Cutting Ties

[Khunter]

Depends on the kind of ducks you are after, losing life or limb could be worth the try.

As for the bear you were the wuss there, no question.

Seriously the only issue I see is when for you the answer is no, just say no and stick to it. Getting pulled into a situation that scares you is on you, not him. Just say no and stick to it, sound like you never did that..If saying " no" on a situation busts the partnership, so be it, it is on him. But if you can't draw a line in the sand as it sounds like, then yes, hunt alone or only with guys you have command and control over like your former? partner had over you.

 

[Walkathon]

I say go with your gut instinct. If you don't like hunting with him then you're doing the right thing. No reason not to enjoy your time hunting because you are uncertain about your hunting buddy or because he basically annoys you.

 

[bobbydean]

Hunted with my niece's husband several times, Super hunter, puts me to shame.

Hit a Barbary at sunset in the horns. Ram went down, We were on a cliff, By the time he got to the ram, he became conscious and was gone.

Short story. We were in cavern country and did not want to walk the 5 miles to truck in the dark.

We spent the night under a pinon tree and walked out the next day.

I would hunt with him anytime.

Reconsider your decision. Good hunters tend to be fanatic hunters.

Safety is always your concern.

 

[nhn2a]

Sorry if this seems like more of a therapy session but in my opinion I would ask yourself what you hope to accomplish by telling him you are going solo and what difference will this make to your hunt. By this I mean even by hunting with a partner you can say no to decisions you don't agree with. If you tell him or have told him already the things that you don't feel comfortable with then its his decision on whether or not to continue on that course of action.

In fact, it sounds like you did that with the waves/boat incident and he went on his own anyway. By telling him you are going solo, it sounds like you are essentially writing him off as a friend all together. Not trying to get sappy here but in my experience good friends are hard to come by. If he's more of just an acquaintance than a friend and you are trying to separate yourself from them then great but otherwise you may just have a conversation where you agree to disagree on certain circumstances.

For instance, if he wants to immediately track the bear he just shot and you don't agree, you can head home. If he wants to take the boat out and you don't, you stay behind at the cabin and he goes on his way. I don't see how his difference of opinion has to effect your hunting. I agree that safety should be the top priority and you are making sound safety decisions on your behalf but you cant make him act safely nor will that change if you stop hunting with them.

Again sorry for the lengthy response but it sounds like there is a lot more to this situation so you need to do a little soul searching about your relationship as friends outside of just hunting.

 

[Tradewind]

Big difference between adventure and poor or dumb decisions. The state i live in loses duck hunters every now and then and the bodies of water aren't that big.
To the guys who think you can head to your hunting destination and then just sit aside when he tries to force you into a poor situation have not had that done to them on a consistent basis.
You are better off by yourself.

 

[Southwind]

We had two instances of duck hunters drowning that went out in wind and weather no one should be out in. Mother nature doesn't care how tough we think we are.

 

[Straight Arrow]

As I recall, Darwin spoke of a Mother Nature selection process.

Other than hunting with son and/or grandkids, I prefer to hunt solo. However, decisions are more heavily weighted with deliberation and caution when alone.

 

[Rainer]

Well I have talked to him about this before. the season before last I ended up with some bb's in my floater coat because he went to do his business and kicked up some Mallards. He forgot where we were set up. As fr not going after the bear right away. He nicked the liver and I knew the bear wasn't going far because he was shot on a peninsula. I knew it wasn't going to swim the 500 yards across the lake

 

[bwcatripper]

Nothing is worth risking your wellbeing over. I stopped duck hunting with a guy because he refused to put his gun on safe when we were milling about the blind. He would hold his gun by the barrel, with the buttstock on the ground, round in the chamber, and the gun on fire. I asked him about it, and he said he'd never forgive himself for missing a duck because his gun was on safe.... Whereas I'd never forgive myself for shooting myself, someone else, or simply having an accidental round go off because I was too damn lazy to put my weapon on safe. Too many accidents every year are caused by ignorance, old habits, and simply not thinking the process through. In the military, we train on muscle memory when we shoot. Identify the target, place the sights on the target, rotate the selector switch from safe to semi, squeeze the trigger, and put the weapon back on safe. People should train as they hunt, and they should train as safely as possible. My two cents...