losing hunting buddies.

[Axis II]

I'm starting to think its best to just hunt alone. I started hunting when I moved to the country with 2 guys from high school. one quit hunting and the other got married and has 4 kids so he doesn't get out anymore. I kind of don't like hunting with him because he's into the primitive stuff and ends up screwing around with all that or wounds/misses cause he wont practice.

A guy I became friends with about 10yrs ago always hunted small game but wanted to deer hunt around 2010 so I took him under my wing and taught him to deer hunt. he ended up shooting a deer I wounded because of a damaged scope and he was hooked. I gave him the buck of course. we would take a week of vacation and head south each year for a week and setup deer camp for gun week. and bow hunted public land a lot, shoot bows every weekend, scout, etc. a few years ago we got private land together and always went around April to gain permission and hang cameras and stands throughout the summer. the last few months I've been telling him we need to go get slips signed and hang stands and scout and he wouldn't reply. we are 59 days from bow opener now and after asking him to go get slips signed for the last month he tells me tonight that he doesn't have time for everyone and isn't hunting anymore.

I have never really hunted alone. I've got a jacked up knee and a little overweight so I don't like going alone incase my knee goes out or worse. looks like no gun week deer camp this year and a lack of bow hunting too. hunting just isn't about killing things for me its the comradery and being together with family and friends. now I have to decide what I'm going to do with no slips signed and 59 days out. just bought a new deer gun too and looks like ill be missing that this year.

 

[LoonWulf]

Bummer, Its hard to find dedicated hunting buddies. Probably more so for you guys that have alot of prep work to get in before season.

I do alot of hunting solo...or well i used to till I had kids LOL. Now i dont get out as much as id like.

My buddies and I try get together at least a few times a year. Usually we get some of bird season in, do a hunt off island, and the Puuwawa muzzle loader season. With my kids being the age they are and needed to watch them while my wife works, I get much less time than i used to. My buddies are in similar boats, but not as bad as their kids are older (one has a daughter going to college).

I feel for you, good luck on getting out and hunting!

 

[FN in MT]

I'd rather hunt alone.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well if your name means you're in Ohio, you're too far from me in Maryland, but otherwise I wish I was close enough to help you out. I don't do archery, and I'm pretty exclusive on my use of a flintlock, but I do practice a lot, I do harvest deer, and I've been invited to join other hunting camps from time to time because I can cook pretty well around a campfire. My current buddy of two decades doesn't get out much either, but he's sorta banged up in the leg too like you..., so I'm used to helping him drag out his deer, and picking routes into and out of hunting areas where he doesn't have to negotiate obstacles. Wish I could help. When he's not available I'm stuck to hunting alone, though my teenager has suddenly decided he wants to join me this year.... Good Luck!

LD

 

[Art Eatman]

Then there's the age thing. I only have two still-alive hunting buddies from the back-when; all the rest are gone. Sizable bunch of us on a deer lease...

I've done a lot of solo hunts in the far back-country. My favorite blue quail trek was a six-mile round trip from camp. I did bunches of walking-hunt loops of up to a dozen miles. Few buddies wanted to or could do that sort of jaunt.

 

[Axis II]

I'm going to go out this weekend and do everything myself. I've got way too much money invested in it to just sit aside. ill just tell someone exactly where i am and when ill be home and hope that he has time to come looking for me if i get hurt. Now i have to have the talk about the deer cart, 2 treestands and 3d target we went halves on over the years.

Im even going to check on a spot that connects to a state park which is guaranteed deer and he still blew me off so maybe this is really the end for him. He told me last night maybe hunting alone will help me have a better season. i do get kind of pissed at him cause he screwed up a stand i was trying to kill a nice buck from because he was dipping and spitting out of the stand. he was a super old deer and the least little thing would make him go nocturnal.

I also guess its kind of my fault cause i started hunting more with another buddy on his lease that's manager for deer and left the other one behind but as i told him its time to leave the nest grasshopper. i cant always be around to tell him what wind is best for what stand, sign, etc.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I pretty much hunt alone. Bad knees, back, etc. does limit my range but I'm lucky enough to be able to hunt out back and on adjoining land so don't have to roam very far. Also, an advantage of hunting alone is that the only hunt that I mess up is mine...

