i need new hunting partners.

[pointysticks]

gah..

i feel like a mother hen. hog hunts open up on some Army Corp of Engineer land this saturday. i've been scouting for the past 4 sundays. alone or with my poor wife. i've set cameras.

one of my friends went back to school, so i get it that he is busy. the rest? i still get questions like, "when is the opening day?" i refuse to be everyone's secretary. we have to pick up a pass and pay $35 to hunt this area. i got mine a month ago.

i think i am going to go solo, a lot. i will take the student, just to help..but i am over it. i am not gonna be the one that rounds up the troops and gets them to put in for tags, licenses, etc.

it's GO TIME!! elk, couse deer, and california public land hog are on my biggest wish/dream list. (archery only)

thanks for letting me vent!! AZ couse deer is coming up..i am not calling a single person. they all know it is January.

[Rangerz]

Amazing how many people want to go but don't want to put in the work.

[zpd307]

I have noticed this on all the trips I have planned. then they have the balls to complain if it doesn't go the way they wanted it.....

[Elkduds]

Just got back from a KS pheasant hunt w dad, nephew, cousin. It was below 0 @ times, you know the wind blew, overall damn few birds. Nobody b!tched or moaned, everyone joked and kidded about missed shots, cold weather, other adversities. Each did their share. It was SO MUCH FUN.

I had forgotten how grand it is to share hunting w the right people. Long ago I gave up on elk hunting w others, so I could do it my way. Thinking I might have missed out on some good times. Still, I'll likely be hunting elk solo next fall. It is simpler. And a week of elk camp is much more of a commitment that a weekend bird hunt w hotel lodging.

[Indian Summer]

Every group has a ring leader. During my years as an outfitter I talked to many ring leaders. I felt their pain like I felt yours. The only thing worse than answering the same question 10 times is when they don't even bother to ask any and end up unprepared. Or worse.... finally call to tell you the super duper awesome perfectly understandable reason why they are bailing out on you.

I've heard the saying a bad partner is worse than no partner. But even though I hunt alone I'm no fan of solo camping. You need to make a serious effort to line up ONE solid partner and leave the rest in the dust. Too bad you're so far away. I would love to hunt hogs. I've been wanting to for years.

[Lefty]

Good partners are hard to find, Ive found one exceptional hunting partner in my life.
I just sort of fall back I realize Im the guy who has to do all the work So more recently if Im doing the work its for my father in law, wife or daughters.
It amazes me how few are out there will do what they can. Ive taken maybe over 100 different guys on a once in a lifetime goose hunt for them. Im not bitter, but maybe spent too much time making sure others had great hunts.
The past few years there hasn't been the big flights of geese. guys keep asking me to take them out,.. i suggest find a field and get us permission, Ill bring all the gear including a gun and shells,.. one guy out of dozens have found field

[easeup]

...........................................

I've heard the saying a bad partner is worse than no partner. But even though I hunt alone I'm no fan of solo camping. You need to make a serious effort to line up ONE solid partner and leave the rest in the dust. .................................................

now that is it in the fewest number of words. I can sing second verse for you on this one.
But a solid guy find is a needle in the haystack search and now everyone knows why we hunt solo!

[luvelkhunt]

Yes you do!! good luck, they are hard to find.

[itsnlkthing]

I feel your pain on this one. I've hunted back country solo the past 2 years. Not because I want to but because I am tired of counting on others who either bail last minute or don't want to hunt more than 100 yards off the road. It's hard to find people who are committed. I hope to find a good partner at some point but I will continue to go solo in the meantime.

[husky390]

I'd rather hunt solo than go with a bad hunting partner. Been there done that, don't want to do it again. And I still see that S.O.B. bringing people into the honey hole that he swore to secrecy on.

I hear ya on having to be the mother hen. I do that for rifle season every year. This past season my buddy had a coyote dead to rights but didn't shoot him because he though he had to have a small game license. When I explained to him that he could have shot him since he hadn't filled his elk tag he looked at me and asked why I didn't tell him that. I told him it's in the regs. He replied that's why he goes with me so I can do the reading for him since I'm "in" to hunting more than he is. I just shook my head, called him a moron and told him to read the 4 pages of regs.

One thing that does suck about hunting solo is not having someone to b.s. with around the campfire. That's why I don't mind doing it for rifle season.

What State are the hog hunts in?

[Vids]

I'm with ya on this one. When you take the time to scout and figure out the logistics it is very frustrating when others in the group don't put any effort in at all. That's an issue I've been dealing with for a few years, I've grown really tired of babysitting people.

It seems to be able to do the hunts I really want to I'd have to go solo but I don't enjoy hunting alone near as much. The camaraderie in camp really adds to the experience, even if it's just one person to BS with after the day is over.

[pointysticks]

What State are the hog hunts in?

