Most irritating behaviors in the field..

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H&Hhunter

H&Hhunter

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1. Having a person give your dog contrary commands when he's doing what he's supposed to be doing. Heck you should NEVER give another hunters dog a command in any case unless it's an immediate safety issue for the dog.

I can't count the number of times my dogs have either been bayed up or latched on and had a hunter get there before me and start yelling at my dog to "LEAVE IT" or "COME HERE" the dog is doing his job let him be you'll get your shot as soon as I tell the dog what to do or guide you in for the stab or the shot.

2. The hunting partner who is with you but not hunting and starts yelling SHOOT! SHOOT! SHOOT! when you are aiming at a critter. I'll SHOOT when I am good and ready to SHOOT and not one second before that moment so sit on your hands, button your lip and SHUT THE FUDGE UP!

Hey I used to do it too, get over it. That is one of the worst vices in the hunting world. ESPECIALLY when dealing with a new hunter or a kid you can ruin them for life by doing that. Not to mention it causes the hunter to get stressed and will more often than not cause them to rush the shot and wound or miss.

3. My absolute most hated behavior is the instant scorer. DO NOT walk over to the critter I just killed with a GD measuring tape and start scoring it. There is no greater buzz kill than somebody scoring your critter and informing you of where it's lacking or that it's bigger than so and so's critter killing his high. That is just plain bad manners don't do it unless the hunter requests it.

4. There have been few times in my life that I wanted to kill another person with my bare hands but this will do it to me every time. DO NOT in any way disparage the quality of the critter that a woman a child or a beginning hunter brings into camp. The one and ONLY comment that is appropriate in that situation is good JOB you're awesome what a GREAT critter NICE shot!

Now if you are with your old time buddies who've done a ton of hunting and know better the only appropriate remark to any critter up to and including the new pending world record is "Nice but kind of pencil horned did you gut shoot him?";):evil: (Just kidding you know who your buddies are!)

5. If you are ridding in the other guys truck at least offer to pay for the gas. If you are in somebody's camp other than your own chip in for the food. These things should go without saying but you'd be shocked how many times I've been stiffed on expenses. I have had over the years various leases in places from between 4 and 10 hours drive form my house. I have buddies come down to hunt and the deal is always I pay for the lease you pay for the gas we split the food. I stop at a gas station and magically the buddies disappear into the restroom for the required period it takes to pump and pay. FINE but can you guess why you never got invited back? Or the other I'll pay you when we get home then you get a crumpled twenty for your trouble. Never again I make guys that aren't a trusted friend pay in advance now days I'm sick and tired of being the gracious host and the bank.

6. If a guys misses just shut up, he knows he screwed up don't rub it in.

7. I am only going to politely ask you ONE time not to point your loaded weapon at me. I've seen way to many barrels from the wrong end in my day. If you don't know how to safely handle a gun stay home and watch soap operas because you're not welcome to share my world.

8. If you really screw up and cost your host some big bucks don't make him ask, just pony up or arrange to make it good some how. I'll give you three examples that have happened to me.

First I had a guy a flat lander Texan ( I like Texans this guy was loser) who had no business driving in icy conditions on the steep mountain roads "borrow" my truck and wrap it around a tree. That was AFTER I told him not to drive it unless it was an emergency and then only if he put chains on it. he got bored in camp (because he didn't want to get up early to hunt with us) and went for a drive slid off a switch back and wrecked my truck I still haven't seen a dime from that worthless POS!


Second I had a guy shoot and wound my dog AFTER of course, I'd had a nice long talk to him about NEVER shooting a hog when the dog is on it or baying it. He did anyway and stuck me with over $1,000 in vet bills just to get him home where I could have my wife who's a vet get him up to speed which would have cost me several more thousand bucks if she hadn't done the work.

If you burn one of my tents to the ground don't sheepishly say oh dude that sucks and not offer to buy a new one. Especially if you did it because you're stupid. Hint kerosene and cigarettes don't mix, just for future reference.:rolleyes:


A little common sense goes a long way. I have got to the point where there are very few people I will hunt with anymore. I used to be the Santa Clause of hunting but I've had it knocked out of me.

Oh yeah and don't tell me about WDM Bell I know you know the whole friggin world knows that Bell was killed by 1100 elephants all using small caliber rifles!!;):D
 
Gus the last time I lent you my truck I didn't see it for almost a month and my hog dog came back pregnant.

I'm not saying that you were responsible for the dog but the puppies did have red beards and a strange attraction to bag pipe music.

Just saying....

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Hunting alone or with a close family member is the only way I do it.

But, people talking too loudly and slamming car doors 300 yards away from where you plan to deer or turkey hunt is kind of annoying.

Sitting on a stand for 5 hours when a bunch of guys come up on you in the woods and matter of factly say "we are putting a drive through here"...thanks a lot you bunch of yokels.

