I'm I the only one who fears a solo hunt...

[rayporter]

the worst nights i have spent worrying about my safety have been during heavy snow fall with lots of trees and limbs breaking off.

 

[Hamp1127]

The only fear you should have is not doing the solo hunt.

 

[Comerade]

Yeah, what if you never tried it?
Fear is not a good reponse to anything.
It just might teach you to be more confident, and you will develope a skillset by doing it.

 

[Moserkr]

If you fear death, you will never know life. To truly be alive is knowing the line between life and death. Solo hunting, in my mind, is the ultimate test. As much as I enjoy the company of others hunting, my solo hunts have come to define who I am. To not be afraid of what can kill you is foolish, but to stand in the face of that danger you fear, is bravery.

I will always remember starring down a black bear at dusk in a willow patch, solo, in the back country. Just 20’ away, he stood, turning towards me, but before he had turned, my revolver was drawn, cocked, and pinned on his heart. In silence for what seemed like an eternity we faced each other eye to eye until one of us blinked - he dropped to all fours, huffed at me and walked away. Wont lie my heart has never beat so fast, but in that moment I was calm and in control. I “slept” 100 yards from that encounter and saw one of the biggest bucks of my life during a lightening storm that weekend too that had pushed us both off the mountain top.

I could have feared the drive there, the cliffs I was glassing from, the cold, the lightening, the bear, or being alone. Instead I have an awesome story to tell, one that defines who I am to the core. I respect any hunter who goes beyond their truck to hunt in the wild. I hold a greater respect for those who venture out alone.

 

[TheGDog]

RE: camping out solo overnight - Ya might say I liken it to walking my super small dog within a Dog Park.

The moment I step into that place... with her... Mentally I have to flick a switch in my head. She is too small... if any other dog rushed her and put a bite on her, it could literally kill her. And, since she's super small... she also invokes predator/prey instincts in a lot of the large breed dogs. So I do occasionally get the biggest f*cking dogs in the park occasionally thinkin' they can step to my little one without gettin' checked. But I check'em, and occasionally I have to check'em HARD. Like arm to hand to neck and pinned down to the ground, with me angrily barking out "LEAVE IT!"

My point in mentioning all this is that you need to tap into your inner predator. Tell yourself to #BeThePredator. Flick that mental switch in your head. Like for me, with my back problems, I know that I cannot run away or climb a tree or anything evasive like that. So if something confronts me, I WILL have to be prepared to face it down. Whatever that ends up meaning in real life that day. Once you've figured out what all your weaknesses are, and how preparation can make up for them. You'll be straight man. You're a human, that's what we do.... we get presented with a problem, with parameters, and we work out the best plan of action with the tools and resources available to us.

You need to mentally commit to this whole attitude of you are the most dangerous thing out there. Also remind yourself you gotta be in it to win it. That whole thing of waking up out there and being able to slip in to your spot even before anything else has passes thru. Giving yourself maximum time for the area to calm back down to your presence, even before the warming sun has even crested over the eastern hill, that's gold!

Then, just conduct yourself carefully and follow your plan. Like avoiding injury at all cost. Don't do dumb sketchy isht. Never being without a weapon. Never straying very far from your pack ever. Being willing to pull the plug on the whole hunt at any time if something about the outing is rough on you, or your gear is failing. Or if conditions have made the area unsafe.

Some of the most important things you'll learn hunting solo is your ability to look at weather forecasts, and be able to judge well just how much gear you will need, and what gear can be left behind. In terms of thinking about the area you are going to, and it's challenges in terms of wind/weather/cold/heat.

You'll learn you're far more capable than you give yourself credit for.

