Hunting trips and hunting partners

[WVmike]

Just gonna have yo learn to do it solo. Thats my plan moving forward if I want in someone else I'll likely never go again.

I’ve got some work to do on the wife. Maybe it will be one those don’t ask for permission just ask for forgiveness lol. I don’t know her deal is with it.

 

[The_Jim]

I have had the same partner for 10 years. We alternate years with elk tags and split the meat. It works really well and I’m not really interested in hunting with any more than 1 guy.

Also, if he backed out on me I would just go solo.

 

[Pagosa]

I preety much hunt solo or go with my kids. Other than spliting the fuel cost or camp chores I cant see a lot of benefit of hunting with others if your serious about filling tags. I normally get to hunt about about 7-10 days a year (like two 3-4 day trips) and based on the hunttalk members they are hunting multiple weeks/months, which I just cant do right now.

 

[JLDemo]

Haven't found a consistent hunting partner since moving out west, no ones fault, just apart of being new to a place, priorities and schedules. My buddy whom I hunted with regularly retired from the military and hightailed it to Florida. After hunting solo so much last year, I learned I'd never make it on Alone.

 

[WVmike]

Haven't found a consistent hunting partner since moving out west, no ones fault, just apart of being new to a place, priorities and schedules. My buddy whom I hunted with regularly retired from the military and hightailed it to Florida. After hunting solo so much last year, I learned I'd never make it on Alone.

I don’t think I would either because you just go out there and you’re striving to stay there and just stay without any particular idea of how long. You would have to set little mini goals, jobs to occupy time. I would miss my kids and wife too much and being in the military has taught me to survive and get out of a situation not just sit there or “get off the x” as they say.

 

[Okie84]

Wanted to ask other hunt talkers how often they plan out of state hunting trips and how many go by themselves/with a partner/as a group. I live in WV and have been trying to plan on going elk hunting in the west every two years. Went in 2024 and came home with the tag still in my pocket, but learned a lot. The logistics for those living on the eastern side of the country is a little trickier in regards to time related to travel/time off from work, fuel and the other issue for me, finding someone to go with on a consistent basis. I have a pretty flexible schedule as I work 3 12 hour shifts a week and usually can take off if I have dates set well in advance. That being said I have three little ones from 12 to 4 years old so I don't get to hunt especially out of state as much as I would like to. I also cherish all of the time I have them and my wife because one day I won't be spending all day at the ballfield watching games or traveling everywhere for baseball/softball. On the first trip to Colorado I went with someone who I was college roommates with and had been hunting together for well over 10 years but the trip showed myself and apparently my partner some things we didn't see eye to eye on, hence why we don't hunt and hangout anymore. Most people's idea of hunting is driving their side by side to their stand and sitting in their truck overlooking a corn field, not hiking miles on end to shoot an elk and carry it out on your back. After hunting in '24 I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to go back. Finding a hunting partner to go west is proving to be difficult. How hard is it for others to plan a hunting trip every year and also how many go solo or with others?

I live most of the year in Wyoming now, but am originally from Oklahoma. I’ve primarily hunted by myself since I first started traveling to hunt other western states back when I still resided in Oklahoma. The two times I had someone with me on hunts they ended up ruining my hunt by tapping out due to grizzly pressure or not willing to hunt hard enough. I do have friends I would do hunts with, but prefer to hunt solo. Here in Wyoming I’m primarily hunting in grizzly country. It would be nice to have an extra person along, but it would have to be someone I was familiar with and knew they wouldn’t end up crapping out on me. When traveling for a hunt it makes it that much more of a liability. I had planned to hunt Montana this year with a friend who said he wanted to do hunt elk. I created a group application and through my points in. I kept reminding him to get online and apply underneath our party number. It got within three days of the application deadline and he still hadn’t taken the time to apply. I decided to take that as a sign that he probably wouldn’t be a reliable hunting partner if he wasn’t willing to hop online for 5 minutes and apply. The deadline came and passed. He never applied, so I drew a Montana elk tag as a party of one That being said, I’ll be heading up to Montana alone this fall for an October bow hunt.

 

[SC Living Outdoors]

I live in SC. I apply/plan almost every tag solo and adjust if someone else wants to join. If someone comes that’s fine, if I go solo that’s fine too. I like hunting with some other people. I also really like hunting solo. I have a few good buddies in western states now that like to come along on hunts if they’re able bc they know how I hunt, but I don’t go into application season with that in mind for the most part.

