Why you dont hunt with some people anymore

[Moserkr]

The lost in the woods thread got me thinking why I dont hunt with some people anymore. Ill get it started. One guy in particular did all this in a few seasons. Hes still friends with our group but no one will hunt with him.

Got lost multiple times in easy areas, even during daylight.
Discharged firearm in camp (not accidental) and at night.
Cant hold his liquor, would then sleep in.
Altitude sickness due to cigarettes, beer, and a horrible choice of food before hiking.
Put out a cigar in duff, caused 30 acre forest fire the night before opening day.
Doesnt bury shit, shits 10 feet from camp.

Those arent in order but the last straws were the firearm and forest fire. Lets hear your stories of why you dont hunt with some people anymore...

 

[dceorredker]

I used to have two "friends" that I would duck hunt with in Arkansas. Took them hunting to a good spot I found on Public land on and got our limits by 9:30. The next saturday I went back to the same spot with some other friends and they showed up to the hole around 15 minutes after us with 3 other guys that I did not know. Theres not a worse thing to do than steal someones public land honeyhole.

 

[WhiteOak]

Damn dude that OP is pretty bad, at that point I'd be judging the person not just considering if I'd hunt with them or not.

I went on a elk hunt with a buddy that put so much pressure on filling his tag that there were times it soured the hunt for me, like dude was getting pissed about an animal not being ready for him to shoot. We laid eyes on a bull briefly before it spooked over the ridge into the next basin by horseback hunters riding into the meadow. Buddy was pissed like really pissed and couldn'tlet it go, maybe if it was my tag I would have felt a little differently but shit happens, its hunting. On the last day of the hunt we came off the mountain elkless to where our camp and truck was and getting to the truck exclaimed f*** this hunt f*** this mountain and f*** this rifle. I then realized we were out there for different reasons. Of course my goal is always to bring meat home but damn I like to enjoying my time doing it.

Still good friends and still hunt ducks and quail together but that'll be the last time I go on a big game hunt with him. I'm not going to the mountains to be stressed out and angry.

 

[Hoghead]

I wont hunt with people that are late or flake on me. I had a hunt my buddy was supposed to be at my house by 3am. For me that means on the road not show up. I waited until 315 he didn't answer the phone or call. 345 he called me and asked were I was I told him halfway there. I had a buddy that would call 10 minutes before he was supposed to be at my house to hog hunt and say he wasn't going to make it. I didn't invite him anymore when he asked why I told him I can't count on him. I killed a big boar that hunt that turned into a lot of work by my self.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[Throwin Darts]

I stopped hunting with a group that took all the fun out of deer hunting. I think there was a lot of jealousy involved and they were butthurt 24/7 during the season.

Still hunt with 2 other guys out of that group and we have a blast.

 

[mlgc20]

Several years ago a guy worked for me that was also my hunting buddy. I had to fire him for job performance. I figured I didn't want to be out in the woods with him and his gun after that. Didn't want to be the victim of an "accidental discharge".

 

[Forest_Ghost]

Good hunting partners are hard to find, and reading posts like this makes me grateful for the ones I have.

 

[ODB]

Whew....where do I start...

guys who “need to kill”’ something

Guys who swear all the time - see the first lite video and the sheep - low vibration intelligence

Guys who can’t handle and rifle safely

Any more than three guns in a group

Any guy I catch lying

guys who don’t understand time

guys who bring “friends” at the last moment - he’s a “good guy”

inch-chasers...

guys who give every animal a nickname

guys who use their kids as an excuse to shoot first

I could go on...

And yes, I generally hunt alone or with one guy...

 

[thinhorn_AK]

I stopped hunting with a guy because he wouldnt stop talking about god.

I won't hunt with people who smoke, smokers don't even realize how repulsive they are

I won't hunt with people who think success is anything other than getting the animal you're after, I hate coming up empty then having your buddy post some lame thing on facebook saying "no animal but the hunt was successful".

I also wont hunt with people who are mentally weak.

 

[roadrunner]

I stopped hunting with a group that took all the fun out of deer hunting. I think there was a lot of jealousy involved and they were butthurt 24/7 during the season.

Still hunt with 2 other guys out of that group and we have a blast.

This. Hunting in general has lost its appeal for me more than I would want. People at work that hunt are addicted to horn porn and then cry a sad song when their freezer is running low.

One guy I still, or would, like being around while hunting.

Others pump for information because they are too damn lazy to figure it out on their own. Their only saving grace is they have a youth hunter involved.

Others are quite about what tags they draw, but expect you to disclose everything like a sinner at confession.

And finally, the ones that rarely take time to help you on your hunt but they expect you to spend your time on theirs...

