high). The winch keeps me from having to try to lift and lean the stand.

I cleaned vines and brush out from around some older stands that haven't hunted out of in a few years today. With the heat I don't stay out there all day (was there about 3 or 4 hours today - I headed to the house around noon).

I'll be back in the morning before it gets fiery hot to finish up everything so I'll be ready for bow season next weekend.

I'm thankful that I still can, and hope that continues for many more years.


----------



## Triple C

Milkman said:


> I took another step in the ever evolving life of Senior citizenship a few days back. I retired after over 48 years of working full time.
> There is an odd coincidence that deer season is opening just a few days after my retirement ?


Congrats on your retirement!  We should be hearing all manner of stories from afield this year.


----------



## elfiii

Milkman said:


> I took another step in the ever evolving life of Senior citizenship a few days back. I retired after over 48 years of working full time.
> There is an odd coincidence that deer season is opening just a few days after my retirement ?



Coincidence? You ain't foolin' nobody.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I took another step in the ever evolving life of Senior citizenship a few days back. I retired after over 48 years of working full time.
> There is an odd coincidence that deer season is opening just a few days after my retirement ?




Congratulations to you on your retirement, Marvin. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine.


----------



## fredw

Milkman said:


> I took another step in the ever evolving life of Senior citizenship a few days back. I retired after over 48 years of working full time.
> There is an odd coincidence that deer season is opening just a few days after my retirement ?


Attaboy!  Congratulations Marvin.


----------



## oldfella1962

58 years old and in great shape (retired military but still greatly exceed the PT standards and weight/body fat percentage standards with no injuries) however....I did some recon a few days ago...and noticed that my eyesight is TERRIBLE!   I wear glasses when I drive and I have reading glasses, but out in the woods switching back & forth between objects at varying distances nothing is very sharp and clear. I can detect movement okay, but there's no visual clarity.


----------



## Milkman

@oldfella1962  it May be cataracts. Simple fix.


----------



## 4HAND

Finally qualify for the "55 & older".
Turned 55 a couple of days ago.?


----------



## BriarPatch99

Milkman said:


> May be cataracts. Simple fix.



Best dollars a fellow can spend!!!

I see like I was 20 again ....

Be 65 in November ...been retired ten years now ....


----------



## Milkman

BriarPatch99 said:


> Best dollars a fellow can spend!!!
> 
> I see like I was 20 again ....
> 
> Be 65 in November ...been retired ten years now ....



I had both eyes done in November and December of 2018. I had been wearing distance prescription from age 15 until then. Not since. I am 20/20 now as well. I do have to use reader glasses for small stuff like my phone.


----------



## oldfella1962

Milkman said:


> @oldfella1962  it May be cataracts. Simple fix.



Seriously? Can you develop them relatively quickly? Because I sure don't remember my eyes being this bad last season. I will look into this (no pun intended) thanks for the info!


----------



## Dutch

I hope to die in the woods or on the water.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Just turned 65 last month and coming off foot surgery. Planned, so I could heal for deer season. Like Milkman says, the older you get the more things hurt and go wrong with your body.  Last year it was bladder surgery to remove a kidney stone (about like being field dressed). Lord knows what it will be next year. I need hearing aids and glasses. Can't afford the former and am to vain for the latter.  Hunt & Fish as long as you can raise an arm is my motto.
*** I did swear off heavy calibers, though. Who wants to get a hairline crack in their clavicle at 65.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Milkman, congratulations on your retirement. Where's Miquel? I wish GON had a 55 & up, or 65 & up forum (like those 55 & up  communities), where we could sit around and reminisce, discuss what medications we're on, and not have to worry about being lectured by the Michael Waddells of the World.  Oh, we'd let juniors in, but they'd have to take off their hat, or, at least, turn the ballcap bill around where it's facing forward.  If you're wearing a ballcap backwards why don't you just get a camouflaged skullcap and be done with it.  When I was growing up, only two guys wore their ballcaps backwards: Homeplate Umpires and catchers.
Uh, Oh, I'm beginning to sound like a grumpy old man
But I have to say, I did turn my Tractor Supply cap backwards last fall in my tripod while I was facing away from the sun to prevent neck sun burn, although no one saw me do it, and if anyone confronts me with this admission, I will deny it.
__________________________________________________________________
_If I knew I was going to live this long, I'd have taken better care of myself._ - Mickey Mantle


----------



## Milkman

Thanks. It’s been two weeks tomorrow since I retired. I have been busier than usual since then. Maybe bow season will calm me down. 

Miguel (Hugh) had a stroke a couple of years back. He still drops in occasionally. 

Since we don’t have a sub forum We will have to be content with threads for now.


----------



## RossVegas

I’m only 53, but feel 73 some days so I’m gonna chime in. Had a major heart attack in March. Can’t wait to get out and hunt. Scouted 2 miles yesterday and today


----------



## antique41

joedublin said:


> I am 82, a cancer and heartfailure survivor, and I'll be chasing deer in SW GA this season, just like the years before, until my Father and my God calls me home. That's the way I want to live and the way I want to go home. I'd love to go hunting with Nic just once before I do go home.


Am 79 and a cancer and quad bypass survivor.  When deer season approaches i am like a teenager with a hot date.  Camp in a tent and shoot a single shot. I would also like to hunt with Nic.  I hunt alone which bothers my wife, but if i go when im hunting, just kick some leaves over the body because that isnt me.  Ill be with the Lord.


