how much time I got left ?

[jhg]

Originally posted by NDTerminator:
... depends on how well we took care of ourselves in our younger years, and more importantly how well we take care of ourselves
from here on out.

Worth repeating.

My own plan is to get another 20yrs of full on hunting.
At 50 I can't advise you on how it is after this age, but I can tell you the folks I see who are active in later years are the ones who watch what they eat and how much and exercise.

Joshua

[George D. Stout]

64 here, but I don't feel much different than when I was 34, except for some minor arthritis in the knuckles.  At 50 you have a long way to go son....just don't ever think you can't do something, because you can talk yourself into not doing it.  Lots of guys twenty years older than me still shooting on a regular basis.

[Ron LaClair]

Mark, you may have discovered traditional archery later in life but it's better than never having discovered it at all. The beginning of the journey is the sweetest of all. Savor today, the tomorrows come too quickly.

A few years ago I wrote a poem on the highlights of my life with the bow... trouble is every year I have to change the last line. Next month I'll be 74 and I'll change it again...      

     

 "A boy's dream, A man's life"    

The bow and arrow spoke to him when he was five years old  

It said, come play with me young lad if you should be so bold  

The singing string and whispering shaft was music to his soul  

He knew it was a part of him when he was twelve years old      

The bow was small for a lad so tall as he grew so long and lean  

A new bow he sought, and finely bought, this lad who turned sixteen  

The years they flew and at twenty two, a bow for the bride he took  

Together they hunted for whitetail deer from their camp by a babbling brook      

Soon a little bow hung along side the bows of mom and dad  

Then another,.. and still another,.. three little bowmen this couple had  

As time went by the children grew, then Grand children came along  

Once again, the longbow sang, it's captivating song      

This new generation was soon to learn the wonders of stick and string  

They watched as Grandpa showed them, the joys the bow could bring  

No one can count the arrows that this man has sent to flight  

Someday he'll shoot his very last shaft into the murky night    

But for now there's a great grand child who must learn of the bow from me  

This old man, still loves his bow, at the age of seventy three.    

TO BE CONTINUED  

[David McLendon]

Ron LaClair is pretty much my hero at 73, and apparently we were looking at this thread at about the same time.  

[Bill Carlsen]

I just turned 66 and my wife and I did a DIY moose hunt here in NH this year and each year we do a Fall bear hunt  up in Nothern  Maine (www.hunterspointguideservice.com). In '07 my wife drew a NH moose permit and we did a DIY hunt and did just fine. Just join a gym with the intention of working out so you can continue to do the things you like for as long as you like and you will be surprised at how good you will feel and how easy hunting will be. I still  have at least a dozen tree stands that I continuously move/use and we just bought 23 acres just to hunt on. I don't plan on quitting anytime soon. Here's my '07 moose which we had to quarter and haul out on our backs.

 

[Hatrick]

Great poem, Ron.

Bill C., 66 and a moose! Now that's walkin the talk!

Trab, first off, welcome to the addiction that the "stick and string" can be. I'll be a young 57 on Tuesday. I've been shooting since the 60's and love it more now than I did then. It has probably kept me sane during the stressful days my business life brings.

One of my shooting buddies is 66 and we shoot 3D almost every weekend from spring till the hunting season starts in mid September. I don't know of anyone who enjoys archery more than Bill and he's been shooting most his life. He was an NFAA champion in the 90's.  

Everyones days are numbered but no one really knows what their number is. Just go out, shoot, and enjoy it. If I were you I'd start planning to go to some of the big "Traditional" shoots this summer. If you're from NY you may not be far from Denton Hill. I guarantee if you go there, you'll never look back.

[muley40]

I`am 69 and I don`t feel any different than when I was 30, maybe get few more aches and paines, been going out west from 78 till 2008 hunting elk, shot my last one in 08 me a friend boned it out and packed it out to the trailhead,I can still do it, but had to miss the last 2 years since my wife has had to have two brain operations in Rochester,MN she doing a little better and maybe I will be able to get after those elk this fall,

[Guru]

Don't look at it as "How much time have I got left"...

Look at it as,  "How can I make the most of everyday I'm here"

The rest will take care of itself    

[smoke1953]

Really nice guys!

[fishone]

I'll be 59 in a couple of months. Don't shoot as high of poundage that I use to but still go deer hunting at every chance I get and still climb trees. I sure hope I can go deer hunting many more years. I really enjoy it.