 

[Lowg08]

I will only say this. Three day jury trial

 

[HuntingGearJunky]

I stopped hunting with an old high school buddy after he "borrowed" some expensive gear and then moved to another state and "forgot" to give it back and had a bunch of excuses why he couldn't mail it back to me.

 

[22lr]

Drinking soo much your hungover on opening day... ya... im out.

Celebrate after you get something.

 

[nettereo16]

I chase the ducks on public pretty hard. I’ve pulled the plug on some guys who never seem to have time to scout. That gets old.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

I was invited to hunt hogs on a private ranch a good friend has access to. This is prime property and he only gained trespass permission by earning it, investing an extensive amount of time and labor to build a relationship with the owners/prop mgr by professionally fixing things around the property. He convinced the owners to allow me, a new guy they never met, access to the ranch as well…a rare honor reserved for few others, I felt it was only right that I do the driving. So, I pick my friend up Friday at midday, load the truck with his gear and we’re off before the Memorial weekend crowd is on the street. On the way north, my buddy tells me all about the place and that the owners have very simple, common sense expectations, especially when it comes to keeping the place neat, organized and trash free. Nothing I can't handle. My buddy lets me know well before the trip that this is a working agreement, and that there is always some work to be done on the ranch, always. Okay, no problem, I may not know what I am doing work wise, for some things, but I certainly can take direction, and get the job done. So this is a 3 day holiday weekend hunt and we’re making good time on the road…no question we will have enough time to settle into his camp and get an evening hunt in.

What I didn’t know is that there was a third guy joining us. Picture in your mind Santa Claus after a bender…this is the “other guy” on this hunt. I am introduced to this guy who at first seems okay and goes on to kill a pig the first evening. Apparently he fell asleep and awoke to find pigs all around him, shooting one at 15 yards. Gary and I had decided to go uphill in search of hogs that evening, Santa went a short distance downhill to sit in a blind. As we work our way back down after dusk, we see Santa’s headlamp from up high. We finally make it back to camp and my friend is worried that Santa isn't in camp; so he takes off looking for him in the ranch’s Ranger…a 2 seater quad, leaving me to settle in and relax a bit. I later learn that Santa decided to stay put…he was worried coyotes would eat his pig before he could make the very short hike to camp to fetch a quad. So they loaded up the roughly 80lb pig and return. My bud calls me over to take a look and we both congratulate the guy. My bud then helps him get set up for skinning, butchering and comes back to camp and cooks dinner. He then takes Santa a plate of food and returns to the tent to eat his own. So about 2 hours has gone by at this point and my bud goes out to not only check on this guy, but help him too. I later find out that it took this guy over 2 hours to skin his pig 1/2 way. I am a bit surprised after previously hearing his glory stories upon our arrival at camp. My host/buddy completed skinning and quartering his pig, leaving Santa to clean-up.

Out of camp before dawn finds me doin’ the sneaky peek in a few spots my bud had shown me.



Some sign, not much. Still it’s nice to stretch the legs and get acquainted with the property until the temps climb at midday.

 

[Where's Bruce?]

Back in camp I am enjoying an afternoon smoke, a fine cigar given to me as a gift by my father-in-law. I don’t often burn a $50. cigar but this seemed like a special occasion. Santa asks me if he can buy one off of me and I give him one just to be friendly (I still don't know him at this point). Not long after, my bud comes out of the tent and joins us outside, and notices the wrapper of this guy’s cigar tossed on the ground. So he mentions it and Santa comes back with a, “…Yeah yeah, I just set it there for now…” with major attitude. It’s like he thinks, he is the top dog and no one tells him what to do! REALLY. Long story short, Santa just leaves it there and goes on the late afternoon hunt. Would a normal person get pissy when asked to bend over and pick a piece of their litter, much less leave it to get blown to another part of the ranch. It was made very clear that the owners can't stand litter and would likely terminate my bud’s hunting privileges on this ranch for such a violation.

Just before the next evening hunt, Santa asks my bud if he thinks it will be cold that evening and my bud tells him straight up, “Yeah! We have clouds and moisture moving in, it will be downright cold.” This guy responds, “I don't think so” (why would he even ask then), and leaves without a jacket and wearing tennis shoes instead of boots. Guess what? My bud and I remained hunting until last shooting light, while this guy made the shivering walk of shame and was sitting in camp well before the sun went down. What can you say to a guy who ignores the obvious and returns to camp wearing shoes that are soaked and full of foxtails. I just shook my head. WTF? How cold was it? This cold:

[video=youtube;L7iJl3d0FlY]

Santa’s coffee cup had been left in camp from a previous trip and inside was a science experiment as he doesn’t do dishes or much policing after himself. So Santa just set's his disgusting cup down and picks up one our gracious host has there. Looking inside his old cup we’re thinking…that’s alien! Does he wash it this trip? Nope… not the new one either, not a single dish the whole trip. The alien is still growing inside it. There are numerous little things like this that by themselves are small but as they begin to stack up each tiny thing becomes increasingly annoying; and I am only highlighting a few of the things I noticed.. At the root of the problem is the whole absence of respect. Hear you are, on prime pig property free, with only the obligation to help out with a few ranch chores, and you’re pissing off your host and endangering his access to the ranch. WTF?!

