Stories of hunting partners that quit

[khunter]

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!

Tags all filled out is usually time to pack it up. Perfectly normal in that situation. And yes after 22 years of waiting you should have held out unless the one you shot was an absolute no brainer and biggest in the unit.

 

[Don Qui Puncher]

My first year elk hunting I drove to Idaho from MA with a buddy the plan was to arrive a day before it opened and hunt for 7 days and come home. 3 days into the season the texts from his wife started and by day 4 his ticket was booked and he begged me to drive him to SLC 4+ hours away. I dropped him off at the bus station and he flew home and I drove back home alone after hunting 10 days , I stayed a few extra days. The next year I drove out with a different buddy in his truck. By day 3 he got squirrelly on me, day 4 I came back to camp and he had everything packed up and said he was leaving in the morning and that I could come or find my own way home. Luckily I had a buddy in Utah that was away for work and said I could borrow his truck for a week to finish my hunt, so he gave me a ride there I grabbed the truck and drove back and finished the hunt. The following year I drew a gen tag in Wyoming I flew into SLC and grabbed the same buddies truck and hunted alone. Day 3 i shot a bull, I met some locals packing the head out that night and they ended up helping me pack it out with horses the next day. We became friends and they have visited me in Massachusetts since. I don’t know if I’ll go out west again with a hunting partner I felt so much more efficient alone

 

[Smokey Bear]

Tags all filled out is usually time to pack it up. Perfectly normal in that situation. And yes after 22 years of waiting you should have held out unless the one you shot was an absolute no brainer and biggest in the unit.

I was, and still am very happy with my antelope. Just would have liked more time with good friends.

 

[rbutcher1234]

I’m lucky enough to have an understanding wife who doesn’t nag when I go on a hunt. However, I’ve got three young kids and I know it’s hard on her when I’m not around as having three kids would be hard on anybody. I think my biggest issue personally isn’t my wife wanting me to abandon the hunt and come home, but my sense of guilt for not being there to help and be with the kids.

Yes this is basically me.

 

[dtrkyman]

Not a partner but a client, 22 yrs old, we hunted a 190” mule deer during archery season for 21 straight days!

Never complained once, always a good attitude despite having our buts kicked!

We were in range of that deer 5 times and never got a good shot opportunity!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Build_Fight_Win]

bwhahaha! man that is great.

Over my years of guiding/outfitting I saw this dozens of times. Decade long friendships go up in flames. Wild.

One time I packed out a guy who had killed a bull... when I got to the qtrs and head (they were about a mile from camp) he was there with all his gear and bedroll. I thought.... hmm odd. then he explained he wanted to head down the mountain with the bull. Something about his back hurting and wanting to take care of meat. No prob.

His buddies called the next day frantic on a sat phone to tell me that their buddy was lost in the wilderness and probably dead.
Turns out he was already half way home and never told them

wow.

 

[Stivala223]

Has anyone's partner quit due to internal conflict about killing an animal?

 

[Rich M]

Has anyone's partner quit due to internal conflict about killing an animal?

Im sure. Some folks get real jealous.

I had a buddy get really pissed when i shot a buck on day 2 of a 5-day hunt. We hunted all 5 days and he got a bigger buck than mine at the last minute.

We still hunt together. Think he realized that it’s hunting and ya take the opportunities presented.

 

[NStevens35]

Has anyone's partner quit due to internal conflict about killing an animal?

Do you mean like not wanting to take a life?

 

[Stivala223]

Do you mean like not wanting to take a life?

Yes.

 

[NStevens35]

Yes.

Oof. Never experienced that. My wife is quick to say "poor little deer" often and regardless of species though. But she's never quit so its all good

 

[Neckbone]

My first year elk hunting I drove to Idaho from MA with a buddy the plan was to arrive a day before it opened and hunt for 7 days and come home. 3 days into the season the texts from his wife started and by day 4 his ticket was booked and he begged me to drive him to SLC 4+ hours away. I dropped him off at the bus station and he flew home and I drove back home alone after hunting 10 days , I stayed a few extra days. The next year I drove out with a different buddy in his truck. By day 3 he got squirrelly on me, day 4 I came back to camp and he had everything packed up and said he was leaving in the morning and that I could come or find my own way home. Luckily I had a buddy in Utah that was away for work and said I could borrow his truck for a week to finish my hunt, so he gave me a ride there I grabbed the truck and drove back and finished the hunt. The following year I drew a gen tag in Wyoming I flew into SLC and grabbed the same buddies truck and hunted alone. Day 3 i shot a bull, I met some locals packing the head out that night and they ended up helping me pack it out with horses the next day. We became friends and they have visited me in Massachusetts since. I don’t know if I’ll go out west again with a hunting partner I felt so much more efficient alone

Fool me twice, I get it.

