Hows your outdoors / hunting desries / habits changed as you get older.

[Angus 1895]

I don’t know if it’s getting older or the freaking weather!

September is Idahos main archery season and with 90 degree temps and too much smoke to ride a mule. ( I feel sorry 4 their lungs) it just ain’t the same.

The wife and I can never agree on where to move our fences , and the leaser of my neighbors land kicked me out from under some of the neighbors cottonwoods. Told me to hunt my own land.

So I said to me self “ Time to get your own trees!” Last fall I even harvested an archery deer while placing cages around seedlings.

The fires are awful again this year and I drew a Montana combo tag. The only mule I got that’s broke has lameness issues.

Thinking about going to eastern Montana to catfish and hunt around the hayfields.

I got boucoup seedlings to plant , so I can “ Archery hunt” on my place with the Ford tractor .

And pray for rain.

 

[Catscratch]

49 and an old body isn't changing how I hunt as much as mentality. Trophy sizes and filled limits aren't as important anymore as much as experiences and getting away from the world for a few minutes.

 

[bwoods11]

I used to hunt everything (ducks, geese, pheasant, turkey, dove, deer) . I concentrate now on archery hunting for deer for the most part, with a gun hunt once in awhile .

The land management takes up much of my time.

I do get the black lab out 6 to 8 times a year for pheasants and exercise. Turkey hunt on occasion.

Fishing —I’m probably at 50% if what I used to do. Rarely take a fishing trip anymore.

 

[Derek Reese 29]

I'm 37 and just bought my first little piece of heaven 2 years ago. I run 4 cameras on 9 acres (and still miss things) and have an acre and a half of food plots and 4+dozen fruit trees.
I really much more enjoy the management side of things, hunting just gives me a reason to be out and observing.
My habits/desires have definitely evolved from wanting to kill everything that stepped into range to watching and learning more (especially regarding food plots/mast trees).
Which plants in the plot are they hitting now and why did that buck make that scrape there or rub that tree or come from that direction?..so many questions and alot less definitive answers.
Also have gotten more places to hunt (in laws place, friends with land, my own place, my parents/grandparents farm), but really want to kill a good buck on my land and maybe even over a plot that I put in mostly by hand and 4 wheeler.
Everyone, including me, likes big antlers, but I would shoot a smaller buck at my place and be more picky at our farm or my inlaws place that have more land.
Still like to fish a fair amount, but just isn't the time for it anymore and don't want to miss reading bedtime stories to our 4 month old so I can be on the stream for the hatch right at dusk.
I bought 5 dozen dry flies this spring that haven't touched the creek yet and I live near some of the prettiest trout water in central PA.

 

[Troubles Trees]

Agree with most, I turn 50 next month and like most I started out young and full of piss and vinegar. Dreaming of harvesting a monster buck yet eager to fill every tag the DEC gave me, and a few more for family members that couldn't hunt anymore but loved venison. I would scale a tree and stand on a limb all day and rarely see a deer but always kept the "it could happen at any minute" attitude. Before I could legally hunt I fished nearly every single day on the river behind my parents house, catch and release everything and never get bored.

Looking back I realize I was likely never going to harvest a monster buck because I was stinking up the same small area and what did come through I made a blood trail out of... along with my scent everywhere tracking it. I rarely fish anymore and usually just make myself go so I can get my daughter out on the water. It isn't because I don't enjoy fishing, I just don't have the time or the friends that used to ask me to go and going by yourself isn't the same.

Most everything I do today is geared towards my daughter, we don't have a Mom figure in the house so I play both rolls. My baby turned 17 last week and going into 12th grade. She is my life and always has been since her mother left, if I am being honest I raised her as a gun toting, wrench turning gal with manners and respect for others that takes pride in harvesting a deer as much as she does laughing at the boys in school that have no clue hot to start a lawnmower or change the brakes on a vehicle :)

Age makes you realize the reason I always loved to hunt and fish is simply because I love being outdoors and in the woods. This group added a spark to that, so thank you all for the help and unwitting spark back into the outdoors I have always enjoyed. You guys are awesome! Age turns you from a brown its down killer to passing deer often, enjoying observing your quarry and holding out for an older buck and far less concerned about filling your tags. My last 2 years I ate my tags and it doesn't bother me one bit, I still saw some descent bucks and my daughter gets a deer every year, that is what makes me happy.

