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

[Mike Islander]

The only part of a solo hunt that was weird to me was after the kill. I had no problem doing the work myself but it was weird to "celebrate" the moment alone. On other hunts its always a big deal when you make a kill and there are hugs/high fives and retelling the story but when you're alone there is none of that. It felt almost anti-climatic. I am looking forward to that part again though. Now I know what to expect I can just live in the moment on my own.

I have to agree. I had five other hunters come see me when I shot my first buck (on a private club). I hunted completely alone, but it got dark and I hadn't signed out of the book yet, so they came and checked on me. It was a great feeling to have that (nearly) immediate feedback. Actually it was maybe the best of both worlds. I found him and dragged him out of the woods to the road by myself and got to thank the buck for his life, etc., in private. Then I had the fun of having fellow hunters give my high fives and admire the nice 8-point.

My nephew took his first buck last year completely by himself, including scouting and all prep. But with the advent of text messaging, he probably shared the experience with 10 to 20 of us, even if it was remotely. He then called me first, which felt damn good. I "raised" that boy right. He actually said he was glad he was alone, as it meant more to him for some reason. We're all different in what we like.

 

[Enel]

You are not alone, So many hunter die in the hoods all alone every years. Some get hurt with no one there to help. Hunting alone is scaring and should be only done by the Pros IMHO.

 

[mfllood3800]

You are not alone, So many hunter die in the hoods all alone every years. Some get hurt with no one there to help. Hunting alone is scaring and should be only done by the Pros IMHO.

Wait, what now??? What is a "Pro" Hunter. ??? I believe a pro is someone financially compensated for their service.
I don't get paid for hunting, but have hunted solo since I was 13. I am now , well, lets just say at retirement age.

I do agree some people shouldn't do certain things alone, or certain parts of certain things alone. Leaving solo hunts to "professionals" is just not practical. Cause most "pro's" have a camera crew, and others along to make the hunt media available.

Solo hunts should be for anyone wanting to try it. Each person knows their limits. Todays social media offers everyone data and info to try it with reduced learning curve time and pretty much reduces risks otherwise blinded to.
Sometimes I really wish there was no social media

 

[Ryan Avery]

Wait, what now??? What is a "Pro" Hunter. ??? I believe a pro is someone financially compensated for their service.
I don't get paid for hunting, but have hunted solo since I was 13. I am now , well, lets just say at retirement age.

I do agree some people shouldn't do certain things alone, or certain parts of certain things alone. Leaving solo hunts to "professionals" is just not practical. Cause most "pro's" have a camera crew, and others along to make the hunt media available.

Solo hunts should be for anyone wanting to try it. Each person knows their limits. Todays social media offers everyone data and info to try it with reduced learning curve time and pretty much reduces risks otherwise blinded to.
Sometimes I really wish there was no social media

Enel was a Nigerian scammer....

 

[mfllood3800]

Enel was a Nigerian scammer....

Im gonna miss him. His 28 posts were really starting to open my eyes

 

[BackcountryBloodline]

My very first experience hunting was a 5 day solo trip, no cell service and no inreach...mostly just due to the fact that I had nobody to go with but wasn't about to let that stop me from getting after it. In hindsight I'm thankful for that, now I don't think twice about getting up in the mountains by myself for a few days and someone else's schedule doesn't effect my hunt. I do pack an inreach now for peace of mind both on my end and back home but I know even in griz country the chance of anything bad happening significantly decreases once I pull off the highway. I honestly prefer solo hunting at this point, can move at my own pace, follow whatever drainage or game trail I feel like and nobody is going to be telling me we should head out right at prime time because they're scared to walk back to camp in the dark. As mentioned the one downside is the inability to properly share your success, an inreach message can definitely go a long way but nothing compares to a big ol' aggressive back slapping hug.

 

[AKBorn]

I will add a funny story to this topic. Last year we had a caribou hunt in Alaska. The weather was crap on our day of arrival so our outfitter only had time to get either me or my partner out the first day. My partner won/lost, however you look at it the coin flip and he was going to go out in the bush by himself for 1 night and I would arrive the next morning. This was our first time in Alaska and really our first time being literally in the middle of nowhere. The feeling you have knowing that if something goes wrong, you are not gonna hike out, you are probably not going to see anyone else and there will be apex predators around you in abundance.

Long story short, my partner gets dropped off on a sand bar that contains fresh Grizzly tracks, fresh Wolf tracks and he has literally 1 hour to set up camp and settle in before dark. He has never set up this particular tent because it was supplied by the outfitter, it is raining and all he has is a handgun, rifle and an inreach. haha. To top it all off, the next day the weather is shit again and I do not arrive to camp until 6pm. When I arrive my partner acts like it was an eternity and tells me of his mind played some serious tricks on him. It was so bad that when we were getting taken out of the field, he demanded that he go first and I sit and wait for the pilot to come back to get me. He was literally done with being in the Alaskan Bush by himself. It's funny because the both of us routinely hunt and spike out by ourselves here in AZ, but being in a new environment with new predators messed with his mind,

I don't mean to hijack this thread, and I am glad that you and your partner had a good hunt. I am NOT a fan of the outfitter dropping a hunter in remote country an hour before dark, with a tent the hunter has never set up, and without his partner. Please understand I have no issue with you and your buddy deciding to do it, I have issue with the outfitter doing it, without (at a minimum) making the hunter set up the tent and try the gear at the airstrip before getting flown in.

I typically hunt in Alaska with one partner per trip, and (because I have doe it many times, not because I am any better an outdoorsman) I insist on being flown in first and flown out last, if we can't fly in or out at the same time. If we can't both get in on the same day, we just wait until the next day. Just my preference.