----------



## feathersnantlers

I am 52 and just started running marathons. Thinking of going to run n gun type tree climbing/hunting. Motion is Lotion


----------



## Wifeshusband

Wife is 63 and had a major heart attack October 2 years ago. I only hunted once that season and didn't get a deer. I guess she felt guilty, so this week we went to Chattanooga and picked up a new rifle I ordered and she helped pay for it.  She is not fond of my deer hunting but she accepted it when we got married. We have been married 36 years.  She also bought me a separate freezer for my deer years ago.


----------



## Milkman

The attached picture is of a plant growing wild in Putnam Co.Ga. Specifically the gray plant with narrow leaves.
I know all us older fellas know the answer but I want somebody under 40 reading here to tell us what the nickname for this plant is.
Old folks just click on “like” if you know what we called it as kids.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Milkman, I believe you have stumped the under 40 crowd, and at least one I know of in the 65 and up community.  But I want one to explain the meaning of a forgotten deer hunting tradition:
    When I shot my first deer, some duck hunters helped me get it to the car, where one of them pulled out a pocket knife and tried to cut my shirt tail off.  Surprised, I pulled back and struggled, and was nearly knifed in the process, but he managed to cut it off.  Heard of it being done in the 70's, but never since.  What was that all about?


----------



## Nicodemus

Wifeshusband said:


> Milkman, I believe you have stumped the under 40 crowd, and at least one I know of in the 65 and up community.  But I want one to explain the meaning of a forgotten deer hunting tradition:
> When I shot my first deer, some duck hunters helped me get it to the car, where one of them pulled out a pocket knife and tried to cut my shirt tail off.  Surprised, I pulled back and struggled, and was nearly knifed in the process, but he managed to cut it off.  Heard of it being done in the 70's, but never since.  What was that all about?




Shirt tails are only cut off if you missed the deer. You`re "blooded" when you kill your first deer.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Hahaha. So the duck hunter didn't know his deer hunting tradition. Was it cut off if you missed your first deer or every deer?  By golly, I should have followed the fellow to the flooded timber and cut off his shirttail when he missed his first Woodduck.


----------



## Nicodemus

Wifeshusband said:


> Hahaha. So the duck hunter didn't know his deer hunting tradition. Was it cut off if you missed your first deer or every deer?  By golly, I should have followed the fellow to the flooded timber and cut off his shirttail when he missed his first Woodduck.




Every deer you miss cost you a shirt tail. I don`t know if that tradition is still going on nowadays. 

That doesn`t apply to ducks. Just deer.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Georgia-Home, you have my empathy, did all that to my right knee in early 70's in high school football. Back then they sliced you open with a skinning knife. Did you postpone surgery after your antelope hunt, and how was your hunt?  I postponed mine for several years, which, I think, was a mistake in hindsight. I'm in pain management right now for arthritis in my neck. The older I get (and the more pills I take) means the advantage is starting to swing back over to the deer.


----------



## Hillbilly stalker

Nicodemus said:


> Every deer you miss cost you a shirt tail. I don`t know if that tradition is still going on nowadays.
> 
> That doesn`t apply to ducks. Just deer.


It’s still going on Nic. We have a wallboard full of pictures of young men bloodied up. We make a necklace out of their running gear they have to wear till we get their deer in the cooler. I have a picture of a friends son from last year I’ll try to find.


----------



## Hillbilly stalker

Found the buck necklace   His momma tore us up too.


----------



## Milkman

Milkman said:


> The attached picture is of a plant growing wild in Putnam Co.Ga. Specifically the gray plant with narrow leaves.
> I know all us older fellas know the answer but I want somebody under 40 reading here to tell us what the nickname for this plant is.
> Old folks just click on “like” if you know what we called it as kids.View attachment 1038336



I know it’s a bad picture but no youngsters have made a guess. This is what we called “rabbit tobacco” back in the 60’s. It was an initiation of sorts to smoke or chew it. Very bitter ? if I remember correctly.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Next time I run out of pipe tobacco on a hunting trip I _*might*_ try some.

_____________________________________________________
One of the reasons I hunt & fish is to get away and smoke my pipe without worrying about being prosecuted.


----------



## Milkman

An observation about getting older. 

I am 4 months into retirement now. Before retiring I used to think “I bet I won’t remember what day it is”. Not true.
 I still have my daily pillbox ? that tells me what day it is.


----------



## Nimrod71

I have gotten to the point where hunting and fishing have become hard and I almost have to force myself to go.  I enjoy it once I get in the stand or in the river, but getting there has become a chore.  I have fished for over 65 years and hunted for 61 years.  I use to look forward to cold weather, the colder the better.  But as I have said before all things change.  I still hunt and fish and will continue as long as I can get out of the house.


----------



## CaptKeith

I’m 65, and admittedly everything is harder.  However, I still am thrilled to see a deer step out, the sunrise through the woods, ducks approaching through the mist, or the strike of a fish.  I’ll be outdoors as long as I can. That said, I have to adjust—not as long out, not as far back, not as high up.


