I used to spend alot of time hunting alone,the last several years I have always went with family and friends. Last week I went out for a 3 day scouting trip with nobody but the family dog and a saddle and pack horse. I can't remember ever having a better time. Never had to discuss which trail, where to camp, or what's for dinner. Even slept in late one morning and didn't get harangued for it! Maybe I'm getting old but sure enjoyed my own company. I recommend it for anybody who really has a tight spring!
Leif

I usually hunt alone because I have to.
My time schedule(Work and very active daughter) make planning anything other than a vacation difficult. When I go hunting it is usally on a day or two notice, after work or the coming weekend.

I enjoy my time and don't worry about someone else getting ...
tired, bug bit, hot, cold .........

Besides it it very relaxing for me to watch nature at work.

Greg

I've had some great adventures alone. Probably a 1/4 of my hunts have been alone due to family and hunting friends scattered around.

But there are two big things wrong with the practice.

1. No matter how much fun I had...it would have been better if I could have shared it with someone.
2. There is always the risk of injury when we are out alone. It could become deadly without someone's help. IMHO

I might add that the reason I've done so much alone is because I'm picky as hell about who I go WITH. I won't go with someone just to have a warm body along. I ONLY go hunting with people of like mind, attitudes, values and compatible personalities. In other words, leave the Todd E.'s at home.

[ 07-12-2002, 18:05: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

I used to spend a lot of time hunting alone or with a GOOD friend. When my boys got to be about 10 or so they joined in and it now seems to unthinkable to do any hunting without them. I hope as they get older this situation continues.

Pecos45,
Here, here to what you said about being picky as hell about who you go hunting with! I am too. Consequently, I hunt alone most of the time and I enjoy it heartily. There are times when it would have been nice to have a hunting partner there to share with, but there have been many more times when I have left early just to get away from the idiots in camp. I don't mind if someone wants to have a drink or four in the evening but that nonsense of staying up until 3 in the morning drinking whiskey, eating jalapenos and generally making onesself too sick to hunt--not to mention too drunk--is not for me! Nor is unethical blasting at anything that moves regardless of range or gender. I go to enjoy the peace and quiet; therefore, I usually go alone.
Good Hunting,

Most of my hunting over the years has been alone. Like several of you, I am picky about who I hunt with and I have moved around so I have not had a chance to find that right person. Wife is highly alergic to Poison Ivy/Oak, so she stay's out of the woods and my son lives to far away. Besides, most people don't like the long walks, the work to find a good place to hunt or they don't want to hunt with this nut who uses a muzzle loader.....O'well, I enjoy it but the safety part does bother me....

I love to hunt alone; just me and the game. Being over 50 it's probably not the best idea, in case of health issues, but I still love it. I've had some good hunts with friends, but I've had some lousy experiences with:

1) Drunks - Luckily they generally end up in bed sleeping off their hangovers mostly and don't spend much time on the mountain.

2) Self-Professed Experts - There are a ton of them out there. The best (worst) I was around was an ex-FBI man who insisted on organizing everyone's actions on a mule deer hunt, although he was a poor hunter. My brother-in-law asked me to humor him. On the second morning, me (18) told him (about 45) to f*** Off. I had my buck by sundown, and it was the only buck taken on the hunt.
3) Poachers - I've invited people to join me on hunts only to have them kill over their limit or does when it was buck-only, and hens when it was cocks-only.
4) Health Problems - One man had severe tunnel vision. His field of vision was severely limited, but he was up on the mountain with a 30.06. We found that outside thirty yards he couldn't tell a man from a mule deer.
5) Poor Gun Handlers & Other Unsafe Acts - One man had never loaded or fired a deer rifle before including the one he asked me to load for him. He had never heard of a safety. Another man fired his weapon accidently, in the dark, as we got out of the truck, another shot out the window as he was taking his gun out of the truck, and lastly one man shot a hole in his motel room ceiling accidentally.

I've also had people look through their scopes at me and then wave.

Who needs this shit?

When you have a hunting buddy that is in-sync with your hunting style it's great, otherwise show me where the game is supposed to be, then get out of my way.

