"I don't really want to kill anything"

[Rob5589]

Don't mistake not wanting to kill something with not being committed. I've hunted with guys that have tags but would rather spend time in camp hanging out and drinking beer. I wish my dad would have wanted to hang out with me. That time is limited, so make the most of it.

 

[mike.adams.467]

Sounds like he is committed, I wouldn't pass on the chance, don't know how many more your gunna get.

You got that right; my dad is in a long term care facility, and we will never have the opportunity to sit around a campfire again.

 

[Azone]

The last time I got to hunt with my dad was 16 years ago. Don’t pass up the opportunity man, before you know it you’ll get that dreaded phone call and there won’t be another time. Some of the best and worst times I’ve had out hunting were with the old man. Yeah I’m sure we wanted to kill each other a few times but man there was also some awesome times that made all the bad worthwhile.

 

[TxxAgg]

Glad you got your mind right. Good luck and enjoy the time with your dad.

I can totally see myself being a committed "helper" instead of hunter once my kids are older and on their own. For now they are little so I still like to shoot

 

[thedutchtouch]

my dad is the exact same way. my brother and i are both getting into fishing/hunting as adults, my dad fished a bit with us back in the day and he'll fish now, but it's not completely his thing, and he's definitely not a hunter. he's an awesome guy though and i think we both realize we just want to hang out with each other as much as we can so he'll be joining us as a camp companion/ pack mule whenever we ask him.

 

[Randle]

First off you are doing that right thing by questioning yourself and seeking wisdom from some that have been there.
You probably have plenty of years left to kill stuff but time with loved ones is precious and you will remenber those more than that kill that was without him.
Go forth and hunt with your dad and kill something to make the memory all the better.
I bet you will be suprised at the effort he will put forth to see his sons success

 

[Sizthediz]

Take the opportunity to spend time with your dad and make the most of it. I would love just to have a catch with mine again. Or going out at night with a flashlight looking for nightcrawler. Enjoy it while you can. Never know when it will be the last

 

[packer58]

Certainly not a make-it or break-it but if I’m using all my PTO for the year & thousands of dollars, I’d like to make something happen

Those thousands of dollars and time off you speak of will be long forgotten while your wishing you would have spent more time with your dad .... whether he's hunting or not.

 

[Michael Rankin]

Some of my most memorable hunts I didn’t have a tag in my pocket.

 

[DeBear]

So, I went on my first hunting trip to Montana last fall. I spent three weeks there and left an elk tag unfilled, but I was able to successfully take a 4x4 mule deer and saw lots of up-close spike bulls. My dad was intrigued by my activities and expressed interest in helping out with packing meat and whatever else. I mentioned that I'd love to get him out there and get him on something. We used to hunt in Northern MN, and he took several deer and one really nice 10-pointer, so I figured he wouldn't mind. With some tag deadlines on the horizon, I reached out, hoping he would be getting excited.

Instead, he expressed that he'd rather just tag along like he had proposed last year. I have hunted/fished with other people who were not really committed to the sport before, and I find that it lowers success rates, dampens moods, and hinders the experience - like drinking with someone who is sober. Although I'd love to hunt with my dad again, I'm unsure if it's worth it if he's not fully committed to the experience.

Anyone have similar experiences?

You know him better than us but when I first read your post it sounded like a good deal, especially with his experience in hunting and knowing what it takes.
Hell, I have friends that I’d rather not go with me bc they’d be mostly worried about getting their own kill over mine

 

[Michael Rankin]

I have spent entire hunting seasons helping really good friends when they drew great tags, and they have done the same for me.

 

[SoloWilderness]

I would have loved to have hunted more with my dad when he was younger. He took me enough to get the fire burning, but I went away to college and lost a few years, when I got back, he just wanted to take the atv out and get his deer, I just wanted to bow hunt elk. We didn't really have compatible goals for a while, so we fished, but never enough. Take every minute you can, it will be over before you know it.

