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

My deer hunt this year ended exactly like last year; I got a nice buck, then damned near killed myself dragging him out on dry, snowless ground...only to wake the next morning to the several inches of fresh snow that I had been waiting and hoping for throughout most of the deer season. My neighbour's son had told me last year after the season, and reinforced the idea before this season, that he would be happy to help me with the retrieval if/when I needed it. That sounded great; hunt alone as I prefer, then have help after the fact... but when the moment actually arrived, it was accompanied by the realization that I needed to admit to myself that I did need help. Stubborn pride stepped in; whaddaya mean I can't do this myself?

I'll bet that of the guys who cash in during the deer drag, there's a significant percentage who just couldn't or wouldn't admit that, maybe to themselves or maybe to the rest of the world. I'm not saying that as any kind of indictment of them, either. The truth is often a bitter pill to swallow.

I've got a personal rule about hunting around the house: there is no shooting at game (varmints/predators not included) from any position that isn't at least 100 yards beyond the edge of my mowed lawn. If I were willing to shoot a doe, I could have ended every hunt since I've lived here within a day or two, right from my back deck. That rule was created by "yesterday's me"; I'm starting to think that "today's me" will have to re-visit and re-consider that rule (along with the whole want-a-buck thing) sooner rather than later. :)
 
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this thread is quite sad though i am in the same boat. hunting is only something to do with family or someone you are very close to. those people unfortunately do not exist in our time, especially with age. alone is still valuable.
 
I hunt alone ( not all the time) because by the time its september, I just want to have some peace and quiet. I work in the social services field, I deal with addictions, mental illness and trauma 5 days a week, hunting allows me to go sit under a tree, have a big ol' dirty man cry, get out all the crap thats buggin' me, watch the sun come up, feel a bit better and try and fill the freezer. Maybe that was too honest of an answer, but I dont give a sh*t....
 
cant_rope_the_wind01 said:
well after a 1/2 a day I came up with her answer
I said honey
you asked why I hunt alone at my age
I told her
I wish I had someone to share some of the finer moments and joys I encounter out there
In my younger days I had three friends I hunted with , for 25 years
then as life would have it , with in a year my friends all passed away , due to accidents at work, cancer or some other illness
I have tried unsuccessfully to find new hunting partners over the years
I have never found what I call true sportsmen, outdoors men type of partners,
oh they all lay claim to be in the beginning
but after a few outings, their true colours come out
some are just guys wanting to shoot and kill something
some are and most of them are lazy,
none of them can appreciate, just being out there,
a beautiful sunrise, a quiet afternoon in the outdoors on a sunny hillside,
they all whine and snot and sniffle ,it costs to much, or its to much work and effort, or they have some kinda ache or pain
they have no heart , or drive , or incentive to educate themselves on hunting regulations, or ethics , of fair play , or the species of wildlife they are hunting for,
some want everything their way, when they cant have it their way every outing they throw a pout, and become want to argue and be miserable and ruin the day for themselves and others around them,
and mostly not one of them know the value of being a true friend or hunting partner
so I told my wife , I appreciate the solitude
the time alone, the time to reflect on life and appreciate all that life has offered me, the time to find me again
the time spent with my dog (who by the way is my best friend and best hunting partner I have ever had)
and if I ever had a heart attack or injured myself and passed away out in the outdoors all alone, don't cry
because I was alone,
that's the way I would rather have it then in some sick bed under a roof
and that's why I hunt alone
and besides life is to short to hunt with #######s
there was more said but in general that was my answer
then that blushing bride of mine looked at me and said
well you put like a dream of some sort , or a story in romance novel,
she said she now understood, and wouldn't bug me to take someone again
I'm adding this because I for got to mention this to my blushing bride
every year now since my grandson was 10 years old
on thanksgiving weekend
my grandson comes out for a goose hunt
we have turned it into an annual ordeal
he is now 19
it has changed from 3 days to 7 days
he is all about hunting, fire arm safety, is not lazy when it comes to setting up, or dressing out the fallen birds
and prefers bird hunting over big game hunting
he has strong ethics and respect for wildlife and nature, that's hard to find in todays youth
and wise beyond his years,
his mother and him are the only two I have hunted with in over 30 years now
and enjoy to spend time with out in the fields or the bush
this year he has asked if he could bring his two cousins, my other two grandsons
both are 14,
I think he is trying to get the other two into the sport
of hunting and has in a round about way picked me as their mentor
which I have no problems with, and look forward to spending some super quality time with my grandsons
as their mothers ( my daughters) are both single and the really don't like hunting
but my 3rd daughter is an avid hunter
and they spend an enormous amount of time with her, in the outdoors
so I'm hoping that maybe this year will change things and I will finally find my hunting group
if ya cant meet good hunting partners then raise them
is my view on it
so I hope you all have a safe, and prosperous season
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Thanks for the words. enjoyed reading them.

