If I would have known that I was going to live this long........................... I might have done a few things differently but I doubt it. This old body has done me real well so far but I haven't been as good to it as it has been to me. I too ate it bad on a motorcycle and spent way to many years throwing a baseball and if it wasn't for a good physical therapist, I wouldn't be shooting a compound bow today, BUT I am trying to be a little bit wiser in using and not abusing my body now. I still work construction and usually get accused of being a lot stronger than I am smart, so there are still some days that my shoulder doesn't like me but so far it's nothing that a dozen Advil a day can't keep calmed down.
Funny coincidence because I am 51, and just last year started losing a bit of interest in bowhunting. For me injuries that just won't heal are part of it. Laziness is part of it too, bowhunting can be hard work! But I think the biggest thing of all is that 30 years of putting between 200 and 400 hours per season in a tree have just burnt me out. Do anything long enough and you are bound to lose interest.
I never picked up a bow until I was 52. Really wish I'd started earlier. For 10 years now I've had the drive to get out there as much as possible. Yes, I've slowed down, the hills are a little steeper & the ditches are deeper. As long as I'm able to climb to a stand or walk to a blind, I'll be out there. An elk hunt is on my bucket list. Gotta get that in before I get old.
Not to tell you what to do BUT after spending 10 years guiding elk hunters, the saddest thing that I saw was guys who had worked hard and save up for their first elk hunt and got there and found out that they could not do what they had to do to hunt elk. the hills were to steep and the air was to thin and their bodies just wouldn't let them do what they wanted/had to do. So don't be totally irresponsible financially but at the same time don't wait too long!
I don't think this is a debate about crossbows, although I'll be the first to say if I can no longer draw my compound I will switch to a CB. The question in the article was about why older guys quit hunting. Many valid points have been raised by those who are getting a little older, such as eyesight, endurance, and etc. Thing of it is, if you still have your health, all these things can be overcome. If your endurance is not what it used to be, exercise and it will come back. If your eyesight is poor use a clarifier or get a lens for your sight. I personally have a 4X lens on my HHA and I love it. I do think things change as you get older but sometimes it's for the better. You get smarter and learn to do things in an easier way, plus you also learn it doesn't matter as much if you kill the biggest buck or woods or not. You're out there to and enjoy the whole experience. I WILL bowhunt as long as my health allows it and God grants me the strength to do it. Blessings.........Pastorjim
Ill drop down to a 40lb or 50lb bow if needed to keep hunting with a bow as I age. Modern day compounds are not hard to pull at that weight. I really dont have any ego involved with how much draw weight I can pull or how far I can shoot. If my effective bowhunting range drops down to 15 yds max then so be it. Staying in shape I would say is a big factor....have to stay active and strong.
I'll soon be 56 and am returning to bow hunting after a few years of getting away from it due to neck surgery. Sooner or later something is gonna get all of us, but we don't have to lay down and wait for it. Count me in the bunch who plans to wear out rather than rust out.
I'm 52 and will continue bow hunting until I physically can't shoot. Gotta bum shoulder, but I limit sessions to 30-40 arrows. When I can't shoot a bow, then I'll look at the X-bow. Until then, I'm a bowhunter.
How many of the guys that drop out do so because they were trophy hunters and managed to take that 140, 150, 160? I know a few people who have said they have killed enough animals in their lifetime. Personally, I hunt because I enjoy being in the woods and I like venison. I can't imagine not doing it (although this year I had to take off because I moved too late to get a resident license and could not fork over the 650 for a nonres license.) My biggest challenge right now is finding access without having to drive for hours.
I will be 50 in June and plan on hunting until my number is up! I just ordered a new Halon 6 and my new Scorpyd Orion 175 will be here on Friday. The older I get, the faster the bow I want....Is there something wrong with me?
Am 65 next month and am probably the last of the beer drinkers at Woodstock in 1969 who are still bowhunting. most of my friends who stopped bowhunting after 50 did so from injury. most who were hunting by 50 have continued hunting of some sort, be it crossbow or gun (or both). The ones who stopped hunting all together did that by their 40s.
50 smifty ! I'm 50 and have many moons left as a Bowhunter. I guarantee I could wear a lot of people out trying to keep up with me playing the game !!!
I have several over 150" and I still trophy hunt. My biggest to date was a 162 5/8 in southwest CT and that is big for here. I have 4 140+ class and a 156 7/8. It's not about the inches, it's about the experience.
I have several big bucks. I still do lots of physical things I love to do. I still do boxing drills almost every day, I hunt more than one state usually. I will use my bow until I cant pull it back, but that will be a long time because I have lots of will power. If I do not bow hunt anymore its because I am on the other side of the dirt. I am blessed because I can go hunt and enjoy gods beauty and enjoy it with friends and family who I am blessed with also. That is more important to me than any big buck I harvest. John
I'm not 50... yet... But I can kind of feel the bowhunting bug get weaker and weaker. Mostly because shooting my bow just plain hurts. And not just when I'm shooting. My arm and shoulder will hurt 24/7 after a good practice session. What's weird is, I'm not super sad about it. I've been shooting a bow since I was about 12 so it's been a good run. :D This was last year's opening day. I'm old and fat but still can burn some boot leather.... slowly. I plan on bowhunting for a few more years or until I die of Advil poisoning.
I am 53. I have no plans of slowing down when it comes to bow hunting. After last falls ordeal, being told by the doctors I wouldn't be able to hunt at all for the rest of the season and then getting to hunt the last two weeks of bow season... my drive for bow hunting has only gone up. Sitting out for 2 months of the season was per agony. I did get a lot of scouting in though which paid off in the end. I have no interest in ever going to a crossbow. Our state says you have to pull a minimum of 35 lbs to be able to bow hunt. It will still be a lot of years before I ever get down to that !!! :P Tim
I'll be 50 this year. I'm finding that shooting my bow is getting, oddly, easier every year. With wrist and thumb releases, it's easier than ever to pull and hold and aim, etc. It's a lot of fun just practicing in my back yard. And I can still climb a tree like a monkey. What DOES throw a wrench in my bowhunting works is the difficulty in finding a place to hunt. I live in a suburb of Chicago and it's just hard to find a place to hunt. I would love to go turkey hunting this spring, but since it's a short season I don't want to lease land. Anybody know of some public land within 2 or 3 hrs of northeastern Illinois where there are turkeys?
I'm 46 and I the end is no where in sight. Out of the crew I hunted with this year I was the oldest but still out worked a couple of them. You know who you are...... I'll let you know in ten years if I feel like quitting at 60 but don't hold your breath.
I don't think the ability to continue being able to shoot a bow at age 50 is likely as much of a deterrent as a lot of the other physical work which can be involved such as climbing trees, clearing shooting lanes, scouting, etc. This is why I do my best to keep myself in pretty good shape so I can still hopefully do this stuff when I'm 60 if I so choose. I'm 42 years old and weigh the same as I did when I graduated high school.
I would venture a guess that is a lot of the reason. Does take a toll on the body over the years. Especially if you've lived a physically labor intensive life in the meantime. I have some sort of injury 95% of my life. I'm only 44. That being said, you'll have to drag me out of the woods. I dont see ever hanging it up.
