Wife just turned 70 years old has probably shot her last deer

ACES&8S said:

I don't want another mess to deal with & said she is probably thru with them.

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I was like that almost 30 years ago. I'd not personally bagged a deer, but I was part of a group of hunters that always got several deer during the year, and I shared in the meat. Turned out I was the youngest and they only wanted a somebody to track their deer and haul it out. Never really let me have a spot on the land where a good shot could be had. Plus I'd learned in the service how to "reach out and touch" a target at very long range. No challenge really where I lived and hunted at the time.

You see, when hunting becomes a chore, much more than a pleasure and a thrill, this reaction is not uncommon. Then as we age, when tending to downed game is causing a lot of physical pain, or the next morning when your body reacts to the physical activity you did when dealing with the downed deer..., this reaction is also not uncommon.

I think she has given you a clue..."another mess"...sounds as if she sees the whole activity is a chore. At your stage in life, if the chore isn't necessary, why do it?

You're on this nice piece of land with deer on it every year, so no real challenge. She shoulders that nice rifle, with nice optics, hand crafted ammo that you made....BANG...FLOP....now she has to dress out the deer, and maybe even break it down for freezing.

Sounds like it's too easy for her.
OR she hurts a lot the next day, but doesn't complain to you and hides it, but if it's a chore AND it hurts the next day...yeah she's done.


So regardless if she ever goes out hunting again, if you don't have a Chiropractor, GET ONE. Seriously, I thought Chiropractors were BS..., well I was stupid but got lucky and caught a problem before it ended my job and my hunting. And I had no pain in my back nor hips when I caught the fact that my skeletal system was terribly out of alignment. You both will stay active longer, and will have much less pain when you get a good Chiropractor, so your quality of life will continue, even if she doesn't go after deer in the future.

The answer to the hunting problem may be to find out if there is something that will challenge her, that she finds interesting. Maybe it's a different kind of hunting. A nice light 20 gauge and bird hunting, where when done the birds are dressed and plucked, and in bags, and all you do is go home, verify they are properly packaged, and freeze them, might in order. (You might want to double check..., you reduced the recoil in that 7mm-08 with hand loads, but did you reduce it enough? She might not even notice a problem when shooting, but..., as I mentioned when you're out of spinal alignment, the recoil can give you pain the following day, and in areas you don't think are related. )

For me the answer was black powder..., then it was black powder and a flintlock. I have to get in on the deer at under 100 yards, avoid detection, and make a good, single shot. All of the deer I've ever taken, have been done that way. It's still a challenge, it's still satisfying, and it outweighs the chore of dealing with the downed deer after the shot is made. OH and although the bullets are heavier than yours, the much slower speed means a lot less recoil. You might consider a nice .45 caplock for her... but it needs to be her idea.

LD

My dad hasn't shot a deer in two years now. He still goes out and does his time in the tree stand but claims he hasn't seen the right target. I think he has come to the place where the act of hunting – sitting in the stand with his own private thoughts, his observation of the property he loves so well and just being outdoors – is more satisfying to him than the actual taking of game.

Make no mistakes, he still helps us with the butchering and meat cutting, he's even taken to helping my sister-in-law prepare hides for tanning. But I get the feeling the actual taking of the deer no longer interests him.

But in the end does it really matter? He has taught both me and a certain unnamed idiot who shall remain my brother the fine points of bringing home the venison. Not to mention my own husband. So can it not be said that every Whitetail we bring home is part of his hunting skills albeit secondhand? One generation passes and a new one takes his place.

My dad. He's 83 and I bet it's been close to 10 years since he's shot anything. He didn't even go with us this year. He went last year but didn't bother buying a tag, mostly just hung around camp and drove around some. It's another last which is kind of hard to see but that's how things go on this earth.

I'm at the point now where i think the fun stops when you pull the trigger. I've taken many deer, but now dragging one out, field dressing it, skinning it, and taking it to a butcher seems like work, not fun.

Since I've moved, I no longer have meat storage capacity, and now I'm the only one who will eat venison. So I guess my deer hunting days are over.

But there's always pheasant hunting!

I'm acquainted with two good deer processors. Shoot it, load it on the pickup (helps to have a hoist), and carry it to 'em and they'll handle it from there. I agree about recoil though... it don't have to be a fact of life.

A different kind of hunting... small game with a .22cal sidearm, maybe?

I hear getting old ain't for wimps. Work smarter, not harder.

She may change her mind next year. I have to admit after having a couple in the freezer that I am not looking for the next one. Now, the first one I am looking for hard!