 

[BigBore44]

I have the opposite problem. To many friends from different towns want me to go with them. I just don't have the time. But if you don't have time to take 5 minutes to discuss with a buddy what wind and stand to hunt, you're a very busy man. That buddy you don't have time for could be the very guy that helps you get out of the woods if you got injured.

Just a little friendly advice that I give some of the up and coming fishermen I deal with that go pro: Don't forget where you came from.

You ask a lot of questions on here. And we're happy to help. So we take our time to answer them. To help someone we don't even know be safe and get better. Imagine if we didn't take the time.

 

[Axis II]

I have the opposite problem. To many friends from different towns want me to go with them. I just don't have the time. But if you don't have time to take 5 minutes to discuss with a buddy what wind and stand to hunt, you're a very busy man. That buddy you don't have time for could be the very guy that helps you get out of the woods if you got injured.

Just a little friendly advice that I give some of the up and coming fishermen I deal with that go pro: Don't forget where you came from.

You ask a lot of questions on here. And we're happy to help. So we take our time to answer them. To help someone we don't even know be safe and get better. Imagine if we didn't take the time.

That is very much appreciated.

I have time and don't mind helping him but like i told him last year your going on 7yrs of doing this with me holding your hand and i feel you know what your doing enough to do it alone. if you shoot something ill be there within the hour to help you. I had 2 150'' bucks i was after and he said he wouldn't shoot them cause i called them. i said no that's not how this works. if its in front of you and you have the shot id be just as happy you got him as if i did myself.

What i meant by i might not always be around was i could move, quit hunting myself, etc and he just needs to start piecing the puzzle pieces together. He learned a lot over the last 7yrs and i have trusted him enough in his hunting knowledge to say hey sit here these nights and try and shoot this monster I've been after. I get just as much enjoyment from helping others and then getting a deer as i do myself. He began telling me last year where he would like to put a stand, wind, etc and 99% of the time he was right it would be a good spot. He told me last year the last 3yrs i hunted more with the other buddy on his lease and i said yeah cause #1 the lease guy is the one who helped us get the private land so i don't want to blow him off when he calls and says lets hunt. #2 i was trying to cut him loose so he would learn more. I've showed up to his house to shoot bows and watch him stack arrows at 40yards all in the heart of a deer target but let him know I'm there he will miss 90% of the time. I taught him how to shoot and work on bows and he finally admitted to me that the reason he misses is i make him nervous. I said i don't know why we are like brothers and there is no reason to be nervous if you miss you miss. his response was well I've never seen you miss, even out to 50yards with a bow. well I've been doing it for 15-16yrs and usually shoot daily. i felt cutting him loose for awhile and letting him know i trust him would give him a little more confidence and keep him from second guessing.

One night im in a bean field stand and he is back in the woods off a good deer trail. a mature buck comes out and under me and i came a hair of shooting him so i text him deer in the field ill be back to the truck late. he knew they would walk the field and then go right into the woods and past him and he texts back im standing up and ready, i hear noise have to go. i text back good luck remember broadside and right at the shoulder crease like on the 3d target. it got dark and i climbed down and waited in the field for 30min and he didn't respond so i went looking thinking he shot this buck. he said he choked cause he didn't have enough confidence. i figured letting him loose would build that backup.

 

[Robert]

I screwed up my draw for elk this year and hosed my hunter partner. He drew the unit and I didn't. Now he is stuck alone, which is not an issue because he is a more accomplished hunter than any 10 people I know. But I know he is getting burned out after 30+ years of hunting and is sticking with it because of me. I feel like I let him down. I am new to hunting and love to spend time in the mountains honing my craft and learning from a true master. I'm hoping we can get something together for next year. Sorry Greg...

 

[BigBore44]

Well there's nothing wrong with cutting someone loose. And there's nothing wrong with pushing them a little to hunt on their own. I've done that with 3 very close friends. I taught them how to hunt, how to shoot bows, how to sight in rifles, where to hang stands and why, etc. This started about 6 years ago. I do it every year. And just last week two of them texted me and wanted me to come about 35 miles and see what I thought about their choices for stand location. To me, it's a good reason to go see my friends I don't see so much anymore. Can they do it on their own? Absolutely. 95-98% of the time,when I come down, it's more of me coming down to say "Yep, this is a great tree in a good spot. It's where I would hang one." They know. They just want reassurance.

