Loners in the woods

[Greyfox54]

I use to hunt with my Father when I was younger but after he passed on I sarted hunting alone and then I got heavy imto trapping and after running traplines for over 25 years I guess I am paranoid about telling anyone anything about my hunting unless they live at least 25 miles away .My son just started hunting and I have been settimg him up so it looks like things are going to change, Fred

[paleFace]

short day hunts near home are all by myself. of course the first thing i do once i come out of the woods after dark is to call my hunting partners to share the days events with. when i'm away on extended hunts i sure enjoy sitting around the campfire at night telling old stories and sharing new ones. the camp fires at the end of the day are as much a part of it as the actual time alone in the woods. i do share a stand with my 10 year old, but he is hunting and i am observing or vice-versa.

that said when i am by myself i am in a different zone or level of of the hunt. i am more in tune with the surroundings when i don't have to stay aware of what another person is doing that might mess up an opportunity.

[Ia Hawkeye]

Alone 99% of the time. I have freedom of movement and I don't have to worry about screwing up someboby elses hunt or they messing up mine ! ! (private land)

[Bill Carlsen]

I like having a spot all to myself....for all the reasons stated above by others. However, my wife now hunts and we sometimes take stands near one another. Other than the fact that I have more experience than she I feel she is a better hunter. She is quiet, very concerned about scent control and can sit much more still than I can for longer periods of time. Last year she went back by herself to our bear hunt and killed her first at the last hour. This year she took her first whitetail from a stand she found herself and asked me to set up the treestand. So, we like to hunt seperately together...sort of like shooting instinctively with sights.

[Yelloweye]

If we are all in the woods alone are we really alone? If I am in the woods alone and I fall down do I made a noise? You bet. If someone else hears me am I really alone?
My grandfather "Pop" is always with me it seems.
Yea it is better alone, meet up at lunch, the drive home, or help to drag, other than that just the spirits and me.

[Killdeer]

Alone!
My husband goes hunting so that he can spend time with me...so maybe I will sit a rifle stand with him once. When we "hunt" together, I just figure it is a social outing. I go with him as it is my wifely duty...  :rolleyes:      

My first week of the season is the last week of pure archery, and I generally have the whole forest to myself. Hunters trickle in during the second week, when muzzleloader opens, and then my husband and the world arrive on the third week when rifle comes in. I sometimes have friends come up during that second week, but we only see each other in the morning and evening, unless we don't hunt that day.

Part of hunting, for me, is the chance to be with myself in the wild, without the distraction of people and things. I am communing with Creation and the Creator, and relish the one-on-one experience that cannot be had in a crowded park, a warm communal cookshack, or a shared stand. There are times that you just have to follow a sudden enigmatic call, see what you find, and determine if you followed it correctly. Hard to do if you have to 'splain it to a partner.

I also neglect my writing when there are folks in camp. My social obligations take up the time that I would otherwise devote to introspection, evaluation, and the journal. Antisocial? Yeah, a bit, I guess.    

Killdeer

[John/Alaska]

Always unless my grandsons or SIL are with me. Don't even share a camp with others most of the time. Part of it is because I like it that way and also its tough to find someone to go with me. Of course it is nice to have some help when a critter is down. Moose are tough by yourself. Also it is a rare occasion if I even see another hunter when I'm out.

[UK Bowman]

Alone, 100%, I prefer it that way. Sharing a camp is nice and small game hunting is fun in a group, but I deal with the public all day so part of the reason I hunt is the solitutude.

[BigRonHuntAlot]

When I bowhunt I am ALONE 100 percent. I may have a freind close but we are well beyond 100 yards of each other. Most of the points have been made as to why and I agree.  The Campfire is a BLAST but is better at the end of the hunt IMHO.

[wtpops]

Like to shair a camp with a group but 100% alone while in the woods hunting.

[John3]

Alone in camp is lonely. Alone in the woods is peaceful.  At least for me.


John III

[Lee Viv]

Mostly alone, and I prefer it that way.  I am not much of a "people person" as those who have met me can attest to.  I am very uncomfortable around alot of people, which is why it's hard for me when I camp and attend festivals like Baltimore.

Even as a kid, I always preferred being by myself content with the company of a good book.

So, if any of you meet me at Baltimore, or any other shoot, don't be offended if I seem standoffish, that's just my nature.  My son Josiah's personality more than makes up for my personality.


Lee  :rolleyes:

[John57]

The only time I hunt with another person is during the Red Deer or Sika deer rut.
One can call while the other closes in.
Other than that I hunt alone.
Don't even really want to share a camp.
Doing so just means that if I decide to sleep under a log for the night(something I do a lot),then somebody is going to worry why I havn't returned to camp.Hunting alone allows a lot more freedom.

[Arwin]

It depends on the time of year for me. I usually go alone up to gun season and then I like to share some hunting time with others. If my daughter asks to go,I never turn her down, no matter the time of year! She's one of the best hunting partners I've ever had.  

[swp]

Alone, unless my daughter wants to go with me. I like canoeing and camping alone too. Something about having to rely on totally on yourself to stay out of trouble or to get yourself out of trouble that I personally like. You have to know your limits though. Gun season deer and small game are group hunting time for me if I want to do the partner thing.

[gobbler10ga]

alone!!!!!!!!!unless a base camp

[**oneshot**]

For small game I usually hunt with a freind or two, but for deer I prefer hunting alone.  This probably has more to do with my "before sunrise to after sunset" style of hunting.  I pack for the day and I go.

[mcgroundstalker]

Alone is cool...No clock...Don't have to "meet-up" with anyone "over there"...When the wind changes, just still hunt in a different direction...I can be very happy alone, most of the time...

BUT...Sometimes when the deer get away from me I wish someone was on the other end of the cover to cut them off...Been hunting the same general area for thirty plus years...Would love to do a squeeze play with five or six trad guys...Know what I mean?

>>-----> mike <-----<<  

[Gordon martiniuk]

Alone is the only way for me as well then you can hunt the game one on one and you will hear and see things that you would never see when there are more than One person  

[SpikeMaster]

I hunted with my brothers and Dad when I was younger. I also hunted alone sometimes then. I now hunt alone most of the time because I live too far away from my family and its hard for us all to get together because of lifes obligations. After doing it for so long now I actually prefer hunting alone.