[LoneWolf73]

I am soon to be 55. I got a little out of shape and felt it. So I lost weight and started excercising more and it has made a world of difference in the fun factor(got off meds too).
Warm up a little before excercising to include pulling a bow. Lots of stories out there about guys hurting themselves and not being able to shoot anymore. I always have a heavier bow around to use as a "training bow". I have also learned to shoot both sides in case something strange happened to my primary side. You can build muscle at an older age. I have increased from 55# to 65# pounds. Lets me shoot more bows too instead of being limited to a certain weight.
Have fun!

[Bjorn]

I'm 65 and could be dead by this evening-you're 42 and could die in your sleep tonight-could happen.
Stay in shape-regardless of numbers and don't put stuff off! Do it now.
 

[David Mitchell]

I'm 66 going on 15   :p  I do anything I want to still but try to keep my bow weight in a reasonable 45-52# range as the knuckles age and heavier bows are more prone to aggravate some arthritis.  Last year I took this Maine bear with my 48# Hoyt Dorado at Eldon Jandreau's operation (Bill C. posted his web site). Had plenty of horsepower. Age is simply a number!
 

[bro-n-arrow]

I'll be 71 in april and I hope the good LORD allows me many more years of prowling the woods.I have had to overcome stroke cancer chemo broken leg neropathy planter-faciatus or what-ever.I keep trying to show the younger ones how its done and enjoying every minute of it.I am now hunting with my new 50lb grizzly longbow and my 52lb palmer recurve.It's all in the mind and you've got many years ahead of you!

I am 58, disabled due to a back injury, knees are not so good, and I have a problem with my right hand release fingers from shooting 90 pound bows most of my life.  I almost gave it up this year because I got my myself into a bit of trouble, but I am not done yet.  I think because of the organic food and all the natural supplements I take, I must have a faster healing rate than I did years ago.  So I have a new Robertson longbow on order, I am going on a Canadian canoe trip in June, and I may do a leg a RAGBRAI again.  But this winter is getting boring, Can't hardly stand the wait for turkey season.

[glass76]

Go back to page one of this thread, click on the link that Killdeer posted. You wil find some of the best old photos and stories ever put on the web.

[Earthdog]

I'm only 53,a couple of my hunting buddys are in their mid 70's and one is now 83.
As everybody else says,your over all health will decide your future.
I reckon I have at lest another 30 or so years before I even have to really consider this stuff.
In our local 3D league we have an old folks  senior class that begins at 50,none of us will enter it,it's an insult.

[hayslope]

Originally posted by Guru:
Don't look at it as "How much time have I got left"...

Look at it as,  "How can I make the most of everyday I'm here"

The rest will take care of itself      

You can't respond to this post much better than Curt.

We will never know how much time we have left, so make the best of every moment.  At 56, my focus is to enjoy what I love and to be the best person I can be, for my family and those around me.

Many people go through life without a true passion .  Hunting was a passion for me even before I could participate in it legally.  Having grown up in a hunting family in PA, I could not wait until I was old enough to buy a hunting license.  To this day, I still look forward to purchasing one every year.

If I'm gone from this earth tomorrow, I can truthfully say right now that I've enjoyed life because I have been able to do what I love in many breathtaking places.

Don't concern yourself with how much time you have left.  Concern yourself with how much you will enjoy yourself (and your new found passion) in the time you have left.

[pathdoc]

My dad is 67 and is talking about hunting elk, off-and-on, for a whole month this year in Montana (how I'd love to be retired at 34!).  We hunt together a lot and he's right there with me on the climbs.  He has said a few times that if I'm not with him, and he isn't within a mile of a road, he won't shoot.  Doesn't want to see an elk go to waste while he tries to figure out how to get it out of there.  And no big holes.  But he seems to love the walk, the elk talk, and the hunt more now than he did even at 50.  Its not too difficult to find public land that is walkable for a 70-year-old that holds a lot of elk, even today.

[Bonebuster]

"It just feels good...the whole idea of stick and string is comforting in some way".

Great statement Trab!!!

Your bow will give you a great return on your investment. You will breathe deeper, you will get stronger, you will notice more of EVERYTHING around you. You will enjoy all aspects of your life more.

Don`t worry about how much time you have left, just push yourself away from the dinner table a little sooner, and go for a walk with your bow.

The flight of an arrow will keep your heart light, and your eyes brighter.