My Neighbor

[Tominator]

I want your thoughts on this situation.

I have a neighbor that is easily in his mid 70's.

When the weather is good, he fires up his ATV, drives out to a few spots he has pocked throughout about 300 acres. He himself has about 10 acres. I honestly don't know if he has permission to hunt all the property he hunts.

Anyway, every day he fires up the ATV and putts out to one of his spots. He then sits on old milk crates, which are commonly placed right on deer trails, not 10 to 20 yards off the trail, right on the trail.

At quitting time, or 10 minutes before, he putts back to his son's big pole barn and hangs it up for the day.

I don't hunt my field or surrounding fields much because your chances of shooting a deer out in the open like that are pretty slim, but sometimes if I really want to go out, it's the only game in town and I'm forced to.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, and then later I'll give you my thoughts.

Thanks.

[Ohiobucks]

Re: My Neighbor

You can't control how other people hunt. Mid 70's and still wanting to get out and hunt? I am almost certain that the ATV is his only way to achieve that. If he has permission to hunt on the ground, there is nothing wrong with what he is doing. Hunting is more than "killing" and it sounds like he is more than happy to hunt without taking an animal. I hope I am still that way when I am in my 70's.......

[Doc]

Re: My Neighbor

So, what's the problem? The old guy gets out and hunts the best he can. How effective he is is up to him. If he does everything wrong and never gets another deer for the rest of his life, at least he is out there trying to extend his hunting years. Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that I will still be able to hunt when I hit my 70's. If I do, I will need all the help I can get, ATV's and all.

As far as whether he has permission to hunt all the land he does, I guess I would assume that he does until proven otherwise.

I think I am really missing the point here or there is something more to the story that I have not read yet. Given the same scenario, I can't really see why what he does would be any concern of mine.

Doc

[ruttinbuc]

Re: My Neighbor

I hunt an area where a 70+ year old hunts as well. He can be a real pain in the butt at times, but I let him do his thing. He is not out everyday, but when he is you can expect him to be in a stand other than his more times than not. I just wave and move on! I heard, "I didn't think you were comin'" a lot. He knows its against the rules to hunt other people's stands, but what are you going to do? Take away the only thing he really loves?

I hope that I am able to bowhunt at that age. The man can hardly pull back his bow and refuses to get a permit for a crossbow.

[Tominator]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

So, what's the problem? The old guy gets out and hunts the best he can. How effective he is is up to him. If he does everything wrong and never gets another deer for the rest of his life, at least he is out there trying to extend his hunting years. Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that I will still be able to hunt when I hit my 70's. If I do, I will need all the help I can get, ATV's and all.

As far as whether he has permission to hunt all the land he does, I guess I would assume that he does until proven otherwise.

I think I am really missing the point here or there is something more to the story that I have not read yet. Given the same scenario, I can't really see why what he does would be any concern of mine.

Doc

[/ QUOTE ]

Never said there was a problem Doc. Just want your thoughts, and I got them. Thanks.

[jbeck]

Re: My Neighbor

I have a guy that hunts my ground, 75. We had to put in a road right to his stand. He just can't walk to far. He's the only one outside of family that hunts here. He drives right through some of our best area's to get there, but what can you do. He goes in 1 hr before daylight and doesn't leave until dark.

[colescott1]

Re: My Neighbor

My thoughts.... for him, glad he still finds a way to get out, even if his chances are slim to none.

For you, unless the deer have completely abandoned the area, I'd look for escape routes and set up on them, so when they hear the routine sound of the motor heading towards them, they walk right into one of your shooting lanes.

[popgun]

Re: My Neighbor

Sometime when you aren't busy, go visit with him.

Just shoot the breeze.

Ask him how his hunting has been going.

Old folks can learn too.

You may be able to tactfully pass on some information that will make him more successful with his hunts.

He may even thank you for it.

....popgun

[Guest Hi-Tech RedNeck]

Re: My Neighbor

You just said no there is no problem, so what are you looking for in a reply. I think you just answered your own question.

I agree with the other posts, go talk to the guy and see if there is any way to coordinate his ATV ride so they do not interfere with you. Better yet, let the guy know that if he ever has any luck that you would be willing to give him a hand.

If he does this every day and probably has for quite some time, the deer probably do not care. If they do figure out a way to use it to your advantage.

HT-Redneck

[bfletch7441]

Re: My Neighbor

It's already been said, but at 70, I wouldn't do anything but encourage him to keep coming out. I might even offer to take him to one of my spots so he could maybe have a shot at something. I see it like this, guy's like me, 30-ish and in the middle of our lives, should do everything we can to help the "old folks" and the kids get involved and stay involved in hunting. Like popgun said, one day you should accidentally bump into him and strike up a conversation, maybe he could learn something from you, but if I was a betting man I'd say you might just learn something from him. He might have forgotten more about hunting than any of us have ever known.