I hunt by myself and do it strictly to put meat on the table.. As the leader & man of my family I provide first and foremost. That being said, I love the woods and waters. I don't ever get "buck fever" or anything, just a small excitement that I imagine a predator would get going after prey. I get the shakes after shot and I really enjoy the tracking of the game.

I wish I could spend my life in the woods in a cabin. hunting trapping fishing homesteading, logging and woodworking... like the 1700's and left alone but I do understand the missing of friends. i'm only 34 but I have one or two very good friends that life would feel almost incomplete without. I could talk for a year with them and still miss them the next day.

I think you've found your next calling though. Teaching. Every generation is different of course but you could pass ethics and so forth onward and his friends could end up like you & your friends with wonderful times and memories.

God bless,

Carpenter
 
I hunt alone cos i'm primarily a buck tracker out on the public land. I'm not sure how you'd even do that with a second person. So many complications. Amongst many other issues being the reality that with every additional hunter, your odds of being busted by whatever you are tracking increase significantly. If you could even find another tracker in these parts. It's just not a tradition to track game out here. I know avid hunters out here who simply don't believe a buck can be tracked down. They look at you like you have been sniffing something.

I have seen it written that hunting is primarily about the comraderie, the social experience. Not for me - I find this a puzzling statement in fact. Hunting is for me about the hunt. I'd say the more it is a social experience, the less the quality of the hunting experience. There are a litany of reasons why the best hunting necessitates solitude.
 
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catnthehatt said:
I like to hunt alone at times, and also with a very few other people, but for the most part I hunt alone, mainly because i prefer to.
Cat
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Since 2019 I have contracted some not so fun osteoarthritis and a some other issues that often come with getting older.
I still preferr to hunt upland alone and enjoy hunting over the dogs , but prefer to hunt big game with a friend- who is also getting on in years, or my son.
I'm not as good as I once was, but I'm as good once as I ever was! LOL
Cat
 
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Noisymouse said:
I hunt alone because my friends are on atv's and I want to walk. Its quieter, less expensive, I can get further into the woods. Also I'm a terrible shot and don't want people to see how many shells it takes to down a grouse...
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Gawd, I’m still laff’in.
Buddy’n I were hiking over to the geese puddle and up flies a big blue.
Landed in a tree on a lower branch.
30’?
First shot with the Ol’A-5 3” mag I missed.
Heezs laff’in pewp owtt’iz recktum.
Second shot, dead buzzerd.
One pellet behind the eye.

I just couldn’t imagine hitting hit full on with that round at this distance.
Couple bucks for a fresh chicken izzn’t ahh bad investment.
Saves on the ivory too.
 
While shared memories can be more enjoyable, I refuse to deny myself experiences because I cannot find anyone to go.

In my late 50s and hunt, backcountry canoe trip and motorcycle travel solo 99.9% of the time.

The alternative to not doing these things solo is to not do them.
Not really an option imho.
Very few people will ever understand regardless of how well you explain it.
 
