How did you all meet your hunting buddies?

alfie318

alfie318

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I'm 23, live in the GTA, and unfortunately my friends have only displayed that cursory interest in hunting that most dudes have whenever it gets brought up, but nothing more. I'm probably not going to pester them about it. I'm attracted to hunting because I basically have no practical skills outside of computer hardware related things, and I'm also looking for an excuse to get out into nature. Being outside and in nature has always made me feel good when I bothered to go out into it, and I realize I have a great appreciation for clean air having lived next to train tracks most my life. I also want to improve my cooking skills and hunting seems like a good opportunity to do that. I just finished my OHEC and am probably going to pursue a PAL because hunting with a rifle or shotgun seems the most appealing to me. Given that I'm not dumb enough to grab some tags and run out into the woods, I'll probably look towards some outfitters or some other sort of guided hunt to get the hang of it. Beyond that though, I'm not fond of the idea of just paying for an outfitter every time, and I like the idea of having a group of people that goes out hunting on occasion. Ultimately if it comes down to it, I'll probably just go out alone after getting the hang of it through paying, but it just doesn't seem like the ideal situation.

How did you all end up meeting your group of hunting buddies? Were you raised into that culture, or maybe you and a group of your friends just decided to pursue it? I've thought about maybe attending in-person events in something like OFHA and rolling the dice, as well as looking places online where people might be looking for hunting partners themselves, but as it stands it seems like I'm SOOL. Some advice on where to look would be appreciated, thanks.
 
Met some at school, through other friends, at my range, on here & even met one at the local dog park.

Ya just never know!
 
I was raised in hunting culture but when my father passed away, I lost my only hunting partner. None of my long time friends have any interest in hunting and I can’t remember the last time I even got out fishing with any of them. I met some fantastic individuals about half a dozen years ago through CGN whom I consider my dearest friends. Its special when you find those like minded people to share this great lifestyle with
 
I started as a kid skinning muskrats, beaver and coyotes. I really can’t remember how I learned to field dress an animal but I shot my first deer at 14 and first moose at 16. It is sure nice to have some one to hold a leg when gutting a moose.
 
One was my journeyman when I started electrical. The other is a guy a sold some archery stuff to on kijiji. We were both looking for someone to hunt elk with archery with and have went a few times. Good friends now.
 
I've had several hunting partners that have come and gone for various reasons from health to growing incompatible. The current people I hunt with are mostly people I helped to train their dogs , one fellow from where I used to work, one whose daughter I coached and another that my wife taught in an obedience class. All but one I've known for 20+ years.
 
The two I hunt with every year I’ve know for years when I still lived in a big city, one hunted before I got into it the other I’ve showed the ropes. Have been shooting at the same range with one for years and the other have had a few mutual interests prior to him getting into shooting and hunting.

Don’t discount just going out solo and learning on your own, after years of trying and failing to get out with some other friends to learn the ropes I just went out and did it. Read a lot and watched a lot of YouTube about field dressing, my old man was a chef and did a fair amount of butchering so it wasn’t all that hard to wrap my head around. I grew up fishing and camping as a kid so spending time outdoors wasn’t anything new, nice to get back to it.

The idea of an outfitter doesn’t appeal to me, maybe if I was after a specific experience or animal I’d consider it. You’ll ultimately learn the most by doing your homework and getting your boots on the ground, my first year I shot a handful of grouse but deer were ghosts. The second season I cut two deer tags, every year since has been better and better. Once you start to understand animal behaviour you really have things start to click, spend as much time in the bush as you can. It will pay off down the road.
 
I didnt really grow up with hunting in my life. A few of my uncles hunted when i was a kid but they never took me, i would go on fishing trips with them though. then in my late 20's (10 years ago) i bought my house in rural NS and got my PAL. a few people at work hunted deer every year so i talked to them about it but never hunted with any of them as they mostly hunted their back yards at their deer stands.

so i have no one to hunt with but lots of people to talk about hunting too, then i moved to BC and have no one here to hunt with. so i take my daughter (12) or my son (7) or i go by myself.

but i make the best of it. my daughter did a 11 day fly in goat hunt with me in '22 and we also got a few black tailed deer.

this year i have 2 bear tags i plan to use with my son if i can get off this island for a few days
 
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Met a guy at the range and started talking. Ran into him again at a gun show and agreed to go hunting together. Did a few times, and were successful on occasion, but in the end we didn't really connect. He wanted to make every aspect a competition. Meanwhile he introduced me to another guy, who introduced me to his two friends and they were my core buddies for years, though one is now deceased and another seriously ill.

Met another good friend right here on CGN. We initially were discussing moose hunting and realized we had been hunting in the same area, then talking about deer hunting realized we had each been hunting the same area for 30 years and agreed to coordinate our trips to the area.

Up on the Island, my dad introduced me to the secretary of the Fish and Game club, who was also the PAL and CORE instructor. He helped me get a Vancouver Island bull elk and numerous black bears when I used to go up to visit my parents when they were still alive.

By the way, I live in Vancouver and there are three of us on this block who hunt. I chat hunting with them, but we've never talked about going together. They have their own groups.
 
