No longer hunting?

[SAM55]

I'm 66 and I retired at the beginning of this past hunting season. Medical issues have slowed me down a bit and my two hunting buddies have decided to quit hunting. But, I'm going to keep after it. I may not go on quite as many hunts, but I have no intention of giving it up. I'm convinced that if I don't stay active, physically and socially, doing challenging things that I'll start the long, slow slide into a nursing home. I've seen how some of my older colleagues have fared. IMO the more active you are, the longer and more enjoyable your "golden years" are!

 

[timekiller13]

Well this is the most depressing thread ever. What’s the point in living if you’ve lost the passion to hunt & fish?

Hunting and fishing is not a passion for many people. It’s a hobby that they enjoy, but not something they are obsessed with or passionate about.

Take my dad, for example, he enjoys hunting and fishing, but it’s not his passion. Restoring old Mustangs is his passion. It doesn’t worry me that he’s losing interest in hunting. If he loses interests in Mustangs, then I’ll know that he’s given up on living.

Most people are not passionate about hunting. It’s an activity that they enjoy, but they do not place it as high priority and will stop doing it once it interferes with more important things.

I do not believe I will ever stop hunting until I am just physically unable to do it anymore. It is my passion. I have no other hobbies. I do have to balance family and hunting, but that’s life. I always find time for both. I don’t really have any hunting buddies. I do 95% of my hunting alone. So I do no have to worry about the social aspect of hunting.

 

[IH8Cali]

Most people are not passionate about hunting. It’s an activity that they enjoy, but they do not place it as high priority and will stop doing it once it interferes with more important things.

After following this thread and pondering the discussion the last few days, that's precisely it for me. I moved away from family and friends, pursuing my own life and career etc. I maybe fish with some friends from back home once a year. I hunt every year but only with my FIL. I enjoy hunting but if I never did it again I'd be fine. Now, if I ever put my tools away and stop wrenching on Mopars, then I've died.

 

[Grover]

Looking back, I see my hunting career in stages.
1. Before my boys were old enough to hunt I was hard core.
2. Then it became about me helping them, which I enjoyed immensely.
3. Now It is about them helping me, which I know they enjoy.

I will never give up elk and deer camp. I don’t wander very far anymore but still buy a tag and even carry my rifle every now and then. When I can no longer hunt, I will be the best camp host ever. Dinner will always be ready for them when they get back after a long day and then the stories begin…..

 

[bst1007]

I pray that I still have the passion and drive for hunting when I am 70 that I have today at 37. With the way thing are going ill be 70 before I draw some of the tags I am after!

 

[QuackAttack]

Access to land, specifically access to places close to home that they know where to go.

For a lot of guys, going to a new region, where you don’t know the lay of the land…and have to get a hotel or tent….it kinda kills the fun. A lot of guys like going to the same cabin with the same guys, year after year.

The camaraderie is a big part of it.

 

[UpTop]

I used to scoff at the idea that hunting was dying. With the amount of hunters you see afield you’d never think it. I now think we’re at a peak and both sides of it are not promising for the future. I used to hunt religiously. Rarely get out anymore. But I’ve got 3 boys and I’m hoping to light the fire in each of them. Without them it’s going to disappear. It seems most wildlife agencies are more concerned with revenue but not opportunities. There HAS to be opportunities for the next generation or it surely will be done. They’re only going to go out so many times with little to no success to move on to something else. Not sure how they will find that balance but it’s more important now than ever. That and it really is generally an expensive hobby. It gets easier to stay home and do simpler things with the family the higher the price of everything continues to rise.

 

[go_deep]

Here's a positive comment.
My dad didn't grow up hunting, in his early 20's one of his brother's got him out hunting, but when I was maybe 8 he stopped hunting. I started hunting by myself when I was 12, and when I was 18 I brought up to my dad in passing one day that he should just come out for the opening weekend of rifle deer, back when I lived in Wisconsin. I had a spare gun, stand, and some cloths for him. He kind of said, sure, maybe, hell he might of said no, but I said we'll you better go buy a tag tomorrow at the gas station. Here's my dad opening morning, fumbling around in the dark looking for this treestand he'd never been to, final finds it and gets in it, maybe 8' off the ground. Low and behold about an hour after light a big old swap buck comes casing a doe right past him, but he can't get a shot. No more than 20 minutes later the same buck comes wheeling through, but this time he eats a round from the borrowed gun, in the borrowed stand, wearing the borrowed clothes. The buck was a main frame 12 with triple brows, and was just a total stud. I heard the shot from my stand and waited about 30 minutes to go over and check on him (long before cellphone) and that old boy was beside himself. He turned 69 yesterday, and he loves to hunt every chance he can get. Just to add to it, he has MD and struggles mightily to get around, but be damned if he'll stop hunting!
So don't give up, don't stop offering to take people out, never know when you might lite a fire!

 

[Outdoors42]

As it seems the older I get the desire / need to fill many tags is less. But I have taken up traditional archery again. That has given me , the less stress factor and if I kill anything with it, it’s a trophy to me.