Ben

[Orion_70]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

Sometime when you aren't busy, go visit with him.

Just shoot the breeze.

Ask him how his hunting has been going.

Old folks can learn too.

You may be able to tactfully pass on some information that will make him more successful with his hunts.

He may even thank you for it.

....popgun

[/ QUOTE ]

Just what he said

[muggs]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

So, what's the problem? The old guy gets out and hunts the best he can. How effective he is is up to him. If he does everything wrong and never gets another deer for the rest of his life, at least he is out there trying to extend his hunting years. Quite frankly, I seriously doubt that I will still be able to hunt when I hit my 70's. If I do, I will need all the help I can get, ATV's and all.

As far as whether he has permission to hunt all the land he does, I guess I would assume that he does until proven otherwise.

I think I am really missing the point here or there is something more to the story that I have not read yet. Given the same scenario, I can't really see why what he does would be any concern of mine.

Doc

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, but he's using a x-gun Doc, now what ya think?

[ZooBear]

Re: My Neighbor

Might be nice to set Him up a ground blind. He might get a shot at something, and you would know where He is at.

Good luck to both of you!

[Rhino]

Re: My Neighbor

Can't say much about the permission except to assume he has permission. Gotta agree with everyone else about the ATV deal. Not many people over 70 are in condition to walk very far cross country.

I know a few guys that hunt in the over 70 age class that all seem to have some sight problems. Mostly due to various stage of cataract problems. Not bad enough to warrant surgery in their opinion but does impair their eyesight in low light conditions. That could be the answer to him leaving early. Can’t say about the sitting on the trail thing but he may have had success that way before so he goes with it. Sounds like you might want to strike up a conversation with him about it.

[ladydiehard]

Re: My Neighbor

One of my uncles hunted until he was 85. He couldn't walk far or deal with cold real well anymore due to arthritis and only having one functioning lung. His hearing was bad and he refused to wear his hearing aids most of the time. But his eyesight was still decent.

He was an "old school" hunter. Meaning, he'd been hunting all his life and wasn't very open to new ideas, techniques, etc. He was set in his ways. The younger members of our group, self included, often irritated him to death with new things.

He refused to use a blind and didn't believe in treestands at all. In fact, he didn't allow anyone to use a treestand. Since he was part landowner, shared with my dad and other uncle, and he was the oldest of the 3 brothers, no one argued with him.

He'd sit right out in the open, on a stump or rock, or often stood up leaning against a tree for HOURS. He didn't use any scent products or deer calls. His gun was a basic 12 gauge pump with no scope and plain iron sights. And he'd move quite a bit actually as he scanned the woods for deer. Some of his ways irritated the younger members of the group to death, self included.

I had the privilege of watching him shoot his last deer the last year he was able to hunt. I had left my stand to head to the cabin for lunch and when I began walking, I kicked up 3 deer which had apparently been bedded nearby. I could have taken a shot but they were heading for my uncle who was only about 100 yards from me. So I stopped and watched as they came up behind him. He couldn't hear them even though they were running in the leaves. It wasn't until they passed him that his peripheral vision picked them up and he turned and shot the large doe of the group. She dropped in her tracks.

He looked up and saw me walking towards him and yelled "WHERE THE **** DID THOSE DEER COME FROM?"

Point of the long story...old hunters have their ways and are often set in them. Their ways often don't match what younger/newer hunters believe to be the best ways. However, my uncle shot countless deer over the years. So I finally figured, who am I to argue with old techniques?

Just my thoughts...

[Tominator]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

so what are you looking for in a reply.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll let you decide that.

[ QUOTE ]

I think you just answered your own question.

[/ QUOTE ]

Never posed a question except what are your thoughts.

Thanks for your reply. It gave me something to think about.

[Ohiobucks]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, and then later I'll give you my thoughts.

[/ QUOTE ]

Soooo, what are your thoughts.......?

[Tominator]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

[ QUOTE ]

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this, and then later I'll give you my thoughts.

[/ QUOTE ]

Soooo, what are your thoughts.......?

[/ QUOTE ]

It's not later yet Tom.

[AdvantageTimberLou]

Re: My Neighbor

I guess my take is that is how he was raised to hunt, his dad showed him and his dad got it from his dad. Those are the days when they would deer drive the whole section and shoot all they could. He comes from a different era of hunting. For some it works, sometimes luck is what happens and not much skill has to be a part of the kill.

I would explain to him that he is scaring more deer away than if he were to sit and just wait. It will be hard to train someone who has done that their whole life but maybe if he realized he was ruining someone else's chances he might reconsider and try another method. He does not know he is going about it wrong, it takes the right person to talk to him and share some thought about doing it another way.

Good luck with your situation, can't wait to hear your take on it!.........I know later........

[Ohiobucks]

Re: My Neighbor

Is it later yet?