I mean hell... just in the small amount of time I've been hunting since 2014, I've already got a buncha cool stories and gnarly memories from it already. Shattered my wrist out there.... Got stalked up close by a Bobcat... Had a Black Bear walk up to like 15yds before he realized I and another fellow were there, and ran back the way he came in. I've had to hike past 7 MtnLions hangin' out down below the trail line about 50yds down below. Had animals be as close as 8yds to me while predator hunting and not know it. Had a cottontail rabbit right about 3 feet away from my leg/foot but not even know I was there due to concealment gear and wind direction. Little bit later had an opportunity to take him, and did. Or.. same spot, concealed and waiting for rabbits in the PM, I turn to look over my shoulder and notice a Doe who fed into the area and didn't realize I was there! First Bow experience... having a face-to-face stare-down at 7yds with the nicest buck I'd ever seen in person, that I'd just finished missing twice on!

Long story shorter, you're almost never going to have problems with other animals when it's you who are walking/traversing the space. Humans are soo bleeping noisy compared to all the other critters it's not even funny. You can hear humans coming like 100yds off, even in thick.

 

[grog24]

I know this thread is mostly referring to solo mountain hunting (where there are Apex predators) but I’ve been freaked out a few nights alone in the piney swamps of East Texas. More so than any other backcountry hike/expedition... rational? No... technically there’s nothing down here that should cause one to lose sleep... but there’s something eerie about the swamps at night. (And I’m not one to get worked up)

 

[Kevin Dill]

For the record...and while doing things solo:

I survived a severe motorcycle wreck nobody knew anything about. I self-evacuated and spent 10 days in the hospital. Lost my spleen, but not my desire to go back out there.

I got stung square on the face by a brown scorpion in the dark while hunting axis deer on Maui. I got a little screwed up but kept hunting and almost killed a stag that morning.

I got charged by a presumably-pissed cow moose. I held a .44 mag on her forehead at 15' for maybe 10 seconds while yelling myself hoarse.

I hunted caribou solo in the Fortymile region. While backpacking in I had an encounter with a huge boar grizzly, and all I could do was stand tall and bluff him. I had no firearm at that moment.

On that same hunt I endured over 5 days of weather so wild I thought it would destroy my camp and potentially threaten my life. I actually wrote a goodbye note to my wife and daughter, though it wasn't needed.

I went icefishing on a lake all by myself and fell through the ice in early February. Banged my head on the ice when I tried to surface. Got lucky and found the hole. Another self rescue and then gthoot.

I've had a rutting bull moose and his cow at 4 feet...yes....and held it together. I killed that bull several seconds later. Solo hunt.

Twice I've awakened at dawn and found fresh wolf tracks in the snow around my tent. Never heard a sound in the night.

I buy my flannel shirts from a company most guys have never heard of or seen. They're the toughest flannels I've ever found. With each shirt I buy they send me a nice card which reads in part:



If only I had found the shirt company before going through all that unnecessary grief and hardship....

 

[4dcfries]

Damn...if only I had discovered bow hunting in my 20's...by the time I hit 30's I would have been accomplished enough to undertake such an adventure. Now that I am in my mid 60's it is a pipe dream. I never wanted to hit the sack late at night wondering if I should have done this or that in my life. Rather take the risk and let the chips fall as they may..besides it almost always make a great story down the road. Any fear you might have will most likely be imagined, at least that's been my experience. Hope you keep a record of it somehow for your kids...they will most surely enjoy it in the future. Cheers and what ever you do...don't look back...that's when they get you. d

 

[TheGDog]

For the record...and while doing things solo:

I survived a severe motorcycle wreck nobody knew anything about. I self-evacuated and spent 10 days in the hospital. Lost my spleen, but not my desire to go back out there.

Dude... you can't just half-mention a story like that and not give the deetz man!

I'm a longtime 2-wheel officionado over here! Let's get with the bench-racin' man! What happened out there?

P.S. Yeah... it's funny how our spleens sure take a beating sometimes in get-offs.

 

[TheGDog]

Damn...if only I had discovered bow hunting in my 20's...

Oh man... if I'd have taken up hunting early? I'd have probably been 1 and done, in terms of marriages. Would've saved myself a ton of money and injury too from all the 2-Wheel extreme stuff.