It should never be about just the harvest. The year my first child was born, I was able to convince the wife I needed to get at least a weekend hunting for elk to keep my sanity. I had two days, and had a nice bull at full draw at 35 yards by 9 am on Saturday. I realized I just needed to have some time in the woods, and if I shot that bull, my weekend of peace and quiet was over. I let him walk, along with several more elk over the next 2 days. It's important to remember why we hunt, and it is definitely not always about the harvest.

 

[yoopshoot]

I had the opportunity to take my dad on two trips back to back in 2020 and 2021 to MT during archery elk season.

He is fairly limited in his mobility so he designated himself camp cook. He brought his side by side and drove around, fishing different ponds and streams, while I was up in the dark timber chasing bugles. I never had to worry about a nice, warm meal, and companionship at the end of a long day.

Looking back, those trips were some of the best time spent together in the evenings, looking up at the stars and listening to the nearby stream.

I would be lying if I said it didn’t impact my hunting, however. I often made it back to camp prior to dark, wanting to check on him and share the stories of the day. I know I could have hunted harder had I been alone and likely spiked out in the mountains which I feel confident would have given me more opportunities to connect with elk at prime time. But I wouldn’t change a thing- those trips are treasured memories. I’ll have many trips where I can brutalize myself while hunting solo, but a few missed prime time hunting windows was more than worth it to spend time with my dad.


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[Crowmangler]

The year after my brother battled Leukemia for months (and won, praise the Lord!) he decided to go elk hunting with me (guided, not too intense) & my dad came with us (no tags) just for the experience & I wouldn't trade that week for anything. The only part that sucked was trying to keep dad from using his speaker phone in public. LOL

 

[Greyinggrayling]

If he’s in charge of something, he may feel even more committed. Like the camp kitchen. Or he may enjoy scraping hides, sometimes that is fulfilling. I enjoy cleaning other people’s hides.

 

[def90]

So, I went on my first hunting trip to Montana last fall. I spent three weeks there and left an elk tag unfilled, but I was able to successfully take a 4x4 mule deer and saw lots of up-close spike bulls. My dad was intrigued by my activities and expressed interest in helping out with packing meat and whatever else. I mentioned that I'd love to get him out there and get him on something. We used to hunt in Northern MN, and he took several deer and one really nice 10-pointer, so I figured he wouldn't mind. With some tag deadlines on the horizon, I reached out, hoping he would be getting excited.

Instead, he expressed that he'd rather just tag along like he had proposed last year. I have hunted/fished with other people who were not really committed to the sport before, and I find that it lowers success rates, dampens moods, and hinders the experience - like drinking with someone who is sober. Although I'd love to hunt with my dad again, I'm unsure if it's worth it if he's not fully committed to the experience.

Anyone have similar experiences?

I had an uncle that was a life long deer hunter in Wisconsin and the last few years I saw him he mentioned several times that he still sat in his stand every year but was more in to watching them and taking pics at this point on his life..

I wasn't about to question or challenge him on it.

If you have someone that is experienced and may be a great companion on a trip that is willing to pack in and out why not jump on it?

 

[Fatcamp]

I would burn every bit of my outdoor equipment today for the opportunity to spend an hour walking in the woods with my father and sons.

 

[simplepeddler]

My dad is 84 now. Still today, spending the day with him requires leather gloves. Would not trade away a single day with him.

You’ve made the right decision.
Keep us posted on the outcome.

 

[Customweld]

Think about how many times our dads took us along when we were kids, knowing that they would be re-rigging our fishing poles after a snag or spooking everything within a quarter mile because we didn’t know how to be quiet. They made sacrifices of their successes to help guide us with our own.
My dad has been gone many years now. When I wax a young man, my dad, grandpa and brother always invited me to their hunting camp.I never went because I was too focused on my own solo hunts . I missed out and would give anything to go back and spend more time with him in the woods.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I completely understand your dilemma, you want to be successful. I’d find a way to make it work with your dad. My dad is getting older too so I’m making an extra effort to be intentional and get out with him as much as I can. Probably no more than once or twice more since he’s about to turn 73. I don’t want to be sitting around ten years from now wishing I’d just mailed in the check to book a hunt with him when I still had the chance.