I turn 75 on August. My most recent Safari to Africa was in 2023 (hippopotamus on land). Fortunately, there’s nothing I can’t do now which I couldn’t do in 2023. So I definitely have more dangerous game safaris planned.
My philosophy is that I will keep hunting as long as I remain of sound mind & body. And I’m going to do everything to ensure that I stay that way for as long as I can. Age does get us all. But my motto is to try to remain fit for as long as possible and then be happy that I made it this far.
To put matters into perspective, there’s a Japanese hunter who bags Sika deer at the age of 108. An American hunter got featured on an article a couple of years back for still bagging white tail deer at the age of 101. My dad turned 95 this year. He still regularly hunts Jack snipe in the rice paddy fields behind our home (and shoots the odd wild boar which he crosses paths with in said fields). Tony Sanchez Arino was still guiding dangerous game Safaris at the age of 89 and still hunts for recreational purposes.
But I will stop if (God/Allah forbid) I realize that I’m becoming a burden to my white hunter & trackers. That’s one thing which I can’t find myself being able to live with. Being a burden to others.
I have one observation, however. Those of my friends who retired from physical activity early in life, ALL developed health problems soon after. One fellow I knew stopped hunting at the age of 60. Because he said that hunting was a “Young Man’s Game”. He was physically fine at the time, but now (just four years later) he can’t move around without the help of one of those little golf cart type things. By comparison, I fortunately just kept going.
It’s no surprise that Japanese, Thai, Malaysian & other Oriental people tend to live so long. They remain physically active even in their advanced years. And I do believe that age starts to catch up with you the moment you cease to become physically active.
Also, watch your health while you’re young. Otherwise, it will come back to haunt you in your later years. Eat balanced meals, make junk food a weekly treat rather than a daily meal (I love a good juicy cheeseburger but I won’t eat one more than twice a week at most), control your liquor consumption (I enjoy a glass of red wine or a couple of Stout beers on the weekend but know when to stop), don’t do drugs and (if possible) try not to smoke. Not preaching to anybody, but these things really do make a difference. When I first began hunting internationally in 1972, all the American ladies & gentlemen whom I had the good fortune of crossing paths with… were of physically fit build (more or less). In the last 20 years, American people have (for whatever reason) begun to increasingly succumb to obesity. British people too. But Continental Europeans (on average) still seem to be quite fit. I was recently quite appalled by how many young men these days exclusively wear sweatpants because they find dress trousers or jeans to be too uncomfortable.
Nowadays, another disturbing new trend has begun. Something along the lines of “Plus Size Pride” where people celebrate being obese. Of course, body shaming is bad. And no overweight person should ever be treated with disrespect. But you must recognize the fact that being unhealthy is nothing to be proud of.
The co-author of my autobiography (for example) used to weigh over 200 LB when we first met in 2019. He couldn’t hunt without beaters or out of a blind. Now, he weighs 180 LB and hunts on foot extensively at least once every two weeks. He told me that he will never allow himself to put on weight anymore.