 

[pk_]

2x Advil pm>fear

I always take on my first night of any hunting trip because I am too excited too sleep...

 

[Moserkr]

Ive hunted MT and CA (unfortunately now that Im here) alone many times. I started that way due to a lack of friends who had time to join me. Or i just wanted to hunt too much if thats possible haha. Started by going a few miles in, then as confidence in myself and my equipment grew, Ive gone much further and much longer. I do have my gear pretty well dialed now, and carry an inreach for everyones sake. My father-in-law is a CHP helicopter pilot that does backcountry rescues, including the areas I hunt. In his words:

Its really stupid to go into the backcountry without a satellite communication device, and makes my job extremely hard.

The easiest thing to see from the air is a large bright orange cloth or fabric, at least 4’x4’.
So I carry both of those, but Ill be damn near dead before I press my SOS button. Ive had close encounters with bears and they dont bother me much anymore, especially since Im hunting them. In griz and wolf country that would be different. Even though Ive spent over a year of my life camping in the woods, Ive never seen a lion on foot. Those are what tend to get under my skin now especially since ive seen them cross my backtracks. Night hikes alone with meat are definitely made easier with a bright headlamp. Hot tents make camp comfortable and add a level of safety. Before you go out alone, know your gear, your limits, and your area.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I don't understand why anyone who likes to hunt, would be scared to hunt alone. With that, If you are scared, stay home. I would. No sense in doing something you aren't looking forward to doing. You have nothing to prove to anyone here. But, if you go, be smart about it and do the things in preparation and during the hunt that allows you to enjoy it. There is no format for your hunting. Do you and love it while you can

 

[Okhotnik]

So, I have a few friends/family members who love to go hunting with me (either on their tag or mine) but for some reason I have this strong desire to do a solo, backcountry, hunt. The funny thing is, even through I have the strong desire for it, the thought of it scares the shit out of me. Am I the only one that thinks it will be a nightmare to spend several night's alone in the backcountry or is it just something that seems scary because I haven't had a chance to tackle it yet...?

The reason I ask is I always hear of people who prefer to hunt solo. I'm just wondering if it's something you learn to love after doing it (and getting over the fear) or something that some people are just accustomed to from the start..

Curious as to what scares you.

My only concern is when I'm hunting or fishing back country around grizzlies. I bring a paper back book to read before I go to sleep.

 

[swampthing]

I enjoy just sitting with a kill, very quietly. Moments like that seem to last forever. I have sat for up to an hour before pulling a knife out.

 

[Jherek]

You are not alone my friend.....
That being said, the last two hunts I've been on others have COMPLETELY ruined it for me! So any concerns I have are pretty much out the window because I'm not going to have someone else ruin my hunt again! I like the idea some had, of a summer scouting trip or just a night here and there on public hunting ground.

 

[Desertrek]

90% on my trips are solo. It’s a completely different experience imo. First few times can and will be scary, but you’ll get over it. I can’t tell you how many hours I’ve hiked alone at night with just a headlamp on to see. It’s all mental.

 

[rob86jeep]

Curious as to what scares you.

My only concern is when I'm hunting or fishing back country around grizzlies. I bring a paper back book to read before I go to sleep.

The alone in the dark miles from any civilization is part of it. Everyone knows your mind plays tricks on you when your in the dark and to think that I'll be miles from my vehicle/other people and don't know what my mind will try to tell me is part of it.

The other part is I recently got injured for the first time in my life (ACL/MCL in my knee) by just dumb luck without doing anything crazy. I hard a hard time limping out of the gym (about 200 feet) with the help of one person. I can't imagine trying to get out of the woods if something like that happens again. I will carry an in reach for issues like that, but it still a little scary thinking about it.

 

[rob86jeep]

I don't understand why anyone who likes to hunt, would be scared to hunt alone. With that, If you are scared, stay home. I would. No sense in doing something you aren't looking forward to doing. You have nothing to prove to anyone here. But, if you go, be smart about it and do the things in preparation and during the hunt that allows you to enjoy it. There is no format for your hunting. Do you and love it while you can

Have you never tested yourself, either physically or mentally? Maybe some people do things that test their limits to impress others, I would imagine most do it for themselves though.

 

[Okhotnik]

The alone in the dark miles from any civilization is part of it. Everyone knows your mind plays tricks on you when your in the dark and to think that I'll be miles from my vehicle/other people and don't know what my mind will try to tell me is part of it.

The other part is I recently got injured for the first time in my life (ACL/MCL in my knee) by just dumb luck without doing anything crazy. I hard a hard time limping out of the gym (about 200 feet) with the help of one person. I can't imagine trying to get out of the woods if something like that happens again. I will carry an in reach for issues like that, but it still a little scary thinking about it.

Take the usual precautions and prepare like any situation in life. Have a back up plan and a back up to your back up plan. Or hunt 10 minutes from your vehicle. Whatever you want and you can kill animals 10 min from your truck too.

 

[ridgefire]

Earplugs are your friend when alone. I put them in when I go to sleep and don't hear anything until my alarm goes off in the morning. Never had any problems yet.

 

[rob86jeep]

Earplugs are your friend when alone. I put them in when I go to sleep and don't hear anything until my alarm goes off in the morning. Never had any problems yet.

I'm scared to sleep with earplugs in no matter where I'm at. I have a hard time shutting off the rest of the world (unless I'm at the gym in a kind of controlled environment).

 

[Rokwiia]

Here's what I would suggest. If you are concerned about being alone, I'd go out on a backpack WITH one other person. You can set up a separate camp a hundred yards away from each other. That way, you'll get the experience of being alone while having the comfort of someone nearby. Perhaps the next time, separate a little father from each other.

If you do that a few times, you'll get used to being alone.