[Tominator]

Re: My Neighbor

No big surprise. My thoughts are similar to most everyone's in here.

Sure I get a little frustrated that he's putt putting right through bedding areas and travel corridors that are probably hurting my chances, but I weigh that against what others said in the fact that this guy is in his 70's and still out there. For crying out loud, I hope I see 70 let alone still be out there enjoying things. I am a believer of "it's not the what's in the bag at the end of the day....." really I am, so I tend to shake my head and smile only a little bit when I hear him fire up the ATV knowing full well his chances and my chances of filling a tag are slim to none, but I guess that's not what it's about.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts. If i could take a few of you to task, I'd say don't be so negative. If I put a negative spin on the original post, I apologize, I did not mean to, in fact, I made a conscious effort to avoid that, but maybe I failed there.

Ladydiehard, Tom, Jeff, zoobear, and Alan. Thanks--great stories, suggestions and thoughts. Exactly what I was looking for and now I have some new ideas.

[Hillbilly]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

Slash his tires!...just kidding

[/ QUOTE ]

[Doc]

Re: My Neighbor

[ QUOTE ]

Sure I get a little frustrated that he's putt putting right through bedding areas and travel corridors that are probably hurting my chances

[/ QUOTE ]

This is the point that I missed. It wasn't all that clear that his activities were impacting your hunting success. I thought it was just a post complaining about his hunting strategies and his ignorance of hunting. Actually the guy's age has little to do with the situation. The effect would be the same if the guy was 30, and your options would be exactly the same.

Actually, this is a problem that I am all too familiar with. I hunt primarily a chunk of public land that has in recent years become quite crowded and I have had to develop tolerance for quite a bit of interference in my hunts. Most of these interferences do not come from older people, but just from the fact that too many bowhunters are being squeezed onto too little acreage. With access to private land becoming all too rare around here, this has gotten to be a problem that has significantly impacted my ability to pattern deer or use any of my pre-season scouting and past experience in optimum ways that I used to in past years. Now that is a situation that I really don't have any solution to. All these other people have just as much right to hunt there as I do and their tactics are not really anything that I have, or should have, any say or control over. It's just the unfortunate way that hunting conditions have evolved in my area and there really is no fault or criticism to be assigned to anyone. It sounds like you have a much better situation than I do in that you are dealing with only one individual. There is a possibility that you might be able to influence the situation a bit to improve both your chances. The suggestion of a friendly, casual meet and discussion just might have some positive results. perhaps a bit of conversation about deer patterns and movements in your area might just get him to see that some of his ATV routes could be altered to avoid bedding areas and travel corridors. It's probably worth a try. Also, you never know, you just might find a good hunting partner who would be interested in cooperative efforts to increase both your chances. If that doesn't work out too well, then the only other option is to just grin and bear it as I have to do and try to cope as best as possible with the situation.

Sorry if my first reply came off as being negative. I really completely mis-understood the post.

Doc

[Guest Jeremiah_Johnson]

Re: My Neighbor

Less and less land - more and more hunters on it.

Sad, but true. Lease land is the wave of the future and that's sad - most do not have enough money for that option.

I was raised relatively old-school, but I try to learn all I can from others and my own experience. Where I was raised it was assumed you can hunt anywhere you want as long as you leave gates and fences as you find them. Bet he was raised the same way and still believes it in his heart of hearts.

The older I get the more I resist change. It's a constant challenge to fight the urge to resist change and keep an open mind. Stubborn refusal to change in hunting can leave you with tag sandwitch.

[Rut-Nut]

Re: My Neighbor

Bless his 70 year old heart!!!!

Reminds me of my buddy's Father. The guy lived in Alaska and would come down to his cabin in Upstate N.Y. for 2 weeks to deer/turkey hunt. He was in his mid 70's and could not walk for or lift much, due to a stroke and bypass surgery. But every year he would come down and hunt those weeks. He was alone at the cabin, but friends of his would check on him every day. If he shot a deer, he would wait for his freidnd to get there to help drag it back to the cabin. He was a stubborn old man, but very friendly and man did he have the stories(true). One year he was having chest pain, but refused to stop hunting until his friend got there and convinced him to go to the hospital. He was right back there the following year after bypass surgery.

In the Spring, he would come down to Pa. to visit my buddy for a week. many times, my buddy couildn;t take the whole week off , so he would drop his dad off at the lake on the way to work and his Dad would (slowly) walk home in the afternoon when he was done trout fishing. On the weekends, the 3 of us would fish there together. It's funny how you would here the same stories 3 or 4 times during that week, but never said a word, just listened intently like it was the first time. I learned a lot from that old man, about fishing, hunting and life. My buddy still talks about the times I took off work so I could take his Dad out fishing when I know my buddy couldn;t. Even though he was 40+ years older than me........he became one of my "buddies" too!