Pure Inspiration!

[OH_hunter]

I have lurked around reading these forums for years but never joined in - until I found THIS forum! I hit 60 last December and this forum not only gives me hope but inspires me to get off my butt and get moving..

I just returned from an ele hunt in the Caprivi a few weeks ago - did fine with all the walking but that terrain is FLAT. I have some serious hunts booked and have been struggling to get motivated to get in better shape for them - just simple motivation..

Taj for Marco Polo and Mid-Asian Ibex in Dec 2024, Brown Bear on the peninsula in Oct 2025 and Mongolia for Gobi and Altai Ibex in Aug 2026.. I'm a year and a half out from the first one so now is the time to get moving!

 

[Geewhiz]

Wow congrats on some epic adventures! Is this the beginning of it for you or do you have gobs of stories from past hunts?? If so post up some photos for us to drool over.

Also welcome to rokslide!

 

[mtnwrunner]

Yes, welcome to the Rok and a special welcome to the geriatric section.

Randy

 

[mtwarden]

Welcome aboard to the forum for the folks that have both grit and experience (not necessarily in that order)

 

[OH_hunter]

Wow congrats on some epic adventures! Is this the beginning of it for you or do you have gobs of stories from past hunts?? If so post up some photos for us to drool over.

Also welcome to rokslide!

Far from the beginning.. I have been blessed to hunt all over the world..

Like many others, I started hunting at about age 10 - groundhogs and pigeons did not stand an chance on our farm.. Sort of slowed down in my 20s & 30s with a family and a military career.. In the late 90s - early 2000s I hunted alot out west and in Alaska. 2007 I went to Africa for the first time - this past May was trip number 7

Things got rather confusing starting in 2020... I had an awesome trip to Romania for Carpathian Chamois and Turkey for Bezoar Ibex in Dec 2019 and then the wheels fell off..

Covid hit and screwed everything up and I lost my wife to cancer in Oct 2020. I spent the next year and a half trying to figure out my life - I went into some dark places for a little while.... At one point I git very sick - just the crud but felt like shit for almost a month - during which I proclaimed to my kids and buddies "I'm done hunting and I'm gonna sell a bunch of my guns, retire and just mess around the house".. One of my good friends pulled me aside and smacked me - told me to wake the F up and stop feeling sorry for myself! Well - it worked

My company ( I own a consulting company) has been going blockbusters so financially I'm in a great spot and once I woke up and smelled the coffee (Black Rifle Coffee of course) I kicked in high gear and got back to my true passion - adventure hunting!

I went to the SCI convention (I have gone for many years), sat down with Greg Brownlee and started booking hunts.. I plan to go on at least two big hunts a year as long as I can go and the money holds out

So in 2023 so far.. January was Sonora for Desert Mule Deer




April / May was the Caprivi for Bull Elephant



September is New Brunswick for Moose and October is Coues Deer in Arizona ( I should draw with my points)...

There is no doubt it really was my wonderful wife looking down that pushed my buddy to intervene and wake me up!!!

 

[Geewhiz]

Far from the beginning.. I have been blessed to hunt all over the world..

Like many others, I started hunting at about age 10 - groundhogs and pigeons did not stand an chance on our farm.. Sort of slowed down in my 20s & 30s with a family and a military career.. In the late 90s - early 2000s I hunted alot out west and in Alaska. 2007 I went to Africa for the first time - this past May was trip number 7

Things got rather confusing starting in 2020... I had an awesome trip to Romania for Carpathian Chamois and Turkey for Bezoar Ibex in Dec 2019 and then the wheels fell off..

Covid hit and screwed everything up and I lost my wife to cancer in Oct 2020. I spent the next year and a half trying to figure out my life - I went into some dark places for a little while.... At one point I git very sick - just the crud but felt like shit for almost a month - during which I proclaimed to my kids and buddies "I'm done hunting and I'm gonna sell a bunch of my guns, retire and just mess around the house".. One of my good friends pulled me aside and smacked me - told me to wake the F up and stop feeling sorry for myself! Well - it worked

My company ( I own a consulting company) has been going blockbusters so financially I'm in a great spot and once I woke up and smelled the coffee (Black Rifle Coffee of course) I kicked in high gear and got back to my true passion - adventure hunting!

I went to the SCI convention (I have gone for many years), sat down with Greg Brownlee and started booking hunts.. I plan to go on at least two big hunts a year as long as I can go and the money holds out

So in 2023 so far.. January was Sonora for Desert Mule Deer

View attachment 565528


April / May was the Caprivi for Bull Elephant

View attachment 565535

September is New Brunswick for Moose and October is Coues Deer in Arizona ( I should draw with my points)...

There is no doubt it really was my wonderful wife looking down that pushed my buddy to intervene and wake me up!!!

Holy cow Im not familiar with Caprivi but when you said "bull ele" I figured it was a typo for bull elk. Congrats on taking advantage of your means to be able to adventure like you do!

Looking forward to some great trip reports and best of luck to you on your future hunts!

 

[wyosteve]

Welcome and good luck on your hunts. You're still a 'pup' compared to my friend from Maryland. Last fall he drew a Wyo. sheep tag after 23 years, rode horseback to camp 24 miles into the wilderness and took a great 10 year old ram. In late Oct. he was successful on a Nevada mule deer hunt. In Jan. he and I hunted aoudad. In March he hunted the jungle of Mexico for ocellated turkey. All this while being 83 years old! Last Sat. he and I got home from an Alaska peninsula brown bear hunt (successful) and we celebrated his 84th birthday in Anchorage in proper fashion!! Once you get in some shape, try and keep it, it makes future hunts much easier.

 

[wyosteve]

Forgot to mention, while in Alaska, he found out he and his wife drew Colo. 2nd rifle mule deer tags in a prime unit. He's heading there in late October!

 

[Chuckybmd]

Thank you for sharing. Glad to hear of your successes. Your pictures leave me with a Ernest Hemingway vibe. Glad to see people can still travel and hunt that way.

 

[OH_hunter]

Welcome and good luck on your hunts. You're still a 'pup' compared to my friend from Maryland. Last fall he drew a Wyo. sheep tag after 23 years, rode horseback to camp 24 miles into the wilderness and took a great 10 year old ram. In late Oct. he was successful on a Nevada mule deer hunt. In Jan. he and I hunted aoudad. In March he hunted the jungle of Mexico for ocellated turkey. All this while being 83 years old! Last Sat. he and I got home from an Alaska peninsula brown bear hunt (successful) and we celebrated his 84th birthday in Anchorage in proper fashion!! Once you get in some shape, try and keep it, it makes future hunts much easier.

Like I said - PURE INSPIRATION

I have the same goals for sure!

 

[cjdewese]

Good for you continuing to do what you love. My dad lost my mom early in life as well, i was 20 she was 49 and died from a heart attack. I saw and helped him go through the 1st two years trying to figure out what life was going to be without her. Some good friends helped and he was back to his former self but it took a while. The grandkids since then have helped a ton. Sorry for your loss. Congrats and good luck with the upcoming hunts.