I think age is finally catching up with me, at 61 I pushed as hard as in the past and it hurts! I've been at "it"(deer hunting) since the youth hunt. I hunted weekends in archery until Halloween and then had 17 days off to deer hunt. All during the month of October we hunted mornings and evenings while setting new stands mid day. I have no idea how many new stands were set but it was at least 10.

Fast forward to vacation, cameras (7) are out and showing good bucks, really good bucks in a 135 acre section of our farm. This area is not accessed by vehicle, you want to hunt it you walk in. The old saying ,"up hill both ways" applies here! Ugly walk for anyone,down hill and uphill of a deep ravine, just reverse it coming out.

My son misses a nice 8 point up there in his one week vacation and then passes him six more times as he is seeing bigger bucks on the prowl. When he returns to work(yes that ugly word) I make the trek daily to kill one of the four bucks we have targeted. I see good bucks but no shots, I have a great 8 come by and I can't stop him. I yelled him at 15 yards and he wont stop. Next day October 13 I see a tall tine 8 coming thru thick brush, 10 yard dump shot.... buck crashes after less than 10 seconds later. While standing in the stand who comes by..... the tall tine 8! What did I shoot? a smaller 8, the smallest buck I have shot in 20 years.




Knee is hurting,achilles is hurting and I have a dead deer as far from house as I can be. Drive to neighbors and ask if we can take him out on his property, "no problem" he says. He told me he thought I was going to tell him his cattle had gotten out on our place, yea they have but we will adress that AFTER deer season. Deer skinned and in freezer, I need to get a two man blind up in the same area for me and grandson. Thursday noon finds me carrying two man pop up and two chairs 1/2 mile , I set in chair surveying the set up when a B&C 10 point comes by.........perfect!

Opening morning of gun season the grandson and I make the climb before daylight, he walks I limp. We set there all day not a single deer walks by. An eleven year old sets all day to see ZERO deer? Thank God for the storms on Sunday! We didn't go out....

After a week of rest out again this past Saturday with the grandson, leg feels great on walk in. How can a great area go devoid of deer? This spot did, at 11:30 we pull the blind and I pack it out, pain returns as I make the climb out. AJ(grandson) wants to hunt a ladder stand "up there" for the afternoon hunt, we leave at 2 and have him set up by 3pm, did I mention having to carry a chair in for me to set on whil;e he hunted? Granpa limps as grandson acts like he is in a race. One hour into the afternoon and AJ is calling me, can't feel his hands or legs in the 30mph winds and dropping temps, Granpa to the rescue. We set another hour on the ground and he is "done" for the day. We walked out jumping 2 really good bucks........ if only we could have set till dark.

Sunday finds us in a shooting house on at least some resemblance of level ground. again AJ walks......I limp. less than five minutes in the blind and I see a deer, a buck! I get him on it at he tells me YOU need to stop it, a bleat and then a shot....... deer kicks and runs with tail up. We wait twenty minutes and go to where shot was taken, white hair. We look for an hour, no more level ground... up and down, no blood for three ridges..... deer is fine and I am in pain.

And here I am on Tuesday, looking forward to Friday when me and the grandson can spend "quality time" together........LOL.

Where is the Ibuprofen?

I'm having a ball!

Joe, it'd be great if that was only a "story", but getting old is a real "truth". I feel your pain, even though I didn't hunt anywhere as close to as hard as you did. To all you younger guys, read the post by Joe twice because your day will come and while you'll still enjoy, you will feel it even more! Regardless of buck size Joe, congrats and tell the grandson to keep at it.

Sounds to me like your still going strong!

Great post Joe, and congrats and good luck!

All day hunt for me today And when I say I feel your pain I mean I really feel your pain... I'm going straight to the hot tub and drag my butt to bed!

I'm not unhappy with the size of the buck I took I just beacame human again.... "I thought he was bigger than that". LOL!

You all are making my point, Young guys...........


Enjoy EVERY day of your hunt. The day will come when you enjoy every day because you realize those days are now liminted and NOT unlimited.

Much like our professional athletes....... you can't beat "Father Time".

In the words of a scum bucket(Clinton)...."I feel your pain".... as active as I am, running, working out, hunting.....we aint as young as we used to be ..... but I still love deer hunting and all that go goes with it.....no matter how many Aleve's I take .....

In the words of a scum bucket(Clinton)...."I feel your pain".... as active as I am, running, working out, hunting.....we aint as young as we used to be ..... but I still love deer hunting and all that go goes with it.....no matter how many Aleve's I take .....

Be glad your aches and pains come from doing something you love. The worst curse is to live in pain....endure pain....and you want nothing to do with what is causing it.

Some have that life daily.

Enjoyed your post.....reminds me of a 115 buck I shot about 5 years ago....could have swore he was 145+ on the hoof in Ohio. I still grin at that rack each year.....that buck took me down to "human level"....I needed that. We all need hunts, bucks and moments that bring us back to what "the hunt" is really about.......