At some point the thrill is gone. At some point it is more work than it is worth. Maybe if you gutted the deer and took it someplace to be processed she would change her mind. I still hunt because of the fellowship and my son and friends want me to hunt with them. I still like to hunt but it is difficult for me. Hunting by myself is pretty much out of the question due to health issues. I would give it up if I had to do all the work myself and did not feel like I was wanted and useful. This year I donated my deer to my son who did not get a shot. I have passed up on shooting a deer more than once. A couple years I couldn't hunt and did not miss it much. I hunt pheasants I like to walk. But it is thin hunting here. If I did not have a dog that needed the exercise I would probably quit. A friend told me there is a last time for everything. Some days the end of the road feels close.

You see, when hunting becomes a chore, much more than a pleasure and a thrill, this reaction is not uncommon

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You can say that as well about fishing, reloading, or any "hobby"

I've only been hunting deer for 51 years and have taken a few... I was beginning to feel it was a chore. I mostly hunt alone and to add to the chore I do the butchering myself as well, my wife does help package. I still like to go out in the cold and "still hunt" or sit but I don't have to kill a deer. About 15 yrs. ago I instituted my own "quality deer management program". The deer I shoot has to have at least 8 pts. I let all the smaller buck go on by. Last year was the first buck I've taken since then. It was a good shot and a nice buck. I butchered it up and have to say it was fun again. Did my QDM program work? Last year I saw 3 nice buck where I hunt so I'd say maybe... I've been out this year but have not seen a buckaroo yet...


My advice would be to not put any pressure on her to go out but you should go if you want to. Good luck and good hunting.

ACES&8S said:

I guess we get older for the wear & see the zeal that the young ones have for hunting & they make us WISH for youth as much
as the zeal,
The look on my sons face the other day when he got a 3 point buck was enough to stay with me the rest of my life.
Then a little 16 year old girl shoots a 4 pointer with one of my reloads & her happiness is obvious.
Not as many are interested in where their meat comes from any more so we should cherish these few.
Then they will go home & one day soon they will tune into a hunting channel where it is ALL about antler inches, NOTHING ELSE.
I just had to mention that.

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That part about meat and antlers... yeah, I've watched those shows... know what you mean about knowing where the meat comes from. I like to get a big buck as much as anybody, but I'm always thinking "how much meat is this one?" I'm all for letting young bucks walk because if they're not already breeding, they will be soon... keep the genes going. Don't let the antler maniacs ruin it for you.

Actually...I've been thinking about this as applies to myself, and I'm only in my mid-50s.

There will come a time in my life when I will no longer be able to enjoy some of the things and activities I've grown up doing. Which means there will come a time when all the material things I have related to those things and activities will need to be passed on.

What does passing them on mean?

Well, quite honestly, it doesn't necessarily mean pass them on to my children or other family members. Unless, of course, they have a desire for them in some way.

Personally, I would be happy passing on some things to people I know will give them a good home.

Unfortunately for you guys here, I'm not anywhere near that point yet, so don't go asking me for my guns and ammo!

ACES&8S said:

She has been my best friend in EVERYTHING, then YESTERDAY she shot an 8 pointer in our back field, just over 100 yards with a Savage Mod 11, in 7MM-08 using my reload, a 100 grain hollow point to cut down recoil.
She always shoots them in the neck to save the rest of the meat, this one was no different, it
did a solid straight down, motor off, nose in the dirt DIVE.
Then today - I am our window watcher- I showed her a pretty curved tall spike to which she
stated, I don't want another mess to deal with & said she is probably thru with them.
She has done so well, every year, in the woods & then we got this place with deer on it every
year.
Question is, how many of you have had this happen with a wife or any family member
or just a good friend???

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Thats me after Ive just cleaned something, especially multiple somthings....You can show me the biggest buck in the world after a day of butchering and ill tell YOU to go get it.....

But yes, ive had a few friends who have decided that they just dont want to deal with all the effort of hunting anymore, and im 36 lol. I happens, interests wax and wane, and sometimes change. No big deal, just need to find something else to do with the time and see what happens in a while.

I am 50 with a bad back and my buddy is a couple years older, and has a worse back.

Last weekend I ended up hunting alone cuz Ben threw out his back and was in no shape to sit or deal with dead deer.

I got mine and by the time I was done field dressing I was in a world of hurt, even before dragging that deer up into the pickup.

Ben got his this morning, and he was hurting by the time he was done field dressing.

My son is 7 and I am holding on hoping he will go out with me next year.

Another year or 2 and between my back , shoulders, and knee its a toss up which will end my shooting, but, hopefully the boy will get the bug and I will be able to be out there with him.

If it feels good do it...

