Guess I am going to have to modify my Crutch I mean my Sampson Shovel

[dirtlooter]

I struggle to walk most of the time as I pretty much drag my right foot. The more tired I get, the more I drag the foot. The more I drag the foot, the more likely I am going down as I hang it on something. I try to use my Sampson as a crutch or a cane to keep myself righted but it is about 5 inches too short to really depend on it. So, I guess sometime really soon, I will be cutting the handle up towards the top and adding another 5 or 6 inches to make it taller. My wife keeps telling me that her Sampson is perfect for her but she is 4'11" tall and I am 6'. The Sampson has been an awesome shovel, just a little bit too short. You have to be tough to grow old, it sure ain't for sissies! The marathon treks in the woods are over, now I look at how far and how bad the walking is. The VA gave me a walker for the really bad days but I refuse to use it, I just use my heavy duty walking sticks that I keep in the back of the truck. I guess that as one gets older, one is sometimes forced to do things smarter/safer in order to keep doing them. It is what it is and it ain't what it ain't.

 

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[G.A.P.metal]

dirtlooter
Glad your still able to get around !
Mom told me not to get old...i should have listened !

 

[smokeythecat]

Dirtlooter...are you me? I use my long handled digger as a cane also. And I drag a foldup chair along so when I dig a hole I don't ever have to sit on the ground. I may not be able to get up again.

 

[dirtlooter]

Ha! not you exactly but just like a whole lot of us older people doing this. I start off digging a lot of targets but then the last thirty minutes or so I become more selective on what I dig. I also seem to grunt and groan a lot more then as well. I get down on my extra padded knee pads but then the getting up part gets slower and slower. But I refuse to totally give in, fortunately, at this one site, if it isn't wet, I can drive some closer in. I got a new permission to do an older place(for around here) but I plan to wait for the little woman to be able to hunt as well (gotta live with her). I find that I grid slopes rather poorly as I tend to lean more downwardly on them. There are moments that a motorized wheelchair sounds really good!

 

[sutphin]

FOR 19.95 I WILL SEND YOU FELLAS AND LADIES A BOTTLE OF SNAKE OIL THAT CURES EVERYTHING IT TOUCHES . BUT WAIT FOR BEING OUR 10 CALLER I WILL SEND YOU THE SECOND FREEEEEE , I SAY JUST PAY SHIPPING AND HANDLING SOUND FAMILIAR .YIKES. NO , I DEAL WITH SAME ISSUES BACK , HEAD AND AINT IT HELL GETTING OLD DANG CREEPS UP ON US FAST. ANYWAY DO LIKE I DO , GO DOWN TO THE AMERICAN BOYS COLLEGE THE OLE ABC STORE AND GET YOU A LITTLE BOTTLE OF SAUCE , GO HOME DRINK A BIT AND FORGET THE PAIN , BUT DONT OVER INDULGE AND PASS OUT, AND START ALL OVER AGAIN THE NEXT DAY FEELING REFRESHED.

 

[Gare]

Dirt there are walkers out there that have wheels and a SEAT . If you can get one with big wheels and when you need just set down on it and rest They asked me what i wanted to be when i got older. I told them YOUNGER !! My Thoughts and prayers are with you . if i can do anything let me know

 

[against the wind]

On really rough terrain I use my Intergalactic Hover Board. I have the retractable boarding ramp model.
Makes it easier to bend down on one knee and retrieve the target.

 

[pepperj]

Just throw that shovel in the trunk and head down to the local welding shop. Put the extension on, wider pedal rest for pushing into the soils, and any other modification you can think of. Seriously it'll be a great investment and a tool to ensure your safety and comfort.
I truly believe the more comfortable one is, the better the finds.
Like you stated " I start off digging a lot of targets but then the last thirty minutes or so I become more selective on what I dig."

I had my foot pedal widened on the shovel, the end tapered and hardened.
It's shorty but I love the heavy beast when I cut a 12" round plug in the heavy clay sod, and then stomp on the to dislodge and flip it out.
Worth every cent spent at the welding shop when it comes to making it easier to dig.

 

[Professor of Engineering]

Hello Dirtlooter,

Keep extending that digger, you love the hobby and we love your posts!

Regards,

Doc

 

[dirtlooter]

I guess that I don't use my shovel like most people do, I get down on my knees and then push down with my left hand using the heel of the hand on the left side where one would normally use their foot. I guess it was a habit from using the hand digger but it works for me. The only thing is that I had previously added a wider and longer aluminum piece for my hand to push down more comfortably. being aluminum, I tried JB WELD and it worked great for about a month or so but then it came off. I will probably go ahead and add a piece of steel to the same spot when I extend the handle. To me, it is about getting everything to where they work better for me. I want it to be comfortable and usable for how I hunt. This doesn't mean that it will work for anyone else but who cares? I have had to modify a few things for the wife, she doesn't complain but I ain't totally blind and can see where something could be made better for her. Usually she admits that what I fixed or got for her helps or makes things easier. I can't see fighting something tat takes the fun out of what you are doing. That is why I went to the Deus, my body was griping very loudly about the weight of the AT GOLD. Now my wife benefits from my getting the HF coil as she uses the LF coil (weighs nothing). When I was younger, I just dealt with it and went on but I have this thing now called the "WORTH FACTOR." I don't have to do it if it ain't worth it to me! I hunt when I feel like it for as long as I want to (unless the finds are really good).

 

[sutphin]

HAVE BEEN DOING SAME THING FOR * YEARS AND NOW START TO USE SHOVEL FOR OLE KNEEEZZZ CAINT TAKE IT>