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Hunted with a high school buddy on and off for a few years until he moved away. In 1991 a fellow manager at work started talking about pheasant hunting one day and we went out on a hunt the next weekend. We've been hunting together ever since. (BTW, we both were in the computer industry.)

10 years ago, at a completely different employer, I met a new immigrant who needed a lot of help with business correspondence and cultural subtleties. He couldn't believe his ears when he heard that mere mortals can own firearms in Canada and go out hunting. With a little coaching, he got his RPAL, Wildlife Certificate, and hunting licences. He has evolved into a capable and responsible partner for occasional hunts. He has also injected some youthful enthusiasm into a couple of aging die hards.

Your (the OP's) appreciation for fresh air, natural environments, and the survival arts will serve you well in life. Most of my old friends who weren't into outdoor sports are either already dead, or in sad shape. My hunting buddy and people we know with similar interests are going out hunting more than ever, now that we're retired.

Talk to people about your interest in hunting. People who share your interest will self-identify very quickly. Not everyone makes a good hunting partner. Personally, I steer clear of those who can't master muzzle control, or like to blast away at trees, posts, and pretty much everything. One should never kill that which you're not prepared to eat!

Your approach to gaining experience through mentors and guides is a good one. You may even meet someone who is at the same stage and looking for many of the same things. Or, you may be the young hunter who makes hunting fun again for an old guy who lost his partner.
 
Whats a hunting buddy. I did hunt with outlaws only so I wasn't alone but have you ever hunted with a crew that out of 12 deer we got one year 8 got shot in the ass and they figured it was get shooting. Or a guy who shoots at anything with horns even thou mule deer is a draw and he only has WT tags. I found myself was better most time even with a bull elk I got it out myself.
 
One was a friend of my dad's, we would go fishing until my dad passed away when I was 16. I started working at the local hospital where my dad worked and a few guys we would fish with. A few of us started hunting together after my dad passed away, my dad didn't want me to get involved with guns back then, 100's of guns later LOL.......... we hunted together for a few years until I got a little older and realized how dangerous they were with firearms decided with my wife to buy a hobby farm, I brought him with me to hunt here at my farm. The other, I started sleeping with his daughter, when I hunted elsewhere, married her, and had kids, he hunts with us. They are both retired and I still work, bastards...........LOL
My daughter comes sometimes, if she gets out of bed. My son, Hunter, wants nothing to do with hunting.
Usually just the three of us.
 
This is an interesting and important question with many possible answers. Some of my hunting partners and I go back more than 50 years, closer than most brothers. Many originated from conversations at work that evolved into genuine friendships through conversation and shared activities. Many more came along through active participation in a local Fish & Game Club wherever I lived. This involved committee work, holding office, group activities. These people are all active hunters, fishermen, conservationists and are always willing to mentor new sportsmen. Once you get involved you will meet others from other places through your new partners.
 
It's mostly a problem of where you live. Where I live, a small town in Saskatchewan half the men and a good proportion of the women hunt. I am regularly asked to take new hunters out and mentor them, there is a lot of interest. When my sons and daughter were still in school, more of their classmates hunted than played hockey. There really is such a thing as rural culture, but you have to live in a rural area to appreciate it and participate. Good luck in your search, I hope you find some good hunting buddies. they exist in the big cities, but are a smaller proportion of the population.
 
Adult onset 1st generation Canadian from a "big" western Canadian city.

Mostly guys I worked in the field with who I began fishing with then I took an interest in hunting.

A few guys from university who also studied natural resources, biology etc related disciplines. Again we began by fishing at the breakwater in Victoria with very little success

The learning curve is steep. If I did not move to Northern BC and work in the outdoors and with lots of old FN guys I would probably be totally lost

I wish I knew more " young" guys my age who were willing to do more mountain hunting etc. I've had a few guys I hunted with like this but they were never willing to go as far or long as I wanted and had poor gun safety, bushcraft etc.

I like hunting alone but solo packouts of bigger animals are a bummer and my knees have a lot of miles on them

I know a few but we are all spread around now.

Most of the older guys I learned from are dead or too old to do anything but truck and stand hunt now.
 
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Butcherbill said:
The two I hunt with every year I’ve know for years when I still lived in a big city, one hunted before I got into it the other I’ve showed the ropes. Have been shooting at the same range with one for years and the other have had a few mutual interests prior to him getting into shooting and hunting.

Don’t discount just going out solo and learning on your own, after years of trying and failing to get out with some other friends to learn the ropes I just went out and did it. Read a lot and watched a lot of YouTube about field dressing, my old man was a chef and did a fair amount of butchering so it wasn’t all that hard to wrap my head around. I grew up fishing and camping as a kid so spending time outdoors wasn’t anything new, nice to get back to it.

The idea of an outfitter doesn’t appeal to me, maybe if I was after a specific experience or animal I’d consider it. You’ll ultimately learn the most by doing your homework and getting your boots on the ground, my first year I shot a handful of grouse but deer were ghosts. The second season I cut two deer tags, every year since has been better and better. Once you start to understand animal behaviour you really have things start to click, spend as much time in the bush as you can. It will pay off down the road.
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Yeah, it's not as though I don't intend on going out to hunt my own anyways. I'll probably actively research it on my own more, but I'm also still probably going to at least try with an outfitter first. Thanks for the input.

Interesting stories from the rest as well.
 
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