Solo hunting

[OKHunter84]

I'm about to do a solo hunt out west for the third year in a row. I've hunted out west several times in a few different states over the last ten years. I've hunted whitetail solo in Kansas and Oklahoma most my adult life. The whitetail hunts are usually just day hunts, now that we don't have a cabin in Kansas anymore and not seen as dangerous or risky I guess.

Does anyone else catch grief from your family or friends about doing these hunts alone? I'm only 40 and I'm in good shape and not a new hunter by any means. I always seem to get comments from my wife or Dad like "it makes me nervous" or "I really wish someone was going with you".

I have tire chains, Garmin inreach, the insurance if you have to press SOS and all the usual safety precautions western hunters do. Just curious if anyone else experiences this as well or maybe has an idea how to set people's minds at ease.

 

[BravoNovember]

I had said something along the lines of “take a week of PTO and come with then”. The response was something along the lines of “I can’t or I wish I could”. I asked for it to be dropped then and didn’t catch anymore grief.

 

[Cedarsavage]

I'm about to do a solo hunt out west for the third year in a row. I've hunted out west several times in a few different states over the last ten years. I've hunted whitetail solo in Kansas and Oklahoma most my adult life. The whitetail hunts are usually just day hunts, now that we don't have a cabin in Kansas anymore and not seen as dangerous or risky I guess.

Does anyone else catch grief from your family or friends about doing these hunts alone? I'm only 40 and I'm in good shape and not a new hunter by any means. I always seem to get comments from my wife or Dad like "it makes me nervous" or "I really wish someone was going with you".

I have tire chains, Garmin inreach, the insurance if you have to press SOS and all the usual safety precautions western hunters do. Just curious if anyone else experiences this as well or maybe has an idea how to set people's minds at ease.

Usually a week or two before you go everyone tells you to be careful and a bunch of stories about people dying. You’ll be fine

 

[magtech]

I just go and ignore peoples stupid comments. They worry because THEY arent prepared to go alone.

If you are prepared, the hardest part is just being alone... even if you enjoy being alone.

Carry a pistol if it makes you feel comfortable..... but the random things that happen when youre alone are what make the trips special.

 

[ozyclint]

Men have have been leaving their family to go hunt for millennia.
Everything will be fine

 

[WhiteTree]

I find being out in nature alone to be a completely different experience to being out with other people. I wouldn't say it's better, but it's definitely a different experience that I like to be able to have.

 

[chanson_roland]

Just don't text photos of mountain lion kills and bear tracks back to the wife (ask me how I know..)

 

[COJoe]

Just don't text photos of mountain lion kills and bear tracks back to the wife (ask me how I know..)

Or the fresh mountain lion poop just up from your camp. I usually tell her the stories after I'm home sitting safely on the couch beside her.....

 

[NealS02]

I reassure my family by having a solid built-in safety plan (which it looks like you have) and keeping in contact while I am on my hunt. You could ask what else you could do to reasonably and realistically make them more comfortable. If they say things like: you should be going with a hunting partner, stay in a hotel, etc. just explain why that cannot be accommodated. Good luck!

 

[Rotnguns]

I do most all my hunting, hiking, and climbing myself, except when my brother visits from out of state. Riskier, yes, but a personal choice. Minimum recommended number for rock scrambling is three - in case of accident, one stays with the victim and the other can go for help.

 

[OKHunter84]

I reassure my family by having a solid built-in safety plan (which it looks like you have) and keeping in contact while I am on my hunt. You could ask what else you could do to reasonably and realistically make them more comfortable. If they say things like: you should be going with a hunting partner, stay in a hotel, etc. just explain why that cannot be accommodated. Good luck!

Very true. Finding a reliable hunting partner now that my dad kinda aged out of doing anything but hunting whitetail has been pretty hard.
I usually drop pins of where I'm parking and where I plan on camping.

 

[OKHunter84]

I find being out in nature alone to be a completely different experience to being out with other people. I wouldn't say it's better, but it's definitely a different experience that I like to be able to have.

I agree. I don't think I prefer it to going with someone your close with, but I prefer going alone to not going at all.

 

[Jimmy]

Mostly from extended family and friends, my wife is cool with it. The women say "Oh wow I can't imagine having my husband gone alone in the forest and no one with him" as they clutch his elbow tightly and he looks a little embarrassed.

They mean well. It's whatever.

 

[bozeman]

I'm a man, my wife knows it, so does my family....no comments.

 

[buffybr]

I started hunting when I still lived in Colorado and I think I shot 3 elk on solo hunts there.

After I moved to Montana I bought a couple of horses that helped me get my hunting camps farther back into the wildernesses, where I successfully solo hunted for a bunch of elk, a Shiras moose, a mountain goat, 2 bighorn rams. Just hunting from my car or pickup I've done a lot of solo hunts with many being successful for deer, antelope, a black bear, and another bighorn ram.
One of my Shiras moose with my golden retriever from a solo hunt that I packed into the wilderness with my horses.

One of my bighorn rams with my golden retriever from another solo horseback hunt.

 

[LIWolverine]

Biggest issue for me is finding a good hunting partner that wants to hunt as hard as me or go where I want to go. The wife feels way better when I take someone else but she still is ok when I go soon.

I have to look at it like I am glad they worry because that means I am important to them. I sure don’t look at it like they are stupid comments. I actually find it to be a slight pride deal to hear them all say it and know I’m the only one willing to do it and they (anyone making a comment) probably will never get to experience that.

I’d agree that it isn’t BETTER than going with someone but it’s just a totally different experience.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Runwilderness]

I started hunting late in life and initially had trouble with solo hunts due to concerns from the wife. A good safety plan helped (particularly Inreach check-ins…which also help with the pride aspect when you can report out Elk down!). But in retrospect many of the issues also tied to work related changes and unhappiness she was facing at the time and how well I was supporting her while asking her to support me as I went and did ‘my thing’.
You’ve got the safety plan checked, but also check to make sure you understand where all the concerns are coming from and work as hard on those as you do on your hunt.

 

[mtnbound]

My wife has access to my Inreach account, so she can see my location and see if I have moved at any time. I told her, "If you haven't heard from me at our predetermined check-in time, check to see if I have been moving." If it looks like I haven't moved for a long period of time, send me a message. It gives her peace of mind that she has options, and it is also my backup if something goes wrong and I cannot push the SOS.

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve lost friends to motorcycles, cancer, four wheelers, black ice, airplanes, drownings, covid, old age, bad driving, abusive relationships, 9/11 dust, forest fires, drunk drivers, tired driving, and helicopter crashes, but I’ve never lost a friend or even acquaintance to a hunting accident.

 

[mtnbound]

I’ve lost friends to motorcycles, cancer, four wheelers, black ice, airplanes, drownings, covid, old age, bad driving, abusive relationships, 9/11 dust, forest fires, drunk drivers, tired driving, and helicopter crashes, but I’ve never lost a friend or even acquaintance to a hunting accident.

As a SAR responder, I am called out for hunters every year. Yes, only a very few have been deceased, but hunters are not immune from needing help.