When I was young and had little money, I wanted to go on several out of state hunts. Although I hunted CO every year,I had dreams of going on a couger hunt, moose and caribou in Canada or Alaska, and possibly an African hunt. I kept putting them off "until I had a little more time and extra money". Well here I am an old guy(turned 75 today)and now that I can afford some of the less costly hunts, my knees are shot and my days of climbing and walking long distances are about over. The only hunts I am capable of now are those that require little walking.
I know some of you have the same dreams and if there is any possible way to make it happen,you should GO! Tomorrow is not for certain.
I remember when Jeanne and I were first married, I spent a few hundred dollars and bought a small ski boat. I was gassing it up early one Saturday morning at our local filling station. My dad came by and started berating me for buying a boat that he thought I could not afford. A friend of his(about the same age as him)took my side and I will never forget what he said: "When he gets old enough to afford it, he will be too old to enjoy it"! There is a lot of truth to what he said. I should have paid more attention.
Well said .
Amen friend, good advice.
Bill, I'm only 60 but I feel the same way. I did as many hunts as I could afford with good friends, mostly DIY trips. Wish I had done more of those trips but we split up and went separate ways and I never made those type of friends again, doing most of my deer hunting on my own. Didn't know then how much I would miss hunting with those guys as I do now. So, yeah, I agree that if you want to go on a hunt out of state for elk or bear or deer do it while you are young it'll be alot easier.
And Happy Birthday to Bill!!!
We live moment by moment. It is a gift to live one day a time. The next day is a gift to us for which would be unwise to be taken for granted.
What are we doing today...this day?
An old codger here that agrees!
Happy birthday.
Happy Birthday Bill.
You are 100% correct. I'll NOT be that guy, who on my death bed says "I wish I had done that".
Yes...Happy Birthday...
Happy Birthday, Bill!
And I agree with your advice to the younger guys. Work towards your goals, and make them happen!
Bisch
I agree, live all the dreams that you can while you can. But be thankful for what you do have and can afford. Don't be bitter if you just cant do some of these. Count your Blessings, Aim High and be thankful.
Happy Birthday from another old fart, and your advice is good. Every day above ground is priceless.
True words spoken. Happy Birthday Mr. Kissner
Bill,thank you for the Advice always wanted to go west but never did for that exact reason.I think things are about to change.
Happy Birthday, Bill! I agree, our regrets in life aren't of what we did, but of what we didn't do.
Bill,thank you for the Advice always wanted to go west but never did for that exact reason.I think things are about to change.
Happy Birthday Bill.
Great advice for sure!!
Deno
Happy Birthday Bill!
Age and infirmity gives no warning, and in fact, doesn't even bother to knock before entering.
Sage advice indeed. You younger hunters should take heed. Find a way. You'll have something to talk about when you can no longer go afield.
100 percent right. At 33, Ive been to Canada 16 times for bear, Idaho for lions, Arizona for javelina, Arkansas for ducks, etc, etc. I leave next week for arizona again and have an africa hunt in the planning
Very true advice. And happy birthday.
The reality for most of us is that in those early years we can barely make it to Friday with the budget and vacation time is so limited its seems extravagant to spend it all on a hunt while leaving a young family at home.
But, I agree so much that DIY is very possible. I made several of those for mule, antelope, black bear and antelope which were very budget minded...money and time. I made three for elk.
The other thing I'd recommend is start building points in a state or states for a critter or two. Some point building protocols are quite cheap and nothing is more priceless than time.
Another significant thing that happens is your hunting buddies get old, hurt, pass on, or their finances are different. There are some hunts I haven't gone on because I wouldn't leave them out and I couldn't afford more than myself and son.
Happy birthday Bill!
I've been trying my hardest to live your advice for a number of years now. I sure wish I had started earlier.
Of course a person needs to make time for family as well or that could become another regret. But if a person really wants to do something like an out of state hunt there is almost always a way to make it happen if they just put their mind to it. It is way too easy to just keep making excuses.
Happy Birthday!
Agree 100%......seems like time will go on forever and opportunities will "always be there" but alas that's not always the case.
The last 15 years or so I've been fortunate to do some of that. I've hunted bear in Canada and Alaska, caribou, elk , mountain lion, mule deer, hogs and javelina , moose. Some hunts were successful, some not. One of my best hunting buddies who was on a number of these hunts and I were talking about how when we can't do it anymore, we 'll be able to sit around and say" hey , remember when". Instead of saying "I wish we had. "
Good advice from my angle
Happy Birthday Bill!!
Another angle, it isn't just age that can affect your hunting. I smashed a knee in a construction accident in 92. I was 36 years old with a family, and just getting to the point I could think about elk hunting and other bigger hunts financially.
The knee was and will never be the same(new one in place now), been elk humting a few times, but can't get far as fast as needed.
So young guys, take care of yourself and make it happen !! :thumbsup:
My .02
I second ( or wherever I am in line here) the thought. Let me add one more thought. In this day and age, many of us are brought up NEEDING to succeed. If we don't win, we lose. With that mentality, you are likely gonna be disappointed as well as miss out on a lot of really neat things Mother Nature has to show us.