----------



## Triple C

Merry Christmas to all you old geezers.  Just got a txt from my 11 yr old grand daughter's dad showing her all dressed up in new camo and waiting on me to get to the farm to take her hunting.  Started reminiscing about my decades of deer hunting in the piedmont of GA to which many of you can relate.

Late '60's:  I saw a deer track!!!  Never saw a deer.  Not one in the woods.
'70's:  Leased hunting clubs began to form.  1973 - Killed my 1st deer.  1975 - killed my 1st buck and rode it around on front of Jeep for half-a-day.  1976 - joined my 1st hunting club.
'80's:  Hunting clubs and hunting camps exploded.  Great memories.  Starting to see plenty of deer.  If it had bone above it's head it was dead deer walking.
'90's:  Deer everywhere, seasons lengthened and more tags issued.  Food plots began to be planted here and there.  Some clubs instituted antler regs as QDMA came into vogue.  Great memories of hunting with my boys and deer camp.
2000 - 2010:  Lease prices rise substantially.  Food plots become the rage.  Some counties institute antler restrictions.
2011 - 2020:  Kids grown and out on there own.  More disposable income allowed me to buy my own land.  Pretty much gave up golf and spending most weekends at the farm working on habitat improvements.  Food plots now a mainstay of deer hunting.  Experienced 1st born grandson come into his own as a hunter.
2021 and beyond - Hope to be as big a part of 2nd born grandson's and grand daughters hunting journey and good Lord willing, enjoy the golden age of deer hunting.
Been a fun, fun ride boys!  Every decade has been better than the last and expecting the next to continue!  So glad I got to experience the period of no deer...lots of small game hunting and now the golden age of deer hunting in GA!


----------



## Milkman

If these cold January days make you ache in places that don’t usually hurt.......You have arrived at Senior Citizenhood. ?


----------



## Howard Roark

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.View attachment 881663



My dad turned 88 yesterday. We are in the Wilkes county woods today.


----------



## shdw633

Milkman said:


> If these cold January days make you ache in places that don’t usually hurt.......You have arrived at Senior Citizenhood. ?



My bones started to ache just reading your statement.  I think they are doing it because they know I am heading up there this weekend.  No morning hunts for me though, I can't take that kind of cold anymore!!


----------



## Kev

Milkman said:


> If these cold January days make you ache in places that don’t usually hurt.......You have arrived at Senior Citizenhood. ?


I’m 30 and cold/damp weather hurts me. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when I’m 60, if I make it.


----------



## hawkeye123

I'm 59 & still go on am hunts & use a climber about half the time, duck hunt some by myself, got my lab with me at least, find myself only climbing 10-12 ft high a lot of times , not 25 or 30 anymore, hard time loading up deer these days by myself, hope I can hunt for 25 more years, I know I plan on it , my dad hunted until 80 passed at 81
, grandfather until 88 passed at 93, those 80 year old + hunters are my new heroes!


----------



## Milkman

hawkeye123 said:


> hard time loading up deer these days !



If you hunt the same property regularly you may want to try something like this. 

https://forum.gon.com/threads/older-guys-can-still-hunt-alone.957987/


----------



## Nimrod71

Since I retired deer stand seats have gotten harder.  Mornings have gotten colder,  Rifles kick harder.  The walk to the deer stand has gotten longer.  Deer have gotten heavier.  Staying awake in the stand has gotten harder.  I guess that is just the way things are in your 70's, boys, I'm not young anymore.


----------



## TJay

My joints predict the weather better than the weatherman.


----------



## georgia_home

the way time flys, it’ll seem like next week, and you’ll  be thinking you don’t have to imagine it any more.

Was 55 this last summer I twisted my knee enough to get uncomfortable walking a mile or more.

Before that one day, 2-3 daily and 5-6 weekends. Planned walks, not just incidental walking through the day.

Feeling like a lump now.



Kev said:


> I’m 30 and cold/damp weather hurts me. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when I’m 60, if I make it.


----------



## Milkman

Warning Old man vent below:

Ok. I retired in August and changed from employer provided group insurance to Medicare with a supplement (Hartford) and a part D supplement (Aetna).

It is my firm belief that both of these American mega companies have policies in place to hire customer service people who never even heard the English language before being hired.
These darling people are as equally clueless of what I say as I am of what they are saying.
I recently spent 19 minutes in a conversation (and holds) before this person half way understood the reason for my call.


----------



## EAGLE EYE 444

Marvin, I am a firm believer that happenings such as this are what Glocks should be used for.

I have owned my business for the past 28 years now and I still work every day as I enjoy being productive as such.   I also have been getting my SSI check for a few years now and also a pension check that is deposited into my bank account each month for the past 13 years now.  I am also on the Medicare program as well due to my age.   Sometimes, when I can't understand just why certain incoming letters advise me of this change or that change, I would rather be shot than have to call the toll-free numbers listed for customer support.   You are so right because I can NOT understand these people and they can't understand me either.

Within the past few months, I have been getting back refund checks each month for just about the entire amounts that I mail my checks in each month for Dental Insurance, Prescription Drug Insurance, and also Hospitalization Insurance which has been done on a debit from my bank account on the first of each month.   So far, I haven't been able to talk to anyone that can tell me just why they are refunding most of my money as such.  I made up my mind that once they send me a "refund check" (which also was included for the debit each month, that I am NOT going to repay that amount back to them though.  

