For guys 40+

[WildmanWilson]

Do you guys still have the same dedication to deer hunting as you did when you were young? I still hit it hard but I seem to have a harder time getting up as early or find it a little easier to sleep in on those really cold days. I'm not sure if I'm losing some fire or if I'm just getting smarter.

[scratch]

Same here:D

[plowboy]

City Boys...:rolleyes:

[nicbuc]

Actually, I seem to have more dedication now than I did when I was younger, several factors play in to this, i am more educated to hunting and don't just wait for dog season, my hunting partner is younger so he keeps me focused and I have a 10 year old and a 2 year sons, oh and didn't you hear 40 is the new 30 :eek:

[littlebear]

I'm about as country as country gets and I'll agree with you Wildman.When I was younger you could not keep me from going.I worked nights at the time. I would get off work ,come home ,get my stuff and head to the woods daily. It seemed like i never slept.It seems harder to do that now to me.It seems to me I spend less time in the woods now than I did 10-15 yrs ago but take much better deer now

[Cornpile]

Iam still ready to go huntin as much as I always was,I just move a whole lot slower.They say thats a good thing in deer huntin,they cant see you if you move slow.I dont get in my stand a hour before daylight like I used to,I just ease into it at the crack of daylight.I stay in my stand all day,when I was younger I walked alot.I think I hunt smarter now that Im older,but thats just my opinion.

[Al]

For Guys 40+, I thought this thread was going to be about Viagra.

Im probably more motivated now at 50 because of my 9 and 11 yo sons.

[quackrstackr]

I think it has more to do with the "new" wearing off of it than it does getting older.

Once you get several deer with a few decent ones under your belt, the drive slows down. At least that's what happened to me. I killed my first one at age 10 and have slowed down a lot in the last 10-12 years. I'm not 40 yet, either. Close, but not quite. :D

Like Al said, once there is something new added to it again (taking my little one), I'm sure it will pick up again.

[dipits]

Wait until you get to 65 plus.

[scratch]

City Boys...:rolleyes:.....

Who the hell you callin city boy:eek:

[turk2di]

Do you guys still have the same dedication to deer hunting as you did when you were young? I still hit it hard but I seem to have a harder time getting up as early or find it a little easier to sleep in on those really cold days. I'm not sure if I'm losing some fire or if I'm just getting smarter.
Just wait til u hit 50(Sept 16th for me). Darn right its tuffer to get motivated. However, i don't have much of a place to deer hunt(or turkey hunt), so that factors into the motivation problem. I would say your not losing the fire, just that your experienced(older) enuf now to know when to stir the fire & when not too. I have hunted enuf in my lifetime to know when a trip afield is more likely to result in a fruitless day, and stay home. All in all tho, the lack of a huntin spot is probally more a limiting factor than gettin older is!

[DOGY]

52 years young, still have the drive just move slower.

[BIGDAWG]

For me, the drive is still there. I have learned to appreciate the little things about hunting. Seeing other wildlife, watching mother nature wake up, being afield with great friends, etc. We take alot for granted until it is taken from you. My favorite saying to some of the guys we hunt with who are slowing down is, " when I am too old and physically unable to hunt, I' ll gaurantee you I won't say I wish I slept in more often."

[jsc3150]

I am in the over 40 group and I am more dedicated to hunting now than I ever was.

[Brewtus]

[quote=quackrstackr;608852]I think it has more to do with the "new" wearing off of it than it does getting older.

I agree with Quackr. This will only be my fifth year dear hunting. I am 47. All the other guys make fun of me for getting up first and being the first one to my stand or hunting in a rain or snow storm. But I can't get enough of it.:D

[Georgia Transplant]

I'm much smarter now and try to go when the conditions are right unless it is during the pre-rut, rut or post rut. :D Seriously now, i don't hunt when the temps are 90 degree or above or when it is pooring down rain or when the wind is blowing 30 mph or higher.

[scott1]

Ga where you from I work in Calhoun and live in Adairsville. Do you hunt Kentucky??? I am 43 years young and love it as much as I did when Dad took us when I was a boy.

