Firearms and aging

[JIMYJAC]

From my youth I have always seemed to be more comfortable with a heavier firearm. I felt it helped me settle in for the shot and hence produced more accuracy if I did my part. The past 3 to 4 years I struggled to get the kill shots I`ve taken in the past. Till this season. I got my eye surgery taken care of this past fall. I made a commitment to use the Accura mr a lighter muzzleloader.
I carried it 95 percent of the time. My friends asked me why aren`t you using your 1100 or .308?
Well I had to answer my own question are you still up to it? Being older lighter was easier to carry but was a little out of my comfort zone. I also had to concentrate more with only one shot. Hopefully it would produce better results. The results are in. I went 3 for 3 with a beauty of an 8 point late season. So my point is as we age and are still physically able we can modify our preferences and still enjoy the hunt. Thanks for listening . Good day.

 

[deermanok]

I'm in the same camp as you now that I'm just a few months away from my 70th birthday.
I find that carrying and using heavy guns or crossbows is not what works for me anymore.
Light weight is good. I don't walk as far or climb trees as high as when I was young but I still enjoy the hunt.

 

[WP79Vet]

Getting old ain't for sissies... but it still beats the only known alternative!

Back in the day, when I was a whipcord-tough, bicycle-racing, Ranger-qualified young Army officer, finding great hunting was simple: I hunted with archery equipment in wilderness areas which nobody else could pack a deer or elk out of without horses - and those places almost always held unpressured elk and deer. I took my biggest elk at 11,000 feet in a wilderness area north of Taos, NM, and packed the elk and my camp out, which meant 60 miles of walking in two days, carrying loads of about 65 lbs for half of that distance. At 65 I just can't do that anymore, even though I still do mountain conditioning hikes of 3-4 miles and 1300 vertical feet several times a week throughout most of the year, and do lots of fairly heavy construction work to earn my "retirement" income, make my home more enjoyable, and build my kids' inheritance.

But.... I'm still having a great time hunting, and I'm learning how to find great hunting that's compatible with my physical abilities. I'm also finding that if I maintain my exercise program throughout the year, don't push quite so hard while I'm hunting or packing meat (or doing construction), and give myself more time to recuperate, I can still go a long, long ways. Much farther, in fact, than most of today's overweight, out-of-shape, 30 somethings seem to go: During last fall's archery season I found public land areas with lots of deer and elk that nobody else was hunting - probably because they're off-limits to ATVs and involve more than a mile of walking in steep country.

Looking at the examples of older people that I've known, it seems that you can do amazing things well into old, old age if you choose the things that you want to do for the rest of your life early on (50s and 60s), and then do them (or activities that maintain the required capabilities) often enough (like daily or at least weekly) to maintain your capabilities. Here are some examples: I knew a 96 year-old who still AVERAGED hitting 24 of 25 clays in a round of skeet... because he'd been shooting skeet 2-3 times a weeks since his 50s. My brother hunted elk in Colorado with a retired forest service ranger who killed an elk at 10,000 feet and packed all the meat down to 8,000 feet all by himself at the age of 86. One of my grandfathers was still remodeling houses until he was almost 90. On a Colorado elk hunt at the age of 78, Dad carried his rifle through a foot of snow to the top of a 12,000 foot mountain, just to see if he could still do that kind of thing.

The bottom lines, I think, are 1) Stay in shape and live healthy; 2) Know your limits, but push yourself within those limits; and 3) If you want to keep doing the things you love until the end of your life, identify those things in your 50s and 60s and then push yourself do them or capability-maintaining substitutes daily, or at least a couple of times a week.

 

[JIMYJAC]

I'll give a yes sir to that . Just got home from a trip to the gym. Getting ready for turkey season!

 

[WP79Vet]

I'll give a yes sir to that . Just got home from a trip to the gym. Getting ready for turkey season!

Best of luck with the turkeys! They are fascinating critters.

 

[rusticbob]

At 70 I just had my best, most rewarding deer season ever. I have slowed down a bit, and that has made all the difference!

 

[WP79Vet]

At 70 I just had my best, most rewarding deer season ever. I have slowed down a bit, and that has made all the difference!View attachment 30195

Yup! Reality smacks me the hardest when I plan out a construction project of some kind.... with a schedule based on the physical workloads I used to be able to carry. I can still do everything I used to do, so I need to keep tackling big projects, but everything takes me a little longer.

