Anyone solo backcountry hunting over the age of 60?

[Where's Bruce?]

Get an InReach and keep on keeping on.

^^^This^^^

 

[theNomadicHunter42]

I'm 41 and am just learning how to hunt...almost got my first deer a couple of weeks ago. I've often felt I'm getting started too late, but this thread has really inspired me!

 

[mtnwrunner]

I hunt solo alot, with my brother who is 60 and elkhunter777 here on the slide who is also 60. We never really talk about age but there is alot of groaning in the morning.......
We strictly backpack hunt and always will.....until we can't.
I backpack quite a bit in the good non winter months and I think it helps for hunting season.

Keep on keeping on........its only when you stop, you stop.

Randy

 

[FLS]

Glad to read this. I’m 53 and prefer to hunt alone most of the time.

 

[Still Hunter]

I have had a hunting buddy along the past 8 years but we always break off and go different directions. I go slower and try to be much more careful. My buddy blew out his knee's and he has never recovered fully from Covid. He threw in the towel this year. I was headed up alone this year at the last minute a young 33 year old coworker came along. My employer asked him to come with me (paid him to be there) so my "Sensor Citizen" butt didn't die in the mountains. I got the young coworker started shooting a bow this past year. The trip kicked his butt and he cussed me said I was a "%$*&^% Old Mountain Goat" but he is addicted now. We had more encounters and had so many cool "Elk Hunting Occurrences" in this last year. It was like a crash course. He got to see and hear so many experiences. He is totally addicted. Which is good because now my wife will relax a little and not worry so much about my old ass in the mountains. His younger brother (31) is coming next year and now I will have some young blood along. "Apprentice" Elk Hunters hungry to learn. Gives me the excuse to keep coming and keep staying in "Elk Shape".

 

[WoodnotRust]

Which is good because now my wife will relax a little and not worry so much about my old ass in the mountains

That's an issue for sure.

Last year I did a downhill MTB ride (alone) and flipped over the handlebars and landed on my head. That happened in a blink of an eye and I have no idea still what caused the accident. My wife took me to the ER and I was lucky to only have a few compression fractures in the middle of my back and no surgery.

@mtnwrunner wrote "when you stop, you stop". I'm 65 now and boy can I feel it. That said, I think I still have it in me to go so I'm praying I draw a back country hunt this year. If I can't find a partner I'll go solo.

 

[FLATHEAD]

I havent hit 60 yet and I'm already feeling it.

 

[Anglo-American]

That's an issue for sure.

Last year I did a downhill MTB ride (alone) and flipped over the handlebars and landed on my head. That happened in a blink of an eye and I have no idea still what caused the accident. My wife took me to the ER and I was lucky to only have a few compression fractures in the middle of my back and no surgery.

@mtnwrunner wrote "when you stop, you stop". I'm 65 now and boy can I feel it. That said, I think I still have it in me to go so I'm praying I draw a back country hunt this year. If I can't find a partner I'll go solo.

My head is like a magnet to the dirt every time I *went* mountain biking.

 

[deadi]

I'll be 63 in a few months. Hunt solo every fall. Packed out a bull in 2021, 2 miles from the truck 5 trips. Take time to exercise, don't push too hard, as mentioned before always have a satellite device (Garmin In-reach) with you, thicker sleeping pad, be a bit more careful each year especially with sharp knives, always carry Tylenol, and take the time to really enjoy the experience.

 

[FLATHEAD]

Thinking I've got Bursitis in my left hip joint.
After sitting for a while, it's pretty bad getting
going again.

 

[Pony Soldier]

Flathead: time to have the orthopedic dr take a look. Hip repair is easy and recovery is fast. My hip only hurt when I relaxed. It took an extra 20 minutes to cut the bone spurs out so he could rebuild it. I have something going on with a tendon on the back of my rt knee.I see an appt in my near future.

 

[ks farmer]

Solo hunt daytime only my dog and I quail hunting I am 80.