I can't stand stupid and ignorant hunters, nor would I be happy about even being in the same area as one.

I think hunting alone and with someone good are the best ways to go hunting. There are, however, several points that should be expressed about both, safety wise that is.

People really need to be careful about walking around with someone who has a loaded gun. It doesnt even matter if they are the most safe person in the world, one small stumble could cause the guy to shoot you in the head or something crazy.

Alone, there isnt a sure fire way to get ahold of someone. I know of people who take cell phones with them, but that doesnt mean they cant get lost or suddenly look down and see its out of juice, ect. Always tell someone responsible when you'll be back and to do something if you dont...

I've never had a problem hunting with MY hand picked friends...although I usually kept the number to ONE. It's easier to be careful with just one other person than half a dozen.

The only bad experience I've had hunting with people was when a fellow I was hunting with decided to invite one of HIS buddies along. That fool ended up spraying bullets all over us and if it hadn't been for my friend I would have decked the SOB.

Its heartening to see that Im not the only one who goes out on the lonesome limb in order to enjoy the hunt more. In my early years of hunting I enjoyed a group of a couple cousins and uncles who were all very ethical and responsible and very plesant to hunt with, but even then I was always the one who strolled off on my own because I was there to hunt. And it seemed like a lot of times the rest of the guys were just happy to be there. So consequently Ive become used to hunting on my own and in fact I prefer it, but the saftey factor is a concern and becomes moreso with age, especially in the real remote areas.

I think a cell phone is a great saftey tool for lone hunters but they dont do much good if you cant get service due to hills etc.

Well, since all us "lonesome hunters" have raised the safety issue of hunting alone...there are a lot of things we can do besides betting our lives on a stupid cell phone.
1. We can go WHERE we tell someone we are going.
2. We can tell them WHEN we will be back and WHEN to hit the panic button if we are not.
3. We can pack a bit of survival sort of things like food/water/compass/signal mirror/shovel for digging out a stuck tire/FixAFlat for the unexpected flat. Maybe some blankets or such if you live in a cold area.

I hesitate to mention snakebite kit as current medical thinking is these often do more harm than good.

Anyway, just think through the things you think could happen to YOU in your area and take some preparations for it. That done, probably all of us can hunt by ourselves with a little more enjoyment.

OH, be sure you've got an extra set of keys to your vehicle. It's always the STUPID little things that sneak up and bite us.

But I agree, there IS a special enjoyment for the SERIOUS hunter and nature nut to be out hunting alone. I've done a lot of it and it's good for the soul.

I have never hunted alone. In fact, I was introduced to hunting by a couple of friends, and we have hunted together ever since. In Alaska it could be difficult to hunt alone, and often deadly.

I have met several hunters in the areas we hunt, and most of us have kept in touch through the years, and help each other whenever one of us kills a moose or a bear. numerous times these guys (civilians and GI's) have asked us to accompany them for breakfast at their campsite, so I do the same for them. We have from bacon and eggs, to blueberry pancakes and maple syrup, and often have grilled steaks, and a great number of aromatic foods. Each one of us takes enough food and supplies to last two weeks out there. If I kill my moose the first day I bring it home, butcher it, freeze it, and return to our campsite to spend more time out there and to help my hunting partners.

As you can see I am having a great time hunting moose accompanied by friends, and I love it. Life is great!

