Do you hunt solo or as a group?

[buffybr]

Except for my international hunts, which were all guided, probably most of my of my hunts here at home were solo.

For about 20 years I had a couple of horses and they made the job of packing in a wilderness camp relatively easy, and especially packing out the meat.

My mountain goat, 2 of my bighorn rams, 1 of my Shiras moose, 1 of my black bears, probably 20 of my elk, and half of my deer and pronghorn antelope I got on solo hunts.

For quite a few years 1 to 4 of the guys that I worked with and I would all go antelope hunting together and sharing the camp was fun, but most of the time I hunted solo out of camp. After we all retired, the other guys lost interest in the hunt, and for the last 10 or so years I've just gone by myself.

My first Alaskan hunt was a DIY hunt with 4 of my friends, and my first South African hunt was with 3 of my friends. My girlfriend went with me on my New Zealand hunt and except for the rain, we had a great trip.

For all of my other international hunts, I traveled by myself, but hunted with the guide and sometimes with the camp staff.

 

[EastHumboldt]

I almost always hunt with my brother and my son. The social aspect of hunting camp life is really fun to me. That said, sometimes we’ll get up on the ridge, and one of us will break off to hunt back towards camp solo.

So you can have your cake and eat it too.

 

[MTMH14]

I am solo for 99.9% of all my hunting. I hunt elk, deer, bear, upland, waterfowl, turkey. I have friends who hunt occasionally, but it’s not a priority for them. But they know I’m out there and if they get a couple days off I’ll happily help them fill a tag.

I should mention I require alone time lol. So being lonely isn’t something that I suffer from.

I do have a couple of friends who hunt regularly that I sometimes hunt with. In the past two years a few times per year. Unfortunately our styles of hunting are a little too different to work well together. On the plus side it’s shown me areas that I need to improve on. That I otherwise would not have known about without hunting with a partner.

 

[Njhunter1124]

I big game hunt by myself, waterfowl and upland with friends and family

 

[ElkArcher918]

Hunt solo for Western big game. Tired of lame hunting buddies bailing out early for a handful of BS excuses. Small game and turkey always welcome others.

 

[WRO]

I wondering which you guys tend to do, and the differences in your opinion of each.

I don't have a hunting group so few times I go, its exclusively solo and usually turns into more of a camping trip than hunting.

I’m blessed to have a good crew of guys I hunt with, I rarely hunt big game alone. Either my buddies or my kids.

I’m more likely to bird hunt alone, but there’s always a dog or 2 with me.

 

[Cleidig]

Mostly solo or with a real good buddy that we hunt good together. There’s definitely less drama that way I’ve come to find out….

 

[COLD SMOKE]

80% solo, but some of my favorite turkey hunts have been with buddies and we get a double header. That’s always a great time.

looking forward to gaining a hunting partner this fall season for mule deer and bear for help with pack outs and to see if we can work together effectively to increase both our skill and opportunity for shots.

 

[tkhuntsman]

I wondering which you guys tend to do, and the differences in your opinion of each.

I don't have a hunting group so few times I go, its exclusively solo and usually turns into more of a camping trip than hunting.

Mostly solo since my kids have gotten into their later teenage years. They'd rather go hunt with their buddies and do their own things. We do still get out together a couple times a year. I also try to do at least one big trip with a couple of good friends for 3-5 days every year.

 

[Ringbill27]

90% of the time I’m alone. I like hunting with friends and family but I find hunting solo pretty peaceful.

 

[KeepHammering]

I don't think you can beat the comradery of a great hunting partner or two. Bad hunting partners can make things extra miserable and make solo hunting seem like the only way to go. I understand that. But in my opinion, I would choose to hunt with one or two buddies that have a great attitude and similar mindset every single hunt.

 

[Halfchrome]

Pheasant always with a group. I've made core memories with my dad and uncles doing this

Deer is about 50/50 but in MN we always end up alone with the exception of getting to take my son out for his first ever deer hunt during the youth season. I haven't seen that level of lasting excitement out of him before or since. I can't wait to get him out again this fall and out pheasant hunting in a couple of years.

 

[Ridgerunner1]

Little of both !

 

[Stache Attack]

Social hunting for me is deer and antelope. Spend an few weeks guiding archery elk so that’s a different story… Elk is solo typically and one weekend or so with a friend who is like minded but more run and gun, sometimes we split up after the morning calling so we can go spot and stalk.

Besides that I’ll go with my wife elk hunting (but we hunt it all together) I’m her mule, caller, guide, and snack packer.

 

[wyosam]

99.9% solo. The .1% typically annoy the hell out of me in one way or another.


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[Justin Byers]

For elk, I've done both, but now almost exclusively solo. If you can handle being your own company for a couple of weeks, it's a much better option for success. I used to go with a partner, but it was always who's day is it to shoot, conflicts about going up hill or around, etc. Any time you have to fill more than one tag you significantly lower your own odds for success. When it comes to deer, especially rifle season, I like to take friends and family out, but rifle is a whole different ball game.

 

[ihookem]

For the last 2 deer seasons, I have hunted alone every time. My best friend has not hunted with me in 20 yrs. Now he is disabled. My brother quit 25 yrs, ago . My BIL hardly hunts , and my son quit. It is mostly cause of the timber wolf problem in NW Wis. there are so few deer that you can sit for days and not see a deer. Now days I hunt in S.E Wis . on heavily hunted public land . It is tough , but being 5 miles away instead of 243 mi. to my cabin , I do good enough . When I retire in a year , I might hunt way up north cause I will have more time. Seems no one wants to hunt anymore. Much of the problem was also , no one can get away from the TV, computer or cell phone for more than an hour.

 

[bucksnbirds]

Solo more than anything, but enjoy any hunt I can get on with my wife and kids more than anything.

I honestly don't have anyone I've ever absolutely loved hunting out west with. Most don't take it seriously enough to do the off season prep and it just sours the trip. Either can't shoot, out of shape, can't call when I'm up to bat, etc. I have one friend I love to death and spend a lot of time spot and stalking big oklahoma whitetail with, but out west I'm better alone.

 

[Lil-Rokslider]

I'm fortunate to have a couple of great hunting partners. We have the same mindset, which is so important and hard to find in a hunting partner. Hunt hard, don't quit early. Stay in great shape year round. Flip flop every year who has the "priority" tag. Be proficient at calling elk. Have intentional conversation while we're away from our families (encourage one another to be better fathers and husbands)

I realize a lot of guys have been burned by bad hunting partners, so I don't take for granted that I've been fortunate to find a couple of great ones. I truly get more excited and invested in their success than my own.

 

[Gman12]

I archery elk hunt with a group of friends each September. It's a great time and I wouldn't consider doing it alone. If one of us kills, we all jump in and help with the skinning and packing out. I am not sure the attraction of hunting solo, particularly for elk. We enjoy hanging out in the evenings cooking and having a drink each night solving the world's problems and discussing the day's hunt or strategy for the next morning.