Who Hunts By Themselves?

Duster340 said:

I typically hunt alone. It revitalizes me, and the solitude allows for serious soul searching and thinking. It's my chance to escape from the daily grind. Does me good.

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I could not agree more, me too!

Grouse and deer hunting are mostly solo endeavors. It is the best time to quiet the crazy pace of my job that is buzzing in my head. I hear the buzzing right now.....

I miss duck and goose hunting with my dad who has passed away. Pheasant hunting is with a great group of guys.

H&Hhunter said:

I tend to hunt alone more and more. In some of the more remote and dangerous areas I've considered getting a PLB. I have had some close calls on my horses several times. I'm not sure that horses are always on our team?

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Things are getting easier for remote country hunters. For years all I had was a aviation band radio set to 121.5. Some what of a hope and pray thing in a canyon. Now I use a satellite phone that's as dependable as a land line. Rent them as needed so cost is reasonable.

My father and I hunt together. We are usually 1/2 a mile to a mile apart, with two-way radios. I enjoy the companionship of just knowing that the person who passed his love of the outdoors to me, is out there on the same mountain. HOWEVER, if he is unable to go, I will go by myself. When this does happen, though, I find myself enjoying it less, and usually come in earlier.

I hunted with a partner when I first started hunting. However, I soon found out that there were conflicts about where to go, how long to stay, and how to split up game. The booze and smoking part also got under my skin.
When a friend asked to go with once, he never watched where his barrel was pointing and he almost whacked off my hand with his careless use of a machete. That was the end of taking friends with me.

That was many years ago. I'm now 74 and hunt alone even though I had open-heart surgery last August. I managed to kill 3 deer after the surgery and still hunt from tree stands.
I make one exception to hunting alone and that is when my 11 yr old granddaughter wants to go.

Armored farmer said:

Haha
So true.
Anybody that has ever had horses knows what you mean.

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I prefer mechanical horses. They only do what you tell 'em to do and they only eat when they're working. I know, though, that ATVs and dirt bikes aren't allowed off roads in national forests or AT ALL in wilderness areas. I don't hunt those, though, as they're a good day's drive and national forests in Texas are a waste of time.

If I ever hunt elk, I'll have to pony up half my life savings for an outfitter. That's why I don't hunt elk.

Art Eatman said:

While I prefer the actual hunt to be solo, being part of a good bunch of folks around a campfire of an evening was an important part of my hunting years.

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One of the reasons I love hunting doves, other than I prefer wing shooting to the ONE shot per year most deer hunters get.. Heck, I can burn through 5 boxes in a 3 day hunt with my buddy. We sit and chat and watch for doves. It's relaxing and we catch up on things every year. I could say the same about duck hunting. You can't do that even in a box blind deer hunting. you have to stay quiet.

I had a good family friend who had heart problems. He was something shy of 80 when he died sitting in an elevated blind on his lease near Del Rio. He died doing what he loved to do. I should be so lucky some day.

MCgunner said:

I prefer mechanical horses. They only do what you tell 'em to do and they only eat when they're working. I know, though, that ATVs and dirt bikes aren't allowed off roads in national forests or AT ALL in wilderness areas. I don't hunt those, though, as they're a good day's drive and national forests in Texas are a waste of time.

If I ever hunt elk, I'll have to pony up half my life savings for an outfitter. That's why I don't hunt elk.

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I might add my 4 wheeler never got spooked by a bear and at home sits under a tarp, not in a stable.

I started out small game hunting at about 12. Mom and dad wouldn't let me hunt with anyone else. They figured, rightly so, that 2 kids were more likely to do something stupid than one. In the event of an AD one of us were more likely to hit the other than themselves. I sorta got used to being alone. I used to hunt a lot with my younger brother when he got old enough, but he has all but stopped hunting. He can retire in a few years and may start again.

I hunt mostly public land here in N GA. Some places can be very remote and require packing in and out. Others less so. I'm not getting any younger at 59, but I can still get into all the places I did 30 years ago. It just takes longer. I do worry about being alone if something bad happens but I map out the areas I'll be hunting with my GPS and Google Earth before leaving. My wife has the maps with a box drawn around the general area I'll be in. At least they'll be able to find my body.