[booner1331]

still going strong.......... heavy winds will keep me out unless I planned to hunt from the ground.

or extreme hard rain

[Southpaw]

I still hunt hard ,But I like to think I am smarter.I hunt the first week around the alfalfa trying to kill a velvet deer.Then from halloween to the 1st day of dec I bowhunt like a crazy man.I never go into my good areas (trees) until this time and never hunt them more than twice in the same week.I have killed my biggest deer the last week of nov and they were all with a single doe .I see alot of borderline P/Y deer early doing some chasing but as thanksgiving nears alot of the hunters are tagged out and worn out.Then its time to think positive and make it happen.When I was younger I hunted almost every day and looking back probally ruined alot of good areas.One thing I do know is I see as many good deer without my scentlok as I do wearing it.Hmmm seems like wind and cleanliness work wonders. Age is only a number and life is way to short so as long as we are able we should do what we love.

[Duster]

Up to about 55 I hunted every chance I got. Drove many a mile to sit in a tree and watch the sun come up or go down. Hunted with a brown it's down attitude for the most part. Now at 61 I find myself being very selective on what deer I will shoot. I think a lot depends on where you live, if you live with the deer year round and to kill a deer is easy you tend to be more selective. If you live away from your hunting area or lack time to hunt it becomes more important to a lot of hunters.

[redlickranch]

I still can't sleep the night before, what has changed is that I only hunt from a ground blind or a ladder stand. I have also bought good quality stands / blinds / padded chairs :)

I use to hunt out of those light weight HANG on stands that would kill your backside. NO MORE. I also don't mess with a Climbing stand anymore, too much work.

I also take the ATV closer than I use to when going to my stand.

[KYDEERCHASR]

when i was 20 i probably hunted less than i do now at 52. now i just walk the easier trails to and from my stands.
when i was 20 if i went and didnt see anything it was a major downer. now if i go and dont see anything it doesnt bother me. well nowhere near as much.;)+

[Louhunter]

51 years old and have been deer hunting since a teenager. I still have a huge drive for hunting. I still enjoy the opening day of gun season, just as I did all those years ago. One thing for me is that my children are grown and out of college so I can now hunt other animals in other states (Mule Deer, Elk, Antelope, Bear) and two trips to Alaska for Sheep and Caribou. But I will love hunting the whitetail deer in Kentucky. I am a little more selective when I go. I have been bowhunting since 1974 and always loved that October weather. Even today, I plan a week trip every year to bowhunt those Indian Summer days of October. Just as others have said, unless it is Opening Gun seasons, I will skip hunting on nasty and brutal cold days. That is just not fun anymore, and deer hunting is still all about having some fun.

[Blevins Gap Outdoors]

When I was young I hunted almost everyday of the bow season until the temperatures got real low. I hunted before work, after work you name it. Now at 56 and 5 back surgeries i have slowed down a lot. I still love the bow season but like some have said I pick my day more these days. I can't hunt very long on stand but I still get a charge out of it. Can't wait until I can sit in a tree.

[We-Todd-Did]

The biggest change for me was that when I was a teenager (half the state still had no deer season) I was a diehard bowhunter that carried a recurve. I felt there was no honor in a harvest if you werent close enough to see it breathing. Now I'm carrying a 300+ yard capable rifle and getting meat. It seems the population has exploded in the last 25 years and I feel compelled to kind of keep things in check. I dont feel that I have changed but my role in supporting wildlife and habitat on my property has.

[randy42501]

Have had 2 heart attacks double bypass &18 stents.Still love hunting has much as ever and go every chance i get.Hope to be in the woods when the end comes.In 20-30 yrs that is:D

[notimlmit]

Yes I guess overall you could say I'm more dedicated as before -- when I was younger I was eager to hunt more for the reason of just getting a deer no matter how big it was -- now I'm picky about what I want and actually try to figure out ways to be a smarter hunter and help the deer herd grow healthy -- I do have a problem getting up early sometimes but have learned to break my hunts up to where I don't even go in till mid morning on some hunts which has been to my advantage at times -- if given the chance on days off I don't hunt every weather condition like before but still tough it out on occasion -- to me now it's not whether I harvest an animal or not but more if I could have -- plus hunting with family members always makes the hunts better

[BadDuck]

Dont know that I have lost the drive, but there has been changes for sure. First and foremost having 2 little boys slows down the ability to go. One is still to young and the other is so involved in sports that it consumes a majority of my free time. The other change is the ducks. I have always been a duck hunter but it seems over the last few years I have become completely obsessed with it. Any more it seems like deer season is just a filler to pass the time until duck season opens.

Add to that, my farm is 90 miles away and 90 degrees and ticks on sept 1st doesnt get my fire started.

Dont get me wrong, I still love to go. Just a different phase of the outdoorsman cycle.

