The end of the line?

I understand where you are coming from, brother. I'm now 79 and still in fairly good health. I've been competing in FT and BR for quite a few years and still consider myself competitive. However, my concentration is not so good now because my wife has dementia and my time and attention is is spent with her as much as I can. We are high school sweethearts and I love her deeply and have been married to her for 56 years. She is more important to me than my airgun collection and competition. so I have to do what's important. Luckily, I can still get away for short periods and shoot in postal matches. My range is 1 1/2 miles away and is private property and I don't have to put up with the gun club BS. I usually shoot in private then score my targets and email them in. I've loved airgunning for since my first Beeman R8 in 1983, but I love my wife more. We've had a great life and I thank God for that. Bless you and I wish you well, my friend.

Well Richardo the golden years to me is B.S. I use stronger power scopes because of my eyes now . Last March went under Deep Brain Stimulation because of severe tremmors (couldn't even load a mag ). But still need a 2 legged shooting stick . Before that I didn't need any kind of crutch always free hand . Three hips surgeries later still in pain but will not stop me from walking miles to get a shot at something (well most of the time) . Will I give up hell no those grandkids will have to pry one of those guns out of my hands when I die lol .Forgot to add I always sucker them in on loading those mags . You didn't give any examples yourself D.

Eyes have been the main thing for me at just over 60. I was once an excellent shot with open sights having grown up shooting rimfires in pre-teen years that way but it is impossible to see opens clearly now. Handguns are a bit better at arms length but still a problem. I've even noticed some of my scopes are near their limit for eyepiece focus adjustment now.

I'm firmly in denial.

I’m 73 and I’m slowing down. Still doing pretty much what I used to do just a lot less of it.

One of the things we seniors need to be very careful of is falling. If you are out hunting let some one know where you will be (and stick to it) Cell phones are a big help but I can’t tell you how many times I really needed a cell phone and one of two things got into the mix, a dead battery or no service.

Another is depression . I have to admit that I struggle with this some . I think I’m more worried then depressed but they go hand in hand. Worried about what the future holds while being so grateful for my health and the health of those around me. 

Good habits are helpful. Get up and do something. Keep in touch with your friends. Help others. Take a buddy along when you go to the range if you can

Don’t argue but don’t let injustice go unchallenged .

support those who are in the business. Give credit to those who advance the hobby. stoti (Kevin this applies to you) 

Most of all try to encourage the young folks they need us probably more then we know .

Never forget to say thank you and to be mannerly. My mother reminded me of the above every time I left the house as a youngster. It got to be a joke in her senior years I’d tell her the same every time we parted at the assisted living home where she spent the last years of her life (rarely complaining)

keep smiling. Keep love in your heart Thanks for listening most of you probably didn’t need to hear that but I needed to say it for myself at a minimum. 

I just turned 72 a month ago and I do the gym 3 times a week, so I'm still in good shape overall. I got into airguns only a few years back, so I'm still doing pretty much everything that I did when I started. My shooting partner, around 25 years my junior, speaks about seeing the pellet in flight and adjusts his follow up shots accordingly when he misses. Whereas I can't see the pellet in flight at all. My wife doesn't like me going out alone and prefers I have a someone with me just in case, but I think she worries needlessly considering cell phones and GPS.

I'm "only " 69 (or VERY close) and have found red dot sights have taken the place of iron sights. I have several red dot sights and have moved them from pistol to pistol and rifle to rifle to find which works best for me on each weapon. I have red dot sights on both on powder fired hand guns and my air rifles. While I have a scope on one powder fired rifle (.308), I'm swapping them for red dots on my air rifles because of where I shoot them. A short indoor range, namely across my living room and down the hall into my crossbow target. About 18 yrds if I stand with the door open. 

My air rifles (all bullpups) have been more of an expensive toy that I can use at home, that I can shoot on any rainy or any other day that I don't feel like driving 50+ miles to shoot. Not that they are a toy in any manor, just different than any of my powder fired weapons.

So far, no bipods, no shooting sticks, only a little leaning on the door jam for extra stability for those tighter groups..!

