Henry Rifle Forums

I am possibly giving up hunting deer now I have no one to hunt with. I have too many joint and back problems to drag out a deer and load it in my truck. Then to stand over a table and process it is just too much for me now that I am older. I have a four wheeler but I don't use it for hunting out of respect for other hunters that don't want to listen to a four wheeler while hunting. I also get fed up with hunters that feel they have to fill every tag they have. Some households have twenty tags or more and feel they are losing out if the weather would get really bad and they would miss the last couple days of season to some really deep snows Pa. can get especially here in the mountains. I don't get upset even when I have tags and decide to stay home everyday in deer season. I can't wait for deer season to get over and rabbit and other small game to start back up. I may still buy 1 deer tag in case I may want to go out a day next year if my grandson may be in the mood to maybe go. That is no sure thing with him going even if he says he will. Been there and done that with him not showing up. Take care and be safe. Later, bandit1250

Yeah, I'm right there with you. I lost my hunting buddy and it's just not the same. May still go out with grandsons for birds. I really love the fields in late autumn.

I gave it up about 3 years ago. I walked into the woods and it was quite a chore. I sat about 2 houres to get up the energy to walk back out. That was it for me. I do still miss it.
Jim

I do understand, bandit. I quit deer hunting long, ago, for various reasons and though I still think about it with all the great memories, but age has caught up with me and I just don't think I can handle it, physically, now. Oh, I am still active in our hard, long winters, but only with very active sports like snow biking and XC skiing where I am constantly moving and generating enough body heat to stay warm. Nope, I wouldn't last long sitting in a deer stand in the single digit and teens weather we usually have during deer season.

Then, too, my favorite kind of deer hunting way back when was slowing moving though the brush with a handgun or bow. Got my first couple of deer that way. This was before everyone decided they had to sit in a tree like a squirrel to hunt deer.

That didn't last long, though. Just wasn't safe moving around very slowly in the woods once hunting from a tree stand got so popular and the woods got crowded with deer hunters. Eventually went to hunting from a stand just like everyone else, just to be safe. Not that hunting from a stand isn't effective, of course. Can't argue that. Finally gave up using a gun to hunt deer and went strictly bow, staying out of the woods during rifle deer season.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 04, 2023 3:19 pm

That didn't last long, though. Just wasn't safe moving around very slowly in the woods once hunting from a tree stand got so popular and the woods got crowded with deer hunters. Eventually went to hunting from a stand just like everyone else, just to be safe. Not that hunting from a stand isn't effective, of course. Can't argue that. Finally gave up using a gun to hunt deer and went strictly bow, staying out of the woods during rifle deer season.

Too many armed crazies out there for me. Many years ago we had a group of hunters that surrounded a group of elk and opened up on them. I knew a guy that was hunting in the area and he and his father dropped to the ground and crawled away because bullets were flying everywhere.

The woman who broke my horse told me she was out riding during hunting season and a bullet creased her saddle horn, she was screaming at and riding up to the guy and he was saying sorry, I thought you were a deer. How could any kind of a responsible hunter mistake a horse and rider for a deer??

I loved hunting in the Virginia mountains but when I moved back to Minnesota it all changed. In the mountains you seldom saw
another hunter all day. The season was four months long and there was no mad rush. Here in Minnesota I have actually taken
cover in a depression because of all the shooting before daylight. Here the season is short and all the city guys plan deer camp
around those few days. Drinking is in volved sometimes.

The other thing is I also lost my chief hunting partner when I moved and that partnership was half the enjoyment, and I'm getting
old. I used to climb mountains, now I climb stairs, (slowly). I remember those days fondly and often speak of them, but now a days
the meat market at Costco is about all the hunting I do.

I have a very good friend that I hunt with and I hunt a lot alone. At 69 now I'll hunt till my dying breath if I'm able to get to the woods or fields.

Public land hunting can sure be sketchy. Im lucky i have private to hunt on.... its a completly different experience usually...

I gave it up say 15 years ago or so after the land company that held title to our lease decided to sell the land off in parcels. It was a shame because one of the older guys on the lease had been on it since 1962! This was in 2007 or so, so there were many years of friends that came and went and many stories to tell. I had personally been on the lease for about twenty years myself. Other leases in and around the area were too expensive for me so I just gave it up. I wouldn't mind being on another lease, but I don't know if I'd pull a trigger. I think I'd enjoy it more if I just hung out and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife.
Jake

I mostly hunt by myself. My nephew has joined me a few times this year. He's in college and hunted almost everyday for a week during Thanksgiving break. My step son has so many permissions that are exclusive that he rarely hunts his own land.
I don't have to go far, so I can get up, walk out just before dawn hours and sit in a stand or ground hunt in a chair. I'm learning the habits of the local herd and am improving my property.
I can see where people will stop hunting. I still enjoy it.

