I hate to accept this but... After my left knee taking up the slack for my right knee (old LODI) it has reached the point where I can't stand let alone hunt. Have to go for scans, see Cardio, and the other ology's and hope knee replacement will occur before end of year. Anyway, long story short, I will miss everything this year and hope to be OK by my birthday (April) so maybe I can find a bear hunt.
I would appreciate it if some of you would post your hunt stories and pictures for this year on this thread. Kind of like sharing hunting campfire stories (success and humor) . I hope to share your success, that's the company part.
Be safe, be well. Good hunting !
tommytrees
Hi Tom, the support you have gotten here is tremendous, and hopefully encouraging for you. Even immobility doesn't mean the end of hunting for anyone!! I had two heart attacks at 54 (3 stents), got diagnosed with CHF/CAD at 56, have two rods and six screws holding my back together, and......I've been around the sun 73 times and in November it will have been 74 times. So...........that's the boring BS about my life. The important thing, at least for me, is to
concentrate on the things that you can do, and not the things that you cannot do!! From what I have read here and what I have seen with hunter friends who have had knee surgery it's a walk in the park and recovery happens quite quickly after surgery. A number of years ago I blew out the gastro-bundle (calf muscle) in my left leg and was on crutches. It was just before hunting season and hurt like a SOB!! I didn't get a deer that year, but an tell you that crutches have pretty good traction in the snow, not so good on the ice though; that's the voice of experience talking. If you have some hunting buddies or a group who you hunt with perhaps you can go as the camp moral support person for the group, or just keep the fire going in the camp. Again it's important to look and do the
things that you can do. Have you thought about doing a new build on a rifle that you will be using for your next hunting trip? There's lots of research that can be done, lots of questions about different options that can be done right here on the forum, and lots of phone calls to be made to line up parts,materials, prices and a gunsmith to do the build. IT doesn't have to be a $5000 rifle, unless you can afford one, I've got some really nice hunting rifles that I have put together of around $1000-1200 that work just fine for my hunting needs. Because of my back issues I cannot walk, however last year I found a deer outfitter in Maine who had shooting houses where the shots could be up to 300-400 yards. Perfect for me, shooting house, Buddy Heater, thermos full of black coffee, couple of PBJ and fluff sandwiches, and.......300-400 yards shots with the rifle that I built for just this type of hunting, a Ruger 77 in .270 Ackley Improved. I also black bear hunt in Maine, the shots are 40-60 yards I purchased and refinished a vintage (1978) Marlin 1895 in 45-70, and.....took a 170lb bear with it using Barnes 300gr TSX hollow point bullets. My son shot a 180lb black bear with his 35 Whelen with Barnes TSX bullets. I've attached some photos of the last hunt, the exit hole in one of the photos was from the 45-70. Good luck in your surgeries and recovery, again it's what you can do that counts, even in rehab!!!