I 10000% agree that seeing them be successful is just as, if not more, important to me than my own success. I've killed tons of deer. But they haven't. But they're starting to. But I also know what it's like to be left out so they can go to private land. I've had them ditch me to go with someone else and I was the guy that taught them everything they know. It does kinda suck. So I know where your buddy is coming from. But I look at it as a parent setting their kids free. They always come back for guidance. I bet your buddy doesn't feel that way.

 

[Captcurt]

I'd rather hunt alone.

I hunt alone most of the time now. Years ago we would have 4 or 5 guys go to deer camp and stay at least a week. Now they either can't get the time or they want to stay in a RV with all of the amenities. Sorry guys, but my idea of deer camp is a rustic cabin or a leaky tent. If I have to stay in an RV I'll stay at home in my own bed.

Then, like Art Eatman, many of my old buds are exactly that. OLD! They are either in bad health or dead. Of all my longtime hunting partners, two have had hip and/or knee surgery, one has a bad back and can't sit on a stand or walk a corn field, one lost a leg to diabetes and one ballooned out to the point that he can't walk up 3 steps without huffing and puffing.

I really miss the camaraderie, but I guess I am destined to hunt alone.

 

[Choctaw]

These days I either hunt with my sons or go it alone. My hunting buddies, just like my friends, have come and gone throughout my lifetime. However, I can now be content staring into the campfire alone with nothing but a strong cup of coffee, my pup and memories for companionship. Listening to the wind in the trees and the crackling of the flames is hard to beat.

 

[Patocazador]

I've hunted alone for most of the 56 years that I've been hunting. No one I knew was as interested or as free as I was to go. I belonged to a club for over 20 years but hunted by myself even on that lease. Some of the people I 'mentored' wanted to take shortcuts or weren't safe to hunt with. They didn't stay hunting partners of mine for long.
Now the only person I ever hunt with is my granddaughter.

 

[LoonWulf]

I screwed up my draw for elk this year and hosed my hunter partner. He drew the unit and I didn't. Now he is stuck alone, which is not an issue because he is a more accomplished hunter than any 10 people I know. But I know he is getting burned out after 30+ years of hunting and is sticking with it because of me. I feel like I let him down. I am new to hunting and love to spend time in the mountains honing my craft and learning from a true master. I'm hoping we can get something together for next year. Sorry Greg...

Can you not go along as a "helper"? I know some places, and hunting areas, dont allow that.
Ive done that a bunch of times, I actually usually have more fun. Its mostly still hunting, or stalking when we do so i get to hang back and watch, then help carry stuff, or rib my buddy about how bad he missed.

 

[BigBore44]

Can you not go along as a "helper"? I know some places, and hunting areas, dont allow that.
Ive done that a bunch of times, I actually usually have more fun. Its mostly still hunting, or stalking when we do so i get to hang back and watch, then help carry stuff, or rib my buddy about how bad he missed.

Or maybe he could go as a "camera man" for an amateur tv show.

 

[Art Eatman]

We had a couple of Certified Olde Pharts in our group. No big deal: Drive to a likely place and alternate between napping and looking. Or hunt at the campfire. You can always swap yarns with the other guys.

One of our car-sitters didn't come back for lunch. A couple of us went to check to see if he were still alive. Yup. Just napping. With a couple of dozen turkeys all around the car, three on top of it.

My father once hunted on White's ranch, later part of the Terlingua Ranch deal. 125,000 acres; 63 hunters. $ 2,500 for the lease during the old-days seven-day mule deer season. The camp cook shot a nice buck from the window of the bunkhouse kitchen.

You don't necessarily have to be all healthy and vigorous to eat Bambi.

 

[LoonWulf]

Or maybe he could go as a "camera man" for an amateur tv show.

Buddy of mine does that, sorta, hes got a go pro that he attaches to the top of his hat. Damned distracting watching that pop up over the top of a rise or from behind a rock while your trying to stalk stuff.

 

[Varminterror]

I've hunted with a lot of buddies over the years, or more frequently, have had buddies hunt with me. My wife is the only hunting partner I really like keeping around. It's nice having help in some functions, but it's also a steep challenge to really coordinate life schedules.

