hunting alone

The Outsider said:
I prefer to hunt alone, it's easier to keep quiet when still hunting.

Also, for me there's a certain magic to be alone in the wilderness with a rifle and a pack.

Just be careful not to get lost, keep an eye on landmarks, pack water and food, a flashlight, headlamp, matches, compass etc.

I always have extra socks and gloves, and in the odd chance you might run into a big bear, extra underwear might come in handy!

Wear good quality clothes, especially footwear that were previously broken in.

Buy a good quality game cart and keep it in your truck all season.

Start with short trips at first.
and leave detailed instructions where you will be,

Do some internet research before, and you'll be fine.
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This is good advice.

I would also add getting a good pair of binoculars for glassing. Also a good GPS with topo maps and knowing how to use it is the most confidence building piece of equipment you can buy and as far as I'm concerned is a must have - especially if you're new to the sport.

You are wise to avoid hunting with your unsafe friend. The best way to ruin a good friendship is to go hunting with someone who's unsafe. (Trust me on this one)
 
I've hunted on my own since twenty years or more when my partners moved out of touch. Enjoy being by myself immensely and just very carefully pick and choose my hunting areas for ease of access and approach by vehicle... set time you will be home and stick to it unless you can phone your wife otherwise expect to get in sh_t!!!
 
I hunt alone by choice, and on foot. I got fed up with smokers, road hunters and noisy hunting partners. I can account for my own noise and judgement. Also, if I'm camping out, I don't care for late night drinking around the fire. I go to bed early and get up early.

When I put game down and need help, I can always get it. Haven't had to ask so far. Largest critters I've handle alone so far were large black bears. One I had to cut in half to load up, t'other had to be quartered to be carried out. I'm always prepared to either winch or otherwise hoist up a critter if need be.
 
Solo hunting needs specific considerations:
-inform others of your intentions and expected ETA, and your expected route of travel back and forth
-ensure to solo hunt in areas you are totally familiar with
-even if you know the area, map & compass, pedometer, gps, can help you in a pinch
-working cell/cellular service
-pre-plan you routes for less surprizes, if possible
-always bring an energy bar, water, emergency blanket, string, matches/lighter, working small flashlight (or two), knife
-small binos or laser rangefinder with some magnification is nice too
-keep those car/truck keys in a safe zippered pocket
 
rkr said:
my friend is one of those guys who wouldn't clean or test a new gun before going to hunt. I'm very stressed around him as he would point the gun in all directions.
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I don't care if he's Jesus Christ Himself, if he's not safe with his firearms, I wouldn't go hunting or have anything to do with him around guns. There's no halfway. It's black and white.

But like others have said, if you can't find an experienced person to show you the ropes, let others know when and where you are going, stick to a schedule of check in times if possible, and go prepared for everything.
 
popcan said:
I don't care if he's Jesus Christ Himself, if he's not safe with his firearms, I wouldn't go hunting or have anything to do with him around guns. There's no halfway. It's black and white.

But like others have said, if you can't find an experienced person to show you the ropes, let others know when and where you are going, stick to a schedule of check in times if possible, and go prepared for everything.
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^Amen to that!

One intends to bag edible game, and not fill a body bag.
 
ya, got repeat the comments of leave the guy at home LOL

ALL the crappy hunts I've been on have been because of some azzhat that only thought about himself
I consider myself an experienced hunter and so invited a guy along last year that had never hunted away from his home area for deer. He's mid 40's , been around guns and hunting all his life, but never on a hunting trip and never for moose. So we brought him on my invite. TOTAL disaster with him almost shooting me as a moose passed between us in a cut. The bullet hitting maybe 20 feet from me. He brushed it off because he also with the second shot, got the moose..... 2 shots with me in direct line of sight with him , 100 yards between us, moose in the middle..... 308 norma mag
then if couldn't get worse, the solo drinking started because he had his moose down. that was by the end of day 2 of a 7 day hunt. uselss to us for the rest of the trip and will never hunt with us again LOL
do yourself a HUGE favour early in your hunting career and pick your hunting partners as carefully as you choose where to stick your d*ck LOL
 
Nothing wrong with hunting alone and good chance you'll make less noise and be more focused. IMO the best big game hunting is done alone. Upland and waterfowl hunting are social activities, and evenings at the camp after the hunt are more enjoyable with company, but real big game hunting is you alone with nature.
 
The majority of my hunting has been alone and I prefer. We may be in camp together but I usually go my own way unless I have an inexperienced hunter in camp and want to mentor him for a day or 2. Now that i'm into my 7th decade and have artificial knees it's always nice to have help when a moose is down.
Neil
 
hunting alone ..no thank you ..i go hunting with my brother [i don't sit beside him ] while hunting ..we each have a favorite spot . i don't think it is save practice to hunt alone ..we also share the cost ..lodging - gas-food -ect ...we have a lot of good memories of past deer hunts ..my favorite time is snow on the ground dragging out a buck with my kid brother ...we both share our passion ...
 
black powder said:
hunting alone ..no thank you ..i go hunting with my brother [i don't sit beside him ] while hunting ..we each have a favorite spot . i don't think it is save practice to hunt alone ..we also share the cost ..lodging - gas-food -ect ...we have a lot of good memories of past deer hunts ..my favorite time is snow on the ground dragging out a buck with my kid brother ...we both share our passion ...
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Hunting with your brother works for you...........others might have a different opinion. No one is any less right or less wrong here.

