Boy nothing like getting old and getting injured to adjust your attitude. When you are young and healthy you do not pay much attention to it. I am recovering from a shoulder surgery and find myself now just trying to shoot and hunt. I haven't shot a bow since last September. Climbing tree stands this year are out of the question. I can not imagine climbing as sore as I am. i just hope I can shoot. looks like I will either be in a ladder stand or on the ground this fall. Funny how things you used to knock come back to bite you. I can at least admit when i was wrong. I just want to hunt so will except the ground challenge. Never kick a dog turd it might be your grandmother. LOL

Patience is paramount... You've got this.. Growing older has taught me to be more versatile....

Ladder stands are much easier to use as we age. I put mine out now and by hunting season, the deer don't even look at them.

Ladder stands work fine, the deer will still walk right under them. I have been using them since the seventies and have discovered they are no problem at all.

In 2017 at age 72 I had shoulder surgery to repair a torn rotator cuff. I am very familiar with the pain, the PT, and the long recovery process. Suffice it to say however, you will recover and you will shoot again. It takes time, following your doctor's orders and doing ALL your PT on a regular basis.

Good luck with your recovery & getting back behind the bow.

Ladders are big and clumsy to install - bring two friends! - but critters don't care after they're in place. I have one that's been out there for several years, and a trail camera bearby shows every critter around passing right by it. When I'm not in it, of course...

Joint pain becomes a constant companion, therapeutic exercise and an assortment of NSAIDS keeps it in check.

Focus on the positive and how you're going to deal with that - like, who are you going to call to help drag your deer out? ;-)

I was once invincible, then I realized I'd like to live a little longer after getting ran over. Actually went airborne. Happy to be alive now even with the pain some 30 years later. Prayers for your shoulder to recover.

lone wolf sit & climb if you can sit on your butt & lift your feet you can climb a tree the only mussel required is abbs

Stands are NOT paramount to hunting. You can ground hunt just fine.

X2.

A reminder for the happy majority:

Give thanks for the blessings we're given (health, relationships, women, attitude, learning, excitement). For most of us, like me at 76, age is a good thing.

I've had deer rub against my ladder stands to scratch themselves. Putting them up alone is the hard part. Find a helper, my wife assists me. We do pretty good for a couple of old 70 somethings.

Just...Yep! It's great to have a partner...buddy, girlfriend, wife... sometimes a bumpy ride but that's part of the game.

The negativity (and bad health, bad habits, bad attitudes, loneliness etc) some of us cause for ourselves, practice and cherish, makes the bumps worse. We do know what to do about that if we wake up.

Get well soon! Jawge

An older man at church use to say "getting old ain't for sissy's, but it beats the alternative"

He's since passed and was one of the most dedicated Christians I know. He retired from the Post Office and after that he went door to door in inner city Columbus trying to lead people to the LORD. He kept a journal and at last count it was over 5000 people entered. Don't know how many stuck with it , but his stories were pretty impressive to say the least.

A true soldier.

iv killed a bunch deer still hunting-sneaking & thouroly enjoy it however if I come across some really good sighn the first thing I do is look for a suitable tree for my climber & also iv killed a bunch of deer from ladder stands as well but their not very mobile. imo beying versatile is an asset not a handycap I honestly feel for the one way or no way guys on this forum

This is not for everyone, but this is what I do with ladder stands. Note, I am hunting big woods swamps, lot of conifer cover trees, so there is a lot of cover..............

I own a bunch, bought mostly at sportsman rummage sales. I take the bottom section out, and so I only have about 10 feet or so. with that, I can easily set one myself, eliminating the need for the center brace bracket, just lean it up, climb up and ratchet it in...

again its always in a lot of cover, so much so, that you can hardly see me in there. have a small shoot window,,,,,

If I have to move one I can, quickly and fairly quietly,,,,, I have found that the height of 10 feet is not at a disadvantage, as long as you have cover,,,,,,

note: every season when I am done, I go back to them, and release the pressure on the ratchet strap, that way, they do not break due to tree expansion or so, and if needed to be replaced, can easily do so......

also the quick 10 footers, I do not have to screw around with life lines, and all kinds of stuff..... of course I have a safety harness, but I am very comfortable in them, and that is what makes me sit still for hours

JR, hunting from the ground is how we killed many of our first deer back in the day when there wasn't a suitable tree to shinny up and stand on a limb. Weren't no tree stands except what you build yourself. It isn't as difficult as most folks want you to believe...but you do have to be still. You know...like sitting still in a dentist chair. ;)

I agree on success on the ground, its how I hunt a lot, but I hunt based on my situations of my environment. I used step ladders in the corn fields....... I build pit blinds in some spots,,,,,,,,

Depends on how much you like to hunt, and what your enjoyment is,,,, some guys like walks in the woods, others hunt

Over the years I've hunted in many different kind of stands. Still like elevated stands but going forward, I have decided to pretty much limit myself to ground hunting. Where I hunt you could yell for days and nobody would find you or even come near you for that matter.

Yea George but most of my patients squirmed too much. I'm starting to come up,with thoughtful,ways to hunt on the ground.

Welcome to my world. LOL

Shoot out window.LOL

Adapt and overcome. You'll do just fine JR.

I wouldn't think of deer hunting any way but from the ground.

No 11 weeks post op from rotator cuff surgery Hope to shoot by July but only ladders and a ghillie suit ( ground ) from here on out . Used to stand on a tree fork for hours 25 yrs ago but at 55 feeling the age .

I been trying to figure out how to use the walker to get into a blind or use as a blind. LOL

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