Stories of hunting partners that quit

Had a guy leave on the morning of day 2 or 3 of a Desert Bighorn hunt I’d drawn a tag for in my home state of NV. I’d hired an outfitter and he asked to accompany me. I was driving the guides SxS to our morning hunt area, he was riding. The SxS caught on fire (small fire under the seat), the fire was quickly extinguished and before we could get our gear loaded into another guide’s SxS he’d put on his pack, headed back to camp and when the group returned to camp from the days hunt he’d pack his gear and driven his own vehicle home south of Vegas to Reno (500 miles). I guess the little fire shook him up but we never discussed why he left, I never asked a rarely talked to him afterwards. I’d only known him a few years at the time but he seemed pretty hardcore when I first met him (he’d killed a Stone and Dall with a bow, along with several other real good animals and finished the Western States 100 in under 24 hours multiple times). We didn’t hunt together after that.
 
Tilzbow said:
Had a guy leave on the morning of day 2 or 3 of a Desert Bighorn hunt I’d drawn a tag for in my home state of NV. I’d hired an outfitter and he asked to accompany me. I was driving the guides SxS to our morning hunt area, he was riding. The SxS caught on fire (small fire under the seat), the fire was quickly extinguished and before we could get our gear loaded into another guide’s SxS he’d put on his pack, headed back to camp and when the group returned to camp from the days hunt he’d pack his gear and driven his own vehicle home south of Vegas to Reno (500 miles). I guess the little fire shook him up but we never discussed why he left, I never asked a rarely talked to him afterwards. I’d only known him a few years at the time but he seemed pretty hardcore when I first met him (he’d killed a Stone and Dall with a bow, along with several other real good animals and finished the Western States 100 in under 24 hours multiple times). We didn’t hunt together after that.
Click to expand...

Man, that's a weird one, with him already having proven himself on tough hunts. And the quitting almost always seems to be what people have going on between their ears, not actual physical hardship.
 
Years back my pastor wanted to go mule deer hunting with me, shot one a ways back in some rough country. By the time we got it packed to a two track that I could drive on, it was after dark, and he was too tired and sore to keep hiking so I told him to wait there and I would get the pickup and meet him there. I still had a few miles to hike, and when I made it back to camp discovered that he had panicked being left alone and had called search and rescue, thought that I was taking too long to get back. They were just getting ready to head out. Since then I have absolutely no desire to hunt with anyone besides my daughter.
 
Greenbelt said:
My hunting partner is my wife's cousin. He had never been hunting and was from the city, but he had done a lot of shooting and was a good shot. I usually hunt solo, but told him I would take him when he showed interest. We had a hunt planned and around that time his baby was due so I was almost positive he was gonna cancel. The baby was born about 1 week before the hunt and he informed me he was still gonna go. I thought well shit that's pretty ballsy. He shows up at our meet location and we get our packs together and during some random conversation about the baby being born he informs me that today is his wife's birthday. This dude went hunting with me a week after his baby was born and on his wife's birthday! Right there I knew he was gonna be worth the work I needed to put into him and there was no way he was quitting. Needless to say years later he's good to go and still going hunting on her birthday. This year he's taking his baby bonding leave to go hunting. The dude makes me laugh. Hunter at heart.
Click to expand...
Our anniversary is 9/29 and my wife's birthday is 10/6. I miss a lot of those days hunting. I also just usually forget.
 
My first elk hunt was out of a cabin north of delnorte. I was with my wife’s uncle and his friend. They had hunted together for many years. Both of them are older and their knees are basically toast. These guys both like to drink and I only really get the idea of what’s happening on our drive down. These guys have hunted with a group in an elk camp since kids, particularly uncles friend. I finally start to realize, these guys have never really hunted this far out and isolated, they’ve always had a bunch of rvs and trailers pulled up in a circle, guys stay back to cook or whatever. This is not the case at this cabin. They are used to hunting on top of a big flattop, walk up in the morning and a nice cruise down to camp in the evening. This is not the case as well. After the first morning where it dumps a 1.5” I start to realize that these dudes have never hunted anywhere like this. I’m young, but green and track two moose over a ridge that morning, thought it was an elk, but was psyched. I tell these guys that and they say, don’t shoot one over there!! We can’t walk up there! Now I’m sad. Every night we eat well from what we brought in. Then they drink. At that time I drank too, and I can be a real asshole. This was right after an election and uncles friend keeps wanting to talk politics, his side lost, as he gets drunker and drunker. This is also the guy that supposedly doesn’t drink anymore after choking out his ex wife, (find that on the way down there) but drinks a suitcase of NA Bush Lights on the way down there and hits the bourbon hard at the cabin. He’s running his ******* mouth at me because I won’t engage him in an argument and then I let it go. I embarrass him, he’s looking to uncle to get him to ease me back but he’s letting it go on. I hit the sack and the next morning he’s packing up. Doesn’t say hardly a word and away he goes two days early. This is why I decline offers to deer camps and duck camps and elk camps. It’s often families who get drunk and people fight and the weekend is about that, which seems fun for most of them. It’s not really quitting, but it’s another thing to remember when hunting with others is how far they can go and are willing to go and what their other experiences have been like. Saw a cow and a calf, a huge muley and was close enough to a bull moose at twilight in a swamp that I could smell it. I had a blast.
 
loganwayne said:
that guy trained his wife well.

