"GO HUNTING NOW WHILE YOU ARE PHYSICALLY ABLE!"

[ActionBob]

A lot of it is mental as well. I’ve got a good mental game. I don’t quit.

That is key! You will do great. I believe on my mountain goat hunt, just prior to the Covid BS, I commented that after the physical exhaustion, it becomes mental, and then it becomes spiritual!

The guide i hunted that goat with was 6' 8" so not easy to keep up with but he was really good at knowing how to push a client without outrunning him. And he knew goats and he had done some guiding for sheep. He told me at that time I would do fine on a sheep hunt. I had intended to do at least one Canadian sheep hunt but then Covid shut that down and tried to kill me. I'm not back into the condition I was pre Covid, just not the same lung capacity, but improving I think. I did ok in Tanzania chasing buffalo in the mountains (very small mountains).

 

[93marlin]

I have this as my signature on my profile......

Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow what a ride!“

I have had that printed and framed on the wall in my reloading/game room for many years!!

 

[SFRanger7GP]

The price of giving it your all eventually catches up with us. My body took a good beating over the years and eating 800mg Motrin like M&Ms and "just rub some dirt on it and keep moving" finally caught up with me. However, moving slower has its advantages. I see more game than ever, as now I can't try to run it down. I am getting back in shape for my attempt at a Rigby Dagga Boy and that may be it for me in Africa after that. I enjoy deer hunting on our little lease more than ever now. Sometimes I am enjoying it so much that I don't want to spoil the moment by ending it with a kill. Hunting there with a friend makes it even more special. So, my body may have finally met it's limits but I have found a great way to overcome those issues.

Safe hunting

 

[mdwest]

It’s funny how some thing come back around full circle…

When I was a kid I loved deer hunting…

As I got older I lost interest.. it became mundane… I wanted to try new things, go new places, etc…

Now that I’m in my 50’s… I’ve fallen back in love with it all over again.. I enjoy the entire process.. everything from busting my butt all spring and summer to improve my place… to sitting in silence in a blind for hours in the fall and early winter.. to making periodic trips back out to the lease in late winter to check on things…

 

[Green Chile]

I am getting back in shape for my attempt at a Rigby Dagga Boy…

Excellent. I hope to give you a little friendly competition on that goal.

 

[Rare Breed]

One of the biggest challenges we face.

Typically at a younger age (more active and in shape) we can't afford these types of trips. As we get older, and are more financially secure, our fitness level declines.

My theory is YOLO, and you don't know the expiration date.

This slapped me in the face 2 years ago. I have always been very physically fit, 20 years in the Army (infantry and then SF). 2 years ago I see a doc about another issue and he says "you need to see a cardiologist".

Fast forward, after a major VA snafu, I end up with open heart surgery to replace aorta valve.

Time to step up! Do those things I have been putting off! I refuse to go quietly in the night. Moose and elk this year. Africa and Dall sheep next year.

I need to finish my coffee and head to the gym

My favorite saying is “I will not go quietly into the night.”

 

[Rare Breed]

That is key! You will do great. I believe on my mountain goat hunt, just prior to the Covid BS, I commented that after the physical exhaustion, it becomes mental, and then it becomes spiritual!

The guide i hunted that goat with was 6' 8" so not easy to keep up with but he was really good at knowing how to push a client without outrunning him. And he knew goats and he had done some guiding for sheep. He told me at that time I would do fine on a sheep hunt. I had intended to do at least one Canadian sheep hunt but then Covid shut that down and tried to kill me. I'm not back into the condition I was pre Covid, just not the same lung capacity, but improving I think. I did ok in Tanzania chasing buffalo in the mountains (very small mountains).

Come on Bob…@just gina tells all of us your are her stud muffin

 

[trperk1]

Back in 2014 I was taking 4 Advils every 4 hours just to function during my hunts in the Mountains of MT and elephant hunts in Africa. Not to mention tennis etc..

Made the decision to get my right hip replaced as I had no more cartilage left. No more pain or limping. I had to give up running, tennis, and martial arts as I am not supposed to do anything high impact. Picked up rowing to substitute for running.

View attachment 614364

Had both hips replaced. Nice to be pain free. First one at 57 and went on a Alaska moose hunt 90 days later.

 

[Dee S]

Fantastic! What was your draw weight and arrow setup?

Bow was set at 82 lbs, and I was using a GrizzlyStik set up. Arrows weighed 920 grains total, topped with the GS 200 grain Maasai broadhead.
Had no issues with penetration or failures of any kind. The bow, the arrows, and the heads performed as intended.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I’m in my late 30’s and got similar advice to this in my early 20’s by a mentor in the military (who’s really the one responsible for making me realize hunting in Africa was possible and affordable for a blue collar guy).