 

[highcountrymuley]

What types of snax?

Clif bars

 

[swampthing]

For the record...and while doing things solo:

I survived a severe motorcycle wreck nobody knew anything about. I self-evacuated and spent 10 days in the hospital. Lost my spleen, but not my desire to go back out there.

I got stung square on the face by a brown scorpion in the dark while hunting axis deer on Maui. I got a little screwed up but kept hunting and almost killed a stag that morning.

I got charged by a presumably-pissed cow moose. I held a .44 mag on her forehead at 15' for maybe 10 seconds while yelling myself hoarse.

I hunted caribou solo in the Fortymile region. While backpacking in I had an encounter with a huge boar grizzly, and all I could do was stand tall and bluff him. I had no firearm at that moment.

On that same hunt I endured over 5 days of weather so wild I thought it would destroy my camp and potentially threaten my life. I actually wrote a goodbye note to my wife and daughter, though it wasn't needed.

I went icefishing on a lake all by myself and fell through the ice in early February. Banged my head on the ice when I tried to surface. Got lucky and found the hole. Another self rescue and then gthoot.

I've had a rutting bull moose and his cow at 4 feet...yes....and held it together. I killed that bull several seconds later. Solo hunt.

Twice I've awakened at dawn and found fresh wolf tracks in the snow around my tent. Never heard a sound in the night.

I buy my flannel shirts from a company most guys have never heard of or seen. They're the toughest flannels I've ever found. With each shirt I buy they send me a nice card which reads in part:

View attachment 243033

If only I had found the shirt company before going through all that unnecessary grief and hardship....

I would hunt with a dude like you!!

 

[Dos Perros]

@MokeBerserker @TheGDog what in the world did I just read. Are you guys like this in real life?

 

[TheGDog]

@MokeBerserker @TheGDog what in the world did I just read. Are you guys like this in real life?

RE: Are you guys like this in real life?

Like what? Please expand upon your question and be specific.

 

[Nickofthewoods]

Oh man... if I'd have taken up hunting early? I'd have probably been 1 and done, in terms of marriages. Would've saved myself a ton of money and injury too from all the 2-Wheel extreme stuff.

 

[Moserkr]

@MokeBerserker @TheGDog what in the world did I just read. Are you guys like this in real life?

If you want fake people/stories go check out instafakechatsnapogramook? @TheGDog is right - mindset needs to be as the top predator when you enter the woods, especially while solo. I will go as far as to say solo hunters are an elite crowd, and nothing can change my mind on that.

 

[Dos Perros]

Y’all are just a little...intense.

I just go hunt. With friends. Solo. Not that much different. Maybe that’s my problem lol?

 

[Kilboars]

I would hunt with a dude like you!!

I was thinking the other way

So much stuff has happened to him I wouldn’t want to with him.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TheGDog]

Well... if I can go thru all the trails and tribulations I have.. I guess for you to merely say I come across as "Intense" should be considered a compliment to my coping skills, and ability to be patient when needed.

 

[Cedarsavage]

Here’s something to think about. I’ve done a few solo hunts. Every time I go, everyone tells me to be careful and I usually get some crazy stories about someone who died on a solo hunt. In reality I’m ultra careful solo. Check in daily on in reach, set my knife down if I walk around the animal during skinning etc. went with someone else this year. He got hurt on the second day so he stayed close to camp most of the time. We were in his truck and he didn’t wanna take it through mud or ruts which is fine it’s his vehicle. No problem there. But because of that I walked way further than normal in an area with no cell service. In the end I was 2-3x further from a vehicle/water etc., than I would have been solo, no communication with him, and even if I could communicate I don’t think someone who had trouble walking could carry my 230lbs to help. Just something to think about. Now that I’ve been on a few good trips other people want to go. But if I hadn’t done it by myself I’d still just be “thinking about going on a hunting trip” like most other guys where I live.