Something we all strive for as hunters is the ability to continue our passion well into our golden years and a West Virginia man is doing just that.
Bob Epler of Reedy, West Virginia is still hunting fairly hard at the tender age of 93 years old. Epler has been roaming the woods of West Virginia for more than eighty years and continues to hunt, often alone, in his old age.
“I’ve always loved to get out and just walk in the woods,” Epler told the Charleston Gazette-Mail. “I went along on hunting trips even before I was old enough to carry a gun.”
While he does hunt with his son at times, he can often be found roaming his 975-acres hunting lease chasing turkeys, squirrels or deer, depending on the time of the year.
“Some friends and I have a 975-acre hunting lease in Wirt County,” Epler said. “When I feel like hunting, I drive up there, park the car, put my gun on my shoulder and walk wherever I need to go.
During turkey or deer season, I go every day if I haven’t gotten anything,” he said.
Last season, Epler missed a larger buck, but managed to bag a smaller one along with a “fair number” of squirrels, stating that as he has gotten older, he much prefers the challenge of hunting squirrels using his trusty .22.
“I used to hunt them with a shotgun, but it’s a lot more fun with a .22,” he said. “I might not get as many that way, but I get what I need. I eat what I shoot. I won’t shoot at anything I’m not going to use.”
As turkey season quickly approaches in Bob’s neck of the woods, he is looking forward to mimicking last year’s successful season in which he shot a 20lb bird, but he admits that luck is usually on his side when chasing gobblers.
“I don’t call when I hunt turkeys,” he explained. “I just go to a place that I know has a lot of turkeys and hope that one happens to wander by.”
While he does admit to sticking to gentler terrain when he is out hunting, he’s out there every single chance he gets. Taking care of himself and ensuring he doesn’t get himself into a compromising situation while doing what he loves is something he takes seriously, given his age.
“When I hunt by myself, I try to hunt on ‘good ground’ — in other words, fairly level,” he said. “I can’t climb hills like I used to.”