........simply to enjoy the hunt the way each of us wants.

Congrats on another year of great memories Joe.....thanks for sharing.

Yah, but Joe it beats the alternative! Maybe it's time for one of those 4 wheel drive golf carts? :-)

Sounds like some GREAT times.


Hang in there...The "Golden Years" are coming soon!!!

Whoever told you the Golden Years were good.....they lied!

One thing Joe has not shared about is that he took some of his bow hunting season and invested it into taking Luke. I was drawn for gun Nov. 9-10 at Big Oaks. My wife and girls went to TN for that weekend to do a college visit, so during that weekend Joe offered to let us stay at the farm. While Ryan and I hunted BO, Joe put Luke in a stand so he could bow hunt and have an opportunity to kill a doe. Luke saw ALOT of deer and really had fun at huntin camp.

The memories, mentoring, and friendships are what it is all about. Thanks to Joe, Tony, and Zeb for taking the time to invest into a lil hunter. As a hunter and a dad, I can't thank you enough.

Kudos to all mentioned....very cool.

I wont go down with out a fight....lol. No golf carts ,four wheelers or that xgun until I can no longermove under my own power.

Many years ago I decided there was a greater power than me who gave me an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors. after each hunt I look up and just give a simple "Thank YOU for another great hunt".

Those who I share the hunt are a bonus, young or old we get to share a short time and long memories.

Bottom line, "If I knew then what I know now ....I wouldn't change a thing".

I hope I get to share my story each year for at least the next 39 years.

Thanks to the neighbor for letting us cross his pasture to get your Deer or us two old farts would still be Draggin....lol

Great story. I think it is the story not the rack that make hunts "classics."

Thanks Joe - I was sitting here at age 50 feeling "beat up" from hunting and wondering how many more years I would be able to keep this up and then I read your account of your season...I should be ashamed of myself for thinking this way at my age...I hope I can read your stories for the next 39 years too... thanks for the inspiring post, I need to hobble over and get a couple more Aleve and then head out to the stand... Happy Thanksgiving to you all !!

Thanks for the great story. Sounds like your having a great time!

Update...........

Grandson gets to farm Friday afternoon, we g oto one of our shooting houses for an evening hunt. A neighbor told me a few good bucks are traveling that ravine to one of his food plots.


We get to 5:30pm and deer begin to appear, a button buck I tell him is a "no....no". Then a group of does file in, As we watch a buck we never get a clear lok at comes in and chases a doe off. A big nanny doe is feeding with her fawn at 100 yards, As we watch thru scopes(his shotgun and my muzzleloader)both deer are side by side and I tell him if they don't seperate there is "NO SHOT".

A few minutes later and AJ and I are switching seats and guns, NO WAY is he shooting his slug gun at 100+ yards. In the waning minutes of daylight the doe seperates from the fawn, I ask AJ if he has a clear shot, he replies yes and touches off the MK85.

I hear the bullet hit flesh and listen for the deer running. With ZERO daylight we quickly look for a blood trail........not found in a few minutes I tell him we look in the morning. Quickly the next morning AJ finds hair at the shot site and then blood. A few minutes later we have the trail lined out and AJ is on his "second" hunt. 150 yards and we have his second deer of the season.

Now it gets interesting...... AJ is having trouble with field dressing a deer left over night. My comment..."suck it up bud, get it done". He does and he then drags the mature doe 125 yards to the truck, get back to camp and he washes her out and finishes the chore with the famous "butt out" tool, before washing her out of course.

Sunday we skin her and quarter and put in cooler. Tonight AJ finished the hunt by wrapping the steaks and grinding 34 pounds of deer burger and bagging that meat.

Yes I have more sore body parts.........

But as a guy known as "PAW PAW" I couldn't be more proud, from start to finish he did "his" Job.


I'll post a picture later and tell you his Saturday hunt of 5 bucks and No shot.........Where is that Ibuprofin.........

Here is AJ and his first muzzleloader kill as well as 100 yard shot. He did the field dressing as well as the drag out.



And last night he had to finish the job....

The whole deal. The only way to learn. Nice going JB.

Nice going Paw Paw. Congrats AJ!!! Good kid right there.

Great job AJ it's gonna be fun watching you evolve just like your Uncle Tony!

Nice job!!!!

Joe,
you are an inspiration. You make me feel like a wuss when I hurt at 42. Great season for you and hunts your grandson will never forget. The 2 greatest harvests of my 30 seasons were my son and daughters 1st harvests.
Thanks for your story.

I think we have found a new stage for today's deer hunter. I remember when.........I wanted to......

1.just kill a deer

2. kill a buck

3. kill a limit of deer

4. Kill a nice(mountable) buck

5. kill a particular buck

now we have a new category.........

6. Pass it on.....

Any one told you how much AJ looks like you Joe, Ive been through all the steps also, at 6 myself