Mike

I have played 65 summers this past last day of August.. Been disabled since 1990... (4 years in a wheel chair) I was always very active and I wanted to continue but my body is telling me no.. So I said hell no !! So air gunning is my distraction from all of it.. I also have essential tremors like Kayaker, so I need to shoot from a bench.. Doctors are still trying meds but no improvement.. But with the help and encouragement of my air gun brothers I keep trying.. ) I also have my grand daughters load magazines.. Just fell on the snow covered grass where my feet went out from under me and landed flat on my back.. I am a bit sore and my lady keeps telling me to go to the doctors.. Waiting for the weather so I can get out again!!!!

As one can see there are ways to get around "old age"..and just what is old age,I ask because my mother died last week and she almost made it to 96yo,she was lucky ,she never had to have any kind of medication and went over 50 years never hasn't to go to a hospital.I saw how she did it and I also see how some of the posters here are doing it,"never concede",like being determined to use all your powers as long as you can.

Sorry,I have strayed from what I do,first thing is quit buying the hard to "break" and load springer air rifles...and the ones I have and will keep I have retuned them to be easier to "break",like I ain't going to need no over 12 # power....also I have got more PCPs now,I will say I use a hand pump for all of them....also I am stating to use scope with at least a 40mm bell....I will also sit on my axe more...

I use inspiration from others to guide and stready me.ps arthritics hurts at any age.

One other thing,mind over matter,like when we shoot at a target ,you don't just focus your sights ,you focus your mind to hit the target.

Not that I am that old. Only 56. But having 2 rotator cuff repairs on each shoulder, it’s not as easy to hold a rifle for plinking and target shooting as it use to be. All my ailments have been self inflicted. Racing motoX took its toll on me. Otherwise I am in great health. No high blood pressure, cholesterol or meds. Don’t care much for shooting my PBs either. The recoil is hell. My deer hunting has been more enjoyable with the big bore air rifles. I still climb poles and dig trenches at my job and play hockey. But I have to take it easy. I have switched to bull-pups for most of my target shooting. Never been a fan of them until now. 

For pistol shooting with iron sights I use these clip-ons in +1.00 diopter. I let my shooting buddies try them, and now we are all using them.

http://www.champchoice.com/store/main.aspx?p=ItemDetailOptions&item=CCSCS10

Of course red dots work great on a pistol, but I didn't want to outfit all my pistols with red dots, plus it's just fun to shoot with iron sights sometimes.

Other than that, I just try to keep it enjoyable. If a certain position is no longer comfortable, I find one that is. And maybe I lower my expectations a bit. I can shoot pretty much whenever I want, so if today didn't turn out so well, there is always tomorrow. Every once in a while everything comes together, I'll get a good group or a good score, and that is enough to keep me going.

The eyes were the first to go I used to shoot empty 50boxes of .22 shells with open sights at fifty yards. Now I can barely see the boxes or the sights. But no worry the Merit Diopter is here. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1015167397 Got to love what this thing does for our old eyes. I can see the target and the sights again. You can give it a twist and change the size of the hole to adjust for changes in lighting. Still I prefer scopes on my rifles so I can shoot things I can't normally even see and scopes with the preferred reticle for our individual needs can be very helpful. Shot a bee that landed on my target near my point of aim at 30 yards the other day he splattered all over the place. Shot at bugs at 100 yards but never hit them. The arthritis makes it easier to load the larger pellets so I only fiddle with the.177 on good days. An assault which left me all but dead ruined my balance so I no longer shoot prone as I get dizzy unless my head is supported or kneeling as it would be too easy for me to fall. I'm still good with standing or on the bench though. Auto pilot, being able to do things like turn the steering wheel or step on the brake without consciously thinking about it, came back a couple years ago, after being gone for five years because of the assault. So I bought a car and started driving again, ahh the freedom of a 67 year old teenager is a great thing here I come get out of my way. ;^) Other things have hampered my abilities to shoot for a few years here and there but I have always managed to get back to it but always with prayers and a little help from our father in heaven.

@ Boscoebrea- I’m sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. Sounds like you and her were close. Be good, man. She’s in a great place.

