Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting How many here hunt Elk by themselves?

Looks like I will be chasing Elk in Gunnison by myself this year in a couple of weeks. For this reason or that none of the hunting buddies will be able to make it this year. Times are tough and getting tougher.

I always hunt by myself. Every time I have someone come along I end up regretting it due to people being late, moody, lazy or whatever. Much easier to do things solo.

Getting elk out solo sucks, but worth it.

i hunt alone, but camp with the same buddy for the last 12 years. one helps the other hump out his elk. my bud likes to cook, so i let him. whoever kills first becomes permanent cook. archery elk in colorado.

Solo here, too..

I'm comfortable with myself as company, and get along with myself for the most part.

Don't ignore the importance of this.

Count me in. Best part about hunting solo is doing exactly what you want, when you want to.

More than 50% ot the time.I did the entire ML season myself , just finished a short ML deer season, and I leave next week for another elk rifle season.

When out, I see a lot of guys by themselves.

Daypacker. What season you hunting? I am hunintg 2nd season. area 54, and will be camped at Swampy Pass Trail head

Solo here this year as well.

Have done it a couple times over the last 29 years.

I prefer to have a good hunting partner but they can be hard to find. Can't complain too much but there have been some that never got invited back a second year. This year Daughter #2 and son-in-law will join me for a couple days and my long time hunting buddy, who hasn't made it since becoming a father three years ago, will join me for the week. It will be good to have him back even though he is physically limited in what he can do by his diabetes.

I'd rather hunt with friends than alone even if it means no meat comes home with us - the hunt has always been more of a social thing for me and I've always measured the "success" of a hunt more by the overall experience than by whether or not I get an animal - meat in the cooler is just a bonus.

Always. Prefer solo.

Used to go it alone, but mostly out of respect for my wife's feelings about it, bless her heart, I don't anymore.

It is difficult to find good hunting friends, but never let that stop me. It is what you make of it personally what counts. A bad day elk hunting is better than a day at home wishing you were hunting.

Spot on. That's my situation exactly.

I have done most task and my hunts alone. But that has been changing.

Ride out to set up a drop-camp with a couple wall tents is a good challenge for one person in a day.

There is a certain freedom hunting alone, every risk seems easier because it does not involve anyone else. I have had visions of some hunter finding my moss covered skull-bone at the bottom of some rock-slide thinking he had found some prehistoric idiot that should have known better about rock-slides.

I do lose a lot more weight hunting alone. And tend to leave earlier and return later.

I normally hunt elk with others but doing it solo this year. Going somewhere south of Silt for 1st rifle season. Heading out Wed for two days of scouting - did a quick prelim trip a week ago. Truck with topper will be base camp.

I hunt mostly on my own,now and again family.I have kids that are my 85% hunting partners.They are all on the bubble of becoming hunters themselves.My daughter hunted last year,my boys are 11 and will next year with my youngest 2 years out.So years of solo are out and it's goind to be a family affair.
BBJ

My Dad (1922 - 2004) and I hunted together for many years. But after age 75, his heart gave him problems at higher elevations. I hunted alone a few times but getting the animal out of the forest is a two man job, in my opinion. My son and I used to hunt together in Crook County, Wyoming when we lived in South Dakota. But now he lives in Virginia and we're in Pennsylvania with different schedules. I haven't hunted elk since 2002.

This photo was taken in Black Hills Nat'l Forest of western South Dakota during off season. I was exploring public lands near the Wyoming line.

Sherwood

DayPacker:

I guess it depends on how you define hunting alone. I like some company in camp but I hunt by myself.

KC

Camp company is enjoyable. As far as looking for an elk to shoot I usually hunt alone.

I usually camp with others but hunt alone. This year, I was planning a solo backpack hunt. I told my buddy I was going and he found a way to join me. It worked out great and we actually hunted together several days with one calling behind the other. I'm not sure how I would have done alone. He was mush better at following the game trail back to camp after dark.

Slammer, PM inbound.

My biggest problem, the wife worries.

Almost always, unless my son is able to go.