End of an era

[Imperfection]

21 hours ago, welsh1 said:

That's not my experience with when my FLO called at last renewal 3 years ago i was thinking of getting rid of all my weapons, he convinced me to see how it goes, and i ended up keeping my certificates.

I have had to get a letter from the doctor since before it became the fashion because i have PTSD, but my doctor is happy, and the firearms dept is happy, as long as you can show you are capable they will accept it.

Strangely had a conversation with a good shooting friend last night and said i was ready to sell everything, i got rid of all my decoying stuff to a lad starting out last year so he has a good start, but i just haven't been inclined to go out shooting these days, photography and the trike seem to be taking over, and Jake my dog is 13 now, he retired coming up 2 years after a great day of doing some great pheasant retrives while rough shooting, he now has a cateract in one eye, and i am sure he is only seeing shadows, there was a cat 5 foot in front of him tonight and he couldn't see it, and his back legs give out almost daily these days, it just doesn't seem the same without him by my side,we made the decision that Jake will be the last dog, it saddens me, but it's the right move.

I spoke to another FEO (someone i know personally) a day later and both certificates were renewed straight away. Im fully aware that strokes can sometimes alter the mind in a bad way and he were probably following orders from the licensing manager to question my suitability but it was only four months after and feeling a bit fragile.

[Stuarta]

At 75 I identify with so many of the sentiments in this thread especially the thanks and best wishes to gunman and ditch man. I have been running down the number of guns in the cabinet and with four still to sell it will leave me with just my Beretta 12 bore, I plan to keep shooting clays and vermin for as long as I can , it is a part of my social life, meeting old friends and making new ones. 
my best wishes to those who are giving up. 

[Ajarrett]

All downhill for me too. Not managing more than about 40 trips a season now!   😎

[marsh man]

22 hours ago, Ajarrett said:

All downhill for me too. Not managing more than about 40 trips a season now!   😎

Not knowing your age Alan , I found leading up to 70 I was still very keen and would be down the marsh most nights from Oct onwards , around 20 / 25 flights a month and several walk arounds , mind you I only live 4 / 5 minutes from the marsh and I am often back home within two hours of leaving my house , then reaching the big 70 things started to change , I moved after living in my last house for 40 odd years , shooting wise the move didn't make that much difference as I was nearer to my main duck flighting marshes and the geese marshes were a few miles longer away .

The turning point was one night I sat down on my fold up seat and it started to hail hard and it was freezing , in the past this didn't bother me but on this night my dog didn't like getting stung and neither did I , walking back in the pitch dark I was getting the feeling that I was no longer enjoying the chase and I was now going duck flighting purely through force of habit , this feeling soon faded and I was back down there a few nights later but hanging a couple of Wigeon up in my garage besides some I already had I then began thinking do I really need to keep shooting duck ?, as I help out on two shoots I am never short of game to eat and as you well know Wigeon are not one of the best duck to eat in the height of Winter .

Then after working all my life doing manual work ( brick laying ) the body was beginning to feel the effect and my back was far from good , so as each year get harder you know it will be only a matter of time before the boots are hung up for good , this seasons subs are paid for and next year I am 75 so that might be a good milestone to aim at .

GOOD LUCK for the coming season .   MM 

[bottletopbill]

Why not try a rifle range if you still want to shoot as we are  all getting older. I am 64 one knee is metal and rubbish and they want to do the other one  F O

I still need to game shoot thou it is getting harder for the body to cope .

[mossy835]

i dont think i could give up.love the sport so much,had guns since i was 15.

[Bobba]

I’m 78 in Sept, my buddy will be 79. We’re more selective these days in what we do and in what weather, the less strenuous the better (I’ve two replacement hips). We sit in the hide exchanging the same tales we’ve probably told many times over the years but forgotten 😂😂 Probably a bit like Statler and Waldorf off the muppets. But hey, it takes us out into the countryside and gives us an interest. Just Keep Going while you can is my motto.

Commiserations to those who’ve had to retire from the sport.

