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Your Best Hunting Years

October 2024
Author: Robert Hanneman

Looking back on my previous hunting seasons, I wonder what my future hunting endeavors will look like. As I get older, I ask myself questions like, how long can I continue at this crazy pace? How many more years am I going to be able to do the physically-demanding hunts that I want to? Do I have more hunting seasons behind me than in front of me? It was a real gut check for me when my dad passed away last year at only 64 years old, and I have really been doing a lot of reflecting on what I have done and what I still want to accomplish.

When I started working at Huntin’ Fool at 32 years old, I was able to do any hunt without having to physically train for it ahead of time. This past May, I turned 45 years old and am realizing that although I still feel great, I must train for the more physically-demanding hunts. I trained hard to complete the two backpack hunts I have already been on this fall. The first was my son Caleb’s Dall sheep hunt in Alaska, and the second was my friend Josh’s mountain goat hunt in Montana. Both hunts went well and were successful, but man, did I feel beat up after each one!

Working for Huntin’ Fool has given me many opportunities to visit with people of all ages and has made me ask myself what I think are the best years in a person’s life for hunting. Most people in their 20s are in good shape and can physically do most hunts without difficulty. The challenge in this time of life is the fact that you are likely finishing college or trade school and are starting a career. This time of life can be financially tough. During these years, I got married, bought a house, and started a family. Thankfully, my career as a firefighter allowed me most of the fall off to spend hunting. Due to money being tight, all my extra spending money went to tags and fuel. I hunted with cheap hunting gear as I couldn’t afford anything else. I feel like in my 20s I could physically do any hunt I wanted to, but I see now that I did not have the hunting knowledge I thought I had. It was the many trials and errors that taught me resourcefulness and built a foundation of hunting knowledge and skills that would later turn into a successful hunting career for me.

Once my 30s rolled around, I began feeling more confident in my skills as a hunter and became more successful at harvesting trophy animals. Since we were more financially stable at this point, I started slowly upgrading my hunting gear and learned the value of having good, high-quality gear. At this time in my life, I was still in good shape, but I had to make a regular habit of going to the gym. Our boys have tagged along on hunts with Amy and me since they were babies. Once they reached school age, they were busy with sports, but they also started hunting their own tags. It was enjoyable being able to do what we love together as a family.

My 40s have been my most enjoyable time in my hunting career, so far. My boys are teenagers, and we have been on many extraordinary hunts together. I have the money to do most of the hunts I want to, and I am still in good enough shape for challenging hunts. Thirty years of hunting in the West has also given me the knowledge to be successful on my hunts. At this point in my hunting career, I have the best hunting gear and equipment that is available and have the time off to hunt.

I am looking forward to hunting in my 50s, 60s, and 70s for many different reasons. One is that as you get older, you tend to value your experiences more than when you were younger. You know your years are limited, and you don’t take things for granted like you once did. For this reason, a lot of hunting around this time may be with other people such as sons, daughters, grandchildren, or friends. It may not be those extreme hunts of your younger years, but they are no less memorable.

I also feel that if people continue to take care of themselves and try to stay in shape, they can continue having physically-challenging hunts. After talking to many hunters over the years who are in their 70s and 80s who are out solo backpack hunting, I have asked what their secret is and their advice is simple, “You are only as old as you feel, and as long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other, you will get wherever you want to go.”

While I don’t know that I can say that there is any one period in life where hunting is better, I can say that I have had amazing experiences in each stage. Amy and I live with the belief that if an adventure comes up today, you don’t pass it up because you may never have that opportunity again. If you are always waiting for the right time, it may never come and you may have regrets of not having the adventures when you could. My advice to anyone at any age is this, we only have one life, so make the most of it and live it to its fullest potential.