 

[jpc01101]

I live in KY and do spend a lot of time out west hunting and hanging out. I don’t hunt like most people. I work from home so can work from camper and Starlink anywhere and hunt the evenings. I am a poor enough hunter that I usually fill tags just by sheer effort and time looking LOL. All that said it is impossible to find someone to hunt with beyond my family. My wife and younger son usually end up with me in front country stuff, glassing for bear, etc. but I’m solo when I head in for elk (so far). I am currently in Idaho packing up to send my older son home tomorrow. We have spent 10 days between Montana and ID (with a quick trip to Seattle) and didn’t see a bear but we had fun. Wife and younger son will fly out tomorrow and we will hang out in Missoula/Bitterroot/Big Hole for a couple weeks then fly home. All of that to say I am considering not hunting alone anymore. The juice just isn’t worth the squeeze. I’d rather kill a whitetail with my family around than kill a muley or coues in the backcountry with no one to celebrate with. I don’t know if I’m getting old (49) or what but this year has changed me. Won’t be doing too many more solo hunts.

 

[SFC B]

Life is always an issue. I have several army buddies and fraternity brothers I would like to hunt more with but they just don't have the flexibility. Some things the last couple of years have made a couple of others tenuous to be around and hunt with.... Lucky that Redman and I have a pretty similar, generally Hoosier, outlook on things and can swing some outings together out here as well as at home. He is a little more hardcore than I am but we have a good understanding of what each other are up to. Hopefully, I will have a spot soon as well and we can expand even more. I think hunting is similar to many "stressful" situations....it reveals "real" behaviors in people and sometimes even those change. Have to say some changes aren't the best :/

 

[Rack Daniels]

I think hunting is similar to many "stressful" situations....it reveals "real" behaviors in people and sometimes even those change.

1000% I’ve said similar before, I wholeheartedly agree. You never really know someone until they are in a position of fear or stress or anger. Also difficult to “test” or vet that reaction ahead of time. Always willing to hunt with someone once, but I also PREFER to hunt with a partner and generally adapt to new situations fluidly.

 

[WVmike]

I think hunting is similar to many "stressful" situations....it reveals "real" behaviors in people and sometimes even those change. Have to say some changes aren't the best :/

That is a very good way of describing and I couldn't agree more. Opens the eyes of both parties.

 

[Pucky Freak]

There are 2 issues - one is your wife’s irrational fear of the dangers of you hunting alone. The other is comparability of hunting partners.

#1 You are about x20 times more likely to get seriously injured or die traveling to your hunt from WV, then actually on your hunt. Fear is usually caused by a lack of information or bad information.

I’ve spent about 8 cumulative months of my life sleeping in the backcountry. Many more months on day trips. It is very hard for me to conceptualize what an uninitiated mind imagines of those places. They probably think of news stories where people get lost or die. It seems like a dangerous place, evermore dangerous due to wild animals, weather, and distance from roads.

I have successfully desensitized my wife of many irrational fears by patiently replacing them with real information, much of it experiential. It made no difference to her to tell her I am at home in the wilderness. She had to see it.

In Yellowstone I took her and my 3 little kids on a 2-mile off trail hike. She was extremely anxious. We saw several marmots and 3 deer. The kids played in a stream. It was a beautiful day. No injuries. At one point she told me if I wasn’t there she’d be totally lost. I explained that if you hike downhill, you reach the road, we hiked in with the sun on our left, and out with it on our right. I showed her the map app with the car pin and the GPS arrow pointing to it. I said, this is to show you how simple this is for ME, and I have six or so other navigation tricks I’d none of the first 3 work.

I’ve also had her drop me off at the trailhead in open country. I pointed to a couple mountains and said I’m climbing up there, camp a few nights, then I’ll be back.

As mentioned by others, communication is key. Call daily from high elevations, sent an InReach message twice daily.

 

[Pucky Freak]

#2 I’d guess I’ve had 7 recent cross-country hunting trips in as many years. Maybe a few more. I’ve hunted alone I think 5 of them, 4 of those remote.