Local hogs. California. We have lots of them. But they are geniuses. Very hard to get with a bow.

[Mav]

The only trustworthy hunting partner I've had until this year has been the man that taught me everything, my pops. This year I think I've found someone that will give the same effort.
Pointysticks what part of California? I've gotten a handful in southern Monterey county

[pointysticks]

Sonoma county. Mostly.

I do have a spot outside Tejon. But that is a far drive for me. I don't go until the old ladies peaches ripen and drop.

[pointysticks]

Just an update. My entire group had excuses to not go with me to AZ.
One guy hurt his elbow, one guy finally is working again. Both legit! The rest? Worst one was, "I'm so out of shape"

Haha. I'm driving solo to
Meet my brother. Sunday. Oh well. Glad gas is cheaper.

[zpd307]

amen on the cheap gas! I hope its somewhat the same come September.....

[bald9eagle]

I feel your pain. I contacted everyone that I knew wanted to go. I tried asking them for their opinion. In the end I decided to make a decision about where and when. If they could go great, if not it was their loss. I was set until my one partner had to back out due to some unforeseen circumstances.

I ran into the same thing turkey hunting. My favorite place to go is just over 2.5 hours away so I usually go camp for the week. I bought a camper just because I enjoyed going to this one place so much. For 5 straight seasons we had a group go down. Last year I spent the week hunting alone. It's all good though cause I kinda enjoy the solitude right now.

I'm pushing my brother hard about going in 2016 on an elk hunt. Our hunting styles compliment one another well. I just gotta get him to commit to going.

[zpd307]

baldy, I have had the same problem for the last 3-4 years. everyone would love to go elk hunting, its something they want to do, some day. when you finally ask them, they have every excuse in the book. I understand them, hell its a lot of money, or its a lot of time off, or time away from family..... it seems as though that what makes the people, who do go elk hunting, that much more special. the commitments to time, money, training, learning, etc.... sets us apart.

[ElkNut1]

Gary, excellent post!

ElkNut1

[njdoxie]

You shouldn't blame someone for saying up front that they can't make it, they are being honest, better to find out now than in camp, that their heart is not in it. If you have to spend more than 1 minute convincing someone to go elk hunting, then it's just not their thing. Someone has to convince me they want to go, not the other way around.

[zpd307]

You shouldn't blame someone for saying up front that they can't make it, they are being honest, better to find out now than in camp, that their heart is not in it. If you have to spend more than 1 minute convincing someone to go elk hunting, then it's just not their thing. Someone has to convince me they want to go, not the other way around.

that's another thing that I figured out. you cant convince anyone to go elk hunting. there is no way to quantify their return if they go.... I found that if you are honest and you tell them up front that they are going to spend a lot of money and vacation getting there butts kicked on a mtn while eating rehydrated food on a sleeping pad in a tent that will test every mental fiber of their being.... and they say sign me up! they are golden most look at me like I should be locked up in a loony bin.... especially when I say we go with bows.
heck, that's another reason that I go during archery instead of rifle, it sets us apart even more....

[hike2hunt]

The problem with most of my past hunting partners - is their lack of planning. They never seem to plan the hunt all the way through, some would get to the point of shooting an animal, but had no "kill kit" or such, some would over-pack, some would under-pack, one never used a gear listed and always had to leave half way through to get something, batteries, food, etc. Two years ago, the guy I was with didn't bring any meat bags, and was using trash bags...in September.

My close buddy brought a new guy once (which I always highly encourage, really) I want more guys to learn to be outdoorsman. However, he showed up as a duty expert in all aspects of elk hunting, how the camp should lay out, calling, habitat, etc. So I ask him - how long you been hunting elk? He says' 13 years. I ask how many elk have you taken? He say's none, I asked him why was that? He say's he could never find the right hunting partners, all the guy's he hunted with kept blowing his hunt. So as the hunt when on, his skill set was really subpar. The first morning his pack wasn't ready, though I told him the night before, we would be leaving bright and early for the day. He started squeezing his "hooch" mama the moment we left camp.

Anyway, if you need a partner is SW WA, your more then welcome to join us.

[Russellm66]

Has anyone posted for a hunting partner and have successfully finding one??? My bother-in-law has to change jobs and can't go to Idaho this fall with me. I'm trying to decide if posting on here or other site's for a hunting partner is worth the effort??

[Pmcgee]

I found my hunting partner on Rokslide. I was going to go solo until I seen he was looking for a partner. I met him once before we left for Colorado. We went the last two years and plan on going again this year. It worked out for me. I could see people being hesitant about it though.

[Vids]

I've found some good people on Rokslide and Bowsite. I usually plan scouting trips or some other hunt like waterfowl first, just to get to know each other. It's more risky to plan a week long backpack elk hunt with someone you hardly know, that's the last place I want to find out we're not compatible hunting partners.