A few reasons for me to maybe give up deer hunting. Back and hip problems are a couple reasons and where I hunt private land is very hilly with deep ravines to make it a real hard drag after killing a deer. Turning 75 January 18th is another good reason and our area here is the hot zone in Pa. for CWD and kind of turns me off on hunting deer the last few years. Makes me not want to eat deer meat any longer. I will not give up small game hunting or predator hunting for now as I still enjoy getting out in the woods. I will pretty much have the woods to myself after deer season and won't mind hunting on public land which Pa. has vast amounts of land available. I have too much money in my Sako Vixen 222 Remington to let it sit in the safe and go unused until I leave here toes up. Be safe. bandit1250

bandit 1250
I just turned 76 a month ago and can understand your frustration. I'm thinking if you can legally run your 4 wheeler and since you aren't joyriding or deliberately making noise the other hunters out there should be considerate enough to tolerate your use of the ATV. CWD has not been proven to be a hazard to anyone eating the venison. I got two deer this year and managed to get one loaded in the pick up by myself but my days of doing that are nearly over. I plan to try to milk a few more years of deer hunting out of this old carcass if possible. Getting a new knee tomorrow morning. My suggestion to you is don't burn any bridges. Who knows, maybe next year you'll team up with another hunter and you'll get that opening day itch again??

And.... A Sako Vixen in .222? I agree! It would truly be a shame to let that one sit in the safe.

I can't walk these woods like I used to either. I built a 2 man shooting house back when my Grandson was 8. He's 27 now. Have no idea how many deer we have got from that house. Lots of memories. Best part was, it's only about 300 yards behind my house. But it's seen it better days and now I only have a chair about a 100 yards behind my house. Hunting on my own land and family land, fortunately, I don't have to worry about riding 4-wheelers or making noise. It has been different since the grandkids are grown and now hunt alone. Still like to put 2 in freezer each year. Hope you run up on someone to hunt with again and be able to look forward to deer season.

5shot wrote: ↑

Wed Dec 06, 2023 7:56 pm

bandit 1250
I just turned 76 a month ago and can understand your frustration. I'm thinking if you can legally run your 4 wheeler and since you aren't joyriding or deliberately making noise the other hunters out there should be considerate enough to tolerate your use of the ATV. CWD has not been proven to be a hazard to anyone eating the venison. I got two deer this year and managed to get one loaded in the pick up by myself but my days of doing that are nearly over. I plan to try to milk a few more years of deer hunting out of this old carcass if possible. Getting a new knee tomorrow morning. My suggestion to you is don't burn any bridges. Who knows, maybe next year you'll team up with another hunter and you'll get that opening day itch again??

And.... A Sako Vixen in .222? I agree! It would truly be a shame to let that one sit in the safe.

Good luck with your new knee. Be sure and do your stretches religiously. My surgeon told me 95% of the people that weren't happy with their results didn't follow through with stretching exercises at home. Most of the ones my physical therapist gave me were so easy you could do them lying on the couch or sitting in a chair but you need to do them several times a day.

I was surprised that the morning after my knee replacement a physical therapist came in and said let's get the stuff off your leg and your shoes on, we're going for a walk.

bandit, good for you hanging on to that Sako in 222. The 222 has been such a great cartridge, as we both well know. Back in the day, it held accuracy records in bench rest. Really sad to see how it's disappeared over the years. I think the arrival of the 223 was mostly to blame. Getting hard to find 222 ammo and guns, now, so I stick with the 223.

North Country Gal wrote: ↑

Thu Dec 07, 2023 11:09 am

bandit, good for you hanging on to that Sako in 222. The 222 has been such a great cartridge, as we both well know. Back in the day, it held accuracy records in bench rest. Really sad to see how it's disappeared over the years. I think the arrival of the 223 was mostly to blame. Getting hard to find 222 ammo and guns, now, so I stick with the 223.

I still am very fond of my 223's but the nostalgia of the 222 Rem. cartridge is still with me. I have loads of brass for loading and a lifetime supply of bullets. I even have a fair amount of Federal nickel match casings still new in the factory boxes. Have to remember where I put them. The 223 with the faster twist is the better choice for deer hunting and its record with me for one shot kills with the 60 grain spire point (lead tip) is better than my 7MM Mag or the 30-06. High shoulder shot and down for the count. Keeping only one between the 223 or the 222 I would keep the 222 being it was handed down from my Dad 30 years ago. Now Pa. has outlawed center fires in the fall season for small game it will be used for predator hunting and maybe buy a Md. licence so I can still use it over there unless something has changed since I hunted that state years back. Fan of the 222 until my time here is over. 222 still is a legal deer rifle in Pa. but I would rather have the faster twist like in the 223 for shooting the longer 60 grain bullets.

My Low Wall 223 has a 1-12 and so does my Remington XP-100 in 223, so they really are varmint class guns. TC barrels in 223 for the Contender and Encore are also 1-12, so if I want to shoot a 1-9 in a Contender or Encore, I'd have to go custom. Great excuse to buy another 223, of course.