Getting old sucks

PalsPal

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Joined
Oct 1, 2012
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12,069
Location
TN
That's it exactly: "cracking the code."

Oh, and when you figure out the mature bucks, please let me know.

That was going to be my point. You can have all of the data in the world, and then some kid kills your target buck 3 properties away on the juvenile hunt.


Only, you don't find out about it until two weeks later.
 

tellico4x4

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Joined
Nov 29, 2004
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3,879
Location
Killen, AL
69 and still at it even though my methodology has changed since retirement. While working I hunted when I had the chance, now I pick & choose the best conditions to hunt.

Have no idea how many hours I put in at camp getting "ready" to hunt but it's in the hundreds if not more. Once plot work starts ( late July this year) I'm at camp 3-5 days a week doing something. Here now and my 74 year old buddy and I worked yesterday planting from 9:00 am until 8:30 last night. Only have two plots to finish today, then a couple days of mowing trails and camp work will pretty much be done for fall.

Have only hunted one morning so far this year but that'll change now that it's getting cooler & fall deer patterns are commencing . My normal routine during season is to come to camp on Tuesday afternoon and stay until Saturday evening. I pick up granddaughters from school on Mon & Tues and church on Sunday. Being home those days gives me a chance to get laundry done, pick up mail at post office ( put on hold for Nov & Dec) and buy groceries for another week at camp.

When the rut gets kicking my three old buddies from FL will come up and we'll hunt 2-3 weeks straight, do the same thing in turkey season too. We all worked together and best friends for over 40 years. We've got an "Old Farts" hunt coming up next month in the Sandhills of western Nebraska for mule deer & whitetail. Well be gone 12 days and camping in an Airbnb home we rented.

How hard we hunt depends on how we phisacally feel. One of the guys has a six pack of stents, had bypass surgery & a cancer survivor; another has necropsy and broke some bones in his left foot by dropping a boat anchor on it during hurricane cleanup last month; I've got vascular issues in left leg from DVT years ago, two fake knees & also cancer survivor; the youngster in our group is 67 yrs old, healthy as a horse and will probably be shot one day by a jealous husband 🤣.

Hunting & camp is really a year round endeavor for me and is what keeps me active. Started trapping a few years ago so that takes care of late winter, turkey season, plots, 3 grandsons that hunt, & now my deer tracking pup pretty much consumes my time. I have a shop at home & garden that gives me something to piddle with when there.

My dad worked for TVA for 42 years and when he retired, he sat down and didn't do much. He had heart issues all his life but work was what kept him going. When he didn't have it anymore he lost his drive.
 

BuckWild

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Joined
Sep 27, 1999
Messages
8,385
Location
TN River
I'm 65 and though I don't hunt as much as I used to, I still hunt as hard as I always have.

I'm still in good shape, only on one prescription for GERD and been on it since I was in my late 30's.

Some of my friends walk around with a WalMart bag full of prescriptions.

As long as I'm physically able to...I'll be after them.
 

kaizen leader

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Joined
Aug 29, 2022
Messages
706
Location
Nashville
I'm 65 and though I don't hunt as much as I used to, I still hunt as hard as I always have.

I'm still in good shape, only on one prescription for GERD and been on it since I was in my late 30's.

Some of my friends walk around with a WalMart bag full of prescriptions.

As long as I'm physically able to...I'll be after them.
I'm with you my friend. Keep getting up and going. Life is great. Good luck. I say this while I'm sitting on my dock trying to catch a few crappie. 🦌🎣🦌
 

Boll Weevil

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Jun 26, 2011
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3,757
Location
Hardeman
Umpteenth rock'n roll is on the calendar…smooth knocked out a 13 miler last Saturday. One key to not feeling old is to keep moving (no matter how slow you move). Just keep moving.
 

