Thread: nearly old members

54 in a couple of months and only had a FAL for about 18months. Body gets sore from building these days, had 9 years off the tools then moved to a town where basically its the only job that pays a real wage.

Have a ruptured long head of bicep in my right (dominant) arm, need glasses for reading and think will need them full time in next couple of years, hearing is not bad as always worn earmuffs at work.

Sport certainly has taken its toll. Spent my teens, 20's and 30's doing all of the following. Swimming, waterpolo, road cycle racing, competition dinghy sailing racing, windsurfing, rock climbing, caving, tramping and mountain biking, not sure how I ever had to time to hold down a full time contract building job as well.

Not getting out hunting as much as I would like between having friends come and stay and shit weekend weather lately. But did get out to the shed today and clean and de-prime some brass.

Oh and only 2KG heavier now than when I stopped all sport at about 37 (currently 62KG) and still eat anything I want, but don't drink much alcohol.

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

As an aside; I decided years before I turned 50 that I didn't want to be the judgemental, self-righteous old 50-ish year old that I hated when I was 18.... I don't mean the sort who gave good advice but the ones who did the "bloody music these days" etc type of bollocks. So have strived hard to not be a Pollyanna, but also not to be negative for the sake of being negative. Yup' it's bitten me on the arse a few times but has usually paid off handsomely. Not having a go at you MD; just my observation on my life

An excellent choice Bumblefoot

The world has far too many grumpy old farts as it is

64 but not for much longer, in the queue for a new knee but am trying to make sure the old one is well and truely shagged by then. Slow but I still get there thanks to pharmaceuticals long may it last.

Greetings All,
Here are a few notes on things I have learned over 70 years of battling the bulge for the 45 to 60 year old's. I have always been a big boy. I found a family photo from when I was 12 or 13 and none of us look like we have missed any meals. At 14 I suddenly noticed I was 92kg. A small adjustment to diet and possibly a growth spurt dropped that to 81kg over a few months. By 35 the scales read 118kg. I joined a gym and a combination of aerobics, weight training and running and more careful eating reduced that to 94kg over the next 12 months. In my late thirties and forties I had a major problem with arthritis (Ankylosing Spondylitis). The gym dropped off and the kg's hunted me down. Around 50 I was 138kg. Bugger. Back to the gym. I could go on but you have the picture by now.
Keeping the weight under control requires a combination of careful eating and plenty of aerobic exercise. The second item makes the first easier. Both are easier if you set some achievable goals and write them down. Record your progress both good and bad. Being the anal sort of person that I am I have a graph that I record my weight on. This morning I was 112.2kg, the lightest I have been in 25 years. The target is 95 kg by March 2023 in time for the 60th anniversary of my first trip into the bush. I would like to repeat the trip. I probably weighed about the same at not quite 14.
So in summary goals, they need to be realistic, careful eating and plenty of aerobic exercise and don't beat yourself up to much for the odd problem. Just don't throw your hands in the air and give up.
Regards Grandpamac.

Fun thread this. I'm 52, and yes the legs and knees don't work as well as couple of decades ago, but hey, guys like Tahr and Brian prove that with a bit of willpower and modern medicine there is no reason to give up on an active lifestyle.

I've been very fortunate to have a mid-life career change, and spent the last decade doing some pretty physical work rather than sitting behind a desk. It has also massively reduced my stress levels. Between that and doing almost daily walks in the mountains with a slightly deranged Jack Rusell / Foxy mongrel has served me well.

I often do field/practical shooting comps with guys who could just as well be my kids, and they don't exactly run away from me or make it up the hills in much faster time, so there is hope

Turned 65 6 months ago and yes I do feel the pains at times. Try to keep at it, hunting, possuming bit of fishing. Knees hurt at times worse than other times as does the back and of late my right hip. Have spent my life from 15 hunting, be it culling, meat hunting and pest control so have abused the body in all weather along with 25 odd years night shooting off motor bikes in some pretty cold weather so no wonder the body aches now. Will keep at it till I have to crawl , love the outdoor

When I got back into hunting at age 47, the day after a hunt I was pretty stiff and sore in the legs and feet. Nowadays at 51 I’m fine the day after, and can comfortably hunt two full days in a row. The next day stiffness was only an issue for the first six months or so, I don’t know why it stopped, I didn’t change anything or start taking any supplements or anything like that. My knee that used to give me a bit of pain came right too.

60 overweight and creeky.
Walk a little, look a lot.
Grandfather told me the story of the old bull & the young bull, gazing at a herd of cows at the bottom of the hill, young fellow said let run down there and fuck one of them. Old bull replied No son, lets walk down there and fuck all of them.

Almost 62 and with similar blemishes as most have described: buggered joints, fused joints, eyesight needs glasses when typing this, and so on.
One of the best moves was buying a small farm when I got out of the forces. Has meant I have never needed to belong to a gym, as my surroundings have always provided sufficient exertion, whether I needed it or not. Farm doesn't pay, but its a blast anyway. And whenever I can manage it, I can go for a shot. Shouldn't be that way, but it actually takes quite a bit of discipline to put away time to go do the things you REALLY enjoy doing.

