Mountain hunting for guys over 50?

As others have noted, your health (heart, joints, etc) permits it - just do it.

I turned 66 this year and still hump it with a pack in the Northern Rockies. I do have a surgically repaired knee but fortunately I have no other health issues so I just make sure I stay active all year so when the climbing comes I'm not getting gassed too fast. As well. I set a steady pace. If others want to race - go ahead - I'll be there when it counts.
 
Back in 2020 I went to NZ to visit my daughter and she had organized a number of hunts in the mountains and let me tell you, I had never done this type of hunting before being a prairie hunter. I wasn't ready for it and wasn't in shape either and my boots were terrible as for traction on the slopes. Sure was happy when I was back on flat land.
 
grit said:
I’ve taken a 4-5 year break from shooting and hunting as I just lost interest . Recently the urge to get back into it has come back in a big way . I’m compelled to get back into mountain hunting , maybe just a fantasy as I approach my 55th BD next spring . Any gunnutz still doing back pack hunts here is there 50’s and beyond ?
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If you are asking this question, it suggests you are not sure of your health status and/or know it is not in a decent enough shape to do such demanding physically and mentally activity.

It would not be a bad idea to get full medical check up, blood work, stress test and whatever else your doctor might suggest.

You don’t want to find out in the wild hard to get terrain that your health is not prepared for such activities.

Just a suggestion on my part, ymmv.

Cheers, ✌🏻
 
350tracker said:
Back in 2020 I went to NZ to visit my daughter and she had organized a number of hunts in the mountains and let me tell you, I had never done this type of hunting before being a prairie hunter. I wasn't ready for it and wasn't in shape either and my boots were terrible as for traction on the slopes. Sure was happy when I was back on flat land.
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Living in BC there has always been some degree of hill climbing involved in my hunting but the most demanding for me has been elk and grizzly. When grizzly was still open I wold put in for the west side of Williston and always get it because it is a little remote.

We would spot the mountain sides just above the treeline or those beautiful golf green looking patches for grizz. When you saw one either then or later you would plan out a stalk. That smooth cheery looking green patch was generally an old slide overgrown densely with willows and rocks the size of vw's. We would hike from the road through the trees or cut block, up the mountain past the tree line, and then try and find the critter. With that program we certainly slept well at night.
 
If you’re in proper shape and it’s on your bucket list, do it. My father used to tell me it’s better to have memories than regrets. It also helps to have a younger partner with you. In my case it’s my son, however he does get a little over protective of me at times because of my age, I’m 72 and still doing what I always did (flat land hunting).
 
I've seen those, but they still take up space and do have some weight. If you can handle it, do it, but if you're going to do trips that require humping mountains, humping out the gear, as well as the required legal amounts of meat, horns, etc. will require a lot more effort.

As for mountain hunting, climbing the hills gets easier if you do it enough to strengthen your body, coming back down, especially with a heavy pack full of meat, never gets easier, especially with bad knees.
 
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bearhunter said:
climbing the hills gets easier if you do it enough to strengthen your body
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the rub.
Fitness is a lifestyle but everyone has their level of ability and commitment and desires
I know a guide who was chasing sheep and goats at 62, his general lifestyle off-season had activity also so no special training was needed

trying not to be insensitive....but at first I thought the thread title had a typo error in the age for the question
50 is so young..
 
50 is so young , especially if you are a tree.
Spot/Inreach might be a piece of kit worth its' weight.
Get out, get fit and get shooting, our time on this blue orb we call Earth is finite and may that time be as enjoyable as ever.
Rob
 
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boxhitch said:
the rub.
Fitness is a lifestyle but everyone has their level of ability and commitment and desires
I know a guide who was chasing sheep and goats at 62, his general lifestyle off-season had activity also so no special training was needed

trying not to be insensitive....but at first I thought the thread title had a typo error in the age for the question
50 is so young..
Click to expand...
Genetics has a lot to do with how well we age. There are some things we just can't overcome.

Some issues are our fault, and injuries we sustained in our younger days eventually catch up with us, some folks think drinking a case of beer every day and smoking a pack of cigs, is good for you. It all takes its toll.

For those of us out there over the age of fifty, good on you.

Funny, most of the folks I see in the bush, hunting on foot, are over 50. It seems most young folks feel you need to have quads, and have comfortable beds to sleep in every night to be able to hunt.

That doesn't mean all young folks feel that way, but from what I've seen over the past ten years, people hunting on foot are mostly older.

