Do you hunt alone?

[highplainsdrifter]

I almost always hunt alone. My wife usually comes along and stays in camp (which is a comfy travel trailer). She is willing to prepare meals and help pack out the animals I shoot. Sometimes she will actually hunt but mostly she enjoys the solitude of camp, ATV rides, wildlife watching and reading. I appreciate having her close by in case of emergency. A good wife is worth more than her weight in gold!!

I gave up hunting with other guys long ago...too hard to coordinate schedules, hunting styles, levels of enthusiasm, budgets, etc.

 

[tim]

tim McCoy

the spot is nice to send an ok message and then they can see where you are.
My wife loves to fish, I hate the sport, she fishes alone a lot. she will send me spots. it works.

 

[CoHiCntry]

75% solo, 25% with friends and family. Still haven't found a hunting partner with the same style, likes/ dislikes, enthusiasim etc. I'm beginning to think it's never gonna happen. Plenty of newbies willing to tag along as long as they have the time but I'd sure like to find a knowledgeable guy to hunt with! Hunt with family once a year (they only hunt elk one week a year) and occasionally a youth I've helped out the last few years. Friends infrequently. They just don't have the desire like I do.

 

[buckbull]

I'd say 50-50 between alone and and with family. My good friend that went out west with me just can't hack it anymore (too many cigarettes). My ex-wife doesn't like me hunting alone; doesn't want anything to happen to that bi-weekly support check.

 

[rammont]

I've always hunted alone since my father died, he was the only person that I enjoyed hunting with. Everybody else I've tried hunting with hasn't worked out well, most think that hunting is a foot race with the animals and they spend more time making noise than looking for elk. The other kinds of people I've had the misfortune of trying to hunt with were the type that just wasn't interested in dealing with any difficulties and they left after a day or two or when they ran out of beer.

 

[Maxhunter]

I hunt alone most of the time. It's hard to get some buddies to commit. Also a lot of them don't have the time off to go!

 

[Mr Drysdale]

Been out West four times. With a group, that goes yearly, three times and with my son once. I have a standing invitation to go with the group yearly but don’t due to limited time off from work. Can’t use my vacation every year hunting due to spending time with my family. I do hunt solo in my home state of Mississippi mainly bow hunting Whitetails unless one of the grands want to go.

 

[kentuckyhunter]

The flexibility and lack of problems caused by others is why I usually hunt alone. While I get along well with others, I prefer to make my own decisions.
Trying to make choices that will make others happy rarely works for me.
Church once a week is plenty of socializing for me.



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[packer58]

One aspect that hasn't been mentioned is low tag numbers for non-res. Applying as a group really reduces your draw odds in those states so we apply individually.

 

[missjordan]

Im very fortunate because my husband and I hunt together and our styles mesh very well. Which a lot of hunters cant say that about their spouses or even friends. But sometimes we want to hunt with other people besides ourselves and some are fantastic to have in camp while others are awful and youll never have them back.

We planned a Missouri Breaks Archery trip once with a co worker and i had to cancel last minute because of college and the kid that went with him I dont think realized how expensive the trip was going to cost. And we were only a 7 hour drive away. non stop rain caused some extra expenses like muck boots that had to be purchased and his funds were super limited. At the end of the trip it came down to being nit picky over which groceries he wanted to take home. Which was very unfortunate. Still have remained good friends with him though but definitely wont hunt with him again

My favorite hunting camp is when you invite some buds and everyone does their own thing during the day but you all return to the same camp at night. That way if someone needs help everyone is close. The social aspect is what makes hunting camp fun!

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[az.mountain runner]

Well pretty much all the same as mentioned before, the ten year hunting partner I hunted with moved from Az. To Washington , I go hunt elk with him as much as possible or when I don’t draw a tag here but I have yet to get an Az. Hunting partner so when I draw an Az tag I end up hunting alone with all the new safety gagits I don’t worry about that , but what does concern me is the Dough heads that are out 4 wheeling at 2 to 3 in the morning drunk and god knows on what, I beleave because they are loud and noisy and you never know if they are out blowing off steam or up to no good . That’s what bothers me the most about hunting alone.p

 

[JimP]

I only hunt alone when I can't find someone else who wants to go hunting.

All my hunting partners moved out of state and I am too old to break in new ones so I mostly go it alone. There are a few hunts where I will meet up with my brother in law and hunt the seasons with him in another state. He likes to get out and at 75 he doesn't know how many hunts he has left and besides that we have a lot of fun on those hunts.

 

[87TT]

A lot of these stories sound familiar. I would say 95% of the time I hunt alone where ever that is. Mostly mountains. I have a son who would hunt with me but he lives in Ca and has job and kids ect. I used to hunt a lot with my son's best friend because he was more into it. We still get together and hunt when we can but he has the same issues. I haven't found anyone around here to hunt with. I wouldn't mind but so far it's solo. I carry a DeLorme/Garmin locator to keep the family from worrying. 65 this year and going to chase elk and deer as long as I can.

 

[gonhunting247]

I hunt alone about 75% of the time. I really enjoy it!

 

[kidoggy]

I once had a guy ,who knows nothing about hunting anyhow, tell me, " only a fool hunts alone!"

I responded with," I don't think that's true. in fact, I think it is a foolish statement! hunting alone does not make one a fool. I would agree though,if you are a fool, you shouldn't hunt alone."

 

[sheephunter]

I usually hunt alone, and there are never any drunks in camp and nobody complains about the food. The last couple years my eastern buddy's son who moved fairly close to me has gone out with me. He's not that serious of a hunter, mostly into back country skiing/boarding etc, which makes him very comfortable in the mountains, so it has gone well.
I have to be very careful about telling my wife where I might be hunting, and I leave her detailed maps, road numbers, trailheads, camping spots etc. She called the sheriffs office one year when there was a mixup about when I was coming home; I don't want that to happen again.
I few years ago I killed an elk about an hour before dark and it was well after dark 'til I had it quartered and bagged. There was nobody with me and nobody in camp to worry about, so I made the decision to stay on the mountain and pack elk quarters all night. I finally got back into camp with the whole elk around 4AM. I watched Orion's Belt go the whole way across the sky through the night and listened to elk talk while packing. It is one of my best hunting memories.

 

[Bonecollector]

Awesome experience Sheephunter!

 

[Horsenhike]

Wow. So many of us.

I have ventures into the woods and waters alone since I was a young boy. Very comfortable doing so. My wife is my hunting partner, but even though she is a lifelong athlete she doesn't have the stamina for overland travel. We normally hunt together about half the time, the rest solo.

Over the years I have taken people out and even joined up with other experi nced men, but I kind like to do my own thing. After voicing her opinion again last Fall my wife gets to decide where we hunt this coming season. Should be interesting.

 

[Hilltop]

As mentioned by MissJordan - Sharing camp with others while being able to do your own thing during the day is great if you have the right people involved. I have a "community" elk camp planned for this fall. It's looking like 7 or 8 guys at this point.

 

[RICMIC]

I am surprised that there are so many solos out there. There are always compromises when you team up with others, and in many cases it is a one and done situation. I find that I have to plan several years ahead with others, but in several cases things still fell apart because of missed point applications, injuries, poor health, $$$, time constraints, spouse issues, etc. When I hunt alone, I have none of those issues, so going solo is often the only option if I want to hunt. There was a line from some obscure movie from 40 years ago that applies here; "One man is an army, and two men are an unruly mob."