Maybe try local BHA chapter to make some contacts. Finding a good partner is very difficult. Cross country trips means prioritizing your time, and having financial discipline. On top of that, probably the toughest match is hunting intensity. I hunt harder & longer than about 90% or more of others. Having someone more relaxed, isn’t in place before sunrise and hiking back in the dark - it seriously degrades my fun. I can dial up or dial down my intensity some, but I’m not cutting my chances in half on a $300-800 tag either with a far more casual companion.

 

[WVmike]

There are 2 issues - one is your wife’s irrational fear of the dangers of you hunting alone. The other is comparability of hunting partners.

#1 You are about x20 times more likely to get seriously injured or die traveling to your hunt from WV, then actually on your hunt. Fear is usually caused by a lack of information or bad information.

I’ve spent about 8 cumulative months of my life sleeping in the backcountry. Many more months on day trips. It is very hard for me to conceptualize what an uninitiated mind imagines of those places. They probably think of news stories where people get lost or die. It seems like a dangerous place, evermore dangerous due to wild animals, weather, and distance from roads.

I have successfully desensitized my wife of many irrational fears by patiently replacing them with real information, much of it experiential. It made no difference to her to tell her I am at home in the wilderness. She had to see it.

In Yellowstone I took her and my 3 little kids on a 2-mile off trail hike. She was extremely anxious. We saw several marmots and 3 deer. The kids played in a stream. It was a beautiful day. No injuries. At one point she told me if I wasn’t there she’d be totally lost. I explained that if you hike downhill, you reach the road, we hiked in with the sun on our left, and out with it on our right. I showed her the map app with the car pin and the GPS arrow pointing to it. I said, this is to show you how simple this is for ME, and I have six or so other navigation tricks I’d none of the first 3 work.

I’ve also had her drop me off at the trailhead in open country. I pointed to a couple mountains and said I’m climbing up there, camp a few nights, then I’ll be back.

As mentioned by others, communication is key. Call daily from high elevations, sent an InReach message twice daily.

Preach sir. I've told her the same thing you mentioned in the first comment. I have experience from camping, hiking, hunting and being in the Marine Corps so I've certainly been sent to more dangerous places. Summer is coming so she will have time off from being a teacher so we can do some more hiking and what not. Hopefully that will help.

 

[KS_Flatlander]

Wanted to ask other hunt talkers how often they plan out of state hunting trips and how many go by themselves/with a partner/as a group. I live in WV and have been trying to plan on going elk hunting in the west every two years. Went in 2024 and came home with the tag still in my pocket, but learned a lot. The logistics for those living on the eastern side of the country is a little trickier in regards to time related to travel/time off from work, fuel and the other issue for me, finding someone to go with on a consistent basis. I have a pretty flexible schedule as I work 3 12 hour shifts a week and usually can take off if I have dates set well in advance. That being said I have three little ones from 12 to 4 years old so I don't get to hunt especially out of state as much as I would like to. I also cherish all of the time I have them and my wife because one day I won't be spending all day at the ballfield watching games or traveling everywhere for baseball/softball. On the first trip to Colorado I went with someone who I was college roommates with and had been hunting together for well over 10 years but the trip showed myself and apparently my partner some things we didn't see eye to eye on, hence why we don't hunt and hangout anymore. Most people's idea of hunting is driving their side by side to their stand and sitting in their truck overlooking a corn field, not hiking miles on end to shoot an elk and carry it out on your back. After hunting in '24 I absolutely loved it and cannot wait to go back. Finding a hunting partner to go west is proving to be difficult. How hard is it for others to plan a hunting trip every year and also how many go solo or with others?

2 buddies and I have been going to MT every year for 10 years+. Obviously we don’t all draw tags every year but the “elk camp” experience doesn’t require a tag. One of my buddies lives in MT, the other in KY. My KY buddy drives out to pick me up in KS and we tag team the drive to MT from there. My KY buddy and I are retired Army buddies. My KY buddy was a fraternity brother with our buddy in MT. Our buddy in MT is the camp master. He’s got the gear…wall tent, camp stove, 24’ enclosed trailer, yada, yada, etc. We only hunt public…national forest, blm, and or state. We might get an elk, or a deer. We might not but we hunt hard. We probably don’t hunt as hard as we used to now that we’re in our 60s. I look forward to that trip more than an other annual event on my calendar. The chance to get away and connect with good friends, to tell the same old stories, and to make new memories. There’s nothing else like that. I’m truly blessed to share a week together with good friends every year.