Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Dealing with Hunting Partners

I'll will take an over planner, gear nut, detail freak over the opposite ANY DAY! Not too long ago I went on a hunt with a person that was the extreme opposite of all I just mentioned. As hunts go it was a complete and total disaster. I hope to never find myself in this type of situation again.

Yup ... now that the veil of secrecy has been lifted (we know the game/destination), it's even more important to defer to local knowledge/experience.

When you are after dangerous game, in unfamiliar, steep/unforgiving terrain, where weather may lock you in/out and re-supply or emergency Help is far away (or unreachable) ... The right-technology and "Experience" rules !

... S.B.

Someone tell the Fat-Lady ... she's on in 5 minutes.

I try to be a good hunting companion. I try to get along with everyone up to the point of safety issues. That is the only area where I will but the brakes on a hunt. If a person won't be safe, the hunt is over, as far as I am concerned.

It's a blessing to find a few hunting buddies who like to hunt and camp the same style as I do. I take good care of them. I have hunted with a lot of guys only once. If I don't enjoy your company in hunting camp I don't hunt with you again.

You never really know a person until you have been hunting or fishing with them.

This is why I never miss Survivor.

Were that my wallet and you pulled such a pig-headed stunt, you and I would have permanently parted company at that very moment in time.

Birdwatcher

I have had problems in the past as well. What I think causes most of my problems is that I do not like to hunt with more than one person a trip. Another problem is when friends of your hunting buddy want to invite themselves along to go hunting with you, I do not go for this. My friend that I hunt with now is great, he flat tells them no. That is what is great now, I do not have to worry about my hunting partner taking care of his end of the hunt.
In the past I have been out hunting with a few morons that complety ruined a hunt.

Ron T- I would have made the same choice. If I'm going on a once in a lifetime hunt, the last thing I want to do is go shack up with some hooker. I hate hearing about these stories, dang it, I go to hunt! I couldn't care less about carousing and the crap that goes with it. My brother tends to head for the strip joints when we're up at camp. He goes alone. I'd rather go visit with the neighbors, and wake up with a clear head, ready to hunt hard. As for my gear, cripe, I've been accumulating junk for 20 years. I don't need anyone to tell me what to bring. I can figure that out all on my own. Most times, if anything, I'm loaning stuff to the other guys, not the other way around. We used to make a big production out of putting together this plan for cooking the meals etc., etc., etc. We've hunted together so long now, everybody just shows up. We haven't gone hungry yet, although sometimes we do end up with 3 bottles of mustard in the fridge and no salt on the table. Big friggin' deal! I just can't get too wound up about overthinking this stuff. It ain't rocket science. Heck, I go to camp to get away from "to do lists" and the such. Some guys just can't stand the thought of being totally organized to the nth degree. These guys need to loosen up a little and just enjoy the hunt.

Jim� (Buckaneer )

Yeah... it was a sad commentary on the questionable ethics of what should have been VERY ethical men (attorneys in the 1960�s). And all these men had excellent law practices and fine, very attractive wives too. It wasn�t as if their wives were ugly or unattractive. Why they felt the need to frequent whorehouses to �cap off� the hunting trip was beyond my comprehension� both then and now.

Jim (the �leader� of the group who invited me on the elk hunt and the man with whom I had become �friends�) and his close friend, Ted, a successful attorney who was one of the three men going on the elk hunt both ended up divorced years later (small wonder, eh?)� their practices went to pieces as did their lives.

It was very sad. I think Jim got into drugs� not sure of that, but that is what stuck in my mind at the time (20 years ago)� and I heard through my brother-in-law (a municipal court judge) that Ted got himself in trouble with the State Bar�s Ethics Committee and might have been disbarred (not sure now� that was a long time ago as well).

At this point-in-time, I haven�t seen nor heard anything about either of these men in a good many years� I assume they�re both �deceased� by now. I never really knew the third man� I only met him the night of the pre-hunt meeting and have no idea what ever became of him.

Yes, Jim� I agree� when I go to hunting camp, I stop being concerned about the �little things�. In truth, I stop being concerned about the BIG THINGS too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

My ONLY concern is to relax and THOROUGLY enjoy myself and �get along� with everyone if it�s at all possible (and it usually is).