I'm in my 70th year and i still enjoy hunting but in a different way than 20 years ago. I've been lucky in my life and shot a lot of deer and it was no problem to carry a 50kg fallow out on my shoulder when i was younger.
Now i like to watch the deer and only shoot one occasionally for the freezer. Even if i shoot a roe deer i collect it with my quad. There's no chance these days of pulling a boar out of the forest. The quad has paid for its self many times over.
I like the driven shooting now as there are others who collect the shot game and take care of the of the messy jobs.
I've away done physical work and still work 50% but have escaped the bad back and damaged knees that many of us oldies suffer from.
I've a slightly dodgy heart but nothing a few tablets don't keep in check for now. Hopefully still got a few years hunting left but i realize every days a bonus day.

My father is 72 and not doing well health wise.
He comes to deer camp still but hasn't shot a deer in a few years now. We put him a box stand on a logging road where he can drive his side by side right up to it. It's only about 4 ft. high and rather than a ladder has stairs with a rail so he can get in it easily.

Last weekend he was at camp and I asked him if he was going to sit in his stand. His response, "Yeah I think I am. I'm trying to decide whether to take my gun."
He was just as happy to sit and watch deer.
My mom asks him why he even goes. It's not about killing deer anymore for him. He's happy to sit around the camp fire with my brother and I and when we bring a deer back to camp, he's as happy as we are.

After my dad was diagnosed with cancer, he pretty much gave up hunting. He still liked to shoot, but hunting just didn’t have the same appeal. I think the cancer spreading through his body caused him to think more about his own mortality and made him much less inclined to take another life. I finally talked him into hunting with me one afternoon while he was in remission. At that point he had probably not sat in a deer stand in five years.

He complained about being cold the whole afternoon and at the time I remember being extremely aggravated about his complaining. I didn’t understand at the time that chemo patients often experience intense chills. I talked him into staying in the shooting house with me a little longer and the most perfect, heaviest racked 8 point you’ve ever seen stepped into the greenfield about twenty minutes later.

I let Dad shoot and I watched through my scope as the buck collapsed. Then, I watched him get up. I thought about sending a second round downrange to anchor him, but didn’t want to taint Dad’s kill. I wish I could say this was a happy story, but the truth is, Dad misjudged the distance and hit the buck higher than he should have. We searched for hours without finding him. Went back the next day without dad. Tried bringing a tracking dog. Nothing worked and we never found that deer. Dad never went back into the woods. His confidence and his desire to hunt were shattered that day.

Dad passed away a couple years later and I still regret not taking a second shot at that deer. I still miss hunting with him. I gave up deer hunting myself for years because it just wasn’t enjoyable after Dad’s death.

Now, I hunt with rifles that remind me of my dad. I enjoy hunting with my daughter and I have come to appreciate the peace one finds when sitting in God’s creation.

By the way, three years after dad passed away, we found the skull and most of the skeleton of a massive, heavy horned eight point buck about seventy yards from where Dad shot at his last deer. It was wedged into some tree roots in the bank of a creek that had run dry during a pretty heavy drought. No question in my mind how that deer died.

I've hunted deer for quite awhile with a respite of about 8 years when I switched to ducks. I'm 76 and got 2 deer this year but the butchering, skinning and gutting gets old. I enjoy hunting different spots and get tired of one or two stands pretty quick. Variety is the spice of life and that goes for different scenery too. If I had a processor nearby who skinned the deer as well as butchering, I'd use him all the time. Trouble is none around here will accept an unskinned or un-gutted deer.

We can kill 5 deer/year but I'm done this year unless a big one shows up.

Just a thought. The closer you come to the end of life the more empathy you have for all forms of life.

Don't take me wrong on this, I'll be eating meat until they pull the sheet over my head.

The last time I went hunting I did so on a friend's land sitting in what I nicknamed "stand mahal". It was about 4'x6', totally enclosed, 18' up in a group of trees overlooking 3 large grass fields divided by lines of trees. There's a regular aluminum ladder leading up to it and a small deck on top before you enter.

It has hinged plexiglass windows and a door and is totally wind and water proof. Each window has the distance to the far edge of the field it overlooks printed below it, max distance is about 200 yards. You sit on a comfortable padded swivel chair with arms. The stand also overlooks a feeder.

I have never hunted in such luxury! lol I'm usually sitting on the frozen ground with my back against a tree, wind blowing and freezing my ass off in a forest with short sight lines.

I was in it before first light, and after about 2 hours, now bright and sunny, a decent buck comes out of the tree line maybe 20 yards away and starts to graze out in the open. I put my scope on it and just watched. After a while I placed the crosshairs on the spot I usually shoot, right on the shoulder to break the bone and take out the lungs, and held steady. Put my finger on the trigger, inhaled slightly, held it, and mouthed "pow".

I took credit for the kill and he ambled away. Too close, too easy. Although he didn't know it, it was a good day for both of us.