Retiring
- Thread starter Old Hunter
- Start date
MOHunter
Member
I go fishing with family every spring in Canada for a week. A couple of years ago my wife's grandfather brought a couple of his buddies. One of them was in his 80s and had been through some pretty rough times with his health, including cancer. He could no longer go to the restroom - emptied a bag that he wore 24/7. That old guy got in the boat every day for a week straight and had one heck of a time. And as a younger guy, I can tell you that those old dudes are a lot of fun to be around.
Well, 'ol Red is well into his 80s now, and I just heard over Christmas that he killed a 17 point whitetail this fall! That's 2 years in a row that he's filled his buck tags. He can't go far, but it sure was far enough this time - urine bag and all!!
Well, 'ol Red is well into his 80s now, and I just heard over Christmas that he killed a 17 point whitetail this fall! That's 2 years in a row that he's filled his buck tags. He can't go far, but it sure was far enough this time - urine bag and all!!
Good for him. Stories like that keep me going.
Maybe that's part of being a hunter. We all keep each other going. Nobody can understand a hunter like another hunter.
Maybe that's part of being a hunter. We all keep each other going. Nobody can understand a hunter like another hunter.
My grandfather was 92 when he got his last muley buck tag. I asked him every evening if he wanted to go out the next morning for a look. He politely declined every time. One night when I was out scouting I found a decent buck off a trail with a bunch of does. I asked him that night if he would want to go out and look for it in the morning. Again he declined. But wouldn't you know it, the next morning he was up and at em' with his orange on before I even had my coffee. That morning he ended up shooting a 160ish muley. That doesn't come close to his largest buck, but he was awfully proud to show it off at the daily old farmer coffee social. The buck was 200+ yards and he took one shot. I was directing him which deer to shoot at and after the shot he said, "was that the right one? I couldn't even see his horns." Grandpa is no longer with us and I feel a little bit selfish saying this, but I sure am glad he decided to come out of his hunting retirement if only for the memory I got from that hunt.
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Colorado Cowboy
Super Moderator
There is a common threade here that some of you can see....hunters, fishermen, & outdoorsmen will always be that way until they are gone to meet their maker. My Dad was that way and so were several lifelong friends of his. MOHunter's post made me thing about a lot of things, some of them that effected ME in the last 17 years. I had the big CA in 1995 and had major surgery, chemo & rad. Came back 18 mos later, more surgery & chemo. Tough times as I was given a 1 in 10 chance to live 5 years. (I've proved them wrong!) It makes you think about your life...how you've lived it and what you would have done differently. I have one of those "bags" (a colostomy) and have lived with it for 17 years. You just go about your business and do what you normally would do.
Life is short and you must live it to the fullest. Might sound trite, but thats why I retired early and walked away from a really great job. My family is first and thankfully we have had a great retirement for 12 years. I'll keep hunting and fishing as long as the good Lord allows me too!
Life is short and you must live it to the fullest. Might sound trite, but thats why I retired early and walked away from a really great job. My family is first and thankfully we have had a great retirement for 12 years. I'll keep hunting and fishing as long as the good Lord allows me too!