I'm also at the point in my life where my kids are grown. Everything is paid for, my wife and I have life insurance and some money invested. If I die, I'll be in a happy place and content that my family will be taken care of.

Most of the hunting fatalities that I've had personal knowledge victims were small plane crashes in Alaska or Canada.

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Most deaths and injuries here in GA are from falls out of tree stands. In 2nd place are pre-existing health problems such as heart conditions. It is extremely rare for a hunter to be shot anymore.

I don't climb trees anymore and at least for now am in good enough health not to worry much about heart attacks.

...I shot myself out of a tree in highschool....i dont climb them with guns anymore......

jim in Anchorage said:

That would be me with the smokes, and I ain't staying home! In fact I bring a waterproof pelican case with 10 packs and 5 lighters so even if I fall in the river I'm good.
Sometimes I bring people if I have to (like if I'm guiding them) but mostly I hunt alone. Except if it's a hunt involving 4 wheeler's.I was pinned under one once,with a broken back, and if I didn't have help I'd be a skeleton under a Honda in the Alaska woods right now.

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That leg they found in a river up there recently, anyone you know ?

For the most part I've always hunted alone, the only exception is when I was teaching my sons. The last several years my oldest will take first two days of deer gun off and we go out together but the rest of the season I hunt alone.

H&Hhunter said:

Dude...... We need details!

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One of the places i used to hunt was on the border of costal mangroves and keawe (mesquite) forest, it also was where a rather large ravine dumped into when it rained. Anyway i was hunting right after a major rain, and the california grass was taller than me.
So i decided to climb a keawe tree that was over a small clearing. Deer came in at an angle i wasnt expecting so i was leaned way out and using my legs to keep me from falling. The 3" 1oz slugs i was using generated enough recoil to unbalance me, and I slipped and fell out.
I was only about 10' in the air so it wasn't horrible. landed on my back with the gun pointing straight up. Took a couple weeks for all the thorn tips to come out tho.

H&Hhunter said:

Most of the hunting fatalities where I've had personal knowledge of the victims were small plane crashes in Alaska or Canada.

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LOL, is it really a hunting fatality if your plane crashes? I guess if the guys are shooting from the plane, then maybe so.

I think the most dangerous part of any hunt is the drive to get there.

I love hunting alone. But, I have "one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock", so to speak, when it comes to that. If someone wants to hunt with me, I am more than happy, even if that hunter be a neophyte, to hunt with them. I took my late brother-in-law pig hunting, we had a great time. I took my soon to be son-in-law hunting and it was enjoyable, it was his first hog hunt. I think that neither of these two men would have experienced the hunt as it was, without me sharing my hunt. I encouraged my wife to hunt, she is a crack shot with squirrels! One year I built longbows for us and she took a great Barbarosa ram with it. So, as rich as the solitude is, sharing the craft, and the experience, can be very rewarding.

I had a cousin die while deer hunting, suffered a heart attack rolled down into a ravine, wasn't found for several hours.

LoonWulf said:

One of the places i used to hunt was on the border of costal mangroves and keawe (mesquite) forest, it also was where a rather large ravine dumped into when it rained. Anyway i was hunting right after a major rain, and the california grass was taller than me.
So i decided to climb a keawe tree that was over a small clearing. Deer came in at an angle i wasnt expecting so i was leaned way out and using my legs to keep me from falling. The 3" 1oz slugs i was using generated enough recoil to unbalance me, and I slipped and fell out.
I was only about 10' in the air so it wasn't horrible. landed on my back with the gun pointing straight up. Took a couple weeks for all the thorn tips to come out tho.

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Thanks. That was the best hunting story I've heard in a while. You want to laugh, but then, you realize it was a serious incident.

BTW, did ya get that deer?

Yeah only deer i got with the slug barrel on my shotgun.

Double Naught Spy said:

LOL, is it really a hunting fatality if your plane crashes? I guess if the guys are shooting from the plane, then maybe so.

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FL-NC said:

I think the most dangerous part of any hunt is the drive to get there.

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These posts fit in perfectly. In Alaska flying in IS driving there.

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i hunted for years alone, i was a young strong man.

later in life my son came along and we hunted together for years. prob some of the most rewarding years of my life.

now he is in school and does not have time to hunt. so i am solo again