 

[Broadjumper]

PFFT! Just keep going until you drop. Couldn't think of a better way to go if I just dropped dead doing what I like to do. ....I solo hunt all over the place in OZ, I just take a little extra care when I have to. I kind of think it depends on what you have done all your life, whether you were always active in some way or things like hunting are something you have only done a couple of times a year and that's about it. Me, my work is physically demanding (plumber) and I have surfed all my life up until the past 4 years, I will be 65 in March and have only been hunting for 3 years now. I love it, the only regret I have is not doing it sooner. Backpack hunting is all me and my mates do, not always easy in the aussie bush but well worth the effort. Don't really care if we drop an animal or not to be honest. I fly fished most of my life as well as ocean fishing, still do, only difference now is I carry a rifle instead of a fly rod. We always carry PLBs in the bush and snake bandages, due to the fact that our reptile friends are the deadliest on the planet. Garmin Rhinos and in reaches are standard equipment too. I think you do yourself a disservice if you start worrying too much about if you should risk doing the things you love simply because your not as fast or agile as you once were. Just adapt how you do it. Sure it's difficult if you have a a chronic injury or similar, but if you haven't dont let it stop you. I don't mean that you should be reckless though. I know some guys in their 40s that wouldn't last a day with guys I know are close on 60. Go for it.

 

[Nykki]

At 66 I don't go as far out as I used to but still am getting it done. A moose is quite the job for me to dress and get back to camp. I do carry an In Reach with me now as there isn't cell service within 40 miles of where I hunt. My partner was out with me at 83, he passed away at 84.

 

[Broadjumper]

At 66 I don't go as far out as I used to but still am getting it done. A moose is quite the job for me to dress and get back to camp. I do carry an In Reach with me now as there isn't cell service within 40 miles of where I hunt. My partner was out with me at 83, he passed away at 84.

I couldn't imagine how much work a bloody Moose be. Thank god we don't get them that big. Sambar is bad enough. Great to see your still hard at it. Sorry about your partner.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I'm 63 and won't solo hunt elk cuz I am using traditional archery and need a decent caller to get a shot. If I were rifle hunting this would less of an issue.

 

[Runs-with-elk]

I am 65 and have hunted big game since I was 12. Got out last year on a solo and took a nice spike elk on the last day of a five day season. Lots of youngsters came out of the unit after only two or three days, and went home empty handed. I hiked eight to twelve miles a day and didn't find a legal bull for four days. On the last evening I found a small herd a mile from camp. Shot my bull from about 20yds and he dropped in his tracks. I have a heart condition, have had hernia surgery and have five screws and a rod in my right ankle. Spending maximum time in the woods is the best way to get 're done. I do carry a SPOT emergency device to comfort the family but truthfully, I'd rather die in the woods than at home in a rocking chair.

 

[f16jack]

I'm 60 and will continue to hunt whether solo or not. Last year I had 4 partnered hunts and 2 solo hunts planned (deer and elk).

A couple of points already made:
1. Know your limits, and try not to approach them.
2. Use good risk analysis; should I really cross this icy stream on this snow covered thin log?
3. Get an Inreach and know how to use it. It is great contacting folks just to let them know your status, or to reach out when you need help.
a) I was in Colorado a couple of year ago when I got a text message on my phone at sunset. It was from a buddy in Utah, solo hunting, and he had just dropped a bull and wondered if I could come help. I couldn't, but I got on the phone and we had 2 guys up there to assist in a couple of hours.
b) When elk hunting last year I slipped on a steep grassy slope. No big deal. Except I snapped my quad tendon in half. Kind of an unexpected freak accident. 20 miles in the wilderness, couldn't walk, couldn't ride a horse. Who's my friend??? Garmin Inreach. The SAR helicopter was there within a hour. You can see the video I made for Teton County SAR here:

Be fit and be safe. Every day spent in the high country is a day added onto your life.

Jack

 

[Lancejohn60]

At 62.5 I still feel confident I can survive in the bush
By myself. Take shorter steps and know your personal
Limitations. I’m also a pilot so… my advise is to keep
Yourself in good physical health. Watch what you eat and
Stay active. A body in motion stays in motion.

 

[87TT]

Yup- turning 65 in a month

Archery hunting (if it's warm) you'll want to very carefully consider how you're going to get meat cooled before it spoils. I usually figure four loads with a bull, if push came to shove, you might do it in three.

Better man than me. I've packed a young bull and three large cows out in three trips. But was so sore after the last one, I did 5 trips on the last cow. One trip with my gear and the backstraps and loose meat. And a quarter on each of the last four trips. Steep off trail downhill though but at least I didn't live on Advil for a week. That was last year when I was 69.