Enough hunting sortof

A

Alaskan swamp collies

Well-known member
I always said when I was fully retired I was gonna start chasing birds in August in AK and hunt all the way down to Az and quit at the end of February. Well I almost made it this year. I started chasing grouse around home mid August, it was abysmal,slightly better than last year when I only flushed one bird, this year I flushed a handful and killed one. Come September I had a fly out moose hunt. Great hunt called a 54 incher in from 3/4 mile and dropped him at 50 yards, morning I turned 73, nice birthday. Between prep, 10 days in the field and processing there went September. On October 1 headed for MT , was there before start of pheasant season. Hunted MTand Nd for the months of Oct, Nov,and into Dec. numbers of birds were mostly down from prior years but still huntable. Infact it was great as I wasn’t routinely shooting a limit and having to quit early. So I got to hunt maybe 6 days aweek(have to shower and do laundry) and after eating a lot of birds stayed within the possession limit. Than meandered down to AZ where I have been chasing quail in Dec and January. It is basically armed walks here. I have shot a few, damed few but have got a lot of exercise. Today someone called me and asked me to go back to work for a few days. I realized I had a great hunting season and I was really just going through the motions here. So I am heading back north. Wife says great she doesn’t want to eat another bird. So maybe I can fill her up on salmon when we get back. All in all I have basically hunted 90% of the time for the last 5 months, I think I have had enough. Now about fishing.
 
Yesterday is now history and tomorrow is a mystery. I can still take nourishment and haven’t appeared in the obits.
Try to help someone everyday. God bless. Life gets shorter every day. These are the good old days for many of us. Enjoy the journey
 
In September, 73 years old, killing, packing-out and processing a moose....You sound like the toughest 73 year old on the planet!! Even if it took the entire month of September to complete that task...Well done son!!!
I don't have those same dreams for my retirement, but if I can get there and have decent health, I have a ton of projects I want to get after. We have 3 grandkids at the moment, so that might trump any of my plans.
 
Sounds like a great fall and winter. I don't think my wife would be on board for an extended road trip like that. Enjoy it while you can!
 
Congrats on getting all that done at 73. Get-R-Done while you can as the years catch up fast as we age. Five years ago I might have been right there with you, but now at 78 with Afib, a pacemaker and Type 2 diabetes I'm lucky to last 2-3 hours in the field.
 
matto said:
And staying below the possession limits is a serious accomplishment if the hunting is even decent.
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Not too hard this year. I move a lot, seldom hunt the same place twice. Only once this year was I back to the car with a limit in under an hour. I also never went back to that spot, will next year though. The first few weeks in MT and ND were tough, they need valet parking at some places. Some days you go to a half dozen spots before finding a place to park. After SD opened things calmed down and the birds were wild but huntable, not easy, but actually fun when you out smarted a bird. Wife says she doesn’t care if she ever eats another bird. I guess that means I need to go salmon fishing. Sometimes the birds get up and you just say good dog and don’t worry about shooting. It’s a different perspective when you can hunt everyday. Am I blessed, you know it. But I did work a job since high school,as a friend said, you’ve earned it, enjoy.
 
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