[oldypigeonpopper]

On 02/08/2021 at 19:17, ditchman said:

i think the reason / s...i have stopped is

1. it is virtually nigh on impossible to sell the pigeons i have shot
2. i only shoot if i know it will go in the food chain
3. 12 bores are starting to jag me now..i get rattled by them
4. also very small ammounts of pigeon to go at around here
5. absolute bind in renewing certificate

may take up rat shooting tho'

Hello, why don't you Simon, I am sure you have lots of contacts, and it will get you out an about , I always have an air rifle handy when out on the farm, now the harvesting and once thats finished rats will be heading back to the farm barns and sheds, I have 6 , dryer barn, tractor shed, bale barn, feed barns, old grain dryer/bagger , lots of places for rats to winter up, many on another forum are hitting big numbers and only August, 

[ditchman]

24 minutes ago, oldypigeonpopper said:

Hello, why don't you Simon, I am sure you have lots of contacts, and it will get you out an about , I always have an air rifle handy when out on the farm, now the harvesting and once thats finished rats will be heading back to the farm barns and sheds, I have 6 , dryer barn, tractor shed, bale barn, feed barns, old grain dryer/bagger , lots of places for rats to winter up, many on another forum are hitting big numbers and only August, 

that will be all for next year..........

[flycoy]

Well, wish you all the best,  feelings, likes and dislikes change as we age. as long as your happy with the stall you set, thats all that really matters.

might have to do that DIY though !!

take care and thanks for the advice you have given, stay safe 

 

Flycoy 

[marsh man]

10 hours ago, Bobba said:

I’m 78 in Sept, my buddy will be 79. We’re more selective these days in what we do and in what weather, the less strenuous the better (I’ve two replacement hips). We sit in the hide exchanging the same tales we’ve probably told many times over the years but forgotten 😂😂 Probably a bit like Statler and Waldorf off the muppets. But hey, it takes us out into the countryside and gives us an interest. Just Keep Going while you can is my motto.

Commiserations to those who’ve had to retire from the sport.

Brilliant , make me feel like a youngster , talking about youngsters , today I took the keepers boy for the second time , there is a 64 year difference in age and as a ten year old he is becoming a tidy shot , once he get his timing right which will come in time he will soon go up the ladder with his P B , this afternoon  he had 28 shot for 13 picked although he did say a couple dropped out on another field , as it was standing Wheat we left them where they were , would I want to be at that age again ? , not really , I have had a good shooting life and the next 60 years will certainly not be like the last 60 .

Enjoy the times out with your buddy and don't worry about repeating your exploits of the past , in a way it's a good job you can still remember them .

All the best      MM

[bottletopbill]

ditchman 

 

Your  comments have always helped  others . Many have learnt from reading your views  including me thanks'

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, bottletopbill said:

ditchman 

 

Your  comments have always helped  others . Many have learnt from reading your views  including me thanks'

i think my comments have helped most people in their applications to the loonybin.....but it were very nice of you to say so 

[steve_b_wales]

I've held a shotgun certificate for 46 years and a firearm one for 37 years, and have no intention of ever giving either up. 

[Grandalf]

I'm 82 and had my first gun, a weak springer rifle, at about 6 when my elder brother came home from the war and gave me his.   Been lucky in the health department and still usually very active.  (I say usually because at the moment I am in isolation with a touch of Covid19 - Feels like a bad summer cold and a hangover at the moment).   Wildfowler since in my mid twenties.   Keeper, part-time, for thirty years now retired.   Game shooter whenever I got the chance and could afford it.   Pigeons and vermin always.   Took up 'proper' stalking about five years ago when I lost half the sight in my right (master) eye.   Reckoned it was easier to shoot a rifle left handed than a shot gun.   Got that sorted out then had my shotgun altered to fit me left handed and purchased a left handed semi-auto.   With a bit of practice and a lot of bad language I got that reasonably sorted out too.  Now still fowling on the easier marshes, stalking and vermin control (mainly foxes) whenever I can get out.   Time is limited due being a full time carer for my wife.  I spend far more than I should on a relief carer so that I can get up in the middle of the night to go stalking or get to bed in the middle of the night after foxing.   Do I ever want to give it all up?   Never, never, never.   It is my life and hunting is in my blood.   Not much time for fishing these days though...   That's a pity.    