I don't have a clue just where some of these people are actually located in this world either as I can't understand much about what they are saying and neither can they understand me.

ps:  My Daughter tells me that after all of the bad luck that I have experienced in the past, finally GOD is smiling on me.   Of course, that is what I told my Daughter when I advised her of my young girlfriend back about 2 years or so ago.


----------



## Howard Roark

shdw633 said:


> My bones started to ache just reading your statement.  I think they are doing it because they know I am heading up there this weekend.  No morning hunts for me though, I can't take that kind of cold anymore!!



My dad only hunts across the street from his house in the mornings. He said at 88 he deserves to sleep in.


----------



## Howard Roark

Milkman said:


> What a way to go. If we could all be that lucky.



That happened in our county several years ago. Shot fired, deer gutted, text exchanged and the guy didn’t come back to camp.


----------



## Milkman

All you folks who have your lifetime license remember to purchase your free harvest permit. It’s available today March 1.


----------



## Stickers

Milkman said:


> All you folks who have your lifetime license remember to purchase your free harvest permit. It’s available today March 1.



Have to get it every year or is this something different??  Maybe a one time shot ??  I hope ?


----------



## Milkman

Stickers said:


> Have to get it every year or is this something different??  Maybe a one time shot ??  I hope ?



You must get the harvest permit every year after March 1. Just go to the license purchase site and purchase the free harvest permit. It will sync to your license on your phone.


----------



## Nimrod71

How many hunters over 65 have Smart Phones?  It's all I can do to use the Flip I've got.  My wife has a smart phone and it is a heck of a thing just to turn it on, then to make a call you have to get the screen on then swipe the call sign the try to punch the little numbers with my big fingers, it's even worst trying to answer, I can't swipe it fast enough to answer before the scammer hangs up.


----------



## Wifeshusband

Nimrod, I still have a flip phone, because I need the big numbers to punch.
Back when I was a lawyer I went to one of those build your business groups on the insistence of a friend. They asked how many people still used a flip phone. I raised my hand. (I was the only one) You would have thought I had leprosy after that.
At my next reunion I related this story and asked everyone at my table how many of them still used a flip phone. The old HS quarterback, the star baseball player, and one or two others slammed their flip phones down on the table. (They're much tougher than i-phones). _Man, did I feel good again._


----------



## TJay

I'm a dumb owner of a smart phone.  I can take pictures, send text messages and make calls and that's about it.  I can pull Woody's up on the interweb in a pinch.


----------



## Milkman

I’m not bashing anyone but.   ............

If you fellas are thinking about staying on planet ? for any amount of time you had better embrace technology. 
I ain’t a computer guru by any means but danged if I’m gonna be held back by this smartphone.


----------



## elfiii

TJay said:


> I'm a dumb owner of a smart phone.  I can take pictures, send text messages and make calls and that's about it.  I can pull Woody's up on the interweb in a pinch.



Same here. The rest of that stuff is just stuff.


----------



## Wifeshusband

I retired, in part, to get away from technology.  I'll tell you what really touches me, is when someone takes the time to send me a handwritten
letter.  Doesn't happen often, but, hey, when it does, I'm wowed.


----------



## wvdawg

I am a firm believer in sending hand written Thank You notes.  I keep a box of blank Thank You cards in my desk.


----------



## 7 point

TJay said:


> I'm a dumb owner of a smart phone.  I can take pictures, send text messages and make calls and that's about it.  I can pull Woody's up on the interweb in a pinch.


What more do you need.


----------



## 7 point

I built a box blind for my 74 year old dad who had a stroke about 9 years ago he wasnt able to climb a stand so I built him a condo with a staircase .


----------



## Stickers

Milkman said:


> You must get the harvest permit every year after March 1. Just go to the license purchase site and purchase the free harvest permit. It will sync to your license on your phone.


  That’s what I been doing but I usually wait till closer to deer season. I thought maybe if you had a lifetime license maybe they was letting us just get it once now and forever ?


----------



## Milkman

Stickers said:


> That’s what I been doing but I usually wait till closer to deer season. I thought maybe if you had a lifetime license maybe they was letting us just get it once now and forever ?



It’s the same record used for turkey and deer. March 1 is after all the late deer seasons have closed and before turkey season opener.


----------



## Milkman

Nobody posting in here ...........Well how are y’all old coots doing?

 I moved up another notch last week. I’m 66 now, about 2/3 of the way to the finish line .


----------



## Keith Karr

Happy birthday Milkman !

Not too far behind you. I’ll be 64 July 3rd.


----------



## Buford_Dawg

Just hit 58, retirement is looking me in the eye.


----------



## Kaisrus6

58 here also. Retired 4 1/2 years ago!!


----------



## Gbr5pb

62 been out 3 and a half years


----------



## marlin

I’ll be 62 in a couple of months. Retired this past December.


----------



## Milkman

5 years ago when this thread was started there was talk about starting an Old  Geezer  forum.  Y’all reckon we need one?


----------



## Wifeshusband

Maybe it needs to be 60 and over now, Milkman.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> 5 years ago when this thread was started there was talk about starting an Old  Geezer  forum.  Y’all reckon we need one?




You want to Moderate it?


----------



## Son

80 and above? Lol


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> You want to Moderate it?



I guess I will. Is the pay and benefits still the same?