People who go on to property that doesn't long to them and tell the owner of the property that part of a kill belongs to them because their drive or dogs drove it to the killer.

I could go on.
 
I can't stand to hunt where I will run into anyone else. Sometimes if hunting is slow it turns into target practice. I don't like being bothered by people I don't know when im in my element of The Hunter.
 
Meeting other people witg guns in the forest .... is always unfunny.
 
Meeting other people witg guns in the forest .... is always unfunny.
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Explain? I've never had any sort of unpleasantness whjen encountering others afield. So long as the land is public, or they have permission, I figure they have as much right to be there as I do. Unless their firearm pointed at me, the issue of being armed is irrelavent....I don't want to freak people out who might cross my path, so I tend to act equally nonchalant when meeting others who are armed. Do you find meeting unarmed people in the owwds unpleasant or unfunny? Why would encountering other hunters, acting responsibly, be any different? While I prefer to be alone while hunting, I see encountering others as a chance to find out more info, to gauge their success, etc. More than once, another hunter has provided me information that ultimately was beneficial. For example, a local guy who hunts our ranch frequently tipped me off as to the location of a nice whitetail buck the last day of season. Based on his info, I concentrated my efforts in that area, and would up harvesting a nice 6x7.

My biggest pet peeves come as a landowner.....slob hunters. People who don't shut gates (or leave them as found)....people who refuse to get out of the truck and walk, yet complain that "there aren't any deer around" People who shoot a yearling buck with little to no rack.....while possessing an "any deer" tag....and passing on the fatter, older doe not 5 yards away (if you hunt for meat, hunt for meat....don't take a buck just to tag a buck....let him grow up a bit!!) One of my biggest hunter-related beefs come from those who claim "I don't have anywhere to hunt" but are too lazy to pick up a free guidebnook to the various public "walk in areas" that the state leases from private landowners for access. These people don't WANT to HUNT, they want to SHOOT......usually while driving around in their new late model pickup truck or SUV.....the idea of a "walk in area" is about as appealling as cancer to these types.....
 
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I dont hunt on public land and tresspassing here in Texas is a very serious thing and if you are tresspassing and hunting(poaching) you are committing a felony.
My pet beef is people who kill a game animal and expect someone else to field dress the deer,skin it,and quarter it up for the ice chest.
I deal with this mindset more than I care for on a corporate run hunting ranch.

Another beef is these guys who bring a $1500.00 rifle equipped with a $600.00 scope and sneer at my 39 year old Remington rifle that has literally killed scores of deer,hogs,coyotes,turkey,etc. and they cant put three shots at 100 yards while on sandbags inside an eight inch circle.

Edit to add...Oh yea,and they always have some ridiculous magnum rifle for these relatively small deer.
300 Win Mags seem to rule with these guys.
 
Dog Rules

I agree with the dog comments. If you don't like the way someones dog(s) work in the field, go with someone else. Also, when a dog retrieves a bird, no matter who shot the bird, the dog takes the bird to his owner. But there is a bit of advise for dog owners too.

If your dog doesn't get along with other dogs, please don't take him out to join others. Dog fights and shotguns are a bad mix.:eek:
 
H&H and Heeler both bring up very good points.

I can't remember how many times I have field dressed someone elses kill. I sure don't mind if its your first deer and I help you. I have one guy I know that I have showed him at least a dozen times. (you shot it deal with it.)

1. Don't knock my rifle.

I have gladly taken money away from so called expert riflemen at the range. Just because you have a high end rifle or a M-4 with a 24 function swiss army knife hanging off of it. If you don't shoot it you don't know it. I don't care how much it cost. I took $50 off a guy with such a AR and did it with a cheap Traditions Hawken rifle at 100 yards. My cheap Savage .270 that cost less than $400 has made fools out of some nice guns. I have some high end rifles but the salt stings worse with a cheapy.

2. Share your harvest.

If I hunt on someone else's land I always stop by and say a very warm hearted thankyou. I will hand over a bag of crappie fillets or a backstrap in a heartbeat to the land owner. Stop by a few times a year and touch base with your landowner. A bag of jerky a log of venison sausage heck a handful of homegrown tomatoes do wonders. If you hunt as a group and you score and your buddy did not. Send them home some of your meat.

3. Shut my darn gates.

If you hunt on my land leave gates and livestock the way you found them standing. Neither my cattle nor my gates were laying down when you got there. Enough said.

4. Don't be a shot hog

Share the wealth everyone gets a shot don't shoot at a pheasant from 75 yards away on the opposite end of the line and claim it as yours. Only shoot in your feild of fire. just because a bird gets up doesn't mean you need to shoot at it.

5. Follow the landowners instructions to the letter.

I have given permission to a couple guys to hunt for a single day or a single weekend. That does not mean I come home early one day to find your truck in my feild and find you and 5 of your buddies hunting my ground.:cuss: If I tell you archery only or only shoot a doe that's what I mean. I own the land not you.

