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Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6054890 11/28/15 10:11 PM
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Watched my Dad hunt hard and then around age 60 same thing happened with him - picked up a camera instead of a gun.

I am now 62 and been at it since age 6. I was blessed 6 years ago to shoot a Boone and Crockett book deer - I still hunt hard and love it but get just as much enjoyment helping other hunters on our lease take their best deer. I have passed on some 180-190 inch deer so one of our other guys could take them. So it is not all about killing a buck for me anymore - just as much about camp and the strategy to keep growing and finding big deer.


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Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6054915 11/28/15 10:26 PM
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This season marks my 20th year deer hunting.

I've killed a lot of deer and have put a few nice ones on the wall. I love to shoot but killing a whitetail with a rifle holds little appeal to me now. I took my gf a few weeks ago and she killed her first deer in about 10 years and we took her 10 year old boy out Tuesday and he got his first one. Would much rather see them shoot than me

I enjoy hunting mule deer, went to wyoming and Colorado this year. My hunting, God willing, will be for things to add to my collection for the foreseeable future. I'll chase whitetails with her and the kids


I'll still be after the ducks though


For it is not the quarry that we truly seek, but the adventure.
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6055415 11/29/15 03:19 AM
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I started out taking my Grandson when he was 4 or 5. Then he had a friend. That friend has now grown to 4 teenage boys that need to get out of the city and into the brush. Those guys are all now 17. Now a 16 year old girl has showed up and I take her between times that the boys hunt. Not much room left for me on my small place. That's OK.

Last edited by Dave Davidson; 11/29/15 03:20 AM.

Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6055735 11/29/15 01:04 PM
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I know exactly what you mean. I'm 73, and killed my first buck when I was 16. Hunted but never shot pronghorn or muleys. Got a solo fair-chase bull elk in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains and a huge javelina out at the Black Gap WMA. The cost of quality leases drove me away from Texas deer hunting many years ago, and I now hunt with a good digital SLR and long lens. It's just as much fun and a lot less noisy, expensive, and messy.

Last edited by Phototex; 11/29/15 10:20 PM.
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6055813 11/29/15 02:37 PM
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I let my 10yr old pull the trigger now. Don't get me wrong I will still shoot a big mature buck, but I really enjoy watching my boy grow up and be a good Hunter as well as a great shot. I really enjoy being at the lease we have worked very hard to get the deer where they are now and it's paying off, but like you guys I don't pull the trigger as much these days I take a video camera to the stand now days.

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Phototex] #6055818 11/29/15 02:44 PM
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John I haven't took a deer since 1995. Pictures after that. If I can shoot them with my camera I can shoot them with a rifle. I would if given the opportunity take a B&C type deer but that is rare on low fence hunting. I love to rattle them up and go boo. grin I am 59 and been hunting since I was 8 years old. Done it all. Dove hunting and quail hunting are what I enjoy best. Been pheasant hunting and really enjoyed that too ..... just too far from me. Always enjoyed rabbit hunting in January too with snow on the ground.

Deer and Quail leases got out of my price range long ago. So I mainly dove hunt. Hope to get to go quail hunting and maybe pheasant next year or this year if the opportunity comes along.


Bobby Barnett

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6055904 11/29/15 03:59 PM
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I don't shoot whitetail anymore but enjoy taking people and taking pictures, scouting. I get just as excited when someone in the blind next to me shoots a big buck as when I shot one. Maybe more excited.
My goal is to shoot a huge mule deer and I guess I'm going to have to spend a fortune to do so. I really enjoy pronghorn hunting and am going to do a lot more of it, and upland birds. Especially now that we have a few quail again.
Stompy you forgot to list Nebraska as someplace you've been! Coldest hunt I've ever been on for sure. But we had a blast.
I also have a grandson now and in about 5 years I plan on him being my partner in the blind.

Last edited by huntwest; 11/29/15 04:01 PM.
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6055919 11/29/15 04:09 PM
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I hear exactly what you are saying. I love hunting with the camera and video camera these days. One thing I would suggest is to put down the rifle and pick up a bow. Having the animals up close and personal really changes things on the intensity scale. I was a trophy hunter from the get go, long before it was popular. I was just born that way I think. I always set my sights on something bigger than I already had and like you, I had no problem going years without shooting anything. So much so, my buddies would tease me about wearing out my bullets putting them in and out of the rifle because I never shot. I worked my way up trying to get a buck that would score another 10 pts higher on the B&C scale. Once I killed a 189" low fence monster, I had to ask myself if I was ready to give up whitetail hunting. This was in 2003 and what were the chances of killing a 190+ low fence deer. I came to the conclusion that I needed to pick my bow back up and start over. By start over, I mean hunting with a goal in mind but putting the fun back in it. If I had a trophy to chase great, if not, I tried to find an old cull buck to chase. I hunted A LOT and I still didnt kill anything some years. The other thing that gave me great pleasure was getting newcomers or kids into it. I would sit with them and teach them about deer hunting. When it came time for them to pull the trigger, I would be shaking way more than they were. Just some things to think about. Good luck to you.


Let'em grow old
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: huntwest] #6055925 11/29/15 04:13 PM
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Originally Posted By: huntwest

Stompy you forgot to list Nebraska as someplace you've been! Coldest hunt I've ever been on for sure. But we had a blast.


Yea, I did forget about Nebraska, don't know how I forgot about the coldest place on earth.