Slow down and smell the roses. Take a journey, not just arrive at a destination.
CHuckC
Amen Bill, and hope you enjoyed your birthday. You have helped a number of bowhunters enjoy their first elk hunt at low cost by hosting those PBS elk hunts and we appreciate that.
Happy Birthday! Like so many, I wanted to hunt out west, in Canada and Alaska, etc. However, I just could not afford it, so I did not go. Now that I am essentially retired, I still can't afford it, and my health does not support it, either. However, even though cash was short, I still found a way to make a few forays to more distant places. I would recommend that the younger guys do what they can, but don't get selfish to the point that the family suffers. But, if you save over time and plan carefully, you will be able to take some of these trips, and they will become precious memories. Share them with your family if possible as well as your good hunting buddies.
Happy birthday Bill. I am listening to you.
I'm trying to Mr. Kissner, going to Canada in 2017...with you I think! lol
I will be 30 in a couple months. Haven't gotten to do any big hunts but next year I will be hunting out of state in some good deer country. That's a good step for me. Hoping to take a little backcountry squirrel trip next fall. Won't be far from home but we have some wild places to adventure in.
:clapper: :clapper: :clapper: great advice
Happy Birthday
Not bad advice as far as it goes, but with life comes duty and responsibility. Family, children, etc.
Just because we "want" something in life doesn't mean we are destined to have it.
Now if you want to stay single and play all your life, that's your call. I have a 40 year old nephew in Montanan that lives a life most only dream of.
I heeded this exact advice years ago.. I worked two jobs just to make my "trips" happen. For five straight years I went on two or three out of state or the country bowhunting trips each year. I have done everything on my bucket list with only two exceptions. I hate bowhunting from blinds so South Africa will wait until I am old so humping mountains doesn't matter. Caribou is the only bowhunt left that I have seriously thought about over the years. There is only so much time and other hunts got in the way. Caribou will happen the next few years. I have been invited to bowhunt Alaska and probably should go. Work gets in the way of Alaska in September-October-November but I should be semi-retired in a few years and will go....
Great advise, I've done hunts that we couldn't afford. My friends have paid off mortgages and are too old to ever do a real hunt. Bthey all tell me that when they retire that they'll hunt more seriously. My dad also saved for retirement ....and died when he was 58.
Do it now, there might not be a tomorrow.
Bill - totally agree - and pass along the same suggestion to all. I lived by what you suggest and have done did it many times over - now that I am getting up there (60 tomorrow) I am kinda cranking it back - just happy to hunt deer, bears, hogs, alligators, stingrays all not far from home.
Also on the point of never knowing what is coming - I just heard that Quebec is going to close Caribou hunting??!!! I remember late 80s early 90s thinking we gotta go get em NOW. And so we did.
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Amen Bill, and happy birthday!
Thanks Bill. Well said sir. I've been trying my hardest the last few years to purchase things my dad and i can use in order to coax him into participating more in the sports he got me started in many years ago.
Good advice. To add to it...I see young folks get so caught up in buying nice hunting equipment that they don't have enough to spend on actual hunting. I say spend your money on experiences first and equipment, second. Memories last a lot longer then material things.
Happy B-day Bill...and right on. Chad, you got it too, bro....experiences is where it's at.
Happy B-Day Bill.Wish you had told me this 40 years ago !
That sure is exciting advice. Makes me want to jump and spend and do everything I always dreamed of. But then I think of my wife (the love of my life), my kids, my church ministry, my other hobbies... and I realize that I've set my priorities right. I'll hunt as much as I want, but I won't sacrifice the wrong things for it. In the immortal words of Jim Elliott... "I fear not that I will not succeed... Rather, I fear that I will succeed in that which does not matter."
Doesn't mean I won't get out and hunt though, when I get time! I get what you mean, Bill... we gotta do what we can while we still can!
Happy Birthday Bill. Cory...Happy Birthday too.
I agree with your sage advice. I've already far exceeded the hopes, dreams and imaginations of hunting and fishing I had when younger. If I clocked out today I'd go without regrets about the adventures I would never experience. I've done so much, yet I couldn't do it all if I lived 50 more years. For the most part I see it as my glass being almost full, but there's room for just a little more.
I've hunted and fished plenty. I intend to keep at it but these days I'm following my heart and doing the things in life that please me the most.
Archie,Those are words of wisdom.I'm thinking about trying to pull my first west trip for elk or mule deer in 2017 if it's going to happen I'm going to have to drop all other personal endeavors .
Same goes for retirement,plenty of money no health.
Good advice, I was extremely lucky to marry a girl whose mother had the exact same attitude. Every time My buddy and I would get something up and the wife objected my mother in law would say "don't be a calf and let him go while he can". My dream was BC and my Buddies was Africa and now after 52 years hunting together we've accomplished almost all the things we've wanted to do. BC in 1979 and Africa in 2001, 29 DIY elk hunts, 3 moose hunts, all 5 species of caribou,antelope,bear, Mountain Lion and 3 species of deer. After my girls were got into school my wife started bowhunting and loves it as much as I do. Each year we make DIY antelope hunts(they're much easier to handle than elk) so go when you can!