 

[MrTom]

I recently came into a Woodman Patriot and that gun is like carrying a feather, even scoped. The hill I hunt is a bear but like everyone else I've slowed the ascent down a bit and can still get to the stand the same day I start up. I've gotten accustomed to taking the Optima pistol up the hill on about 50% of the climbs, and either my Accura V2 or Kodiak .45 on the other climbs, but those latter two guns are heavy. I'm really looking forward to next season and carrying that Patriot up there.

I'm 72 and have lung disease so huffing and puffing have become the new normal for me. I also get bouts of AFIB and that can make my hill climbing, and at times life in general, a whole new adventure. Like WP79Vet mentions, is nice to still be able to do some building but with the age and health issues, time does become a factor. So does lifting.

The gun club I am a member of is sweet though. I can back the van right up to within ten feet of the shooting benches, pop up the hatch and work pretty much right out of the vehicle. The only walking it to hang targets or retrieve them. Same with the pistol range. I am in fact taking a break to let my scale warm so I can measure a few more charges of smokeless for that Patriot and hope by next week the snow that we're getting today will be out of the way and I can go shooting this animal.

 

[Shorty]

Hi Mr.Tom, shot 3 deer with mine this year, great guns. I ended up with the 1/18 twist mcgowen. I found some bullets at Furry called STB. They have a softer jacket and obturate better with the milder smokeless loads. I was shooting 55.0 grains of n120, his 45 cal. Veggy wad, and the 165 gr. STB bullets getting moa accuracy. 2 does were pass threws, no bullet recovery but great blood trail holes. Found the bullet in a small 8 point, shot quartering towards me under far hide. The .45 cal bullet measures 1” in diameter.. very happy with this bullet. Its always a possibility if you needed one also…shorty

 

[MrTom]

I looked at and really liked the looks of that bullet Shorty, but to get started with this smokeless stuff I am shooting sabots. I have a couple hundred 200 grain XTPs in .40 cal but am also looking to pick up some of the .40 star tipped 225 grainers. I think I'd like to hunt the Furys.

Maybe after a season in the woods with sabots I will try the bullet to bore stuff. I'll earmark that bullet though. Thanks!

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

 

[WP79Vet]

Growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional.

I may be getting older.... but at least I'm not getting any more mature.

 

[Shorty]

My bones hurt in the mornings, they are trying to tell me i am aging.

 

[WP79Vet]

My bones hurt in the mornings, they are trying to tell me i am aging.

Working through pain is another reality of getting older. Always tough (and important!) to know whether the pain is stiffness or an injury, though.

I've got bits of arthritis is some critical spots... regular exercise helps, but some days it's darned hard to get started on a walk, a hunt, or other exercise when knees or ankles or lower back are hurting from the arthritis. Ten minutes after I get moving, though, it usually feels better.

 

[MainerUSNR]

I'm in the same camp as you now that I'm just a few months away from my 70th birthday.
I find that carrying and using heavy guns or crossbows is not what works for me anymore.
Light weight is good. I don't walk as far or climb trees as high as when I was young but I still enjoy the hunt.

I am going on 66 and for a number of years I have been focusing on lighter is better, if I'm walking a lot when hunting. I have had a CVA Wolf for a number years and it fills the bill for me. For regular rifle season, I have a Tikka 3x Lite (w/22" barrel and a Ruger Hawkeye w/16.5" barrel) both in 308 Win. The Tikka is actually a couple ounces lighter! Both are great guns, the Ruger is a lot louder.

 

[michiganmuzzy]

My bones hurt in the mornings, they are trying to tell me i am aging.

Maybe its just second puberty and you’re going thru a growth spurt?

 

[WP79Vet]

Maybe its just second puberty and you’re going thru a growth spurt?

Lol..... that's me too, but only in my mind....

 

[Shorty]

Maybe its just second puberty and you’re going thru a growth spurt?

Ha,ha,ha thats a good one, as some things tend to get shorter as i age.. lol

 

[BuffaloSoldier]

Maybe its just second puberty and you’re going thru a growth spurt?

Yup, only my growth spurt isn't height, but circumference!!

 

[anonymouscowherd]

The only reason I sold my FAL (almost 11lbs with sling and full 20rnd mag) was ammo cost...

A firearm needs some heft to it just to "feel right". More important though is the balance of the weight. My 223 bolt gun has a massive varmint profile 26" barrel - and a light synthetic stock. Add a big honkin' scope on it, and it is so front heavy that when shooting from my ledsled I have to put a small bungie cord around the butt and the frame of the sled to keep it from tipping forward. It will be a lot better when I can drop the $ on a replacement stock that isn't so light and get some more weight at the rear end, even if it ends up being 1-2lbs heavier.