Ever had a hunting buddy quit on you in the field? Last year I my elk trip cut short by my hunting partner who gave up. He said he didn't realize we would be walking up and down mountains (I told him) and that it just wasn't fun for him anymore. I made the mistake of carpooling in with him and had to go. I let him know how I felt. I am giving him another chance this year but I am driving myself.
I am a hunt until the last day's legal shooting hours end kind of guy.
:clapper:
Didn't know that elk hunting involved mountain hikes??? This guy is obviously not a rocket scientist. Good luck.
I am thinking I would have had to tie him up and take the truck keys :)
Not all elk hunting involves hiking mountains...we have a farmland elk season in my area for the first time ever this year...on the other hand even hunting farmland elk can be pretty draining...I call elk whitetails on steroids...not a game animal for the weak willed
DDave
10:1 he pulls the same stunt this year
Tell him to bring along a few good books, and maybe a bottle of whatever suits his fancy, and if he gets too bored/tired of the hunting, that you hope he enjoys himself back in camp the best he can until the end of the hunt.
Sometimes good friends are not necessarily good hunting partners. I am setting up my camp like I will be hunting alone and will appreciate the company if he sticks around.
Western Washington elk territory is not know for its lack of topography.
You need to find a better hunting buddy.......I wish I lived closer....lol!
We had plenty of Fireball Whiskey in camp. I tend to be a little hard headed when it comes to woodland misery. Years of humping a ruck in previous profession got me accustomed to the life sucking tick on my back.
I guess what realy makes the difference is that even with a stack full of tag soup I truly expect to see elk around the next bend on every hunt.
Yep elkhunting partners are harder to find then good wives. It's best if they are the same person.
I've had partners quit on me a number of times. Unlike you I've never asked them to go again.
Mike
Never had anyone quit like that but we sure had a habitual whiner. We loved the guy and he was a good hunter but geez he could whine. It usually revolved around camp chores etc or when he wasn't seeing any game. Once, he and another friend were convinced I had set my stand up wind of them and that was why they only were seeing small bucks. Geez. But to his credit he could take it when we gave him a hard time or pulled a prank on him. Maddest I saw him was when I put a hen mallard in his bed while he was in the shower. Laid the ducks head on his pillow like it was asleep.
Hoping not, but might the term "glutton for punishment" apply here?
Hunting partners, most often are for camp, not the mountains. I share camps with a lot of people, but most of their ideas of how elk hunting is done are different than mine. Not saying they are wrong...just different. Most often we wave goodbye in the morning and say hello after dark, then they can go at their own pace and me at mine.
Mountains got it own ways...Pilgrim!! :goldtooth:
My father, gave me a pearl of wisdom that I always remember when going hunting with new guys. He told me "I've hunted with a lot of people...........Once !!!". Good hunting buddies are truly hard to come by
I like hunting with me, myself and I. Will all get along just fine, are the first ones out and the last ones back and we all like our cooking. Snoring doesn't bug use either.
Originally posted by Walt Francis --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hunting partners, most often are for camp, not the mountains. I share camps with a lot of people, but most of their ideas of how elk hunting is done are different than mine. Not saying they are wrong...just different. Most often we wave goodbye in the morning and say hello after dark, then they can go at their own pace and me at mine.
Yep
I got no problems with the mountains and my hunting partner is in better shape than me :thumbsup:
Interesting topic. A friend and I have been planning a elk hunt for two years. I asked him last year to go and he said next year would be better. Now a month before we were to go he says he doesn't think he can do it and does not want to hinder my son and I.
I was ticked at first but I guess that is better than going and deciding the first day or two that he can't or does not want to continue. I guess I should be thankful he was upfront with me.
I've been in very similar situations. Now I rarely ride anywhere with anyone. If any of the guys need to leave or want to leave, they are free to hop in their truck and go.
I am a big believer in hunting to satisfy myself. A couple of years ago, I realized that the only person that has to be satisfied is me...whether its a buck that many guys wouldn't shoot, a 12 hr drive to hunt Sika deer on the eastern shore, an 8 hr drive to GA to hoghunt or an evening trip at the family place...i am the only one that has to be satisfied with my decision to stay, leave, harvest an animal, etc.
is your buddy is also from the pacific nw? I don't see how you can live here and not understand that the elk live in the mountains which means you have to go into the mountains to hunt them. In my opinion he should have found a decent place to sit on a stand while he let you continue your hunt. I've had 8 back surgeries with a third of my back being fused and a major loss of function in my right leg but I go elk hunting myself every year and I also take my wife. I'll put her on trails and let her walk and pick her up on the other side of the mountain or canyon and when I hunt I just walk mild areas or I'll drive and glass or sit on a stand. It may not be optimal but at least I'm hunting and still helping my wife.
Yep, I've had em quit while deer hunting, turkey hunting, even setting and pulling stands. One guy, I find out AS he was climbing the tree to one of my stands, was afraid of heights. Quit and went home.
Quitters are one of the reasons I tend to hunt alone.
I'm with Walt on this one and yes I have had some quit on me.
I'd like to think that I did a good thing if someone quit on me.
I've helped someone find their limitations and it's up to them as to whether or not they choose to push their limit beyond what it was.
God bless,Mudd
Like I said, this year I am going to set myself up and he is welcome to share camp with me. Just not going to tie myself down this time.
Wish my father lived closer. He is a hunting machine and was a great campmate in Colorado.
Why the second chance? He's likely not cut out for this. Elk hunting is a life style, a mind set, not a trip. Conditioning is 12 months a year. For a Midwesterner, elk hunting the mountains is pure leg/lung torture.
I am not the hard charger I used to be but "quit" is not part of my lexicon.
Anyway...best of luck! Hit'er hard!
Kris
Honestly, for me, I like to hunt in pairs. Have I had a hunting partner walk out? Well...
....a couple of years ago a group of us got together to elk hunt. I knew two guys who knew two guys kind of thing. I'd elk hunted with both of the guys I knew before and knew I could count on them.
In fact, one of the guys that I knew had Mt Everest on his bucket list (really). He has since decided that making it to Everest base camp is enough for his bucket list. He doesn't need to summit. This is a guy that can afford it and is stubborn and driven, nearly to a fault.
One of the "friends of a friend" showed in camp. Built like a brick sh!+house. I thought, "this guy is gonna be tough to keep up with." Three days in he was looking for a flat place to hunt. Six days in we came back to camp and found a note.
He made it back home by hitchhiking across Colorado and catching a flight back east.
It happens. It's one of the "issues" you risk by hunting with people you don't know well enough. Nothing like 10+ miles a day in rough country with no amenities to teach you how reliable someone can be.
homebru
I'm really sorry to hear this...Growing up in Ak I'd heard of quitters int eh woods but I thankfully have never dealt with one. I have metal hips now but I am aware of what I can/can't do. I would personally never ruin someones hunt due to my limitations. best of luck to you this season