I used to hunt alone, I liked the efficiency and not having to worry about what someone else wants or needs...

I now have a great hunting partner I've been on 4 trips with. While he is a lot older and a bit slower than me, it just wouldn't be the same not having him around. Having a GOOD hunting partner is way better.. someone to bounce ideas off of, share in the sucky parts, share in the triumphs, someone to talk shit with around the campfire...someone to enjoy the memories with. If I lived out west and could hunt often then sure, I would take some trips solo and enjoy them, but being that I get 1 trip per year for the most part...these memories are best spent shared. (With the right person)

 

[Whitefox82]

For those who have them, I’d like to hear them. I’ve had two hunting partners quit on me in the past two years. The first one was on a Wyoming cow elk hunt. No animals, he got discouraged and drove the three day drive back to Michigan, he was there for four days total. I killed one the next day about 300 yards from the truck. That one’s not that big of a deal but this next one, goodness.

So I’ve been planning a moose hunt for about three years and have had the air taxi booked for two. The original plan was for my dad, brother and I to go but since my brother is going through a custody battle, he had to stay back. Same reason he wasn’t in Wyoming with me the year prior. So I invited another buddy in his place who was super excited about it. Dropped 5k on a custom rifle for this specific hunt and bought a bunch of new hunting gear so he seemed pretty serious. Or so I thought.

We flew out of phoenix August 25th and got to our destination the 26th. We tried to fly out that evening but were weathered in a flew out the next morning. The first two places I chose to hunt were already take. So we had to bump to the third choice, which was still pretty good but I’m assuming this is where things started to fall apart for him.

On the way in I didn’t see any moose, animals, nothing but on his flight in he saw five big bulls. I think this bit of info is imported for later. So it obviously took two flights for all of us to get to camp and my dad and I set everything up by the time my buddy gets there. We get settled in and all agree it feels like we stepped into a painting. Absolutely beautiful place and I can’t wait to return. Then we start exploring the next day, find places to glass from and all the places we want to focus on. Season opens up the September 5th so we have plenty of time and start shooting and cooking up ptarmigan.

On about day four he starts mentioning that he’s having a hard time sleeping, seems a bit worried about all the grizzlies and the lack of moose. We haven’t seen any moose in our hunt area yet. Then he says something about how he’d rather be at his cabin in Montana. I sympathize with him and try to encourage him and keep glassing and hiking around. I eventually, on day five, glass up a cow high up in the alders so we’re finally on the board for moose. If the cows are here, the bulls will be. And I remind him of that to get his spirits up. Apparently that didn’t work lol.

The next day he mentions Montana again and how he only got one hour of sleep that night, and how if no animals are here on day five they won’t be on day ten. I tell him I’ll go glass and he can stay back and catch up on sleep. I get back up on the glassing knob and after a few hours I hear a plane coming down the valley. I think nothing of it and then get eyes on and see that it’s our pilots plane and that he’s on approach to land at our lake. I break down everything and start running back to camp wondering what’s going on. By the time I get there he has everything of his loaded up in the plane and is getting ready to leave! Has not told me a thing about him actually leaving, contacting the pilot, nothing! I’m in complete shock that this is happening. If I wouldn’t have come off the hill, I wouldn’t have even known he left until I got back to camp that night.

Anyways, I get down there and ask him to leave his food and the raft. He already left the raft (took the paddles though) and handed me the extra food. Says sorry man and then flys off. Im in disbelief. I’ve known this dude for almost two decades and he pulls this. Leaves me alone with my dad, who’s 65, in the wilds of Alaska to hunt moose with zero explanation. Still haven’t got one from him and I honestly don’t care to ask.

So after that nonsense I saw an absolute monster of a moose the next day. Which is kinda like what happened in Wyoming in terms of finding animals. Patients pays off. Fast forward to the 5th and I shoot one opening morning. This is when I needed him. I packed that moose out, for the most part, by myself. My dad helped as much as he could but he’s 65 and moose quarters aren’t light and we had to move that bull 1.25 miles to the river then up the river another 3.5 to camp. Took me four days total, if my buddy wouldn’t have quit on me it would have taken two. But great news! I didn’t lose any meat, had a good time with my dad, and love the grind of moose hunting.

So, who else has a story like this? Everyone I told this to at the lodge was shocked and had never heard anything like this happening. Yeah, people quit but they normally give you a heads up! So let’s hear it guys, what’s your craziest hunting partner quitting on you story?


View attachment 936701

Sounds like a drug addict to me - Irrational behavior.