But it's really hard to get accidently shot when you have no hunting partner in the immediate vicinity.
 
carverk said:
When I started hunting it was small game nothing like honing skills in the field you would learn lots from just hunting rabbits and squirrels by fall you would be in good shape and have sum added skills
I'm starting a new job up in Cold Lake Alberta and planning a elk hunting this fall so I will head out fishing camping and small game hunting on my days off to learn the area and by fall i will be ready for elk
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You do realize that there are no elk licenses in the Cold Lake area, right. I hope your fishing camp is a 5-6 hour drive away.
I go to the Grand Prairie area.
 
I solo hunt a lot. My old man always said the if you wait for someone to hunt or fish...you will probable end up not getting out... Big game, deer moose caribou, etc...better off having another player with you though
 
I hunt alone a lot just because my wife let's me and some of my hunting buddies don't have the same freedom. I also like my own schedule.

If it's your first season consider maybe hunting some rabbits or other small game to get dressing experience. While smaller the insides are the same. I would also suggest watching as many videos as you can of how to dress a deer.

I always communicate which stands I will be on and usually don't move around or stock. A friend of my broke his back in a climber stand and wasn't found for 24hrs so that sits with me.

Consider what watches and stands you want to use. Make sure that where you shoot an animal and around it is accessible and easier to recover an animal by yourself. I have one watch by a swamp and shot deer head for it. If I'm in company I don't mind but not something I want to do myself.

Good luck lad.
 
I hunt alone but I stick to my planned route and I share it with my wife and leave a map on my truck.

If I deviate at all from the plan (rarely do) I will find a way to notify my wife before I do.
 
Prefer to hunt alone, always have. Carry a radio-telephone (no cell service here) to keep in touch. A solo hunting friend of mine use "SPOT" and when he is in my area I keep track of him. Neat system. Moose hunting is one exception, sure nice to share the labour intensive part after the shot.
 
I like to expand our sport and am winning to take others out. Not always the best course of action.
Lemme give ya a coupla' examples:
Young kid from Sarnia, On gets posted here. Food is fairly expensive, so decides to hunt to feed his family. Noble cause in my opinion. Pretty much a broke Private with a wife and son (his wife used to Baby-sit for mine). So he makes a trade for a rifle and he's all ready to hunt. I looked over his rifle (a no. 1, MkIII) and note it hasn't been cleaned since the 50's and it doesn't have a safety catch, yet he is ready to hunt. So, fix his rifle, teach him to clean it, give him the basics, correct the stuff taught incorrectly on the Hunter Safety Course, and take him out. First animal he takes too long finding the front sight and it walks away. Next animal isn't a buck and he wants a big buck as his first (not in this area). Now he has to get home because he told his wife he would take her for groceries. So, I took him home. Next day I get a call, he had gone back there in his beater 2-wheel drive, gott hung up on a log, and jammed his truck against a tree. Go pull him out. Done now with him. Two years gone, no animal for him since his wife doesn't let him out of the house. She thinks it should be as quick as going to the grocery store. Why should she have to stay home with the three kids while he is out with the boys (apparently, I'm "the boys"). DONE!
Another young guy wanted to learn to hunt. Got him set up, lots of range time after work, every time I went to get him to hunt, he was still drunk and asleep. Apparently, he was a drunk and because we went to the range direct from work, he hadn't started his quart for the night. DONE!
Another guy was the greatest hunter in the world, just ask him. Hunted for years by himself and never got an animal (I didn't know this yet). I took him out, he shoots a Moose (gut shoots a huge cow). My rule, your animal, your gut and shouldn't be a problem for such an experienced hunter as he is, right? Finally get her down, and look at him. He doesn't move. So, I ask, you gonna gut her? "I've never gutted a moose." Me, "Same as a deer". "Well, I've never gutted any animal". So, I call him on his self-expressed great white hunter, take out my knife and start. I get to the pulling out of the organs, get down to the diaphragm and tell him to cut that off around the cavity as I pull it out. He starts slashing around down in there like he's making sushi! Had to stop him, but too late, he had slashed the crap out of the tenderloins and ruined them. No more for him.
me, now, I just like being alone. I know the time will come when I will need to have someone with me, my father does now, but, until then, I'll walk alone.
 
I often hunt alone because if I wait for others it doesn't happen. Commitment is lacking in many who profess interest. Inform your loved ones where and when you will be. Be deliberate about your hiking choices and areas. Use electronics for emergency comms if you can. Dependable hunting partners with sound skills and safety are more difficult to find than a good wife. Don't wait for others to live your life.
 
While I occasionally hunt with another family member, or may take some younger "hunter" for some mentoring, I generally hunt solo.

More than 50% of my successful hunts have been when I was alone. Quieter, "sneakier" and I just love the solitude of the outdoors
without someone interjecting some inane comment.

That being said, I have hunted with some very fine individuals over the past 55+ years, and have learned plenty from some with vast
experience.

Regards, Dave.
 
I'm really lucky in that I've small acreage in the country...on the creek...with absentee owners all around. So they want you to keep an eye out for BS & trouble...go ahead and hunt all you want. So I can hunt right from home, awesome.
Invariably someone invites themselves out, shows up with an Ultra-magnum ( fair amount of houses with reach of a big magnum, and thick-ish bush to compound the problem) and wants to go driving. It's a walk only hunting area...
Just easier alone.
 
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