Dec 15, 2012 4 min read

I stood in disgust and watched as the buck walked on its merry way. But something that happened a few years ago came back to me.

I was still working when a fellow named Teddy came to the counter with his sad story. Teddy had been hunting with his nearly 80-year-old father. He was thankful his elderly father could still spend time with him outdoors.

Many 80-year-olds, after all, are lucky if they can make it to the dining room table, let alone the deer stand.

I had talked to Teddy and his father many times, and the younger of the two was really angry this time.

His father had decided to quit deer hunting. He had hunted his entire life and looked forward to the season opener. Now, he was quitting.

He could still walk the hills and keep up with hunters half his age. So it wasn’t the aches and pains of age that had brought about his decision. It was antler restrictions.

At his advanced age, he just couldn’t count points. Like most over 50, his eyes just weren’t what they used to be.

He could still see well enough to drive, but counting points requires a keen eye. And few older people have that luxury.

He couldn’t figure out why youth hunters were exempt from antler restrictions and not seniors.

As he said, he had supported the Pennsylvania Game Commission his whole life. He had paid his dues. Didn’t he deserve a break?

With that, Teddy and his father walked away.

Their gripe was valid. I have never broached the subject in print because to do so would sound selfish. I am a senior citizen, but perhaps it is time to look at the problems faced by elderly hunters and antler restrictions.

We face many handicaps while hunting.

If you are old and want to take your bow out during October, you usually hunt from a tree stand.

At an advanced age, a smart hunter will stay out of a tree stand. Tree stands are dangerous enough for younger hunters, let alone a 70-year-old. I quit hunting from tree stands six years ago. Fall at my age, and you don’t bounce; you break.

I find there are places and situations where I won’t shoot a buck even if it has 76 points. If I shoot it, I had better be able to locate a younger person to help get it out of the woods. This limits the places I hunt, and if my son or friends are not home, it also limits when I hunt.

As I age, I might be like a good wine, but good wine should never be too cold.

Senior citizens don’t handle cold as well as younger people. If it is too cold, the elderly stay home near the fireplace. Much the same can be said of rainy weather. Pneumonia kills many old people.

There are quite a few problems faced by the elderly, and antler restrictions just add to them. I have taken many bucks and pride myself in being able to identify a buck from a doe. Still, I find it hard to tell if a buck has six points or eight.

If there is some question whether a point is legal or a weed sticking up, I have to let the deer walk.

It was easy to see 20 years ago, but is getting increasingly more difficult each year.

I have no problem waving the antler restrictions for younger hunters. We need to recruit more young hunters.

But would it create a problem to allow the same courtesy to senior license holders, who number about 50,000? That is less than 10 percent of the nearly 800,000 general license holders.

This past season was a good example and made me recall Teddy’s dad.

I saw 28 bucks over the course of two weeks and never pulled the trigger. I could identify most of them but am still haunted by those that passed me by on which I couldn’t count the points.

Like Teddy’s dad, perhaps I should face the reality of my age and the commission might not want me to enjoy the sport I love best. Perhaps we older hunters should take to the rocking chair and just reminisce about the good old days.

I know it is hard to see that far ahead, but remember, if you are lucky, you will someday face the same problem.

George H. Block writes a Sunday Outdoors column for the Observer-Reporter.