----------



## DeweyDuck

Son said:


> 80 and above? Lol


That'll put me in, 83 here.


----------



## Milkman

Son said:


> 80 and above? Lol



It would be sorta scarce attention with that threshold!! ?


----------



## WishboneW

Been retired a year and a half. I don’t know how I managed to work full time with all I have to do to keep up at the lease and at the house. 

68 and worked since I was 15


----------



## Milkman

I have my share of diseases and ailments (don’t we all). But I got something this week that’s unbelievably painful. It’s the shingles.  A few clusters of little whelps and bumps from sternum to spine just below breast height.  I went to the doctor and got the antiviral medicine. I also am having to take some pain meds. 
I hope the medicine helps soon. 
Y’all ever had this?


----------



## Son

Don't want the shingles, have seen folks with em and it's not good.


----------



## Nicodemus

Milkman said:


> I have my share of diseases and ailments (don’t we all). But I got something this week that’s unbelievably painful. It’s the shingles.  A few clusters of little whelps and bumps from sternum to spine just below breast height.  I went to the doctor and got the antiviral medicine. I also am having to take some pain meds.
> I hope the medicine helps soon.
> Y’all ever had this?




A couple of years ago I had a real light case of shingles on my ribcage. Even that wasn`t much fun. I`m getting the shingles vaccine in the next couple of weeks.


----------



## dtala

I got the shingles maybe five years ago....rash on my rt shoulder and down arm to fingers. It HURT, my fingernails HURT..BAD. Wife is a nurse and didn't know what it was. I was taking a strong pain med every two hours, worst pain in my life. Went to ER and doc said shingles and gave me a shot. I was 100% better in two hours and over it in two days.


----------



## Milkman

Nicodemus said:


> A couple of years ago I had a real light case of shingles on my ribcage. Even that wasn`t much fun. I`m getting the shingles vaccine in the next couple of weeks.



I had the shingles vaccine about 3 years ago. At that time it was a single shot. What they give now is two shots. Folks say the double shot is better.


----------



## Gbr5pb

Milkman said:


> I have my share of diseases and ailments (don’t we all). But I got something this week that’s unbelievably painful. It’s the shingles.  A few clusters of little whelps and bumps from sternum to spine just below breast height.  I went to the doctor and got the antiviral medicine. I also am having to take some pain meds.
> I hope the medicine helps soon.
> Y’all ever had this?


Daughter FIL who is a Doctor had them and advised me to get the vaccine which I did! Dad had them too claim very painful. Uh oh I admitted I took a shot probably get something started! Had the 2 shots


----------



## TJay

I know some of us older hunters have posted about the methods they use to hoist deer into a truck or atv/utv and some creative ways to use pulleys and such.  I put together a bag of pulleys, rope and such myself.  I saw this today, 



  pretty slick.  I wish I'd have seen it before I put mine together.  I may get one anyway.


----------



## Son

I don't even try and lift heavy loads anymore. Drop the ramp, and drag deer and hogs right onto the trailer. And, always let help do it if possible. This is my last weekend buck from last season. Save that ol back, you'll be glad you did.


----------



## DAVE

Milkman, did you get the shingles after getting the vaccine?


----------



## BriarPatch99

Milkman said:


> I have my share of diseases and ailments (don’t we all). But I got something this week that’s unbelievably painful. It’s the shingles.  A few clusters of little whelps and bumps from sternum to spine just below breast height.  I went to the doctor and got the antiviral medicine. I also am having to take some pain meds.
> I hope the medicine helps soon.
> Y’all ever had this?



About twenty years ago ....I had a band about five/six inches wide from my back around my right side until about middle my stomach ....  the only thing that compares is a kidney stone ... I sleep standing up ...could not stand anything to touch my skin .... doctor gave a couple shots and pills ....still eight days before I could stand clothes ....a drop of sweat felt like melted lead rolling off .... 

My wife got them right after one her back surgeries ... doctor told her they disturbed the nerve roots in which they remain after getting the virus .... gave her a shot and next day they were about gone ...

Coworker got them after I did ...did him terrible ...still deals with nerve damage until this day ...


----------



## Milkman

DAVE said:


> Milkman, did you get the shingles after getting the vaccine?


Yes. See post 544 above


----------



## elfiii

Milkman said:


> Miguel mentioned in another thread that us older codgers need our own sub forum.  That probably aint gonna happen but here something I will add.
> 
> I have a good friend who is like me and has some health issues that have slowed him down. He has chosen to give up on hunting and the outdoors all together.
> 
> I am gonna give up about 2 days before the funeral personally.View attachment 881663



I'll give out but I ain't never givin' up.


----------



## DAVE

Milkman said:


> Yes. See post 544 above


Just to be clear are you saying the vaccine does not prevent shingles? I been on the fence about getting the vaccine but if it does not prevent what is the point?


----------



## Milkman

DAVE said:


> Just to be clear are you saying the vaccine does not prevent shingles? I been on the fence about getting the vaccine but if it does not prevent what is the point?



Yes, I got the single injection vaccine about 3 years ago. I have the shingles virus now. 
The doctor I went to on Friday for the diagnosis and medicine said the new 2 shot vaccine is better.