LEIF,
I know it's not a very good idea, but almost all my hunts have been solo. I hunt differently when others are along. I do take precautions for safety, but not many people I've met are willing to work as hard at it as I am, or as patient as I am. Even in Alaska I hunted alone. I couldn't find someone willing to belly crawl a long ways just to be in the right spot to ambush caribou. One thing I learned in the service was that if you put one man in position to watch something you got a lot more intelligence back than if you put two out there together. With two, it seems as if only about half the intelligence was obtained.
Alone, I've seen things I'm sure I would never have seen otherwise. Years ago, when I still hunted with a bow, I was sitting on the side of a canyon with the bow across my lap and a arrow on the string. Suddenly I had the living daylights frightened out of me. A humming bird came from behind me, flown just past my right ear, and came to a hover over the orange fletching on the arrow. It is amazing how loud a humming bird is. It hovered there a couple of minutes, and took off. He had been no more than ten inches from my chest. I chuckled to myself and boom, he was back. He hovered briefly and took off again. I pulled my heart down out of my throat and tried to get my heart started. He came back again for a third time. This time he landed on the arrow and played with that orange feather with it's beak. That bird had the damnedest look on it's face I have ever seen before or since. He was there for several minutes. He couldn't figure out why that feather wasn't a flower. He moved back and forth on the arrow, and even gave my hand the once over.
It may sound strange, but I've always considered things like this as proof of God, and his special gift to me. It seems that this and other things I've seen have always happened when I needed a little help. At that time there was no one in the world I wanted around right then. They would have been an intrusion. I don't think it is possible to be an avid outdoorsman and hunter and not know there is a God. I hope I didn't get too heavy here or make anyone uncomfortable. I hope that all of you have a good day.

Most of my big game hunting (Deer and moose) is done with 10-15 other people. They are mostly other landowners, friends, inlaw's etc. Every landowner on the hunting team can take one with him. I usually have a great time hunting. With a good huntingboss and resposibel hunters it is just fine. I am the younges on the team. I'm 19. The oldes is over 70. It's much to learn for young hunters from the older.

I hunt roe and small game alone. Sometimes I bring a friend or two. But mostly I hunt alone. I tend to see more game alone. And I like to be alone in nature.

Johan

[ 07-14-2002, 15:37: Message edited by: 308winchester ]

I've hunted with all types before but I prefer to hunt alone.I like being able to "change horses in the middle of a stream" if nessasary or as the situation dictates without having to tell someone what I'm doing,alone I just go.
My best hunting is always alone,it seems I worry too much about the trivial things like I wonder how my partners are doing,if everythings alright ect,ect.By myself I just hunt.
Down side is when a tree limb I was standing on broke and down I go,dislocated my back,jammed my hip and got all skinned up,but managed to crawl out about a mile on my belly like a snake.Sure would have been nice to had someone with me then as they could have drove right up to me in a 4x4 without any problem (we own the land).Or when I've just killed a huge buck and it's a long uphill drag back to the truck. But even with the down sides I still prefer to do it alone.

I do both hunting alone has special merits. So does hunting with others. Some times you can do both like setting out at the start and having preplan meeting places so if you need help getting game out ect they will be there other wise you are on you own. Then there are times that having hunting partners is fun and is very useful in finding and getting game. But like most of you I get picky about who goes. Nothing worse then having a rotten apple along to spoil the trip.
<<< I went with guy to canada once who did nothing but complain the fish where to small the bear were to small ect ect ect. Hell we were miles from no where wandering around in the woods looking for something to shoot. Having fresh walleye for breakfast the bears where hitting the baits. The weather was great the blue berrys were ripe hell how couldn't you have a good time I went out one morning by my self still hunted a clear cut eating blue berrys along the way watching the sandhill cranes come in looking at the moose tracks ect. Just plain enjoying life could of given a rats ass about shooting any thing. Still hunted a few hours making my way back to the truck was about 200 yards away from it. Sitting the blue berry patch eating away. When I looked up the hill from the truck and there was my bear. After making a nice 176 yard shot with my 308 and 165gr core locks. Was a fine end to a great morning. He scored 20.5 in.

BigBob,

I know how you feel. I had an experience like that one time on the WS Ranch (Vermejo River area of New Mexico) back in the 70s. I wasn't hunting. I was visiting a rig. I never felt as close to heaven as on that ranch. I would always see mule deer, turkeys, elk and coyote as I drove into the mountains. Old indian camps were visible along the river.

It cost $5,000 to hunt elk there, thirties years ago, so it was almost like stepping back in time 200 years. The game just wasn't used to seeing many people.

I was about twenty miles back in when I drove up behind two coyotes walking down the road. They just peeled aside and let me by. About two hours later when I came out, I met them again.

This time I stopped the car, and got out. We faced off at about 50 yards. I squatted down and started talking to them. One spooked for the tree line. The other started coming in.

Over the next fifteen minutes we cut the distance between us until I had him about 18" off my fingertips. The last six feet he was absolutely wired.