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Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: rtp] #6055934 11/29/15 04:16 PM
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Originally Posted By: rtp
I hear exactly what you are saying. I love hunting with the camera and video camera these days. One thing I would suggest is to put down the rifle and pick up a bow. Having the animals up close and personal really changes things on the intensity scale. I was a trophy hunter from the get go, long before it was popular. I was just born that way I think. I always set my sights on something bigger than I already had and like you, I had no problem going years without shooting anything. So much so, my buddies would tease me about wearing out my bullets putting them in and out of the rifle because I never shot. I worked my way up trying to get a buck that would score another 10 pts higher on the B&C scale. Once I killed a 189" low fence monster, I had to ask myself if I was ready to give up whitetail hunting. This was in 2003 and what were the chances of killing a 190+ low fence deer. I came to the conclusion that I needed to pick my bow back up and start over. By start over, I mean hunting with a goal in mind but putting the fun back in it. If I had a trophy to chase great, if not, I tried to find an old cull buck to chase. I hunted A LOT and I still didnt kill anything some years. The other thing that gave me great pleasure was getting newcomers or kids into it. I would sit with them and teach them about deer hunting. When it came time for them to pull the trigger, I would be shaking way more than they were. Just some things to think about. Good luck to you.


It's not about rifle or bow, it's about killing deer. Still love to hunt, and I still spend a lot of time in the stand. Just don't enjoy the killing part as I use to.


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Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6068409 12/05/15 10:27 PM
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I still take a couple of axis for venison. They have to be controlled more and more. They're taking over, but very tasty. I'm pushing 70 now and have regained my momentum by getting very serious on the hogs and varmints. I trap year round and start calling when it cools off. I find that there is much more fun hunting and trapping coyotes and hogs than deer hunting ever was. Maybe I forget.........

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6068780 12/06/15 02:41 AM
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I feel quite the same. I'm in my 40s and have shot a lot of deer. I even shot a really nice 10 pt this year. But like some of you, my wife likes to hunt and I let her take first pick of anything. I also enjoy taking the kids and let them have the fun. It warm my hearts when my youngest (6) sees a deer and it excites him beyond belief that he "saw it first". Most of the time I have already seen it and just wait for him to see it and then act surprised when he says "deer".

I find most of my enjoyment is now spent talking with hunting buddies, sitting quietly in the stand with my wife and/kids, or just watching a nice buck meander through on a cool evening. Hunting is no longer about killing, in fact, it's become quite the opposite.

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6069064 12/06/15 11:41 AM
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I no longer shoot many deer but don't care for the camera angle. To me that's about like kissing your sister.


Without a sense of urgency, nothing ever happens.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley, Rancher Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Dave Davidson] #6069160 12/06/15 02:21 PM
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Originally Posted By: Dave Davidson
I no longer shoot many deer but don't care for the camera angle. To me that's about like kissing your sister.


thats funny


You can't fix stupid
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6069250 12/06/15 03:48 PM
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I still love hunting deer, but I have been going more and more back to hunting small game. Dove, squirrel, and rabbit hunting is a lot less physical work and gives me a joy that is at least equal to deer hunting. It's also cheaper and a lot more hunting opportunities if you know where to go.

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6069282 12/06/15 04:08 PM
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Perhaps because I came from a non-hunting family, and the early years were so sparse for me, but I get as excited as ever and doubt that will ever change. I think some of those guys who get burned out had fathers who had them taking deer at 7 and by their early 20s they had 30-40 deer under their belts.


Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6069745 12/06/15 11:16 PM
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I still get excited. I tell me wife the day before opening morning is my Christmas Eve. It's one of the great enjoyments in my life. Will never change.

Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6071560 12/07/15 10:28 PM
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The last deer I shot was about 35 years ago. I sot a deer or two every year from age 5 to about 11 Then my parents' jobs took us out of state. I went hunting in Virginia around 18 with a shotgun and there were dogs moving the deer. I saw one doe but let it go.

I started going again a few years ago to small places owned by friends. Even let a young 6 point go about 3 years ago. See very few deer the places I have available but this year I set up a stand and blind and have been bringing in lots of hogs.

I'm in an AR county with a no doe season except for Thanksgiving so it will be a medium to large size buck or nothing again this year. Game cams are not encouraging.
wish me luck.


Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6071570 12/07/15 10:32 PM
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I'm willing to admit that, at 26 years old, its still about the kill for me. At least as far as having a successful season. I've passed on deer this year, and considered those successful hunts, but I would be pretty bummed if I had another season like I did last year that ended with no deer in the freezer.


The very atmosphere of firearms anywhere and everywhere restrains evil interference. -George Washington
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6071601 12/07/15 10:48 PM
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I am 29 and married with a newborn so I was much quicker to the trigger than I normally am. It was the first buck I have killed in 8-10 years. I shoot the occasional doe to give the meat to the rancher and keep at the deer camp. I dont have to see something in order to consider it a good or successful hunt. I do know that the day I stop shaking and breathing hard (buck fever) whenever my gun goes out the window; I will stop hunting.



Last edited by BuffaloSpringsRD; 12/07/15 10:48 PM.
Re: For You Older Longtime Hunters [Re: Stompy] #6071901 12/08/15 01:09 AM
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When you reach our age, you begin to understand completely the saying, "I don't hunt to kill, but kill to have hunted."


"Some people will never like you because your spirit irritates their demons."
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