hunting alone

[Grizzly Adam]

Hunting whitetails alone is rewarding.

Sharing the experience with others is something to be cherished.

That's what I do when I hunt with my brother ... we meet before we go out, and we get together when we come in ... nothing like it.

Sadly, I just don't have anyone much to hunt with here where I live. I used to hunt with some guys, but one quit and the other is a pro now. It's kind of hard to find people to hunt with, 'cause many think hunting is riding around in a truck looking for deer to shoot at, and many others are dog hunters ... and I'm not against the latter ... but if you're not "in", you're not "in" ... if you know what I mean.

So ... mostly, I hunt alone.

But I do love hunting with my brother.

There's nothing like brothers!

[picasso]

I hear you load and clear! I have a couple of friends that always say " yeah, we'll organize a hunting trip", but when I do all the work to set things up, there's always some reason why they cannot go!
Now, I plan and organize my own hunting outings because it seems that I can only rely on myself.
I actually like hunting alone as I can go and do what I want...when I want.

Picasso

[lscha]

Our hunting camp is shared with 2 cousins and a good friend. It consists of a house trailer acquired 25 years ago and is now rather comfortable with a large, solid roof over it. The overhang is extended to protect an area from rain and snow so we can hang around outside any time. Twelve yards from the big trailer is our 5th wheel trailer that I call home during the entire deer season. My little trailer has no running water but the furnace works and I have an electric blanket for the coldest seasons. I am the only woman that hunts in this group and I prefer staying in my 5th wheel even when I am the only one in camp.

The opening of gun season is the only time we are all up there at the same time and it is always a fun time. There are usually about 8 of us hunting opening day. All of us stay in our chosen blinds all day the first day. At dark we help each other retrieve our downed deer, hang ‘em and hose ‘em and congratulate each other with good natured jabs and back-slapping. This is when we tell stories and drink beer.

Traditionally, I cook up some hearts and inner loins for dinner from the days buck pole and we never have left-overs.

The men usually wind down in front of the tv in the big trailer and keep the camaraderie going for a few more hours while I settle in my trailer with my Kindle.

I really enjoy these times but I also love hunting and coming in to an empty camp.

[huntone]

Hunting alone here.

I’ve invited my friends to hunt with me and we have many wonderful memories of our hunts.

One of my friends and I made a movie of our experiences that included sighting in our muzzleloaders,

bows, and rifles. We filmed everything down to the harvesting of our bucks. I will cherish the video

with the memories however, I would much rather be alone when I hunt enjoying the serene quite beauty

of the winter woods and all that God has laid before me and has blessed me with.

[B-Logger]

Most of my 50+ years of hunting I have hunted alone. One of my nicest vacations was a week in the U.P. with no car, I lived in a tent and was all alone. Pure Heaven.

I've never even thought about it being dangerous but I do now carry a 2-way radio when I am home. However, it is used mostly to let the wife know, like yesterday, that I was watching 2 bucks square off! It is handy for after the shot too so she can bring the atv to retrieve the deer. And it is handy for those times when I have to quit because of dark or something else and there are deer all over the place. I simply call her and she comes to get me with the atv.

[Phoenix_Tom]

This topic strikes a chord with me and is very timely. I was thinking of writing something on this exact subject after reading some recent posts / topics.

I grew up hunting alone and only occasionally hunted with family and friends.

That suited me just fine. I tend to not like being around people all the time. I'm not what you'd call gregarious.

I hunted alone as a young man and was seriously into archery hunting - exclusively archery for a long time. I got my best friend into it but he was always too busy with his business to get out much. I got my father into xbow hunting and that was great but he couldn't come out as much or stay as long either. But I'll always cherish the memories of those hunts in the last few years of his life.

Then I met a new neighbour up at the lake and teamed up with him and his brother in law for the bow hunt for several years. That was great but then they quit hunting after some close calls / bad experiences during the rifle hunt.

In '02 I inherited most of my Dad's weapons. That year I got back into rifle / shotgun hunting. Slowly but surely I gathered together a great group of buddies into a great hunt camp but there's still only 2 of us that bow hunt and enjoy the enjoy extended season and have almost the same level of passion for the hunt. Some of the guys love the rifle hunt and the cameraderie and all that but when it's over it's done and forgotten about until next season.

It's taken me a while to realize that not everyone has the same passion for the hunt as I do. I love shooting and I love working on hunting related projects in the off-season. I love working on projects at my camp to make it better not only for the family but for the hunt too. I love making stands. I love tinkering with equipment, arrows, bows, guns etc. I love setting up blinds, stands, feeders, cameras, patterning the deer etc long before the rifle season starts. Most of the other guys just show up for the rifle hunt then go home after a week. Meanwhile I've already been hunting for a month and I'll still be hunting for months after they're gone and I'll tear everything down alone. And I don't mind at all.

Another thing I've realized, beyond the passion, is that not everyone has the drive and the stamina (or these days, maybe finances) to give to more than a couple of days or a week to hunting. It can take a lot out of some people. So while you're feeling betrayed and think they're just not able to commit to a hunt with you it's got nothing to do with you. Maybe they've got nothing left in the tank and are ashamed to admit it. This time of the year brings a lot of people down. Going to sit out in a tree at O dark thirty is the last thing on their minds at this point. We can't take it personally. Just accept it for what it is.

If you truly have the passion to hunt, accept that you will hunt alone. If you long for companionship then enjoy it, if and when you have it, and know that these things come to pass. Cherish those moments, but when they're gone you need to move on to the next treestand.

[wheelie]

Phoenix_Tom very well said

[frisky]

I have bow hunted alone since the 1970's. I have gun hunted uasualy with some one, but this year my myself. Only have to get one deer then come home