Yesterday my 55 year old neighbor and I used my SxS quad to get to the snowline on one of the ridges I know that still has a good population of Mule Deer.

I will admit, I used to use a horse to get up there and what took an hour with a quad would have taken most of a day with a horse.

There was a very good chance of picking up one of those old, lone Bucks, that won't start heading for the valley below, until the snow is close to its belly.

The snow was about a foot (25cm) deep, and wet. There was a 10km wind, blowing fog, and visibility was about 400 meters. Perfect weather for such a hunt.

We were also just above the tree line, other than small pockets of 50 year old, twenty foot high spruce and pine, with 18 inch butts.

The grass and shrubs were sticking up through the snow, and other than a couple sets of Deer tracks, our foot prints were all that was visible.

It was beautiful.

We saw 6 deer, but none were legal.

Slogging through that wet snow was brutal. I was dry, and my clothes held out the wind, but my thighs and calves were on fire from the exertion of moving in the wet snow. We finally got to a position where we had a 360 degree view, and could still be hunkered down for some shelter from the wind. Temps were -3C, and the sun had been shining before we got there.

It was a great day.
 
vanderkalin said:
This is wisdom. Big and strong beats the ability to run a marathon.
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I look big with my 85lbs ruck sack...hahaha
Just 176 pounds of ribs and balls.😂

Having a physical job helps out a bit.
Try
Kettle bell foot lifts and
bands work well . Easy to do on the couch.
You dont need a fancy half rack like mine, 150 bucks used on town.post..
10 minutes a day really helps gents!!
Happy ruck sack bag walks🤗
 
i've hunted with some guys , and still do with some of them that are in the 70+ age bracket and you can tell that years of being active and working reasonably physical jobs , walking and bike riding in the off season..... these guys are still going strong.
At 56 and living with a pelvic/spinal disability for the past 27 years, I've only done 2 real mountain hunts, both for sheep. One before my work accident and one 7 years after. Where I blacktail hunt has virtually no flat ground LOL and it is steep mountain terrain but i don't hike to the alpine and picked a spot years ago that while access is not incredibly difficult, still a challenge for me. I used to hunt it solo for over a decade and hauled many a buck off that mountain but these days , I always go with at least one other person in case i have a medical emergency.
I would like to get into elk hunting and realize the physical nature of finding and putting the hunt on one of those critters. Next year I have that opportunity with an invite from some hard core elk hunters who have offered to take me along. Gonna spend the year getting in better shape LOL
 
55 here and still comfortable in the mountains and can work side by side with guys in there 20s... albeit a little slower, yet more steady, haha. Like anything else, you use it or you lose it. Your potential for strength and endurance are still high in your 50s, but as the body changes you need to start taking care of it and hiking 2km up a mountain off the couch is much harder than when you were young.

That being said, you do not need to workout hard and actually better if you do lower impact on your older joints, Walking, hiking, biking, kettlebells, kayaking, etc... I have worked mostly office work last 10 years and kept in shape primarily through skateboarding and biking 30 min to/from work and then some random recreation like dancing or climbing - nothing too intense. Keeps me fit for my hunting season where I typically hike in a couple kms into the mountains every day I am out.
 
Uncle is in his 60's and he goes out alone for a week or so. He brings his horses which makes it somewhat easier.


He tagged an elk a few years ago and had a hell of a time getting it loaded up by himself, but he did it. Slow and easy, bring a sat phone and enjoy. Your not getting any younger so get out there and make the best of it.
 
Being I just turned 67 and I still backpack in 2 miles hunt and 2 miles out and that is in the Fraser breaks so some steep climbing going in and it is much harder these days but I am not stop yet, I just got back from there with my boys and the old bugger got a big fork did not see anything decent so filled my tag.
 
You will never be a day or a year younger than you are right now. And one day sometime in the future will be the day when it's too late to try. You don't get to know when that day will be until it arrives.

If you want it, take it while you can. And if it's harder than you expected, just smile and realize that the sense of accomplishment of just doing it is also more than you expected.

Just do it.
 
Neo said:
You will never be a day or a year younger than you are right now. And one day sometime in the future will be the day when it's too late to try. You don't get to know when that day will be until it arrives.

If you want it, take it while you can. And if it's harder than you expected, just smile and realize that the sense of accomplishment of just doing it is also more than you expected.

Just do it.
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Damn Neo! That’s some motivational #### right there! You learn that in the Matrix?

Just teasing. Every single part of what Neo said is absolute truth and a great reminder to get after it. Whatever the goal is.
 
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