It took years (before i married her) for my wife to realize no matter how much she bitched i was going hunting. she pretty much expects me to be gone somewhere every weekend from September until at least March. I conceded the week between Christmas and new year as a family trip.... i only hunt 1 day while we are gone. Only other days she knows ill be home is for thanksgiving meal with the family, then i leave for hunting camp. and Christmas eve afternoon and Christmas day.
Click to expand...
Yea I gotta say I'm pretty lucky. My wife doesn't say much, but I learned years ago money quiets em down lol. So I just work hard when I'm not hunting.
 
I was a little bummed last year when I drew my antelope tag after 22 years. I had three friends wanting to help out. We were all looking forward to spending a week in the desert together! My buddy and I made the 9 hour drive on Thursday and set up camp. Next morning we went scouting till midday and head back to camp for lunch. Another buddy shows up, then later that evening the last drives in. I end up shooting my buck opening evening. I brought a portable fridge/freezer to keep the meat safe. The weather was great! Cold nights with frost in the morning, so everything was perfect. Specially for August. They only stayed one more night and it was over. Guess I should have pulled the trigger later in the week to be able to hang out with some buddies for a week. At least all our families were happy to see us back home so soon!
 
My youngest bailed on his last Coues hunt. Says he rolled his ankle. He was 17 at the time. Drove him back home, 12 hours round trip, and I got back after it. Come to find out he had a hot piece waiting for him to get back. Can't blame him for that.

Other than that, there are only two other people besides my wife I'll hunt with, and they are solid.
 
About 7 or 8 years ago I met a guy on the local hunting forum. At this point I’d been hunting a few years and never gone with anyone. We went hunting mid November for a long weekend and seemed to hit it off but I got pretty sick and bailed a day early. I don’t think I was out of line or he took it that way.

We stayed in touch and ended up going hunting the following September. 12 hour drive up to the northern half of B.C. On the first day at about lunchtime I rolled my ankle bad in the middle of a bunch of blowdown. I tightened my boot as tight as it would go and hobbled my way back to camp. When we got back I chugged two beers, took some ibuprofen and passed out for a couple hours.

When I woke up and did a bit more hobbling, I told him I was gonna stay at camp for day two and rest it up a bit and then see how it felt. He was pissed and said he couldn’t hunt a spot he’s never been by himself. We drove home on day 2. I wouldn’t have left if I had my own truck.

A few days later, back at home with a dark purple ankle, I had the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had that is a pretty good story on its own.

A couple years later I messaged him and asked why we left. He wasn’t thrilled I didn’t want to bring atvs and at first I didn’t want the ibuprofen. I’ve always wondered if there was more to it he just wasn’t telling me. He has been on this forum in the past. Maybe he’ll see this and give more details.
 
jpuckett said:
Gotta find a hunting partner that has a badass wife who won’t be begging him to come home early the whole time!! Thats one of the biggest reasons I’ve seen/heard people quit!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
OMG yes. My wife is a saint until I leave to go on extended meetings / conferences and hunts. Luckily my kids are finally older.. I'm leaving for 10 days to go to IOWA after taking 7 years to draw. I might lose my phone in the river ..
 
loganwayne said:
Ive got a buddy who ive been on a couple short hunts with. He isn't going with me bird hunting this year because his wife complains the whole time hes gone. Im not driving 20hrs on a 10 day trip for him to start trying to convince me to leave on day 3. Told him why he didn't get invited and he got a little pissy about it
Click to expand...
Sounds like he needs his own truck
 
I think it's been 6 years now. My brother and his girlfriend came with my wife and I on a 10 day Eastern Montana hunt.

Opening weekend and the first week are usually pretty pleasant. Sunny afternoons and cool nights. We arrived a day early so we could be hunting at daylight opening morning.

This year the forecast said the usual up until the day we got there, then cold, snow and wind were forecast all week.

They came prepared for warm weather with a Walmart tent, queen air mattress and 10x10 pop-up and buddy heater.
The first night was 5 below with a 20 mph sustained wind and no way to get away from it. They had enough blankets and the heater they stayed warm enough but only slept about 2 hrs from the tent slapping all night.

Opening day we put my brother's girlfriend on her first muley buck, a 25" wide 4 point. she was warm all day after that!

They were gonna stay another day and shoot some does. That night was 10 below and just as windy. They rolled it all up and left about 4 in the morning.

I don't blame them or hold it against them. We laugh about it now because bro has never been a planner.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

TheGDog
My One-and-Only Son, yesterday....
2
Replies
37
Views
3K
BigE
BigE
mikkel318
I lost my brother and hunting buddy
2 3
Replies
56
Views
3K
Frost9
Frost9
displacedtexan
Josh Johnson? (Comedian)
Replies
1
Views
300
DapperDan
DapperDan
A
That itch
Replies
2
Views
352
Decker9
Decker9
L
  • Locked
Tinfoil hats welcome.. charlie kirk shooter.
Replies
2
Views
604
lil' bear
L

Latest posts

Featured Video

Latest Articles

Back
Top