Thread: Up Side Down

Originally Posted by ANTSMAN

awesome post Bruce- at 50 I need to read this once a week to remind myself to stfu and get going.

+1

We went up there on Sat and found his glasses so everything is ok now.

Originally Posted by Brian

We went up there on Sat and found his glasses so everything is ok now.

It was Brian who found my glasses by the tree I crashed into that arrested my fall. After a brief look for them I was off trying to find the deer I had shot before I fell. Never found it.

Shows how much more patience Brian has than me. The impetuous need a mate like him.

Its not patience just old and slow.

@Tahr hope the hand & the rest of the war wounds are all well on the road to mending now,how did Tilly go with her OP & diagnosis?

That is a fantastic photo Craig took of you glassing over looking the river valley ,worthy of a spot on the wall, in the other photo's of that hunt what is the Skinning style knife on the hinds rump & how do you rate it ? I am like you & live for hunting mainly because it is a excuse to be in the outdoors
but also you can be so involved in everything from experimenting & building the rifle to suit your needs right down to developing the best load /bullet choice etc ,to scope/glass ware used ,footwear & clothing & l harking back to my Shearing ,professional hunting days am obsessed with good blades & keeping them sharp for the job at hand .This year l am looking at making up lost time for the lock downs etc & will be replenishing my mat skins so am in the market for a excuse to buy a good Skinner .

Originally Posted by bunji

@Tahr hope the hand & the rest of the war wounds are all well on the road to mending now,how did Tilly go with her OP & diagnosis?

That is a fantastic photo Craig took of you glassing over looking the river valley ,worthy of a spot on the wall, in the other photo's of that hunt what is the Skinning style knife on the hinds rump & how do you rate it ? I am like you & live for hunting mainly because it is a excuse to be in the outdoors
but also you can be so involved in everything from experimenting & building the rifle to suit your needs right down to developing the best load /bullet choice etc ,to scope/glass ware used ,footwear & clothing & l harking back to my Shearing ,professional hunting days am obsessed with good blades & keeping them sharp for the job at hand .This year l am looking at making up lost time for the lock downs etc & will be replenishing my mat skins so am in the market for a excuse to buy a good Skinner .

That knife is a Bark River. The model is Wolf River - they haven't made that model for about 10 years although I understand that a similar run will be done again this year. I will PM you when I find out about the new run. The steel in mine is CPM s35vn. Its an outstanding knife.

My fingers are about half mended and the aches in my body have about half subsided. I will come right.

@Tahr how did Tilly go with her Op? We are looking at getting another dog to keep our Lab company in her final years & take over hunting duties & companion for the wife.I showed her a pic of Tilly ages ago & she fell in love with her & what a character she is with some of the looks she gives in the photo's, so l am under strict orders to make sure l show her any news pics of Tilly you post .

Thanks for the info on the knife ,l do not have a Bark River in the collection so that info will be appreciated,just a thought when l was dirt bike racing after a fall l always found a good deep tissue massage helped,especially by someone who knew their stuff.I would always just plainly state why l needed a massage & did they have experience dealing with it ( l raced OS as well,so often had to do ring around while travelling & most appreciated being informed of reason & would recommend others more experienced if they were not use to dealing with it ),it may help the mending/recovery.Give Tilly a pat from us

Originally Posted by bunji

@Tahr how did Tilly go with her Op? We are looking at getting another dog to keep our Lab company in her final years & take over hunting duties & companion for the wife.I showed her a pic of Tilly ages ago & she fell in love with her & what a character she is with some of the looks she gives in the photo's, so l am under strict orders to make sure l show her any news pics of Tilly you post .

Thanks for the info on the knife ,l do not have a Bark River in the collection so that info will be appreciated,just a thought when l was dirt bike racing after a fall l always found a good deep tissue massage helped,especially by someone who knew their stuff.I would always just plainly state why l needed a massage & did they have experience dealing with it ( l raced OS as well,so often had to do ring around while travelling & most appreciated being informed of reason & would recommend others more experienced if they were not use to dealing with it ),it may help the mending/recovery.Give Tilly a pat from us

@bunji
Tilly is fine. 2 tumours removed from her udder/breast. She has had her recovery period and her stitches are out. She's chomping at the bit to get out of the back yard. In a week I have a few days on the wallaby so she can come and it can be her get fit regime although I will take It gently with her (and me). This weekend will be her first outing - we are going to the range to re-check the zero on the previously checked wallaby guns.

@Tahr Great news mate must be a big relief ,the missus only just asked me if there was any up date yesterday.Give Tilly a pat from us

Can you throw a few through the 22.250 please.

Originally Posted by Tahr

@Murray N Jim was a wonderful man to me and a guiding hand. I never went to the Ahu - he took me up the Pari a couple of times and I was gob smacked by the Ruahines. I ended up living at Mangaweka so I got to know the area very well. I hope to have a maybe last trip to the Pari this autumn.

inspirational ..time flys , you mentioned the Pari , did you ever explore the "underground" whilst in that area ..?

Originally Posted by bazz61

inspirational ..time flys , you mentioned the Pari , did you ever explore the "underground" whilst in that area ..?

Not sure where exactly you mean. I only hunted the true left and have never actually been in the river. Used to camp where the corrugated iron was. Hunted a lot in the next creek south from the track.