I�m looking forward to meeting you & your son this Buck Season in Pennsylvania. We�ll have to make some �arrangements� as soon as I question my bestest hunting buddy and ask him the name of that restaurant (if he remembers it) that I told you we switched to after our group got disgusted with the new management at the Medix Hotel�s restaurant. My thought is that we�d be best served to meet at a known landmark in Penfield at a specific time, then �convey� out to this new restaurant I told you about. But we have plenty of time to work out the details.


Strength & Honor�

Ron T.

After my first batch of hunting buddies died off, I was left fishing around for a number of years trying to find new companionship. This all reminds me of a few of those attempts.

In the first case, I wound up with a guy who thought going deer hunting was just a code word for getting out from the wives and drinking our way through titty bars. He had the patter and the gear down pat, but once he got on the road, he was surprised that I really intended to go deer hunting. We camped out on a Friday night after we got to the hunting grounds, and actually got out and did some scouting. However, the weather turned bad, and he lit off for a motel. We met back up the day we were supposed to head back. He'd been catting around in bars in SE Ohio in the interim.

The second case was a young man about 5 years my junior. I'd been set up with him by his wife, a co-worker of mine. We had good bowhunts together all through that Fall. However, I always noticed the same woman, a local realtor, waiting for him whenever we came out and grabbed a late breakfast. Sometimes it was at the diner. Sometimes it was at the Dairy Queen. You just never knew where we were going to run into her. As I was later to find out, I'd been the alibi. Yes, I did go hunting with him. Yes, he was with me the whole time. It all lasted until gun season started, and then we all drifted apart. My co-worker threw him out before New Years.

Lastly, I was befriended by a couple. Again, this was a female co-worker and her husband. I had a wonderful time hunting with both of them. I was going out 2-3 times a week to hunt. They usually fixed me a meal when I came out. Their place was beautiful and well situated with deer and turkey. At the end of the season, we had a big feast at our house and my wife and I really enjoyed their company. Two lessons were learned by my friends:

1) Do not plot to sell your weekend retreat to one of your co-workers at triple what you paid for it two years ago, after letting it slip how cheap you got it in the first place.

2) There is no good sure-fire way to bring up the subject of wife swapping to your hunting buddy and his wife. I don't care how good the venison was, or how fine the scotch. This just isn't a good idea. I guess they just got overcome with the occasion, and decided to pop the question.

In the space of an evening, I'd had to turn down both their polite offers. That was more than the relationship could bear. Oh well. To make matters worse, my wife was a jealous sort, and was highly suspect of any further hunting trips out to their place. That was okay. They sold the place at a modest profit in a few months and left town to go back East.

It's still one of my favorite practical jokes. The next time you and your wife have a couple over for dinner, wait until dessert is served and then clear your throat, look pensive, and announce "You know, there really is no good way to bring up the subject of wife swapping at a time like this . . ." It's a guaranteed hit.

On a sad note, I showed up one year as a guest at another friend's deer camp with my small flask of scotch and was told rather abruptly that it was a "dry camp." I'm all for moderation, and I'd never mix alcohol and gunpowder. Still, quite frankly I'm not up for sitting on a log at the campfire unless there's something in my cup to ease my achy back after a long-day's drive-- at least until the ibuprofen kicks in.

Hint: You know there's trouble brewing when a complete stranger walks over to you and asks to sniff what's in your coffee mug, and then announces "This smells like Al-co-hol!!!"

I already had one poured before I found out. Ooops! Sorry guys. It didn't help that I tried to recover from the gaff by shrugging it off and volunteering to ride into town to pick up a case of whatever to solve the problem. Wow! Talk about a bunch of guys who couldn't take a joke. I guess it was a tribute to my winning personality that I got invited back the next year.


. . . oh, and if you're looking for that special way to start off the hunt, make sure you announce to your new-found hunting buddy that you can't wait to find out what kinda women they have in the bars where you're going. Let me tell you, it's a surefire winner.

Great thread!

Shaman - Have you tried, "Good God, Man - have you seen my wife????!" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> (I'd not tell the wife about this response, by the way).

You have more guts than I do when it comes to practical jokes!

My partner is a dink. I seem to control the hunt. For the first couple years, this was OK, as his prior hunting experience largely consisted of riding around on 4-wheelers and looking for something to shoot. And he had an unhealthy and unfounded mentality, bordering on fear, of bears, which meant I pretty much had him in my hip pocket all the time. After 7 or 8 years, he is beginning to contribute a bit more to the planning, and to be more assertive - he now has the background (and he'll now sleep in a solo camp). I'm really not a take-charge Type A personality. I make a pretty good follower on someone else's sand dune, assuming they ain't a total idgit.
Basically, I'm happiest as a loner.

