Thread: Old habits die hard

Know what you mean. been killing deer my whole adult life and last decade or two been several deer a year to supply family and friends meat. Even killed my biggest just a couple of years ago tho I had no idea it was a monster. couldn't see it's rack was just shooting another deer for my son to process. But you change as you get older and I'll be 74 this july. Didn't even bother going out this last year as my son and his crew have finally listened to me and learned and did a great job of going farther into the woods than most and killed several nice bucks and bunch o does. So I stayed at my cabin and went to the lake instead and was whacking the crappie and cooking them up for them. so they didn't need Pops to be the main gun anymore and I was fine with that. Proud that my son and his buds are carrying on the tradition. Have a big family and they love the venison my son processes.

That a stack of racks. Anymore I only hunt for something bigger than I have already harvested. My wife won’t eat it so I just get it processed and give it away. The older I get it’s harder to sit in a tree in freezing temps.

Nice collection

one or 2 these days for me at most and a hog or 3 , but they are gratefull , used to be hunt till I ran out of tags , at 67 . not so much for sure .....
and as far as freezing cold , nope , used to , but do NOT do that no more either ....
still fun to the KABOOM though , just more fun to sit and watch now and not drag and clean and worry bout the right tag and etc etc etc

We eat one a year,I don’t have a lot of time in the fall so what ever gets close enough first,buck or doe gets arrowed. 20 plus years ago there was a cable tv show called Double Bull Archery with a couple of guys Keith Beams and Brooks Johnson that were bow hunting out a new fangled ground blind they were selling, called the matrix with shoot through netting…I still have and use my original matrix, plus others,I set them up 2-3 weeks before season and evening hunt when time permits….went from 40-50ish percent to 90 plus success rate,the longest shot I’ve took in the last 20 years 18 yards, closest shot 4 yards.

I hear ya. I quit paying leases several years ago and started knocking on doors picking up very small tracts I can hunt on. The good part is all it costs me is a few messes of filleted crappie each year. After 50+ years and all the children grown and gone it only takes a few deer for me and the Mrs so Ive switched from the rifle to the crossbow. I still enjoy hunting as much as ever but not so much on the killin' part anymore. I'm MUCH MORE selective these days.