@Tahr, thanks for the write up and the photo's. I am not you age yet but in a few more I hit 60 and I find age a mixed blessing.
I am slower now and after years of sports, motorcycles and martial arts and weights things like knee's are starting to show some usage...not to mention operations.
Little medical issues start to creep in as well but the funny thing is I still seem to look through a young mans eyes. Not in the vision sense but more a love of life and a positive attitude that hasn't really dimmed.

Hills are a problem for me with a medical condition with them but if I take it slow , stop often and apply myself I get there and I get a massive sense of achievement looking back down and thinking wow I got to the top .
I read a lot of the reply's and the same words keep popping up. Attitude, inspiration , determination , never give up... all values all Kiwi's should have in any walk of life .

Thanks for the inspiration , if your ears are burning some time it will be me cursing you as I am half way up a big hill saying to myself " Taher is watching, get your arse up to the top"

Viper

Originally Posted by viper

@Tahr, thanks for the write up and the photo's. I am not you age yet but in a few more I hit 60 and I find age a mixed blessing.
I am slower now and after years of sports, motorcycles and martial arts and weights things like knee's are starting to show some usage...not to mention operations.
Little medical issues start to creep in as well but the funny thing is I still seem to look through a young mans eyes. Not in the vision sense but more a love of life and a positive attitude that hasn't really dimmed.

Hills are a problem for me with a medical condition with them but if I take it slow , stop often and apply myself I get there and I get a massive sense of achievement looking back down and thinking wow I got to the top .
I read a lot of the reply's and the same words keep popping up. Attitude, inspiration , determination , never give up... all values all Kiwi's should have in any walk of life .

Thanks for the inspiration , if your ears are burning some time it will be me cursing you as I am half way up a big hill saying to myself " Taher is watching, get your arse up to the top"

Viper

Nice

Originally Posted by Tahr

@grandpamac has inspired me to jot down a bit about what he has said about his Kaweka revival and what its like for us "mature" old farts.

@Nathan F is correct - it really is a mind thing.

Im 73 this year. I have a blood disease that is treated at hospital 12 weekly and arthritis in most joints including in 2 chambers in each knee. I have had a cataract op in my left eye and have one growing in my right. 2 years ago I had a dodgy tumour removed from inside my neck. I take paracetamol every 4 hours and stronger stuff over the top of that at times.

Every day I do an exercise regime with 4kg bar bells for upper body strength and do more passive exercise like tensioning for my legs.

I try to get out for a hunt about every week. Mainly rough farm land for deer now and several week long trips a year on steep country culling wallaby. A couple of public land deer trips a year now. I live in central Wellington and drive 40K km a year - my average round trip for a deer is 4 hours.

Last year I shot 59 deer - most go to friends and a soup kitchen. This year so far 5. It seems a lot but nothing is wasted and I just love the challenge of the hunt and bizarrely the carry.
I bone the deer out, waste very little and carry some good loads for hours. I bloody love it.

I'm driven by a fear of not being able to be active or hunt. Also driven by my ego and sense of competition and wanting to do stuff with my lads and friends until my last breath, albeit that I mostly hunt on my own.

In terms of big walks Chris flies me into the Kawekas a couple of times each year. Last year Back Ridge and Otutu. At Otutu I walked over to the Manson/Spien Kop and the Burn. Will be back there in March.

A couple of days ago I shot a stag and was following his blood down a steep scrub face and a bank gave way. I did several cart wheels, my rifle flew out of my hands and my torch was ripped off my head. I had a hell of a pain in my right hand and my first reaction was to feel for my PLB on my belt. I was 45 mins from my truck. Any way, I retrieved my torch and looked at my hand and I had 2 dislocated fingers looking wonky so I grimaced and straightened them and then checked my body. At my age your skin is paper thin so there was plenty of blood on the back of my hands but it was really only scuffs to the gel coat so that was ok. My pack had been ripped right off me and that was probably why I had sore neck. Long story short I got my shit together and headed for the truck (I will go back and try to find the stag some time). Got home at 2.30 am and bed at 3am. Terrible cramp every 30 mins until 6.30 am when I got up and had porridge I had a great sleep that after noon.

Earlier in the hunt I had shot a Fallow so at least I did have some meat to take home (190 yards, 7-08).
Attachment 160306

My dislocated fingers are sore. My neck hurts. My legs are sore.
Attachment 160305

Anyway, back to this mind over matter thing. I could now sit at home and sulk for a while and recover. Or call it a day and say I'm too old. Or I could suck it up, take some meds and push on. And that's why tomorrow son Craig and I are off to a rough coastal station for an overnight hunt. Im as excited as a kid.

Never give up.

awesome mate! my uncles the same attitude, he comes out red & rusa hunting (steep public land especially the rusa country!) and still shoot a deer or 2 he,s slipped over on the creek, slid down the steep rusa faces a few times causing my heart to stop! :0 but he gets up, bruashes it off & carries on! hes your age has had a heart attack/countless back ops/wrist ops as he only has one arm! one shoulder muscle pinned as it ripped, and it doesn,t seem to slow him much you guys are something to aspire to as I hate the thought of not being able to climb hills & shoot deer! great attitude - alot of guys I know gave up 10 years ago said they either too old for these steep hills... they were in late 20s/early 30s!!! pussies! ah well more deer for us haha keep it up - enjoy reading your adventures & pics,