One of the few benefits of getting old is being able to do some shit better than young'uns, as we've had more time than they to practise

The one bit of advice hunters our generation can give to the younger is "if you do stupid shit, it will always catch up to you". That 60kg pack full of venison from the first deer I shot with my 222, carted all the way out of Lake Colenso was a dumb dumb thing to do! Learn from us, and at our age you may still bounce, instead of creak

As we get older the macho act disappears real fast. Nearly 70 and still getting up the hill to keep meat in the freezer. Had too many years of carrying out whole deer to sell to pay the bills in my younger days. About 35% hearing remaining but now only use suppressed rifles. Back buggared at 63kg not very strong anymore. Only carry meat out nowadays ( no bone). Began wildlife photography about 15 years ago and am happy to sit and watch and enjoy so many other things the outdoors have in store for us. Share your knowledge with others and always be ready to give praise when due.

I'm 85kg wet the only advice I can give to keeping the weight down is get used to feeling hungry you wont die...

Originally Posted by hamsav

58 ,never really into hunting big things, more rabbits ,magpies and ducks . I have only ever shot 2 deer ,both while rabbit shooting , both times I dropped a slug round into my 870 .
Had a bad motorbike crash in 09 when we lived in Wakefield. Damn near killed me . Busted pelvis ,both femurs ,the right real bad , 4 vertebrae ,6 ribs ,crushed right foot, tore left knee apart , broken right tib and fib , ruptured colon ,spleen ,liver, pancreas ,right kidney and nearly bit my tongue right off. Give up on bone grafts ect and chopped the right leg off in 2019 ....ah yeah so I dont get out much now, sold most guns off ,sad times that but I was never going to use big guns anymore .
I have restored a couple of bikes ( 1980 RD 400g and a 74 Moto Guzzi 850t and a 1990 Ducati Paso ) and Im now working on my 1980 Capri . I was going for a rover v8 and 5 speed but I have had to go for a sludge box ....so working on that now . I build the odd trailer .
I have a brilliant partner and enough money to get by . Things sure have changed but life is good .
Apart from all that the usual shit ,up half the night trying to piss ,cant see to read without glasses ,deaf in left ear .....all the nagging from the passenger seat and t2 diabetes .
Ugh :-)))

Jeez mate what a charmed life you have had. Careful you don’t chip a tooth.

I have had 3 attempts at writing something for this thread as I turn 57 later this year,
My take on it is life is what you make it and that applies to any stage in life.

Take care of yourself both physically and mentally, exercise plenty, eat well and keep an open mind .
Set goals, be a "Walker" not a talker, stay focused and you will achieve it .
Be positive and kind and good things will follow.

At 56 like most of you I notice the body is showing some wear and tear from an active and busy life . It hurts a little more to get to the top of the hill, I need to stop more and I am slower getting to the top......but I do fucking get to the top.
We are at a great point in our lives, age is a number, stay young at heart.

Originally Posted by hamsav

58 ,never really into hunting big things, more rabbits ,magpies and ducks . I have only ever shot 2 deer ,both while rabbit shooting , both times I dropped a slug round into my 870 .
Had a bad motorbike crash in 09 when we lived in Wakefield. Damn near killed me . Busted pelvis ,both femurs ,the right real bad , 4 vertebrae ,6 ribs ,crushed right foot, tore left knee apart , broken right tib and fib , ruptured colon ,spleen ,liver, pancreas ,right kidney and nearly bit my tongue right off. Give up on bone grafts ect and chopped the right leg off in 2019 ....ah yeah so I dont get out much now, sold most guns off ,sad times that but I was never going to use big guns anymore .
I have restored a couple of bikes ( 1980 RD 400g and a 74 Moto Guzzi 850t and a 1990 Ducati Paso ) and Im now working on my 1980 Capri . I was going for a rover v8 and 5 speed but I have had to go for a sludge box ....so working on that now . I build the odd trailer .
I have a brilliant partner and enough money to get by . Things sure have changed but life is good .
Apart from all that the usual shit ,up half the night trying to piss ,cant see to read without glasses ,deaf in left ear .....all the nagging from the passenger seat and t2 diabetes .
Ugh :-)))

Struth mate!! Makes me feel quite OK now to hear my knee grinding bone on bone And having a great partner helps there: "A problem shared is a problem halved" and all that.
Those RD400's were a weapon back in the day. Mate rode one that he had taken the dremmel to the bores, ended up more hole than sleeve, but boy did it boogie!. It saw the wrong side of several cocky's fences in its lifetime though
Stay strong

Shit after reading this, I FEEL GOOD! 72 coming up. Don’t like old age, but still walk / run 4ks 3 mornings a week, eyes, with glasses awesome, constant 87 kgs, still got my hair! @Woody, mate we are doing ok, after our last adventure, mind you, you did all the hard stuff! Take my blood pressure and heart pill every morning and my inhaler! Have a stable blood disorder, and have just sold my business and retire next Wednesday at 4:30 pm.
Now retirement is daunting, scary, and gonna take some adjusting to mentally. But in the last week have had good offers for hunting and fishing.
So bring on 80 FFS 80 ug