The hair was standing up on the back of my neck and my heart was pounding. His was the same. I held out my hand and worked my fingers like I was crumbling bread, and I talked to him like you'ld talk to a puppy.

The last few minutes together were nerve racking. His eyes shifted from my fingers to my eyes. If a snapped my fingers softly, he literally jumped off the ground, he was so tense. From six feet in his ears were back. Eye contact with him was brutal. His eyes just cut through you. He would show me his teeth often, and snapped them a few times.

While his yellow eyes looked like evil personified, all his displays were not as much threatening me as demanding that I respect him, proving that he wasn't afraid.

When we got to 18" the tension was just explosive. He looked like he was making up his mind to do something, like he had to do something to make me back-off.

I blinked first, I started standing up and he immediately did a 180 and like a bullet put 50 yards between us, then stopped and pranced around barking up a storm. I had the feeling he was telling me that he won, and that I'd lost my nerve first, which was absolutely true.

When I got back in the car he had rejoined his buddy. I thought, what a thrill it would have been to have lived and died on that ranch, and been able to have had those kind of experiences with nature during your life. I guarantee you I had a lump in my throat that day.

Great story Kensco!
Me, several similar standing in a corn field watching a buck chase 5 or 6 does on the otherside of an Alf-Alpha field. Or sitting with my back up agains a tree in South Africa 2 weeks ago and watching Impala, Nyala and Diker coming to a waterhole and since the wind is blowing fairly steady watching how jumpy they were coming in and then having a Red Dirker almost step on me. It then looked at me and for the longest second couldn't figure out what I was. It then spooked and jump about 5 yards and then looked back at me to see if I moved. I didn't so it settled down and moved off to the right and then down to the water to drink offering no additional shot.

To me these things are what hunting is about.
Greg

Hunting alone is the time when I find the most peace and feel the closest connection with the world and with game. I am almost exclusively a backpack hunter and generally penetrate an area on a trail, then climb up off the trail and hunt cross country back out to the road.

I move pretty fast on the trail but extremely slowly when going cross country. While alone, I have the freedom to stop and glass whenever I want to without worrying about meeting a partner on "the next ridge at noon"

I do think that extra precautions about everything from picking your route to simply where you place your next step become second nature when you out out alone and your survival is on your back.

Two cent's worth...JimF

You guys sound more like preachers than the blood-crazed evil hunters some misguided people imagine.

But I hear your stories and know exactly what you mean. After I got out of college and moved on to my first job, I didn't have anyone to hunt with and didn't care. I went varmit hunting every weekend and had a super time by myself. But I began to notice that the more I did this, the fewer things I shot and the more time I just spent sitting and thinking or wandering around exploring the vastness of the land. I don't think anyone with much of a brain can be outdoors surrounded by nature and NOT begin turning pretty spiritual. Those were wonderful times. Days when time ment pretty much nothing.
And that's a beautiful thing.

[ 07-14-2002, 21:58: Message edited by: Pecos45 ]

For years I mostly would hunt alone. Most of my hunting buddys from school moved away and I did not have the patience to hunt with my Dad and younger brothers. Now that the boys are in their late 20's I am starting to hunt with them some and even try to get out with Dad once a year. I have a couple friends I hunt with upon occasion but only when I am not serious about actually killing game. They would rather turn a day into the field as a chit chat session than actually hunt.

TO EACH THEIR OWN....

While hunting for a big Mulie buck, there is something so fulfilling about sitting ALONE on a stump, minutes before dusk, and seeing a fat doe lead her fawn soundlessly by me; to see nature undisturbed and completely unaware of my presence.
Yet, I equally enjoy sitting around a campfire in the evening, having a beer with the boys after a successful hunt, while watching a rack of fresh ribs roasting alongside the coals.

I'm so thankful for all the times and experiences I've been given while hunting; for the times alone, as well as the times with friends.

CDW

[ 07-15-2002, 04:03: Message edited by: Woodrow ]

KENSCO-AMOSGREG-JIMF-PECOS45-JACOBITE-WOODROW,

Thank you for letting us in.