my wife asked me why at my age do i hunt alone??, so my question is why do others hun

...years ago i was in BC between McBride and PG helping a friend develop his property...we had all the material for putting up his first cabin...another fella was with us...had never worked with him before...

...my friend took off for materials at 8 a.m. leaving the two of us and saying do whatever you want

...Keith and I looked at each other and started laying out the floor without saying a word

...fired up the nail gun and compressor and we didn't say more than a dozen words to one another all morning...grunts was more like it

...when my friend got back we had the entire cabin built and sided at 2 p.m. working straight through

...we were sitting on the porch enjoying a beer together...not saying much then either

...when i find someone who hunts that naturally then i'll stop hunting alone
 
I hunt alone now because my good friends have passed on and no one I know now wants to put in the effort. Last few years I have gone solo but it is starting to get tougher each year the solitude is great but to tell the truth it is a lot more enjoyable with like minded friends.

I've tried taking out some young fellows but it seems that if they don't see anything or get to shoot a big buck they either start getting moody or just want to give up. That just isn't my cup of tea because cutting tags isn't why I want to go out.
 
Butcherbill said:
If anyone has a Bluetooth compatible Garmin gps you can download a free Garmin app to your smart phone and send an email link to anyone so they can follow. It's called Garmin Connect and the tar king function is called Livetrack, I routinely use it so my wife know where I'm at. I have the Garmin 64s gps, it's pretty cool. It receives text and email messages as well.
Click to expand...

Does that work for the wife on "girls night" too? (aka Book club)


I have several great hunting partners. Unfortunately most can only make a few days a year so for the most part i hunt alone.
 
I hunt both ways , with friends and by myself, it just depends on how I want to hunt that particular day. If I'm ok with hunting "their way" that day then that's what I do but if I "have a plan" and only want to hunt one of my areas the way I want to hunt it I will go alone...I enjoy both ways
 
To all those older gentleman who hunt alone, don't be too quick to dismiss us younger guys. I'd give my left nut to have someone to hunt with and learn from. I've been getting back into this the past few years but it's been almost 25 years since I was last in the woods for hunting. My only previous experience was as a teenager in Norther Ontario, and even then I was alone trying to learn on my own. I've done everything I can think of to get a couple more experienced guys to take me out, even to the point of buying a fishing boat and sled so that I'm not a burden on them when I go with them (for fishing). I show up early to help pack, I offer to help outside of the hunt around the place, etc...

Now that I live in the GTA the type of hunting here is foreign to me and what experience I do remember is honestly not overly applicable down here. I'm struggling to find places and acquire skills as the local hunters I do know are pretty tight within their groups already. The other challenge I run into is that I have a young family, a whole herd of young kids and a wife who also works a full time job, which makes going our challenging. So when an older gentleman finally does invite me out, usually on short notice, it's not always possible to accept the invite. I find that turns them off as they take it as lack of commitment or passion for the sport. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth, but family comes first.

It's hard to get into this sport if you're new to it and don't have people around you to learn from. I've been out for turkey and deer the past 3 years and have been skunked every time. Only once was I able to get out with someone, they did get their deer but alas I did not (but was glad to be able to learn a bit about skinning).

When I'm out on my own I enjoy the experience and the quiet of the woods but I know my odds are low, I have minimal skills in tracking or reading sign which means I probably spend a lot of time in the wrong areas....it would be awesome to have someone to learn from, books can only take you so far.

Anyways, be kind to the young guys, talk a chance on one every once and a while. Some of us don't all have fathers, uncles or friends to take us out and we're stuck trying to learn on our own.
 
Great thread. Common among us is the appreciation of peace and quiet, being outside for your own reason(s), and so on.

I've mostly hunted alone over the last 60 years, although I do have a very few people I will hunt with. Being rather old fashioned, I don't care for the $10,000 quad, rangefinder, bazooka armed, must get a B&C record crowd. Each to his/her own. I am quite happy to drive to one of my favorite spots and set off on foot with my old .32 Special, maybe an apple and a bottle of water. Whether I even see anything, let alone get a shot is down the list from just being out and about, carrying a rifle. As someone posted above, to feel the fresh air, see the sights and do some reminiscing is what has become important.

To have the time to light a small fire, maybe cook a bit of sausage, toast a bun, maybe share with a buddy - that's life at its finest! :)
 
I don't particularly like most people - especially ones who don't watch where the muzzle of the rifle they're carrying is pointed. You can tell them and tell them but in the end, old unsafe habits are difficult to break. Much easier to just not go with them. Also few guys like to walk - most prefer to drive around in trucks. If you go alone, you decide how you want to hunt.

I agree that there is a danger to hunting alone and many advise not to do it but sometimes I do it anyway.
 
Zedbra said:
I will be hunting alone this year - both my partners are unable to come out due to serious injuries. I am very much looking forward to it - my wife, not so much. I keep visioning the peaceful solitude, the cold air and hopeful first sunshine slightly warming my face....I can't wait.
Click to expand...

Get a Delorme/Garmin Inreach, or a SPOT to alleviate your wife's worrying and then keep doing what you're doing.
 
Great thread. I love to hunt alone for many of the reasons described in the first post.

On the other hand, I have some good friends that I like to hunt with who are generally really good to hunt with, despite their different styles. I learn different things from each of them.