He told me there are two types of hunts …. Ones you’re young enough/fit enough, but to poor to do & hunts you’re rich enough, but too old and too broken to do. He said he wished he focused more on hunting and fishing when he was younger.

I took his advice to heart. Even before getting that advice I started building points in several states right out of high school. A chunk of money from a deployment went to establishing a slush fund to apply for more states each year. I planned to hunt all the hard North American mountain/back country species while younger. Aside from Goat/Sheep/Moose I’ve managed to do just this. I created a plan and goal for certain species by a certain age and have been pretty good at tackling it with a 4 year Hunt Plan and the occasional tweaks when I drew an unexpected tag.

I planned to do Africa later in life, but got sidetracked by an Auction hunt at a price I couldn’t say no to. This created an addiction to Africa, and a desire to complete my Big 5. My thinking was the chance importation of certain species gets banned outpaces the rising cost of those mountain hunts and I chose to prioritize several of them for that reason with the remaining hunts planned for the next 1-4 years.

At this point in time a moose hunt has been booked for a couple years. I’ve spent the last year spiraling down the rabbit hole of sheep hunting and really been free falling the last 6mo. I will be booking a sheep hunt later this year, for within the next 3-5 years. Once that is booked and the moose hunt has been completed, I’ll plan/book a goat hunt.

Ibex, Tahr, Chamois, Red Stag, and Roe Deer have all been pushed to accomplish in my late 40’s/50’s if it’s in the cards.

 

[abnhog]

Hey I'm doing the same. Going through Atlanta and Delta? Staying at Afton Sat night?

I’m flying on 6/22 on Delta through ATL.

 

[Throwback]

I’m in my late 30’s and got similar advice to this in my early 20’s by a mentor in the military (who’s really the one responsible for making me realize hunting in Africa was possible and affordable for a blue collar guy).

He told me there are two types of hunts …. Ones you’re young enough/fit enough, but to poor to do & hunts you’re rich enough, but too old and too broken to do. He said he wished he focused more on hunting and fishing when he was younger.

I took his advice to heart. Even before getting that advice I started building points in several states right out of high school. A chunk of money from a deployment went to establishing a slush fund to apply for more states each year. I planned to hunt all the hard North American mountain/back country species while younger. Aside from Goat/Sheep/Moose I’ve managed to do just this. I created a plan and goal for certain species by a certain age and have been pretty good at tackling it with a 4 year Hunt Plan and the occasional tweaks when I drew an unexpected tag.

I planned to do Africa later in life, but got sidetracked by an Auction hunt at a price I couldn’t say no to. This created an addiction to Africa, and a desire to complete my Big 5. My thinking was the chance importation of certain species gets banned outpaces the rising cost of those mountain hunts and I chose to prioritize several of them for that reason with the remaining hunts planned for the next 1-4 years.

At this point in time a moose hunt has been booked for a couple years. I’ve spent the last year spiraling down the rabbit hole of sheep hunting and really been free falling the last 6mo. I will be booking a sheep hunt later this year, for within the next 3-5 years. Once that is booked and the moose hunt has been completed, I’ll plan/book a goat hunt.

Ibex, Tahr, Chamois, Red Stag, and Roe Deer have all been pushed to accomplish in my late 40’s/50’s if it’s in the cards.

Sounds like your plan is a good one. And yes, I have heard the saying: "You need a young mans body and an old mans wallet."

I also have a thought to "go far" while on the younger side and when older, focus on the closer stuff from a geographical sense, meaning, I am still willing to sit on numerous flights and deal with the related logistical issues but as I get older I will stay closer to home, meaning N. America. Focus on Alaska, US and Canada in that sense. Cheers

 

[JES Adventures]

I was fortunate enough to have hunted a lot when I was younger. Africa was my first love and I went back as often as I could, thinking that its time was limited and I had the rest of my life to hunt North America. What I didn't take into consideration is the degree of difficulty to pursue many North American species. I got serious about the NA sheep when I was 43 and finished my slam at 58. Arthritic knees have taken their toll and I took my last mountain hunt this past December in France for Chamois.

Double knee replacement will most likely take place later this year so I can get back after it. I never thought 60 was old, until I got up and went to bed every day with pain - the price of living a full life I guess. Its refreshing for me to read that many of my contemporaries here have undergone a multitube of orthopedic surgeries and have carried on with their passion.

There are still a few mountains to climb, tracks to walk and rivers to ford. The passion of this sport is what pushes me forward.

If I had the chance to do it over again, I'd hit the mountains first.

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

I can hunt all day in semi-flat bush as hot as you wish, but add some hills and things slow down a lot. My toughest hunt ever was a stag in the Scottish highlands. For me the secret is to shed weight, then even a few old injuries can cope.

 

[Philip Glass]

This is of course the great quote of Jack Atcheson, Sr who booked hunts for so many clients over the years. I recently turned the page into my 50's and I'm thinking about that statement more and more. I have not focused enough on the sheep and goats and of course, some of them are now priced out of sight for many people. However, I could skip a year in Africa and do mountain goat, brown bear or some goats in Europe or Asia. I'm seriously thinking about which hunts are physically daunting and need to move up on my list while I have good health.

What does that quote stir up for you? Any plans you've been wanting to make but have put off for too long?

We are in the same spot. I was hoping for Dalls sheep on my upcoming full bag AK hunt but sadly the season was just closed. Now I have to decide what to do. I am chasing the Ibex of the world and will hunt Spain this year. That is not physically challenging however. I need to put Dall's sheep and at least a mountain goat on the books soon. I am 52 and in ok shape.
My Africa addiction is getting in the way it seems!

 

[Green Chile]

We are in the same spot. I was hoping for Dalls sheep on my upcoming full bag AK hunt but sadly the season was just closed. Now I have to decide what to do. I am chasing the Ibex of the world and will hunt Spain this year. That is not physically challenging however. I need to put Dall's sheep and at least a mountain goat on the books soon. I am 52 and in ok shape.
My Africa addiction is getting in the way it seems!

Exactly. We should connect sometime on a hunt.

The new Sports Afield issue has a good article by Boddington called 10 Tips for Mountain Hunting. Some good info in there on this subject.

 

[fourfive8]

The post about the mental part being important IMO is spot on. Enduring some pain and discomfort, sooner or later, will be part of the game. I inherited lower back issues and had back surgery at 38. By sheer luck, a top sports neurosurgeon did the work. Contrary to all the BS I’d heard about or was advised about on how to deal with the lower back weakness, I discovered by another coincidence, after sustaining compound fractures in my left foot and ankle, it is torso and upper body strength that helps most in mitigating lower back weakness. Almost counterintuitive but something to consider for those with lower back issues.

Having grown up in or near mountains and altitude, the timberline or steep terrain hunting for sheep never seemed a hurdle. Scree slopes/chutes… under, over or around hanging glaciers in the Wrangells seemed normal to similar terrain I’d hunted deer in growing up in the Rockies farther south. Wet, soggy, marshland laced with deadfall and impenetrable willow, packing 150-200 lb bone-in moose parts for me was the most physically demanding hunt. So sure enough serious moose would be one I would recommend doing sooner when younger and stronger rather that later. Of course some raghorn meat moose can be easy killed by simply running major river side sloughs and popping them from a boat… if you are into that kind of “hunting”

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

We are in the same spot. I was hoping for Dalls sheep on my upcoming full bag AK hunt but sadly the season was just closed. Now I have to decide what to do. I am chasing the Ibex of the world and will hunt Spain this year. That is not physically challenging however. I need to put Dall's sheep and at least a mountain goat on the books soon. I am 52 and in ok shape.
My Africa addiction is getting in the way it seems!

Do you need a Dall or any North American Sheep? I myself and another member of this forum have been discussing how prices south of the border are coming down a DBH (formerly the most expensive hunt) are now in the same price range even below some of the cheapest Dall hunts. Be careful to avoid HF hunts for them unless you’re ok with that type of experience for a sheep hunt.

 

[Neil Molendyk]

Best advice I ever got from a Financial advisor was "don't wait for retirement to pursue you adventure, your probably not going to be in the same physical condition at 65 as you are at 40". But I didn't heed the advice. So first african hunt was at age 59, arthritic joints but still able to walk 10 miles with only minor discomfort. Next hunt was when I was 64, post cancer surgery. Still able to make 10 miles but leaving lots markings, like an old territorial dog. Last rip at 66, again a post cancer trip. Hills and stalks became challenge but still doable. Since then there has been joint replacement, and more visits from Mr. Arthur Itis. Enjoy your chosen passions while you can.

 

[fourfive8]

Many good posts and stories in this thread! I’ve known a few hunters/outdoorsmen who waited until they were financially “comfortable” before thinking about going on their lifelong dream hunt. Of course the obvious happened and they never did go, slowly becoming unable due to physical limitations or other excuses of non-existent ghosts. A few passed on from unforeseen illness. Also, our bucket lists understandably change over time. But IMO, don’t wait on Africa if it is on your list. Just do it. I think the travel there and back has become the most daunting part of the whole process. My recent experience traveling to the Indo-Pacific has convinced me of that reality.