Hunting Solo by choice or circumstance

[elkhuntinfool78]

For those of you that hunt solo is it by choice or circumstance?

I grew up hunting with my Dad and we hunted together constantly up until his health started to fail. At that point we even did a fair amount of road hunting which neither of us were accustomed to but nevertheless still had fun.

Other than my Dad the other great hunting partners have been my wife on the the rare occasion she's able to go and my Saint Bernard ( yes you read that right...lol) Cooper whom I lost some years ago.

So for probably the past 15 plus years I hunt 99% of the time solo. I've come to enjoy the solitude and time to reflect on memories gone by and soak in some wild country while I can. I've tried hunting with a few other guys but for one reason or another it doesn't stick.

Seems when I meet other hunters and the subject comes up many seem to think it's because I am trying to prove something but the reality is that if I could have had any of my great hunting partners with me on all of my solo hunts it would have been a welcome treat.

So what's your reason for hunting solo?

 

[Wild Bill]

Most of my friends that I grew up hunting with as a kid or in college are flakey and can't commit.

 

[Bill Zent]

By both, and too many reasons to list.
1. If you like the place you hunt, do not take anyone there you do not trust 100%!
2. All of my trusted hunting buds have either passed on or in no shape to hunt.

 

[WyoCoalMiner]

Solo hunts allow for you to do as you see fit. If I want to sleep in, fine. Want to sit and glass from a particular spot all day, fine. Want to drop into timber, fine.

 

[rjthehunter]

Most of my friends that I grew up hunting with as a kid or in college are flakey and can't commit.

This is one of my biggest reasons.

I also love not being questioned in my decisions. I hunt really well with a buddy of mine, but last year he had a friend who wanted to hunt with us. He had a vastly different hunting style. I ended up going off on my own to hunt the way I'm most effective. I like not being tied to someone else. Divide & conquer.

 

[noharleyyet]

Mine started out circumstance that morphed to choice (solo) for a number of years and reasons. Now I'd rather be solo or with our son...he's field & camp proficient, agreeable, & I trust his instincts.

 

[Hunting Wife]

Both.

There are a few people that I really enjoy hunting with. They tend to have a similar hunting style to mine and tend to be looking for the same type of experience I am. It feels like we are almost of the same mind. These are “my people”.

But what I feel like I’ve learned the hard way is that going hunting with just anyone to avoid going by myself never works out well. I’ve found that hunting with someone who is looking for a different type of experience, or has vastly different priorities, or that has a very different hunting style than I do just leads to frustration for all involved. It feels like a lot of extra complication and work. In that case, I prefer to hunt alone. Solitude is one of the things I like about hunting anyway.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

I enjoy hunting solo when I can , hunting with close friends is also fun , especially when camping !

 

[Sask hunter]

Solo cause I hunt way more than anyone else lol. Easier to sit in a deer blind solo all day too. I won’t hunt geese solo very often. I have killed enough now it’s about the dog and buddies

 

[Jnasa]

I think my favorite way to hunt is sharing a camp with family and friends. Then splitting off to hunt solo. Allows us each to do our own thing. But still allows fun interaction and support if anyone gets anything.

I tend to do most of my hunting solo. With my fall work schedule I hunt when I can. Unfortunately, it rarely lines up with others schedule.

 

[huntin24/7]

Both. My job has my talking to strangers all day, and after almost 18 years of it I’m kinda peopled out and really enjoy my solo outdoor time, unless my wife and kids are able to join. That’s preferred. My work schedule also doesn’t jive well with the few friends I enjoy hunting with. Still enjoy hunting with family when I can and chasing birds with a friend once in a while.

 

[WyoCoalMiner]

Mine started out circumstance that morphed to choice (solo) for a number of years and reasons. Now I'd rather be solo or with our son...he's field & camp proficient, agreeable, & I trust his instincts.

Hunting with my sons is the best. None of my other friends will tolerate me calling them a dumbass as well as my kids do. They also think that I am the man when it comes to hunting. At least they used to. My friends know the truth. My sons are both in college now so its back to solo for most, not all, of my hunts.

 

[trb]

Solo because I am a better hunter solo, and it is critical for my mental health, especially since I spend my day job talking all day every day.

Occasionally with friends or my brother because it is fun to do hard stuff with good people.

 

[Mica Man]

Lot's of great responses thus far. I enjoy hunting with others if our styles and philosophy r/t experience or expectations align. Enjoy sharing a camp and then hunting solo for the day. I leave next week for some solo elk hunting in Wyoming that I am so looking forward to. I pretty much like it all.

 

[Irrelevant]

Mostly convenience. It's hard to make schedules work. But it's also a lot nicer to make all your own decisions and not have to constantly "discuss" things.

 

[noharleyyet]

Most of my friends that I grew up hunting with as a kid or in college are flakey and can't commit.

I think we all go thru this particular initiation.

 

[Brandon270]

I hunt solo because I have no other choice. My dad gave up years ago, now in his 70's its a fight to get him out of the house. I went a couple times with co workers years ago, but I've been self employed the last 3+ years so no longer have work buddies to go with.

All my highschool friends never got into hunting and are more into the offroad scene. I've managed dragging my wife with me a few times, but most public land here that isn't crawling with people is pretty rough country and she's not up for that. The few distant relatives I have that regularly hunt either do expensive guided hunts or out of state, both not my style or in my budget.
For all those reasons, if I want any hunting done it's going to be solo.

 

[rideold]

I hunt birds with a buddy when he can and solo when he can't. I hunt big game solo unless my son can come. So I guess I hunt solo by choice and not-solo when a select couple of individuals can come along. I have come to enjoy hunting with my son quite a bit. The first few years when he was starting out were all about him but we've reached stride now where we hunt as a team. It is far more important to me that the person I hunt with shares my style and philosophy than it is that I hunt with someone.

 

[TOGIE]

Amongst my longtime group of friends i'm the only one that has no real set plan every year; just see how the draws go and then the plans form. Conversely they all largely go do the same thing year over year, so schedules never line up... if I even wanted to go with most of them, and I don't. Whether it's their entire ethos around the activity that I can't get on board with or the way they go about it or both, it's apparent that time is too limited and precious to spend it in the field with people that you don't jive with, even if they're some of your closest friends outside of hunting.

There are other folks I would gladly go with year over year, but again, we all have different hunt schedules and timing with preference points etc.

I've struggled with my mental health while solo, especially in recent years, which sucks, cause it's proven to be a huge hindrance. In theory I absolutely prefer solo, but in reality, I don't. I'm still optimistic that will continue to improve.

 

[MTLabrador]

In general I prefer hunting alone, partially because I like having some time to myself and partially because I’ve never found a big group of people stumbling around through the timber to be a productive way to hunt elk. I also definitely hunt harder alone. I always love a day of drinking coffee and driving around glassing deer and antelope with my dad though.