----------



## BowArrow

I developed a rash under my arm in 2006 and two days later my wife fell and broke her neck. I was making trips to the hospital and forgot about the rash. A week latter I went to the doctor and found out I had shingles. Meds finally cleared them but the damage had been done to my nerves. Today, I take 1800 mg of Gabapentin a day and that only takes the edge off. Have tried four different doctors with no help. The only cure will be death.

I am 83 and continue to bow hunt four months each year. Have several stands up over five different properties. Hunt by myself. Erected a thirty gallon garbage can with Moultrie feeder between two trees this week in Ogeechee river swamp. Trying to attract hogs to give me something to hunt with bow in summer. The feeder is water, rust, squirrel, and hog proof. Raise it with winch. Took four hours because of minor problems. Had to climb up and down trees six times with my climber.


----------



## DAVE

Milkman, thanks for the information, I did not know and had never heard that the shingles vaccination wasn't 100% effective in the prevention.


----------



## Milkman

Shingles ain’t fun
I think I have determined that if I sit or lie still and stay cool it hurts less. 
This stuff is going to get me behind on my care for other ailments. I had to cancel a CT scan today.


----------



## bany

I’ve wondered about the vaccine. I had shingles in my early 20’s and wondered if you could have it again Or if I needed a vaccination. My dad had it on his scalp and it was a mess for him.


----------



## JustUs4All

I think the only thing that is 100% effective against anythin is death.


----------



## Milkman

JustUs4All said:


> I think the only thing that is 100% effective against anythin is death.



I believe the flu shot is highly effective. I have taken it annually since I was a young man.  All but one year 2003. And I got the flu that winter it dang near killed me.


----------



## CaptKeith

While not perfect, it’s worth getting a shingles shot.  I’ve had it, and it was not fun! I had months of pain, with about three years of sensitivity.


----------



## Milkman

Well 3 weeks into it and the pain from the shingles has subsided. Some of the spots have dried up, some are still red and visible. 
The most aggravating part was the cluster near my spine. They were on the same nerves as you feel from back pain. It mimicked back pain.  
I surmise that my case was less severe due to having had the shingles vaccine.


----------



## bfriendly

Man I hope I don’t get them……it’s a vaccine I’d consider myself.


----------



## HughW2

Shingles is supposed to be one of the most painful conditions out there if not the most painful.  Vaccination is highly recommended for anyone over 60. If you do get the blisters seek immediate treatment (That Day). Quicker you get the anti-viral the better. 
Wish you a quick recovery Milkman.


----------



## Milkman

A rant you older will get.
I have a new health issue. But this rant isn’t about that directly.
The latest action item is someone at one of my healthcare providers needs a urinalysis done. Or so I was told by the doctors assistant.
I was to stop taking a drug for 30 days then check in with them to do the test.
So yesterday I call 33 days after stopping the drug and say I am ready to do the test, can I do it at somewhere local? ( this dr is a 50 minute drive away) The doctors nurse/assistant says no. This isn’t a simple urinalysis it’s a 24 hour collection and you must come to our office to get the kit.
So today I drive the 50 minutes, park, mask up, go in and do the COVID questions and temperature stuff. I tell them who and why I’m there. They verified my insurance and said please be seated.
About 10 minutes later a young lady brings me a printed lab prescription and says “ you have to go to the Labcorp main office to get your kit for this” l stayed calm and told this lady who (by name) I spoke to yesterday and she was specific that I was to come there. No change, I still gotta drive several more miles to the lab.
I arrived at the lab and the mask, etc. routine again. Check in and within 5 minutes they are giving me the kit and instructions I need.
With proper information I could have just gone there first.
At the risk of using a poor pun, An extra hour of my day “peed” away.

My rant is that if the doctors assistant doesn’t know squat about what they can do and can’t do how much other important stuff is getting dropped in the crack?

Rant over.


----------



## Triple C

Milkman...Turned 65 3 weeks ago.  Only drug I take is 1/2 blood pressure pill each morning.  But...I sure am eyeing the "Depends" aisle at the drug store more these days.  Age changes things.  When I think I'm done with the pee...just hang on...more coming.  Feel great.  Workout regularly.  Active outdoors.  But...getting older simply causes things to not work as well as they once did.  Prefer a hand rail now when climbing or descending steps or stairs.  A few years ago I ran up n down stairs.  When in the woods and I come to a ditch...10 years ago I'd jump across.  These days I look for a shallow spot to walk thru.  So on and so on.

However...old is always 15 years out.  At 40, 55 was old to me.  At 65, 80 now seems to be reaching the old number. If I make it to 80 then I'm hoping 95 seems old. Just keep swinging!


----------



## Nimrod71

I have found the older you get the slower you go, or the more you go, depending on what's going.  It seems hunting and fishing every day isn't as important after you pass 70 as it once was.  One or two days in the woods or on the river now are enough to quench the thirst  for the outdoors.


----------



## 7 point

As I've stated before on here my dad is a 74 year old stroke survivor he still spends a week at a time at camp with me and hours in the blind . And I cherish every second of it.


----------



## Nimrod71

7, you are blessed, the Lord has blessed you as well as your Dad.  Keep it going.


----------



## 7 point

Nimrod71 said:


> 7, you are blessed, the Lord has blessed you as well as your Dad.  Keep it going.


AMEN. I plan on it as long the lord let's me have him


----------



## kmckinnie

kmckinnie said:


> I don't feel 55. I sometimes walk a mile in and out. Lots of times its hundreds of yards. 1/4 mile or more. I don't feel like walking the mile. .
> If u see me running & I'm in the woods.... Look behind me and you will see a warden.


