It's sometimes odd how my blogs come about. Sometimes they are planned long in advance, months before they are posted.

Other times a note from a reader is what triggers the thought for a different kind of blog. Sometimes they just pop into my head while reading the morning paper over coffee.

This topic, if all of us live long enough, will be one  we shall all face. A reader wrote: When do you know the urge to hunt has withered and blown away?

When the flame of fishing or hunting anticipation disappears

It seems a simple question with an equally simple answer. Live long enough, and the answer shall become obvious.

The urge to hunt may leave  any of us at any time although at age 70, I'm happy to admit it hasn't clawed its way into any of my urges and driven me away from fishing and hunting.

Age can play an important role in when this question jumps on a person. A disability or serious health problem can slow or stop any one. The natural attrition of hunters is due, in large part to age, feebleness, illness or some major injury that may make hunting just too difficult or painful to pursue as we grow older.

The average person, based on hundreds of conversations with other sportsmen, can begin to lose his/her urge to hunt anytime after the age of 55 years, and for some, even earlier. For many, they just get lazy and decide not to go out anymore.

Health slowly eats away at a formerly active hunter, and more time is spent dreaming of the old days and not looking forward to future field trips. Often the hunter, growing older, may develop a heart or lung problem that makes it far more difficult to muster up enough energy to hunt regularly.

We all need fishing & hunting buddies

Some sportsmen may lay the blame on not having someone to hunt with, and I'm indeed fortunate with my eye problems, that Kay is not only my best hunting buddy but my wife, and a person who enjoys bow hunting as I do. Some folks are not so lucky, and I know some older hunters who have taken young sportsmen hunting for years, but the youngsters forgot about who originally brought 'em to the dance. Now that is a sorry thought and rude behavior by a younger person.

The urge to stay home comes with the normal aches and pains of aging. Many say they no longer like to eat venison, the woods are too crowded, too many small deer...whatever.

There are usually a variety of reasons. Some folks fear falling from a tree stand, and pin their reluctance to hunt to a fear of falling. Some say they don't see or hear as well as 10 years ago but that happens to almost everyone.

As this progresses, hunters begin making excuses for not wanting to go hunting. Reasons include but are not limited to:

A list of possible excuses

I haven't had time to sight in my rifle. I've found that my shotgun doesn't shoot as well as it once did (which means the hunter is really missing more often). Got me a hitch in my git-a-long. I had forgotten that this hill seems a lot steeper that it once was. I've been huffing and puffing for two years. Don't want to die and miss out on future hunts. The sun is too bright, not bright enough, and the  snow is getting deeper in the woods. etc. Makes it too difficult to get around, and I'm afraid of falling. Gas is too expensive. Doesn't bother them to go bowling, golfing or doing something else. Hunting just isn't as important to me as it was 20 years ago.

I've heard all of these excuses, and countless others, but the fact is the person is too ill, too lame or too lazy to exert the energy to go hunting. It's not the hunting that is at issue here. It is the attitude of the sportsman.

The fact is that hunting can be hard work, but those who stay in decent physical shape won't find it much different. The loss of a close hunting buddy often takes the hunting fire out of the belly of the sportsman who is left behind. Perhaps that is the time to find and teach a younger hunter.

Share your outdoor knowledge with others

Sharing the wealth of a lifetime of fishing or hunting with a youngster can keep us young and more in touch with the seasons and the fish we hope to catch and the game we hunt.

We all grow old and we all grow tired, but hunting at one's own pace is available to all sportsmen. Take your time, remember those past hunts when the fire burned bright and hot in us, and when we couldn't wait to get into the field.

Sometimes, a little kindling in the form of watching a young hunter develop their personal memories, is all it takes to renew our personal interest in hunting.

It may be the start needed to rekindle the hunting flames of yesteryear.