We now both drive out to the jumping-off point, as different leaving-times caused some strain the first few years. And we hunt mostly in adjacent areas- a half mile or so apart, for the most part.

But it still drives me nuts when I or we roll into camp after dark, and he spends the next hour cooking supper (I eat an hour or two before dark), and then re-organizes his pack with much rustling for the next day when I'm trying to sleep (immediately after rolling into camp) A few hours later, an hour before daylight (nights are a bit short here in the Northland!), he is up "organizing" the same pack as he did 5 - 7 hours before, and wasting another hour of my sleep! Like I said, he dinks. Hard to find a better man tho, even if he is a practising Christian. He's pretty close to getting it right, too.

Me? I'm practically perfect.

Besides, Dean's the only guy that's ever come back to hunt with me more than one year. Go figure. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> Probably that Christian stuff.

I always forget something, despite my list. Minor - can do without or work around. Usually.

There was that time, tho, that, 15 miles from home, I had to turn around and go home for the rifle.....fortunately a solo hunt. And that time Dean shot my scouted bull out of my personal stand site just at dark, as I was closing in fast after having gone home for my rifle bolt.... ( apparently this Christian stuff only stretches so far - thank goodness.)

Mere trifles, I assure you. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> And I NEVER take booze hunting with me.

Which isn't to say I won't drink it if someone else buys and carries it.

A man has to have principals, after all.

One, anyway.

I was lucky enough to have raised three hunting partners! My three sons are all into it, and in fact, I didn't do as much hunting when they were rugrats as I do now that they are grown.

I have hunted together and separately with all of them at various times. And since they've known me all my life, they accept me for what I am! Of course I know most of their quirks too.

With two of them, I'm going varmint hunting in Montana next month, and to Wyoming for deer and antelope in October! I'll pig hunt here in the PRK from time to time with one or the other as they and I have time.

When I was a young adult I put together a tent camp that would make the average outfitter envious. I had a good truck and a couple of places to go that were decent hunting.I didn't then, and don't now, believe that a hunting trip had to be an excersize in Seal survival training.
I thought it was good to introduce others to hunting, which brings us to the subject at hand.

Free Loaders:
These are the guys who make a decent wage, live well, and appear to be nice people. They own a rifle and a fishing pole and a sleeping bag. They are happy to go with you, as long as you supply every thing and do all the planning. They sometimes even chip in for gas. There is no effing way they will ever get an outfit of their own.
One individual, a small time contractor, couldn't leave town before 10:00 AM for an eight hour drive to camp, because he had "important meetings with county inspectors". I found out later that the "meetings" were just morning coffee so he could kiss up.
Another guy was a co-worker who was great on the job and is still a friend. Showed up for our trip wearing what he was bringing with his pockets full of carrots and granola and a small brown bag of quarters. He actually examined every quarter before he would spend it.
Another co -worker proffessed to be a hunter, and became aware that I was planning a hunting trip. He had been with me before and felt comfortable in asking if he could go along. I said sure, come along. He asked when we were leaving and I told him Saturday at 0600. He said " Jeez, I really want to go
but I cant leave until Monday morning" I said we would work it out and got the OK from the others. We gave up a couple of days vacation and missed opening day. Sunday evening he calls and says he changed his mind and wasn't going.
One of the most pleasant trips I had was with a nieghbor who was in his late 60's. He became aware that I was going hunting and said he wished he could go but was unemployed at the time and had taken in a family that he was supporting and just didn't have any money. I thought about it for about three seconds and told him to get his stuff together cause he was going. He said " really", and I said "yes, get your ass in gear". He ran home and was back in about 10 min. lugging two jerry cans of gas, He dropped them and ran back, returning in a few minutes with an apple box full of home canned meat and vegitables. When we arrived at our destination he helped set up camp and told the rest of us to gather wood and fetch water while he set up the kitchen. He insisted on doing all the cooking, and had lunches made and breakfast ready when we woke up every morning, and hunted just as hard as the rest of us
He is long since gone, but I often tear up just thinking about what a true gentleman he was and how priveledged I am to have known him.

Thanks for that post, UncleRupe.