Had a couple likes ? 
I’m 60ty now and can do the same. Here’s last years deer. I hunt even when going to put a camera on a tree. Got pics of bucks all day long there the year before. Didn’t hunt there. Done killed 2 8pts together that year I took pics. 
He followed a doe in. They where eating acorns. When I hunt there I just sit by trees on the ground.


----------



## HughW2

For us mature deer hunters:
How many of you still hunt climber stands? I am confident that if I climb it needs to be a ladder or box stand.  Starting to investigate ground blinds, but just feel like the mosquitos and gnats would drive me crazy at ground level.  They already are aggravation enough at 12-20 feet up.


----------



## reds

HughW2 said:


> For us mature deer hunters:
> How many of you still hunt climber stands? I am confident that if I climb it needs to be a ladder or box stand.  Starting to investigate ground blinds, but just feel like the mosquitos and gnats would drive me crazy at ground level.  They already are aggravation enough at 12-20 feet up.



I'm 79....gave up climbers years ago. Sometimes use a ladder, but mostly box stand 7 ft above ground. 
Hugh, get you a Thermacell for the bugs. I've been using one for years.


----------



## Dutch

I'm having shoulder surgery on the 28th...the plan is trying to get a hunt in around Thanksgiving. 

Got me a  243 that I shoot reasonably well left handed. Got to get some bullets for it...as It's been in the back of the safe since 2016. 

Be hunting out of my tree seat(I love this seat) if I can go. Gotta get a sled as well...or get the wife to drag one out


----------



## frankwright

76 in November. I still sometimes use a climber. I have a Tom Cat and a Ol Man and I feel pretty secure in them but don't use them much. Hang on's are pretty much out for me.
The land I hunt has 3 enclosed elevated box blinds, 2 big tripod stands and I have a ground blind across a creek from a food plot where can watch woods and food plot. 
Ground blind is nice when it is windy,cold or rainy but I like being outside more.
I have a hammock seat but last year bought the tree seat last year.
Other than bowhunting, I kill just as many deer sitting on the ground/tree seat and when all the leaves are on the trees, I think I can see farther.


----------



## Milkman

HughW2 said:


> For us mature deer hunters:
> How many of you still hunt climber stands? I am confident that if I climb it needs to be a ladder or box stand.  Starting to investigate ground blinds, but just feel like the mosquitos and gnats would drive me crazy at ground level.  They already are aggravation enough at 12-20 feet up.



I gave up the climber in my 50s due to neuropathy in my legs. I think it’s a sign of wisdom to know when ladders and towers are safer.


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## Gbr5pb

Don’t know if I got any of that wisdom


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## Gbr5pb

Do think if the wind blowing like it is now I’ll sit in ladder bolted to huge popular down on the spring in the morning instead of climbing stand


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## Buford_Dawg

Box stands, 2 person ladder stands and on the ground hunts for me now.  No longer climbing as I hit age 60, been climber less about 5 years now.  Sold them to some guy on here....


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## Timberman

I still climb on occasion but it’s with a top shelf Summit life lined to the tree from go. But mostly ground blinds or those really nice 1.5 ladders they have out now. Nothing sketchy for me lol.


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## bfriendly

I turned 55 last March. Here at home on public land I’m gonna be in a saddle, if I’m going during archery. That being said, 2 of my best opportunities with rifles were on the ground. Once in a blind, once two of us were just sitting on the ground. That’s twice I should have killed a nice buck…….but didn’t.


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## CroMagnum

I'll be 60 in a couple weeks and this year will be my first season one sticking. I'm thankful to still be fit and injury free.


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## Dixie Shooter

*I’m middle aged. I forget now, sixty something. There’s more days than not that I feel like I’m from the Middle Ages.*

*I can still use a climbing stand but rarely do. It’s the carrying them in and out that wears on me.*

*Archery fell by the wayside. Between eyes and shoulders I don’t have the confidence I need to go after game with good conscious. I’m old school. I’m not knocking crossbows they simply don’t interest me.*

*I’ve been quite surprised and successful using ground blinds. I admit part of trying one was to help protect myself from direct winds and rain. My tolerance of cold feet has never been great and has only worsened over the years.*

*I ponder squeezing the trigger much more now than I did in past. Fun ends and work begins. I enjoy simply watching deer and other game more now. I do look forward to getting a coyote in the crosshairs. They’re usually on a trail of a young deer when I spot them. If they stop for more than two seconds I can usually end the chase.*

*Another thing I’ve noticed is even though I’m always up before the crack of dawn I enjoy evening hunts more now than I ever did when I was younger. Even if we don’t choose change living long enough will do it for us. *


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## elfiii

71 in November and I’m still kicking it. I’ve humped farther than the youngsters today too.


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## saltysenior

I"m 84   still have all the hunting stuff and plenty of time and $$$ to do what i did for over 65 yrs.. The problem is that I no longer have a desire to shoot or kill any thing..


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## Dixie Shooter

saltysenior said:


> I"m 84   still have all the hunting stuff and plenty of time and $$$ to do what i did for over 65 yrs.. The problem is that I no longer have a desire to shoot or kill any thing..