6. Be thankful

I don't care if you pay $10,000 for a hunt and don't bag your animal. Its hunting not killing if your guide was worth his salt they did everything they could to get you a animal. Sometimes it does not work out. Quit whinning sign the check and say thanks and mean it. I have been on hunts or on fishing trips where some jerk was to busy telling lies and drinking beer to actually hunt or bait his own hook. Then when the don't catch thier limit or bag a trophy the guide is at fault and they try and refuse to pay.

7. Like H&H said pony up.

I am not here to fund your hunting trip. Now if I fork out $500 and you fork out $450 good enough it all comes out in the wash. Now if I drop a couple thousand or even a few hundred you need to be at least in the sameball park. Chip in for gas, tolls, food, beer, tips, ect
 
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The Robert Ruark two-book collection of essays about The Old Man and the Boy speak more about hunting and fishing ethics than any others I have ever read. I've always been very lucky as to the hunting partners I have known. Very close to zero in the problem department.
 
Art:

It is my humble opinion that the old man and the boy, the old mans boy grows older (Raurk), and the sand county almanac (Leopold) should be required reading for anyone who picks up a gun and goes in search of game.
 
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I wore out the paperbacks and have read twice through the hardback reissues of the Ruark books. :)

Driving south from Reserve, NM, to Silver City, there's a pull-out and a marker commemorating Aldo Leopold's time there. A beautiful view of wilderness country along the Gila River...

Just as with playing poker, you can learn a lot about a fella from how he acts around hunt camp. Sometimes it's pure profit just surviving the experience...
 
I especially agree with the comments regarding gun snobs among hunters. My .300 Sav will kill a deer just a dead as a .300 Win Mag at the ranges 99% of people hunt. So will my .30-.30, or for that matter, my old 8mm Mauser.

I get tired of "experts" who hunt whitetails with howitzers. If you've got the money for the latest and greatest "kills 'em 40% deader" caliber, good for you. Just don't make fun of someone you either doesn't have the money, or just doesn't see the point.

I especially find it sad when the deer they gut shoot with their howitzer runs off and is lost. Learn to shoot if you're going to hunt. And if you do shoot a deer, find it. :cuss:
 
Wow id die if I shot someones dog.
See clowns cause people to not want to share hunting lands and some of these stories make me understand why.
 
H&H, who are you hunting with? lol it sounds like you have had a history of rough times there
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I used to say yes to this "Hey I've got this buddy who's a real good hunter would you mind taking him along." Now the answer is no. Not until I get to know them anyway.
 
I don't know how common it is elsewhere, but around here it's ATV "hunters".

Real hunters might take an ATV to edge of a hunting area and then walk in. Nincompoops ride an ATV (usually in "packs" of 2, 3 or 4) up and down the trails scaring all the game for miles around. After they've ruined the hunt for anyone else in the area they depart, probably to go home and talk about how there's no game in area "X".

I've learned to hunt in rugged areas that aren't accessible to ATV's.
 
A recent bad one for me was a guy along for a hunting trip with us shot a muley doe at 200'ish yards but just clipped the spine. We could clearly see the deer flopping on the ground. We told him to take another shot to finish it.. he declined to do so after thinking about it for a bit stating that his .257 Weatherby Magnum rounds were too expensive, he was going to walk up to it and slit its throat. I knelt to take the finishing shot because I hate to see an animal suffer but by then it had rolled out of our LOS. I ran in closer to finish it but the deer suffered for several minutes because I had to detour around a coulee to get a shot again.

He is not going with us again.
 
H&H,

Sounds like a guy I used to work with. This guy was raised in SD, "Knows all of those roads up there like the back"......., you've heard all of this I know. I was ask by him to go pheasant hunting, the year before I retired, because I had a Toyota 4-Runner and a set of new tires. He explained about "Going here.... if it ain't good there, we can go....." Then came the conclusion to this whole sack of malarkey, "You go ahead and put all of the gas on a credit card, an when we get back, I'll make it right with you." My response was," Horse <deleted>, if you can go spend $1700.00 for a new shotgun, want me to drive you up there, NAH, if you can't hand over $XXX.00 before we go, for gas, you can drive your Cadillac up there and hunt by yourself!" My phone answering machine shows his number when he calls, but for some unknown reason, I'm never home!:neener: My family always hunted with just the 4 of us, no haggling over gas and all the other BS. Happy Trails.
 
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People who go on to property that doesn't long to them and tell the owner of the property that part of a kill belongs to them because their drive or dogs drove it to the killer.
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I get a real giggle out of those idiots. I get out of my stand or out of my blind, kneel down and politely thank the dogs for running deer onto MY property while giving them a really nice scratching between the ears, then I turn to the owners and give them a really nice scolding for crossing posted property lines that are easily visible. Since I know full well a dog cant read I just thank and pet them. Not their fault their owners did not properly train them to stay within borders :)
 
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