[AteUp]

I'm not quite 40 but I started getting burnt out last year. I have spent so much time, energy and money on deer hunting over the years, that I needed a break. My hunting land is 2hours away so it's a PITA to get all my crap together and loaded-unloaded-loaded and unloaded again every time I go. Having the kid this year is definitely gonna keep me out of the woods. I'm not even sure if I will go at all this season.

[keith meador]

I still have as much drive today as I did when I was tagging along with my dad at a young age. I started bow hunting 34 years ago, and still enjoy it as much today as I did then. My attitude toward hunting has changed, but my desire to do it hasn't.

I am 42 with two young boys, age 6 and 9. The oldest shows no desire to hunt, the younger wants to kill everything with fur, feather and skin attached. I am certain the I will go through another change in attitude when the boys decide to hunt instead of tag along:D

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd153/ghostrider46/07-09-2008122040PM.jpg

[struttin&ruttin]

I love to deer hunt as much as anything else in the world. When I was younger I wouldn't be able to sleep the night before I knew I was going on a hot hunting trip. I have killed several really nice deer in 1996, 1997, & 1998. I have killed many other nice deer. I still love it as much as ever but just a little of the thrill is gone. When the buck walks up now my heart still pumps harder, but not as hard as it used too.

I have two sons who enjoy hunting and I am so fortunate to still have a great dad in his 70's that enjoys hunting too. Many times now I would roll over during bow season, but when these boys get the truck out and load, make the coffee and come and wake me up, it is really hard now not to get excited for them. Unless it is pouring down rain or something of the kind, if those boys want to, we are gonna go hunting.

[jsc3150]

I still have as much drive today as I did when I was tagging along with my dad at a young age. I started bow hunting 34 years ago, and still enjoy it as much today as I did then. My attitude toward hunting has changed, but my desire to do it hasn't.

I am 42 with two young boys, age 6 and 9. The oldest shows no desire to hunt, the younger wants to kill everything with fur, feather and skin attached. I am certain the I will go through another change in attitude when the boys decide to hunt instead of tag along:D

http://i224.photobucket.com/albums/dd153/ghostrider46/07-09-2008122040PM.jpg

Dang Keith, I didn't know that they had newspapers way back then:D:D. Where the heck have ya been, knock the dust off that bow and get out there and join us.

[keith meador]

Dang Keith, I didn't know that they had newspapers way back then:D:D. Where the heck have ya been, knock the dust off that bow and get out there and join us.

If thats not a newspaper, I believe it is either carved out of wood, or chiseled into stone:D I may make a guest appearance this weekend....need to work out arrangements to make it happen....I am experiencing a case of poor planning at the moment.

[predator]

Do you guys still have the same dedication to deer hunting as you did when you were young? I still hit it hard but I seem to have a harder time getting up as early or find it a little easier to sleep in on those really cold days. I'm not sure if I'm losing some fire or if I'm just getting smarter.

WW, I'm getting to feel the same way. I'll be 50 next month and have been blessed to have been on many good hunts, but it takes a lot more to fire me up. My hunting career has evolved into looking for more quality experiences than quantity, after all, I am suppose to be enjoying myself, arn't I?

[MammothCaveHunter]

Okay, I'm not 40, barely half way there. But I love reading from this thread. I know already how my life is changing with getting a second degree (A Masters) with hopes of "making something of myself" working 2 jobs and doing side items to stay afloat, thinking about getting married (when I'm out of school in a year). All of that limits time. Even though my girlfriend loves to hunt, my nephew loves it as much as I did when I was his age, and I now have more places and hunt smarter, I don't find the time to go as often, nor feel like it all the time. Those all nighters now may keep me in bed in the morning (esp. early season, but not late) and I'll hunt in the afternoon. Believe me my drive is still there, in some ways more, due to not getting to go sometimes a week at a time. I still love to hunt, but am alot more selective and enjoy it differently. Now a good day out in the woods means staying accident free, getting to relax and hopefully see some deer. I take time to notice more things than I used to, because when I was little, it was KILL KILL KILL!!!!!! I think it is really neat the transitions that everyone goes through, well at least most people, some never grow up..... (thats what causes alot of poaching I think) But it's neat to listen to others and see the stage you're in now, and where you'll be in the future. To all of those that have made it possible for the younger generations to hunt, either through their funding, their time off work to take others, or just being any kind of mentor, THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS.

[kybadcat36]

Starting to sound like a sly fox. I still have the same passion just a lot smarter about it now.

[hooknshoot]

I,m 45 now still get fired about it ,But to me it,s more than hunting deer.It,s about being out there and being close to god and his critters,and nature.Even though I don,t score that day it will come it alway,s does.

[huntinfever]

I love to hunt just as much now as when I started.It means different things now . I went from sitting in a stand watching my Dad,to actual hunting,wanting to put something-anything on the ground.Then of course you get to chasing two legged whitetails:cool:The boys came along and I got more enjoyment out of their hunts than mine.Now I just enjoy being there.I go with the intention of bringing home the bacon but a day in the woods just seeing game and having encounters still makes my heart beat out of my chest.I may get tired of hunting at the end of the season but two days after it closes I can't wait til it opens again:D
Allan

[Fat Tony]

Do you guys still have the same dedication to deer hunting as you did when you were young? I still hit it hard but I seem to have a harder time getting up as early or find it a little easier to sleep in on those really cold days. I'm not sure if I'm losing some fire or if I'm just getting smarter.

Still the same dedication. Still get up and out on those cold mornings. I just release arrows and pull triggers a lot less than I used too. I let lots walk till late in the season when its time to fill the freezer for the year.

I let the largest buck I have seen in 4 years hang out for 10 minutes and then walk directly underneath my stand at around 7:15 am opening day of gun season last year. Why? I knew that would probably be the biggest deer I'd see all year. Was because I didn't wan't to be done so soon.

Funny but true. Older I get, the more I do this.

[CSS archer]

I've slowed down, I only deer hunt 50-60 days a year now. But maybe thats because of the grouse, duck and geese, and rabbit hunting....

[bowhunter269]

Mid 40's........
I guess my dedication is the same, but my approach is different.
When I was younger I always took the opening week of bow season off and couldn't wait for October 1st. Hunted every day during that week and then every weekend after that.
Now I don't get the least bit fired up about opening day, but let Halloween roll around and I've got the gear in the truck and hunt every day, most days from daylight till dark. I have become much more selective and don't shoot near as many deer as I used to, but still enjoy success. I hunt the late season more than ever before, right up to the last weekend. Like many others have stated, just being in the woods fires me up now.
One thing I haven't read...........I don't enjoy dragging a deer near as much as I used to :D I will still walk far from the road to hunt public land, but dragging a deer from some of these places has about got the best of me in recent years:)

[Joe Bryan]

Well I am at fortys doorstep and I still have the same passion that I had when I was 8 years old with my ben pearson youth bow. One of my good hunting buddies is pushing mid 60's and his desire for bowhunting is unmatched by most. The harvest is not as important now as is the time spent with him and others around a campfire and the stories that are told.

[JDMiller]

I'll be 41 this September and still have the passion for it but.. finding time has been harder as each season passes. My youngun has been active in school and band and only has two more years then college. My priorities have adjusted since she was born. They grow up too fast and I dont want to miss out.... so she comes first. She hunts as well and knows theres a couple of openers I really dont want to miss during a season. She usually does her best to help me out on getting some time in the woods and on a few occasions we always plan some hunting together each year. I'm lucky to have her and the same holds true to my wife.

I'd still druther hunt with a pointed stick than eat. :D

[SigSense]

Takes a little longer to climb into a stand, but the dedication is still there...

[lonesomepine]

Up to about 55 I hunted every chance I got. Drove many a mile to sit in a tree and watch the sun come up or go down. Hunted with a brown it's down attitude for the most part. Now at 61 I find myself being very selective on what deer I will shoot. I think a lot depends on where you live, if you live with the deer year round and to kill a deer is easy you tend to be more selective. If you live away from your hunting area or lack time to hunt it becomes more important to a lot of hunters.


Similar sentiments here,I've killed so many deer over the years that I only care about killing a B&C buck these days or an occasional freezer doe.When I first started hunting deer in Kentucky,my area was bow only,had a short,cold December only season,and if you saw a track you were in Heaven.I think I hit it so hard for so many years it wore me down a little,that and the fact that all my old hunting friends have either died out or went our separate ways.I still love to hunt but get as much enjoyment out of fishing,ginseng hunting,or hiking back country anymore.

[Docknboatlift]

47 next month. I am now at an age where I have the time, finances, and opportunity to pursue hunting like I wish I had been able to my whole life.

But some considerations have had to be made. No more climbing stands. No more public land hunting. Have a 4wd truck and a 4 wheeler that I didn't need and couldn't afford 20 years ago. The back can't handle long drags, and the eyes require bifocals. Cold and rain don't bother me.....yet.

[shaman]

47 next month. I am now at an age where I have the time, finances, and opportunity to pursue hunting like I wish I had been able to my whole life.

But some considerations have had to be made. No more climbing stands. No more public land hunting. Have a 4wd truck and a 4 wheeler that I didn't need and couldn't afford 20 years ago. The back can't handle long drags, and the eyes require bifocals. Cold and rain don't bother me.....yet.

Pretty much what you said, however I didn't opt for a 4 wheeler. I told the kids they had a choice: 1) We could buy and ATV and they could enjoy me until I drop dead in my mid seventies or 2) We could continue schlepping everything on foot and all live into our nineties.

I turn fifty this week. The biggest changes I've seen since 40:

1) I have far more deer and turkey to hunt than when I started. As a result, I have learned that what made sense with a small herd, does not make as much sense now. Some of what I did was just pure superstition.

2) Since 40, hunting has become much more of a system for me, and a year-round one at that. There is always something to do now.

3) Gadgets no longer attract me, like they used to. In fact, I have dramatically simplified what I take into the field.

4) I closed out a phase in just the past 10 years, where I stopped wanting to acquire new deer rifles. At some point, the care and feeding just don't add up to more pleasure. I finally realized that deer are fairly easy to kill. Heavier is not better, nor is faster. There only so much you can do with moving lead and guilding metal before 1) You blow up the bullet or 2) You reach the other side of the deer.

5) Deer hunting works so much better at 50 than at 25. At 25 I was rushing around and trying to keep myself still and calm. I could barely stay in my stand until 10. Now I have a hard time getting motivated to leave the stand and go in.

[maxcam]

I have to agree with JD on this one.......Nothing excites me more than hearing a turkey gobble at the break of day or to hear that familiar sound of leaves rustling under hoof of a whitetail, except my sons football games on a cool Saturday morning or the sight of my daughter knockin some chic on her duff on the soccer field........

Some how God has seen me fit to enjoy some of the best huntin and fishin any man should be allowed to enjoy and some how on top of all of that he gave me two of the best kids a man could ever be blessed with.

I have missed several opening days for this or that, but watchin my kids grow hasnt made me miss a single second of it........

Sometimes I do wonder, 10 years from now when the leaves are starting to fall from the kiss of autumn, will I sit with anticipation of those rustling leaves alerting me that a deer is headed my way? Or will I dream of days long gone and reflect back on the sights and sounds of my kids showing me just how special being a dad really is?

[weatherby]

im 39 killed some decent deer for where im from and alot of little ones when i was younger now try to hunt bigger deer no little ones its a whole new hunt for me love it

[Threetreejim]

Shut your whining and get your ass up out of your little mermaid bed !!!
Just borrow your little girls jacket if your cold !!!!:D

[WildmanWilson]

I'm surprised you want everyone knowing it takes "three trees" to hold you up when you're deer hunting Jim. :D

[TripleGee]

Shut your whining and get your ass up out of your little mermaid bed !!!
Just borrow your little girls jacket if your cold !!!!:D

You ain't gettin' it Jim.

[revruss]

I didn't start hunting until I was 37 years old. I just didn't have the opportunity. BUT NOW, I can't get enough. I spend the whole year waiting for November. When that alarm goes off I've been waiting for it to go off for 11 months. No problems getting up!

[SmokeyBear]

I've pretty much lost my desire to hunt that I used to have. When I was younger I stayed fired up all year and hunted pretty much every day from opening day of bow season to the last. But those were the good old days when I had plenty of spare time and great places to hunt right outside my back door. I guess my loss of desire is primarily caused by work obligations taking up a lot more time than in my younger days and mainly the fact that I have lost all of my decent hunting spots to either leases I can't afford, outfitters, clear cutting or strip mining. I have got a couple of spots that I have permission to hunt on but they are both about three hour drives one way and with gas prices the way they are I'm not going to even consider it. But then again I can't get the time off from work anyway. Honestly I'm lucky if I get to hunt a couple days a year the last few years. That use to really bother me but with each passing year I get less and less concerned with it. Another big factor in my desire loss is that my dad really isn't able to hunt with me anymore and it kind of depresses me to hunt without him. He was always my number one hunting buddy and it just loses its savor without him. I still get fired up but it usually isn't until the leaves start changing colors and then reality sets back in.