*I understand feeling like that. Deer hunting was once a competitive sport for me. *

*When younger I looked to fill tags. Many times I would donate the animal to local organizations that would distribute the meat to the needy, still there was no reason for me to feel as if I had to fill those tags.
I do however still take destructive creatures like groundhog, yotes, and other vermin. Never lost a minute of sleep over killing a coyote.*

*Even though a predator of many game animals I enjoy watching bobcats as they move stealthily through the woods. There was a time I felt differently about them.*


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## baddave

66 here. Have hunted since I was a child. I wore my knees out from working and playing all my life.  Have had 2 total knee replacement THIS year. I feel like starting over now. Going tomorrow to the farm and I plan on doing some hunting fishing and some dragging .


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## bfriendly

Keep on keeping on y’all! I sure plan on it! I’m 55, but in the best shape weight wise than I’ve been in decades! We never had much growing up with 4 sisters and a brother. Mom got me fishing and a friend down the street took me hog hunting……with a pit/cur named Spike! I’m getting to the point in my life that I feel like I’m being rewarded for working hard, then saving later on in life……finally!
 I am enjoying my life now more than I ever did in the past. I love life!  I’ve always been happy go lucky and content. I always knew if I wanted something, I had to go get it, period…..nothing is free and no one is giving you jack!  
 I was Raised knowing God watches over us and I have truly felt him inside me many times…..without question he was taking over!  God completes me, wholly. I’m not living a Christian life as I should by any means. But God is always there for me and I count on him selfishly. I pray he watches over all of my brothers and sisters here round the campfire. As the years pass, I enjoy naps more often, but I love to see the sunrise! There isn’t t a better place to do that than in the woods!


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## Triple C

Dixie Shooter said:


> *Another thing I’ve noticed is even though I’m always up before the crack of dawn I enjoy evening hunts more now than I ever did when I was younger. Even if we don’t choose change living long enough will do it for us. *



So true.  At 66, even though I'm up by 5:00 most every morning, I find myself skipping more morning hunts and enjoying the afternoon sits.  Odd how that happens.

I tote a recurve to the woods.  Sometimes I think it may be that I know I'm gonna enjoy watching many, many more animals than I will ever loose an arrow at. Particularly doe(s) and young bucks.  I've yet to kill a 3.5 yr old or older buck with my recurve.  I want to accomplish that goal.  But dang, those suckers are so alert and ready to jump out of their skin when they get within my effective range of about 12 yds.  Been busted a number of times trying to stand or draw on one.  But still trying and enjoying the time I spend afield.  Other than a few aches, still enjoy good health and no shoulder issues.

I'll be trying again this year and a lot of that will be on afternoon sits.


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## Milkman




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## Dan DeBord

70 next JAN. Wore out knees. Still enjoying sitting latter stand . Coon hunt cur dogs after leaves get off.  Chase hogs when handy.


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## Hoss

Just realized this year, I will have been deer hunting for half of my life.  Got a late start at 35.  In-laws followed us to Georgia and he needed someone to hunt with so I took up deer hunting.  Hooked for life.  I do love sitting in the stand watching nature at it’s finest.  Oh and taking the occasional nap.


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## elfiii

Triple C said:


> So true.  At 66, even though I'm up by 5:00 most every morning, I find myself skipping more morning hunts and enjoying the afternoon sits.  Odd how that happens.



Yep.  I will say during archery season I enjoy the morning hunts more because I'm not sitting there sweating and swatting yellow jackets.


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## CroMagnum

Milkman said:


> View attachment 1175956


That sums it up perfectly.  This is my new mantra...lol


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## Nicodemus

I`m 67, fixing to be 68, and been hunting since I could keep both ends of a gun off the ground at the same time. Started with my Grandfather at a very early age, turkey hunting, then squirrels and summer ducks. There was no deer season until I was 10 or 11, and started hunting them too. Killed my first turkey, squirrel, duck, and deer, all within a couple of hundred yards of each other, and caught my first fish in the Oconee River in that same area of the swamp. I loved it. All I wanted to do was hunt, fish, and read about hunting and fishing. Didn`t care for TV, sports, or anything else much. Now that I think about it, I haven`t changed all that much since then, except that the rigors of a hard physical job have made me old and worn out before my time.

At this stage of my life I don`t have the stamina to hunt and fish like I did in my younger days. The fire is still there but it`s more of a bed of coals than a blazing fire. Just being out there counts a lot for me these days. We`re only bestowed so many sunrises and sunsets. I`m trying to enjoy as many as I can.


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## elfiii

Nicodemus said:


> At this stage of my life I don`t have the stamina to hunt and fish like I did in my younger days. The fire is still there but it`s more of a bed of coals than a blazing fire. Just being out there counts a lot for me these days. We`re only bestowed so many sunrises and sunsets. I`m trying to enjoy as many as I can.



Yep. These days it's an effort to do it but once I'm in the stand or out on the water all that effort melts away and I'm where I need to be.


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## Geezer Ray

Falling into the category of the thread I want to say at 65 I had to renew my license.  I bought a senior sportsman lifetime this time. Now just hoping to be able to hunt long enough to make the purchase a deal. Really being in the woods is good for the soul and recharges my battery.


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## mguthrie

01Foreman400 said:


> I feel discriminated against........


Have no fear. You will get there one day


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