 

[PRC_GUY]

Once you are a hunter, you are always a hunter, it is not the right time for you now. I was in the same situation with you, now I hunt every year in the Midwest. Take care those kiddos first and you will come back to hunter later and enjoy time with your kiddos.

 

[tony]

I haven't hunted what I'd say was regular in at least 10 years. Was in nursing school and that took my time for a few years. Just lost interest in it. Wife and I split up 6 years ago and I lost access to her dads farm. Yet, even then those last few years I didn't go. Always wanted to go out west and have a friend that goes every few years. He knew I wanted to go and went without me last time, so that kind of rubbed me wrong. I know plenty of people with land yet, I'm not the type that will ask if I can hunt it.
I love looking at and reading about others hunts, and will still help dress and process game.
Bought a bow a few years ago thinking that would get me interested, joined a local club as well with a nice range. Bow has been fired maybe a dozen times and I've never been to the club once

 

[PRC_GUY]

I haven't hunted what I'd say was regular in at least 10 years. Was in nursing school and that took my time for a few years. Just lost interest in it. Wife and I split up 6 years ago and I lost access to her dads farm. Yet, even then those last few years I didn't go. Always wanted to go out west and have a friend that goes every few years. He knew I wanted to go and went without me last time, so that kind of rubbed me wrong. I know plenty of people with land yet, I'm not the type that will ask if I can hunt it.
I love looking at and reading about others hunts, and will still help dress and process game.
Bought a bow a few years ago thinking that would get me interested, joined a local club as well with a nice range. Bow has been fired maybe a dozen times and I've never been to the club once

Hunt as much as you can before your health does not allow you to hunt.

 

[tony]

Thanks,
when I lost access to the family property that really did me in. Yet, I can admit at least 80% of that situation was my fault.

Lot of public land in WV so that’s good. Still can’t bring myself to ask my land owner friends, “Hey can I come out and hunt?” Just never been the type to invite myself.

 

[PRC_GUY]

Thanks,
when I lost access to the family property that really did me in. Yet, I can admit at least 80% of that situation was my fault.

Lot of public land in WV so that’s good. Still can’t bring myself to ask my land owner friends, “Hey can I come out and hunt?” Just never been the type to invite myself.

we are hunters , we need to teach our kiddos about hunting , pass the hunting skills to the next generation, if we stop , then that hunting skills may be gone for good.
Keep reloading, shooting and hunting!

 

[someter82]

Most people around me have just stopped due to age or injury not allowing them. The growth In this area is huge in the past 10 years or so. Unfortunately I see a lack of conservation efforts being done. It’s turned into a shoot anything that moves campaign so the neighbor down the road can’t shoot it later.


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[Gutshot007]

Getting older. My life has always been a "seasonal" thing where you go from hunting season to the next then fishing. One thing over the years that has been a blast is to see my kids get in it. The other thing has been having non-hunting friends wonder what all the excitement is about and introduce them to it. I have a friend who is an accounting professor in his mid 60''s that has started deer hunting with my family and another buddy from a non-hunting family who I've turkey hunted with and helped him sight in his rifle for a successful sheep hunt. Bringing a few friends into the " brotherhood" has been almost as fun as hunting itself. Probably will chip along as health allows

 

[Kevin Dill]

I personally think it's only 100% normal and reasonable for people to experience changes in the things they enjoy. The evolution of one's life is affected by so many factors, external and internal. I've seen guys quit hunting and become very passionate about a new activity. They LOVED to hunt but the love and drive didn't persist. These are wise people who recognize it's time to move on....evolve....and find more passions to explore. I feel somewhat badly for the person who just keeps doing what they've always done, like it's wrong to admit they've reached a fork in the road.

I'm lucky to have several things I love and have a passion for. Yes....you can love to hunt and love other things just as much. I wouldn't be completely lost without hunting, as other things I love would fill in the void. I'm not planning to hunt until I rot. I'll quit when the desire to hunt goes away to stay. These days I seldom feel a strong desire to kill an animal. I make a conscious decision to do it based on logic more than emotion. Where I once reveled in my success at killing a game animal, these days I usually feel a mixture of appreciation and ambivalence in the same moment. I'm letting myself and my hunting notions evolve like they naturally will, and I'll not try to override my mind when and if the day comes that I know my hunting adventures have concluded.

 

[jktex]

I'm in my 60s now and really didn't start hunting until I was in my 40s. My golf game has been non existent since I started hunting. I still love to fish too will continue to do both as long as I can walk. I did some guided hunts this year and got as much, if not more, enjoyment from that than hunting myself.

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[ammonnhonduras]

In the south it gets harder and harder to find somewhere close to hunt. Land being developed. Public land far away. Hunting is also an expensive hobby.

 

[Anglo-American]

Number one killer of old people is retirement.

If it were me, and my father was still alive I'd be encouraging him to stay active in someway. Do you have children yourself? He could help them learn outdoors skills for example.

Good luck to you both.