[JDog]

29 minutes ago, Grandalf said:

I'm 82 and had my first gun, a weak springer rifle, at about 6 when my elder brother came home from the war and gave me his.   Been lucky in the health department and still usually very active.  (I say usually because at the moment I am in isolation with a touch of Covid19 - Feels like a bad summer cold and a hangover at the moment).   Wildfowler since in my mid twenties.   Keeper, part-time, for thirty years now retired.   Game shooter whenever I got the chance and could afford it.   Pigeons and vermin always.   Took up 'proper' stalking about five years ago when I lost half the sight in my right (master) eye.   Reckoned it was easier to shoot a rifle left handed than a shot gun.   Got that sorted out then had my shotgun altered to fit me left handed and purchased a left handed semi-auto.   With a bit of practice and a lot of bad language I got that reasonably sorted out too.  Now still fowling on the easier marshes, stalking and vermin control (mainly foxes) whenever I can get out.   Time is limited due being a full time carer for my wife.  I spend far more than I should on a relief carer so that I can get up in the middle of the night to go stalking or get to bed in the middle of the night after foxing.   Do I ever want to give it all up?   Never, never, never.   It is my life and hunting is in my blood.   Not much time for fishing these days though...   That's a pity.    

Wonderful Grandalf. I hope you have many more years of doing the same.

[JTaylor91]

1 hour ago, Grandalf said:

I'm 82 and had my first gun, a weak springer rifle, at about 6 when my elder brother came home from the war and gave me his.   Been lucky in the health department and still usually very active.  (I say usually because at the moment I am in isolation with a touch of Covid19 - Feels like a bad summer cold and a hangover at the moment).   Wildfowler since in my mid twenties.   Keeper, part-time, for thirty years now retired.   Game shooter whenever I got the chance and could afford it.   Pigeons and vermin always.   Took up 'proper' stalking about five years ago when I lost half the sight in my right (master) eye.   Reckoned it was easier to shoot a rifle left handed than a shot gun.   Got that sorted out then had my shotgun altered to fit me left handed and purchased a left handed semi-auto.   With a bit of practice and a lot of bad language I got that reasonably sorted out too.  Now still fowling on the easier marshes, stalking and vermin control (mainly foxes) whenever I can get out.   Time is limited due being a full time carer for my wife.  I spend far more than I should on a relief carer so that I can get up in the middle of the night to go stalking or get to bed in the middle of the night after foxing.   Do I ever want to give it all up?   Never, never, never.   It is my life and hunting is in my blood.   Not much time for fishing these days though...   That's a pity.    

That’s bloody good going, I hope I’m still going at it at 82 but I’m not sure what field sports will look like in another 50 years.

[Grandalf]

15 minutes ago, JTaylor91 said:

That’s bloody good going, I hope I’m still going at it at 82 but I’m not sure what field sports will look like in another 50 years.

But I remember what they were like fifty years ago...  

[Twymyn]

This is a very interesting thread with some inspiring replies. If you’re no longer enjoying shooting then giving it up is the right thing to do. For wildfowlers its not just about us its also about our dogs and the age of our dogs. I’ve just turned 75 and four years ago I got what I thought was my last lab pup. Sadly we lost him to cancer at the beginning of May. We also have an eight year old lab who could be good for three or four years and at the end of his time I would have to give up wildfowling. However we now have a 14 week old lab pup - I thought long and hard about it but in the end I was convinced by my partner and my eldest daughter that the dog/s would be cared for within the family if anything happened to me/us. 

If you are still enjoying shooting don’t plan to give up at a certain age

All the best for the coming season

 

 

[London Best]

If shooting has been your hobby.......you can give it up.

For many of us shooting is a way of life.

The only thing which should end a way of life is death.

[Aled]

Found this thread really interesting, as i'm more into my shooting now than i have been at any other time in my life. However my first love for 35years was sea trout fishing, especially fly fishing at night. That passion has waned during the last three years, however i very much look forward to a days shooting with my mad mongrel. 

Cheers. Aled

[Grandalf]

12 hours ago, Twymyn said:

This is a very interesting thread with some inspiring replies. If you’re no longer enjoying shooting then giving it up is the right thing to do. For wildfowlers its not just about us its also about our dogs and the age of our dogs. I’ve just turned 75 and four years ago I got what I thought was my last lab pup. Sadly we lost him to cancer at the beginning of May. We also have an eight year old lab who could be good for three or four years and at the end of his time I would have to give up wildfowling. However we now have a 14 week old lab pup - I thought long and hard about it but in the end I was convinced by my partner and my eldest daughter that the dog/s would be cared for within the family if anything happened to me/us. 

If you are still enjoying shooting don’t plan to give up at a certain age

All the best for the coming season

 

 

This is exactly what I did about a dog.   Ensure you have someone who will look after them as you do yourself and go ahead.   Make sure your dog knows that person well so that the stress of the final parting will be less and carry on with your life.   Too easy to look for excuses to pack up when the going gets a bit difficult.   Just push on with it and enjoy yourself.