I like to think of it the other way around: "so long as I stay hunting I'll keep in reasonable health":thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:
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That is how I think now and like a few others on this thread I've been through the mill in regards to health issues,heart etc,old news now.
At one time I had convinced myself that that was that and I was poked as far as hunting went. Fused disks,others not lookin great etc.
But nah as time went on I was back into it,but careful as we go.
I honestly believe that if your frame of mind is not too bad then yeah,go for it but know your bodies call and take it easy when need be.
Bugger ol age but hey If it's commin to an end,,, then I'd like to be sittin on a ridge lookin down into a bush filled gully watching mist slowly creepin it's way up...... lol What a load of dribble eh..bugger it why not.
It's a old age thing right?
Sadly we dont have a choice how or when we die in our life time, but what we do have the option of is how we choose to live it.
Until Jacinda and co came along that is !
Greetings All,
This has been a very good thread and I thought I would, as a card carrying old fudd, offer a few observations on the old and the young. When we were young we moved through life looking forward. Every new thing was grasped with enthusiasm. We made mistakes, some of which left our elders mumbling in their beards having made similar mistakes in the past. We were young fit and the future seemed endless. Our elders knew better.
As we became old there was more of life to look back on than look forward to. New things were regarded with suspicion or even hostility. We tend to cling to our old ways event to our detriment. At some point on or about our sixtieth birthday we loose all ability to tolerate the endless repeating of yesterdays mistakes by the younger generations and we may descend into being a grumpy old fart.
None of this is carved in stone. As older rifle people we may not breathlessly embrace every new cartridge or handloading widget but should try to profit from some of the useful new kit and try not to reject new stuff out of hand (I am thinking of electric vehicles, climate change and the like here). The future will arrive whether we like it or not and we will have to deal with it. I can't speak for the young as my membership card for that group has long been cancelled but they could profit from learning from the older generations experience where relevant.
Regards Grandpamac.
I would suggest, that most of us here are at the positive end of the age scale, all the young guns, are communicating in Tinder or Kindling or some such thumb driven, method...
I’ve even mulling over all that’s been lost in my lifetime ie freedom to choose whether to wear seatbelts and helmets etc (good!) and the loss of firecracker and centre fire semi autos (bad)
Sadly the ( bad) list has got longer and longer-as time has gone by, I would get depressed if I listed all the (bad) changes I have seen in the last 55+ years…:XD:
But life goes on!
We’ve got a family friend who comes out pig hunting with his son at the farm, he played a big part in my hunting interest. He’s 85 now and uses the quad a bit. We had him on a horse the other day, and he looked every bit as capable as a bloke half his age.
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Greetings All,
When I was a little younger I knew a chap called Arthur. Arthur had been a skin hunter after the war and had done well enough to have bought a brand new Landrover in 1958 from the proceeds. He was not a big chap and his hips had taken a beating. I ran into him up town one day and stopped for a chat. He was using a walking stick and it turned out he had just had his second hip replacement done. Being a bit cheeky I asked "Now you've had both hips done will you be back in the Kaweka's chasing deer again soon?. Arthur paused for a moment and I was sure he was thinking about his hunting days. Shortly he replied "Yes" another pause and then "On some of the flatter stuff mind".
At that stage Arthur was likely younger than I am now and have always been impressed by his candid answer. Currently, engaged in my own scrap with mobility, I often think of him. He died of cancer a few years later and I don't know if he ever got out in the bush again. It hardly matters.
Regards Grandpamac.
Both views equally valid I think, and important in that without both, you lose something precious. On another note,2 days ago, bollocked a good friend for absailing down 80ft drop to finish off a wounded animal. At 12ft short of the ground, he considered 'dropping'. Commonsense prevailed and he came back up. He's 76 this year. The long-way round, resulted in the animal being put out of its misery, couldnt be retrieved though, because the river was too high to cross
For my 65th birthday my kids gave me a skydive voucher... So family off down to Franz, grandad's into the gear, into the plane, and off up to 13,000 feet ... whereupon the guy opens the plane door (he was strapped onto me) and just says jump out. :thumbsup: Epic fun - and special moment when that bloody chute opened after 40-50 seconds freefall...... What's age???
Good inspiring stories above. In 60s-70s you have to look after the body more - all the old battle wounds and breakages talk to you some. But do the work and you're good to go. I do 21 minutes stretches/physio movements/light weights every morning, then three 40 minute circuit weight sessions per week at local gym. That keeps you strong - some of the grandmas and grandads in their 70s there are seriously fit. I definitely need to add more walks/biking/aerobics..
Once past 50 or so what you into your body is exactly what you'll get out of it.
What is the work you do walking 150km a week?
I do heaps of stairs and ladders at work.
Use google fit at do 6-9000 steps most days at work.
Yep @rdbang. The knees get more and more buggered with the years. I'm beginning to regret the carefree abuse of my body, when younger. I'm 70 and heading out next week but will be avoiding too much of the up-and-down stuff. I need a new knee, the left shoulder is munted and the stump (left foot gone) is developing a bony spur which gets pretty painful when wearing footwear, which is made by the good folks at the Orthotic Centre in Auckland. So the spirit is all for it, but the body is fucked. Anyway, I'm still having a whack at it; just need to be realistic about how far I go and how rugged the terrain. It's still therapeutic io get out in the bush though, while hoping my rifle isn't redundant - I'd hate to spot one and have to try to drop it with a rock
A little late to the party but here goes: I'm almost 78, out of shape and stiff in all the wrong places. Still look forward to my yearly 500 km. drive north so I can be in the woods. For a week I walk a km. into the bush to sit in a blind, make a noise like an apple and wait for the deer to come to me. If that fails depending on the weather I will sit for another week with a black powder rifle surrounded by more apples. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
Hi (Huntfisheat)you sound like a guy i know who had the same storys about on the Two Thumb Range and sea kayaks befor.;)
A difference to me is having to exercise enough (or similar work) to keep fit enough to get up hills. usually Mt Biking and hill climbing (with pack), and gym when I can
fortunatley am close to a farm with plenty of hills
otherwise weight gains and get slower
although when younger work was enough to keep reasonably fit
Probably biggest thing that slows me down over last 2-3 years, is knees, on rocky or downhill bits. not keen on river beds now
Cant complain, nearly everyone I began hunting with has stuffed knees, or hips or similar and cant go far
https://i.ibb.co/kxN5Hnt/cook-r.png
Being 20 in the 70's was a lot better than being 70 in the 20's
@Brian. Is that a cave residence behind the plastic?
Overhang. Just big enough to shelter under and cook.
:)
Good stuff.