BSK

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Joined
Mar 11, 1999
Messages
81,441
Location
Nashville, TN
I ordered me some Pac Boots for these harsh Tennessee winters this year. I'm 61 and the cold is getting colder. I used to hunt in sub zero temps up north.
There's something different about "cold" in the South. Perhaps it's the moisture content of the air. I have a brother that lives at 9,500 feet in the Rockies. He regularly has temps well below zero in the winter. Yet when he comes to hunt in TN, he says the cold here is much more intense - cuts to the bone - than at home.

I've been in wind chills near 60 degrees below zero. Yet the coldest I've ever felt was while fishing in Florida with temps in the low 40s. The wind coming off the water there is like nothing else.
 

Lt.Dan

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Joined
Mar 22, 2023
Messages
1,022
Location
Chattanooga
There's something different about "cold" in the South. Perhaps it's the moisture content of the air. I have a brother that lives at 9,500 feet in the Rockies. He regularly has temps well below zero in the winter. Yet when he comes to hunt in TN, he says the cold here is much more intense - cuts to the bone - than at home.

I've been in wind chills near 60 degrees below zero. Yet the coldest I've ever felt was while fishing in Florida with temps in the low 40s. The wind coming off the water there is like nothing else.
I have to agree with you but I also think it has something to do with age/ health conditions also. I used to hunt all day in below freezing temps and it never bothered me to the point I wanted to head to the house. But since I've gotten older, just being outside in below 40°-45° it bothers me. I was just kidding about the harsh Tennessee winters. Compared to home, the weather is quite balmy but I still get cold feet and hands when I never used to at these milder temperatures.
 

kaizen leader

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Joined
Aug 29, 2022
Messages
706
Location
Nashville
I mentioned this before but I just can't take the cold. My body has never been able to retain heat if I'm not moving. A cheap electric vest from Amazon and those heat packs by my toes do the trick and I can sit for a very long time in a ladder stand. I'm going to try heated insoles this year. I use lightweight RedWing boots and I'm good. I also picked up one of the hand muff things. I put a body heat pack in that and I hardly need gloves. Most of the time I don't even need to open that heat pack. I gotta say the vest is the savior for me. Keeps my core up there.
Good luck yawl.
 

CliffordN

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Joined
Dec 2, 2021
Messages
431
Location
Antioch, TN
You swap one misery for another... In order to fight the cold, I now carry a much bigger and heavier backpack, filled with the gear and clothing I need to stay on the stand. That slows me even further, and limits how far I am willing to tote all of that. I like a good ground blind with my Mr. Buddy going. But they require much more work to set up... Going in and out instead of staying all day, means taxing my knees twice as much... I can see why older guys end up in shooting houses overlooking planted fields, with a fourwheeler parked underneath!
 

BSK

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Joined
Mar 11, 1999
Messages
81,441
Location
Nashville, TN
I have to agree with you but I also think it has something to do with age/ health conditions also. I used to hunt all day in below freezing temps and it never bothered me to the point I wanted to head to the house. But since I've gotten older, just being outside in below 40°-45° it bothers me. I was just kidding about the harsh Tennessee winters. Compared to home, the weather is quite balmy but I still get cold feet and hands when I never used to at these milder temperatures.
Age unquestionably adds to the problem.
 

BSK

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 1999
Messages
81,441
Location
Nashville, TN
I mentioned this before but I just can't take the cold. My body has never been able to retain heat if I'm not moving. A cheap electric vest from Amazon and those heat packs by my toes do the trick and I can sit for a very long time in a ladder stand. I'm going to try heated insoles this year. I use lightweight RedWing boots and I'm good. I also picked up one of the hand muff things. I put a body heat pack in that and I hardly need gloves. Most of the time I don't even need to open that heat pack. I gotta say the vest is the savior for me. Keeps my core up there.
Good luck yawl.
Always wondered about the electric vests. Because I was spending a fortune on Hot Hands, I tried one of the battery hand warmers. Absolutely love it, and it acts as a back-up battery for my phone. I keep the battery handwarmer in my hand-muff, which allows me to wear very light gloves for when I need to take the shot. The light gloves allow better trigger sensation.
 

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