I'm still young-ish, but after 20yrs of riding bulls and longer in combat sports, not much in my body doesn't ache, and not much works the way it used to. It's all about how you want to make your accommodations for yourself. I went deer hunting once after surgery with my knee in an immobilizing brace and using crutches. I do off-season prep in the field to let me cross terrain easier, especially recovering game. I've built small 4 wheeler sized bridges to keep near creeks (can't leave them over the creek, as they'll wash out in flash storms), I cut into cliff faces or creek banks to make climbing easier, and hang a rope from the top if I need one, clear trees and brush to give access for the 4 wheeler, and I'll even brush mow a path in some spots to make the walk in all that much easier.

And of course, I'm about as cuddly as a cactus, and enjoy other people's prolonged company about the same, so I'm not very tolerant of inconveniences due to others when it comes to my hunting schedule. I've done deer camps many years in the past, and I've done group hunting trips many times, but in general, it's just not a common paradigm for me.

 

[alsaqr]

i hunt alone most of the time. Most of my friends are eating, pooping and waiting to die. Guys 15 years younger than me won't get off their butts to hunt. Spoiled them years ago by giving them deer and hogs. Now i.'m much less inclined to field dress and skin deer and hogs for others.

 

[Klint Beastwood]

My wife is my hunting partner..... i wish i could lose her.

jk im ok either way out alone, or partnered up..preferably with someone I know well.
Been walking around with a partial torn ACL for years...

 

[buck460XVR]

He told me last night maybe hunting alone will help me have a better season. i do get kind of pissed at him cause he screwed up a stand i was trying to kill a nice buck from because he was dipping and spitting out of the stand. he was a super old deer and the least little thing would make him go nocturnal.

I also guess its kind of my fault cause i started hunting more with another buddy on his lease that's manager for deer and left the other one behind but as i told him its time to leave the nest grasshopper. i cant always be around to tell him what wind is best for what stand, sign, etc.

Sounds like to me........that it was a mutual parting of the ways. Some of what you said in the above post and subsequent posts makes me think you blame him for some of your lack of success. He too may have caught that vibe from you. Far too many times I have seen good friendships and family put aside because of the pressure to shot "the big one". In the long run, odds are you are both probably better off alone or with other partners that hold the same priorities and goals. Many folks hunt with friends/family for the camaraderie first and the thrill of the kill second. Pairing them with folks whose priority it is to go home with something is not the best match. Finding hunting partners whose goals, ethics and hunting style matches yours to a T is hard. Similar to finding good riding buddies when it comes to motorcycles. An occasional ride with folks that have different priorities and riding styles than you is fine occasionally, but take a week long 4000 mile trip and it will be a nightmare for all concerned.

Hopefully you two can still be friends and both of you will remember and cherish the good times you had together and not those nights when things didn't go the way you wanted. My oldest and dearest hunting buddy of 45 years gave up Spring Turkey hunting 3 years ago. He had little or no patience and often his inability to wait more than a hour on a setup would make so we busted birds when we started to move. His chain smoking habit cost us both more than one chance at a nice Tom. He also would oversleep, forgot something important most every time we went and relied on me to do all the calling. But the memories we made together over those decades will be with me till the day I die.

 

[Patocazador]

As soon as you show a new guy one of your stand sites or let him hunt from it, chalk it off because from then on it's his stand. He'll be in it every time you want to hunt there ... and then he'll show it to his buddies. Never fails!

 

[Captcurt]

As soon as you show a new guy one of your stand sites or let him hunt from it, chalk it off because from then on it's his stand. He'll be in it every time you want to hunt there ... and then he'll show it to his buddies. Never fails!

This is one of the quickest ways to lose a place to hunt. You invite friends. They start hunting it without you and then they take someone else in. Soon there are a half dozen people on the property and the land owner closes it to everyone. Been there, had it happen, and it won't happen again.

 

[LoonWulf]

This is one of the quickest ways to lose a place to hunt. You invite friends. They start hunting it without you and then they take someone else in. Soon there are a half dozen people on the property and the land owner closes it to everyone. Been there, had it happen, and it won't happen again.

This is why when someone takes me someplace thats "theirs", I promptly forget where it was when its story time. Seen stuff like that, or a place get hunted/fished out a couple times.