Dot sights, higher power scope, more expensive optics, Illuminated dots in rifle scopes, lighter rifles. Thank God, I can still get around in the woods real well. My granddaddy died in the woods hunting, kind of hope I do too. But I sure as hell ain't ready yet. My advice is just keep at it , now matter how you got to do it. Shoot from the kitchen table out the window if you need to, just shoot. 

I’m a OLD 62... wore out fused neck, cancer survivor and had to have a brain tumor removed, but I have made it so far... because of the neck fusion I can only comfortably shoot from a bench using bags stacked to get the rifle at a comfortable height. If I get it right I can sit and shoot for 45 minutes easy. The other thing is my eyes, I have a floater in my shooting eye that is dark brown and completely blocks the view but it can be squinted away long enough for a shot. My eye doctor said there is an operation to repair the eye, but it’s risky and they have to remove the humor to do the job. So I’m actually practicing shooting left handed...feels almost impossible too. Much easier for me to shoot pistols left handed. As far as sights go I can’t focus on open sights and the target anymore so I got a reflex sight as well as a See all sight. They are both great and let me shoot a pistol accurately at arm’s length. Best of all they are small and light so it feels like just the pistol with open sights. I do wish that I could find a super small dot on the reflex sight, this one is pretty big. We are definitely hampered but not at the end of the line yet, our wallets may take big hits as we upgrade to help conquer the “floaters” life throws at us!

I'm 68, 100% disabled with scoliosis. My back doesn't allow me to walk far, so I shoot off a bench or a bucket and shooting sticks. No more open sights, scope only. I do what I can with what still works with my body. I'm blessed to have an indoor, heated, 50 yard range to shoot in the winter. I spend a lot of time shooting there instead of outdoors like I used to. Not the end of the line yet, but I can see it from here. 

Seems like this topic hit home with a lot of us Air Gun Nationals. I just turned 71 and only started with this madness a few years ago. I’m fortunate in being able to shoot my 55yd lane from a warm house and I shoot every day. I enjoy shooting my scoped .17 springers the most and can still manage to shoot them for an hour without any problem. There are days things don’t go well (wind, poor light, too much coffee etc) and rather than let this fuel the depression that I often deal with, I just stop and do something else. On those occasional perfect days when those little red 1/4” bulls disappear I get more satisfaction from this than any of the shooting sports I’ve been involved with. Life is good - even for an old fart. Uj

Hi, Billy Dick here at 76 and still kicking. I have to credit my good friend JPS (see above) for getting me into this wonderful hobby. My powder burners just sit in the safe waiting. I haven't been very active lately, not from desire, but from a failing body, I was Bulletproof until two years ago at which time my AFIB medicine failed, body gets used to it and says welcome to a heart with a faulty rhythm. Some days couldn't walk more than 30 feet, but got ablation surgery and that got fixed, but started to be deconditioned because of inactivity. Then came Broncial Pneumonia and more weight loss . Then last Xmas, large cell B non Hodgins Lymphoma ( Cancer) , three weeks in the hospital, then 6 courses of Chemo, could hardly walk without a walker at home trying to recover. Did manage to shoot some at the ole Plantation thru the gun room window and went to local range once I was walking better. Then as i was unloading the gun equipment from the car, I fell and broke my hip, what a cliche, old guy broke a hip. Sheared the ball right off of the femur, went to hospital, new ball joint and rehab, can now almost walk unaided, but at least on the pain scale of 1-10, I know what the frowney face at 10 feels like.

Luckily I got my cataracts fixed a few years ago, so i can see very good and my attitude for this hobby is unchanged and all of the grief did result in an 80 lb. weight loss. I still think and feel like I was 40 years old, except of course when I try to get out of my recliner to get some cookies from the kitchen. My Father told me many mottos to live by, ""Keep Moving" and "If you don't expect too much, you won't be disappointed" are my favorites. So all you old guys KEEP MOVING!

Oh man...now I can see more clearly how lucky I really am! I’m definitely going to keep moving! You too brother, you are an inspiration to us all!