Also, I have several family members (ranging from my 74 year old mother to my 14 year old daughter) who look to me to take them out and show them how to hunt. They are all willing to do as much work as they can, and I do my best to be patient when I have to pull a greater share of the weight, as it were.

If given the choice, I would usually choose to go alone, or with one other person. Trying to organize a group of 4 or 5 when they are all looking at me for answers can be a bit much.
 
I bought a large acreage for deer hunting and I hunt alone. I tried having a couple guys come out and hunt with me years ago and it just didn't work out well, one guy couldn't sit in his stand for more than 15 minutes and then would walk around all my trails smoking a cigar. A few other guys didn't get enough shooting and didn't want to put in the time and moved on to greener pastures.

I am not anti social and if I ever find a compatible hunting partner they will always be welcome. Every fall I get phone calls from hunters that want to hunt on my property and I always tell them call me back in May/June and come to the property and help make/maintain the trails and other jobs that need doing and not once has anyone ever called back.

I have three or four tree stands and many ground blinds around the property so when I get tired of sitting I can stretch my legs and move to another set up. I hang bird feeders so I can watch the birds, squirrels, hares and grouse while I wait for deer. I don't shoot many deer anymore haven't shot one in four or five years, I am satisfied just to see deer now, I would probably take a nice big buck tough.

I have a friend up the street and we walk trails for grouse a couple times a season and we both really enjoy having a good conversation while we walk. My son also likes to hunt grouse but he is quite busy in the fall time going to university so he only gets out with me once or twice. But overall most of my hunting is solo, I like the solitude, it is great for thinking and doing everything by yourself builds good character, resourcefulness and gives a man a good sense of pride.
 
Good thread with interesting perspectives and some common themes.

I notice one common issue of, “young guys aren’t as safe/dedicated/skilled” and are therefore an irritating burden and best left behind. I’m one of the “young guys” at 30 years old, have been hunting fewer than two years, and am the first person in my family to do so. I am very thankful for the older or more experienced individuals willing to take me on hunts and teach me.

I fully support the safety aspect and would never dismiss that concern. No point getting hurt due to stupidity (muzzle control/alcohol/etc).

Skills and dedication, however, are a different proposition. Skills are learned. If people with experience take the easy way out and go solo or only with their small circle, expect unskilled buffoonery to enter the community as people try to teach themselves. No doubt, the critical skills can be learned solo, but trial and error is time consuming, messy, and will never teach etiquette.

Dedication is another matter and is based heavily in perception. The retired guy who uses hunting to fill the time is in a very different position than the full-time employed family-man with children who has to make the time to hunt. If the kids are too young to go with the available time is even less. I guess my point is time spent doing an activity does not directly correlate to dedication.

I aspire to have the skills and confidence to hunt solo. Until I reach that point I’ll continue harassing you old crusty experienced folks to bring me out and teach me a thing or twenty. One of my neighbors agreed to bring me out for my first go at deer this fall; I’m sure it will be a good learning experience for me and an exercise in patience for him. I’m grateful he’s willing.
 
I hunt alone. Mainly because i like being alone and reflecting ... Its my time to relax. if i get a deer that's too big to haul out i just cut it in half and drag it out half at a time. Last year i took longer then I should have when field dressing the deer and the coyotes were screeching all around me. It was creepy but i didn't physically see any of them.

Even when I do hunt with my buddy or even my father were in different spots all together. Miles apart. Communicating through text messages.
 
I am hunting alone simply because I do not know anyone else that has an interest... It would be nice to have at least one other person along to share the experiences... but it is kind of tough finding people with a genuine interest that have all the safety, punctuality and good attitude boxes ticked...
 
I love hunting alone. My father is long gone, and I frankly haven't found anyone with which to hunt who hasn't managed to ruin the experience for me. I've taken out several newbies over the years, hoping to find one who actually wanted to hunt; no such luck yet.

My last such experience ended with the lad spending an hour on hands and knees in a beaver pasture, looking for the cell phone which somehow flew into the grass after it was poked into my face once too often while I tended to his first-ever kill...because it was "too icky" for him to gut it himself...
 
This is a great thread.. I hunt alone for many reasons stated above.. like to be able to walk whatever trail I decide and for how long.. love to be able to stop mid step and only hear the the forest or the game and not the rustle of others footsteps.. I am truly at peace when I'm walking through the Bush solo.. I do on occasion hunt with a few different friends and do enjoy taking my nieces and nephews out as well.. I am soon to become a father and really enjoy the thought of being able to pass love for the outdoors, hunting, fishing on to another generation.. I do agree with TT1900 that the old guys shouldn't snuff us young bucks off so quickly... my father passed while I was very young and would have loved to learn a lot more from him but i never got that chance, I have learned alot on my own but am still waiting for the opportunity to be able to go out for a some big game with the older generation to show me the ropes the way it was passed down to them... one last note... "the road to tinkhamtown" was a great read...
 
Last edited:
What a great thread! Too many people have forgotten, or experienced, what Mother Nature really has to offer with just a walk in the woods.
 
Last edited:
The only steady hunting partner I had was my father. He died almost 6 years ago. A few months ago I moved to a different province and I don't even have a hunting license now.
I guess I should get off my ass and figure out what I want to do.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom