trac209

I was talking to my gramps today and who has hunted all his life he is now 75 years old.I have always wanted to go with him but he has allways given excuses that he can only go with his partner, who he has only been hunting with for about 8 years.I phoned to ask how his day hunting went and he told me something that made me so mad I can' t even express it.He said they killed a doe that went into a ravine and died and they figured they couldn' t drag it out so they left it there.YA THATS RIGHT THEY JUST LEFT IT!I told him how could you just leave a deer there and he said I' m 75 years old and my partner is 81 what should I do.You know what I said QUIT HUNTING.I would have drove down myself to get the deer if he called but he didn' t.If your too old to drag it out then your not hunting your just killing.I have had the feeling that they have lost alot of recoverable deer because their too lazy to go find them.I' m between a rock and a hard place and have no idea what I should do about this.I have lost all respect for him because of what I have learned and don' t know what to think.Any thoughts on this guys.

timbercruiser

Just be thankful you still have a grandpa. Anything further would probably make you mad.

trmaker

Wow that is a tough one. Number one dont be too surprised that they didnt go and get it..remember their age. Second I would have asked him to show you where it was and get it. Him seeing that you wont allow that to happen may make him feel so guilty that he wont do it again. He has lived alot longer than you and sometimes we forget they cant do what they used to. But you are right in getting mad at him. I would also point out to him that he doesnt have a very good hunting partner. Show him that you still respect him for everything he has done in his life, but ask him to make some hunting memories with you. I hope this helps some. I lost my father 6 yrs ago and hunting just hasnt been the same since. But it is bearable having the memories that I have with him. Dont alow this to become the most thought of hunting memory you have with him.

nyorange

" You know what I said QUIT HUNTING."

Could have been handled with a bit more tact. How about telling him in the future
he should call you whenever they get a deer regardless of the location because of his age and deep respect you have for him, maybe then he wouldn' t always be coming up with excuses of why he can' t hunt with you. Have a little respect for the man. My uncle of about the same age tried the same damn thing and managed to drag it out, almost had a heart attack, fell down and was laid up for 2 days afterwards. I have told him in the future leave it where it drops, I or someone else will get it and if not so what, he ain' t starving. Screw the deer, as far as I' m concerned it can rot to all hell if it means risking the life of a loved one, or anyone for that matter. Woulda, shoulda, coulda, whocares, it was done and no ranting is going to take it back. I can guarantee that he still ain' t gonna want to hunt with you and I' m sure he' s gonna have alot more excuses next time. If it was my father and my cousin started ranting like you? You know what would happen. How could you possibly still be thinking he did some wrong? imagine the worst scenario and ask yourself it would have been worth it to preserve your boy scout morality.

trac209

Hey nyorange its kinda hard to retrieve a deer for your grandpa when he won' t tell you where he hunts.

nyorange

Sorry for the mean tone of my previous post. Should of just told you to forgive the old man and you really do have a point. In retrospect, it sounds like neither one of them should be out there without able bodied people around to help and not just help dragging deer. Again sorry, I could have responded a little better. Take care and good luck this season.

8mm/06

trac209,
It is good to know that you have an ethical side to your hunting. It is good that you talk to your gramps enough that you can express your concern for his hunt.
I' m disappointed that you can' t hunt with him...and I think you are confusing your own disappointment with your being indignant about a wasted deer.

I would hope that you could express your sadness about not hunting or being with your gramps without turning it into anger at a 75 yr old man. As timbercruiser said...you should be thankful he' s still around for the time being. You have limited time to spend with him.... and the majority of it shouldn' t be spent wrangling about his hunting ethics.
Maybe I have it all wrong.....but at 50 years of age, and having been able to spend time with both my grandfather before they passed, I can only advise you to spend your time wisely. Good luck.

A5Mag12

Sounds like maybe you need to work on the relationship when it' s not hunting season. If Gramps felt he could depend on you for help whenever he needed it he may have called on you for help. It' s hard on someone to admit that they can' t do the things that used to be so easy for us. Pride is a hard thing to over come, and getting old is sometimes the hardest hit we will take to our pride.

Do you ever just go see him for the hell of it? Go and do something for him because you know it needs done and not because he asked? Prove to him that you are proud to be part of his blood line and that you love him because he is who he is. And don' t ever judge him because you have not earned that right. But, someday if your lucky, you may find out what it' s like to be an old man.

MarengoJoe

In my opinion, you should not disrespect him because he is your Grandfather. On the flip side you don' t have to respect him because of his age and title. Respect is an acquired title, not a required one because of age and position. I myself know some 75 yr old men that are horses behinds but I also knew them when they were 40 yrs old and they were the same then as they are now. They do not automatically gain respect when they reach a certain age. Again I want to stress that I will not disrespect them, I just perhaps don' t have much respect for them. Sort of a nuetral we both live in the same world attitude.

trac209

Let me set the record straight on this issue my grandfather and me spend lots of time together and he has never not asked for help with things he can no longer do.Our relationship is great,however the one thing he has never included me in in his hunting with him.The only reason I can think of for his not wanting to hunt with me because his hunting ethics are not up to par.He has come up empty handed for the last couple of years and when he tells me he left a dead deer in the bush because its too much work to get it out,I get the sinking feeling it has happened before.I don' t believe in leaving retrievable game to rot in the woods.You owe the game you hunt to retrieve it, also its the law.I have since talked to him and told him that if you want help to drag a deer out to call me he said" no thats ok" so I' m just gonna forget the whole thing but one thing I can say is that he will not be getting anymore deer meat from me.I have been giving him half of every deer I got for the last 3 years, if he doesn' t want help dragging out his deer I can' t be asked for some of mine.I think that is only fair don' t you.