Sorry so long lol

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I turned 53 this summer, and physically I am blessed with a good health. I am very active, and there is not much (if anything) I can't do that I did when I was in my 20's. Mentally though, aging into my 50's has brought some changes...I don't hunt as hard as I used to. I have little desire for all days sits anymore. Getting up at 3 AM to hunt spring turkeys on the ridgetops has lost its appeal. And unlike when you're 20 and invincible, I have become acutely aware that this all ends. Some day my hips will fail. My health will fail. My knees will fail. There will be deer season that I can't make it into a treestand...out in the cold...or even out the front door. So I am trying as hard as I can to hold to this passion we all share, both mentally and physically. I set new goals, I try out new areas, and take on new challenges. And I am just really thankful for each day I get to spend afield.

 

[Buckhunter10]

Lots of great responses.

For me, I just don't stress as much. I have a young son at home, and I look forward to having him follow me in the near future.

My biggest joy now is the continued planning and shaping of the farm. I have TSI projects to finish, pines to clear cut, and put in a new plot. Blinds to move on some new ground we acquired, etc. Some of these changes won't happen for years, and that is ok. I have found myself enjoying the management of the soils, timber and doe harvest goals - just as much as my previously singular focus on a mature buck. Now, I still love mature bucks but I just don't lose sleep over them as I did in the past.

 

[spaniel]

At 44 I'm only 3 years into having my own hunting land, and just figuring it out well. So I'm bullish on that. Finally shot a great buck last year and looking forward to more.

I do find other, old hobbies falling to the side. I was an Olympic Trials hopeful in the marathon, an all-consuming endeavor for many years in my late 20s. Took until my mid-30s to totally give it up. The positive has been even though I'm on a much more mundane workout routine now I can hunt dang near anything I want, have done DIY wilderness hunts pretty much nobody else attempts without horses.

I'm at a weird place figuring out which hobbies I really care about enough to continue, given that my kids are at a time consuming phase. I'm probably more excited about getting my son on turkeys and deer and spending time with him at my cabin than I am about killing anything myself...

 

[Someday isle]

I’m 61. I’ve been deer hunting since I was 18. 1) I’ve graduated to ladder stands. No more climbers or stair steps for me. 2) I’ve owned my own property since 2016 and enjoy habitat work as much as hunting - but not more. 3) I don’t do all day sits anymore, or very rarely, but I harvest a lot more deer. 4) I invest in Good quality hunting clothes. The old days of cotton long John’s and coveralls are long gone and replaced with high tech fleece and merino wool. I stay much warmer and more comfortable. 5) Bow hunting is still my favorite, and I hope to never give up my bow, but my wife bought me a Crossbow last year. I expect it’ll get some late season use this year after firearms season is over.

 

[SD51555]

If I had to sum it up, my interests are centered around being immersed in the outside. My place, for me, has shifted into a weekend place out of town where I can get outside and do whatever gets me sunshine, fresh air, exercise, and keeps me entertained. I can hunt, habitat, forage, garden, grill, can, nap, fish, go to the social club, visit neighbors, make firewood, landscape, work in my garage, hang out in the cabin, etc.

I'm just glad I've got somewhere to go and something to do. Now that the woods is locked down and ready for bow season, I've got projects in the yard and in the cabin that need attention. This weekend I've got to organize the entire cabin, and finish my next garden build. It's gonna be a no-till/no-fertilizer/no-watering chaos garden bed. No rows, no segregation. Everything mixed together.

Last weekend I finally learned how to make a hand formed burger on the grill. Before, they'd shrink up into tennis balls and be dry and awful. Now they stay flat and they're juicy and done perfectly.

 

[Kooch]

Milpa garden.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bueller]

If I had to sum it up, my interests are centered around being immersed in the outside. My place, for me, has shifted into a weekend place out of town where I can get outside and do whatever gets me sunshine, fresh air, exercise, and keeps me entertained. I can hunt, habitat, forage, garden, grill, can, nap, fish, go to the social club, visit neighbors, make firewood, landscape, work in my garage, hang out in the cabin, etc.

I'm just glad I've got somewhere to go and something to do. Now that the woods is locked down and ready for bow season, I've got projects in the yard and in the cabin that need attention. This weekend I've got to organize the entire cabin, and finish my next garden build. It's gonna be a no-till/no-fertilizer/no-watering chaos garden bed. No rows, no segregation. Everything mixed together.

Last weekend I finally learned how to make a hand formed burger on the grill. Before, they'd shrink up into tennis balls and be dry and awful. Now they stay flat and they're juicy and done perfectly.