I ve always hunted alone for the most part and have enjoyed it.I remember years ago before hunter orange and bait hunting became popular a good many guys who ended up being shot were shot by their own hunting partner after they separated looking for game.Myself I just enjoy being out in the woods by myself
 
Bangalore said:
While shared memories can be more enjoyable, I refuse to deny myself experiences because I cannot find anyone to go.
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I don't think it's so much a difficulty in finding anyone to go...as it is finding someone with whom to go whose feelings and philosophies regarding hunting align well with your own.

I have plenty of friends and relatives who want to go hunting with me...or at least they think and say they do. When I was younger, I took several of them with me for deer, turkey or bear hunts and quickly realized how easily the experience can be ruined when shared with the wrong person. Now as I get older, I am always aware that my remaining hunts are more limited each year, and thus much more precious to me.

When I hunt, I am serious about it. I don't want to sleep in, or cut the day short in the evening, or skip a day unless weather absolutely forces it. I don't want to get drunk and hung over, I don't want to chat or play cards or tell stories, I don't want to entertain...I want to hunt. I'm not a "brown is down" hunter, I want to enjoy the hunt for as long as possible; it would take a truly spectacular animal to get me to pull the trigger on day one. That old adage about not letting an animal walk on day one if you'd be willing to shoot it on the last day? Utter nonsense, IMHO.

I still love taking younger relatives hunting, but I don't consider I am hunting when I do that; I'm guiding, teaching and mentoring...not personally hunting.

My wife tells me I'm not a good friend. Hmmm...maybe I'm not? Fortunately, a person who feels the same way about hunting as I do is probably no more interested in hunting with me...than I am in asking them. Much better for both of us to continue to enjoy our respective solitudes. For her to make that comment simply shows me that she doesn't "get it".
 
murph83 said:
I hunt alone ( not all the time) because by the time its september, I just want to have some peace and quiet. I work in the social services field, I deal with addictions, mental illness and trauma 5 days a week, hunting allows me to go sit under a tree, have a big ol' dirty man cry, get out all the crap thats buggin' me, watch the sun come up, feel a bit better and try and fill the freezer. Maybe that was too honest of an answer, but I dont give a sh*t....
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We need more in social services like you brother…thank you for doing a job that most can’t.
 
i hunt alone at 46, mainly as the ones i grew up with hunting with, over and over starting leaving me high and dry on planned hunts and such, i stopped talking to them a few years ago, and they never reached out again, ive learned to love the solitude now, i use the time to reset myself, i work in a fairly high stress industry
there are times, ive sat on the edge of a hillside and just watched the clouds go by for the day.
my partner hates it, but she doesnt hunt and has no interest so its just me
 
More and more no just hunting but fishing, exploring, trail cutting, quading... mostly its me and the dog.
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Not that I don't want company but more and more I'm getting too hard to get along with ;) . Guys half my age that can't keep up, can't get up and don't shut up. I do still go with a couple of 80+ year-olds, one is 87, other than being almost deaf, they always get up, always help, can still walk for miles, have grate stories and lots information I can still learn from.
 
I don't always hunt alone, but most of my hunting partners are casual hunters... I can't get any of them to make big trips, so I do them on my own... and when I return, they all suffer from FOMO... "coulda/shoulda/woulda." But didn't.
 
hoytcanon said:
I don't always hunt alone, but most of my hunting partners are casual hunters... I can't get any of them to make big trips,ye so I do them on my own... and when I return, they all suffer from FOMO... "coulda/shoulda/woulda." But didn't.
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So very true.

I had several instances when guys talked a big game and then dropped out when it was time to pull out the wallet. One guy, one of those types who cannot say "No" to overtime under any circumstances, pulled out after I had booked a caribou hunt for the two of us. Fortunately for me, the outfitter in Quebec was good enough to let me use the deposit I had placed for the two of us entirely towards my trip as a single hunter. I was partnered up to share a cabin with a couple of other guys travelling and hunting alone. It all worked out great, we got along wonderfully and we all had a great hunt.

That was the last time I ever bothered to try to get a partner to go on a hunt with me. Every trip I've gone on since then, whether flying or driving, I did solo. I was the best hunting partner I ever had! :)
 
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