Similar situation here. I honestly feel those that don't live in the country 365 days a year have a deeper appreciation and respect for all the little things "time away" gives us.

 

[SD51555]

Milpa garden.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[SD51555]

Similar situation here. I honestly feel those that don't live in the country 365 days a year have a deeper appreciation and respect for all the little things "time away" gives us.

You bet. I do the speed un-packing when I get there, and then I'm outside pulling cards from the yard cams, looking at the forages in the yard plots and garden with a flashlight to check for browsing, height, tracks, scat, and a general inspection of how the buffet may have changed since I saw it 5 days earlier.

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Similar situation here. I honestly feel those that don't live in the country 365 days a year have a deeper appreciation and respect for all the little things "time away" gives us.

Up until last summer, I was a weekend warrior, I drove 200 miles each way to spend the weekend up here, and spend the majority of my weekend outside working on stuff. Now I live here, I spend more time outside, but less time outside relaxing, like a beer by the campfire, or riding ATV for pleasure. I always have projects that keep me busy.

A couple days a week, the wife and I sit out on the deck after dark and relax, and listen to the outdoors. It is still one of my favorite things to do.

 

[TreeDaddy]

Similar situation here. I honestly feel those that don't live in the country 365 days a year have a deeper appreciation and respect for all the little things "time away" gives us.

Yep

And on the drive back home, Im already lining up projects for the next trip

bill

 

[bueller]

Undoubtedly there is ALWAYS something to do. I tell people I don't need a gym membership to stay in shape. My second property is my workout room and they would all would be begging for me to stop and take a break if they tried to keep up with me task to task dawn to dusk day after day. Recently drove 500 miles round trip to plant 3 food plots in the small window of time I had available. Was gone from home only about 15 hours. Absolutely worth it though because I timed it right and 10 days later cell pics are showing bright ass green fields. Most relaxed time of year is actually the 9 day rifle season. Many hours on the stand just zoning out planning the next adventures. Time will change things but for now I'm content.

 

[blueKYstream]

I'm 38 now. When I was a kid, I'd wait by the door for my dad and brother to get home in hopes they got something. At 12, my dad bought some land. I couldn't go as much as I'd like but I always enjoyed deer hunting the most and then turkey hunting. At times, we'd hunt quail, rabbits, squirrels and dove (crow and coyote hunting has been fun the couple times I've gone alone). My dad, brother, uncle and various others primarily deer hunted over the years. I enjoyed staying at a run down house with my uncle during weekend hunts when I could although we had numerous deadbeat tenants that eventually stole and destroyed the place. About 10 years ago, we bought a couple adjoining farms with a house that provides a nice place to stay while deer hunting. The newer farms have cattle for income (or more accurately loss) while the oldest remains for wildlife/hunting/hay.

I never cared to travel all over and hunt. I just like to hunt what's on these properties. Over time, everyone gradually quit hunting where eventually it was just my dad and I hunting. He's now 72. Over the past few years, he's dealt with heart surgery and cancer. He is doing well, relatively speaking, but his pills drain his energy. His drive isn't there, but he'll still deer hunt at times because I enjoy it. I have 2 and 6 year-old girls. I'd like to think they'll go one day, but I'm not so sure. A year or two ago I was questioning all the work I was putting in. I still do.

Last year, a close friend with a bunch of properties had a guy with a low-budget show lease his place. We got hooked up for several turkey hunts. He promised all sorts of gear/products, trapping in the offseason, etc. That all sounded great, but it was nice just having someone to go with. Pretty much gave him run of the place for turkey season for he and his sponsors from out of town. I sort of got a renewed sense of purpose that someone else was at least enjoying all the work and money my dad and I have put in. Fast forward and none of the promises came to fruition. He's pretty much M.I.A.

I'm somewhat at a crossroads with it all. Several people I've hunted with have passed away, lost the desire to hunt, or been toxic. There's always something that needs done, something breaks down or money to be spent. My drive is still there but my head says it makes little sense.

 

[WhiteoakJoe]

I want this girl to get the Big Bucks now... Shown planting a Chestnut and with on of her squirrels from last year.

 

[Troubles Trees]

I want this girl to get the Big Bucks now... Shown planting a Chestnut and with on of her squirrels from last year.

My daughter is very much an animal lover (but loves venison equally) and loves the outdoors. She was fine shooting small things like squirrels but she wasn’t sure if she would have the heart to shoot something as big as a deer, I suppose nobody does until the moment arrives. She won’t sit in the cold but she was stoked when she shot her first deer!