Now the general idea is that in exchange for trespassing rights (given formally in writing) there are chores to be done. Santa was supposed to provide a gardening hose this trip…oops, forgot to get one. Really? Really dude?

Sunday night I’m smoking my last cigar (I packed 3 for the weekend) and Santa asks if he can bum another one off me. He got a definitive no. So now it’s our last night and we’re sitting in a circle discussing plans for the next morning…do we get up early and hunt or relax instead?. My friend & I decide to indulge our weariness and sleep in, it’s a long drive home and there are chores to be done in the morning…this third guy is on board with that, at least at this time. So we all hit the sack. I don't know exactly what time it was, but discussing it with my buddy on the ride home, we were awakened no later than 5:30 a.m. by a thundering sound coming from the tent next to ours. Gear being tossed back and forth, dropped, slammed, and then something with wheels being rolled across uneven ground and everything inside slamming against walls. No kidding, it was like thunder right outside the tent. Then car doors opening and being slammed shut, then the next trip... and finally this douche starts his truck. This douche didn't bother to try to keep the ruckus down at all, it’s like he was trying to be loud; no in reality, it's obvious he was trying to be loud. While he was treated with nothing but kindness and respect, I starting to hate him. My buddy has a whole list of things that need to be done before leaving the ranch and this guy walks up announcing that he is packed and ready to leave, well NO ############ING KIDDING. I know my buddy is beyond pissed, FINALLY! He doesn't even bother to turn around and look at Bad Santa, he just tells him, "Bye." I could not do that much…I just spit a mouthful of Scope at his feet.

So this guy is out the gate early to beat the holiday rush hour traffic at our expense. We are there going through the departure list and working our asses off to try and hit the road at a decent hour. There’s a lot of chores to break down camp, clean up the area and secure everything that requires attention on this property. My bud gives me a few things to do, and he checks the septic tank as it can be problematic. It’s literally a shitty job and he nets out some solid debris (by hand) that might clog it up. Then checks the inflow to be sure there are no clogs. Meanwhile I learned that this buddy of mine is keeping secrets from me, he has a hazmat cert to boot, behind all his other credentials; and he can sling shit with the best of them, literally speaking of course. During this disgusting little exercise in which I assisted, we discover that Bad Santa has put the wheel barrel away full of dried blood, fat and chunks of meat. Needless to say that after drying all weekend long, by this time it is rock hard.



We filled the wheel barrel with water and let it soak while we completed other chores. After a couple hours of soaking, it still took a ton of scrubbing to get it clean. Can you imagine the owners’ faces if they went to pull that wheel barrel outta the shed looking like that? Or found his bloody gloves left in the yard with the extension cord to the light used to process his kill left on the lawn? He didn’t even police his brass in the blind. I found a 30-06 cartridge smack in the center of the damn thing. Slob hunters upset me. I got no time for em. This could have resulted in an instant ban from the ranch for my bud. To top it off, on the ride home, my buddy tells me this was not the first time this douchebag had bailed early leaving him to do all the wrap-up work before being able to leave. We got a late start as a result and just as we are leaving Santa sends a text saying he’s already home…missed the traffic. Well lucky you! We can’t…we had to do your chores. Now all this time the food we’ve been eating were brought by my friend (he got the meals, I got the gas) and Santa said he brought grub too (which he put in the freezer and went untouched) but guess what…he took it all home when he left! So apparently slobs eat free too. I know my buddy would never post this or complain but HOLY BUCKETS, isn’t he being taken advantage of? I was so pissed I could spit…and I did. I don’t understand some people. Both guys post here from time to time and I think they should read some feedback from others. Am I outta line in thinking this asshat should be kicked to the proverbial curb or would you let it slide?

 

[robtattoo]

'Alpha Dog Guy'
I do all the planning, e-scouting, talking to friendly locals, figuring out tag options, accommodation & logistics etc... then he shows up at camp & starts telling everyone how we should hunt, who's going where, who's cookng on which nights & has invited 2 other guys along. He's an expert after his first trip.

Eff that guy.

Eff that guy right in the ear.

 

[Huntsman21]

To me, the best way to find a good hunting partner is while hunting where you like to hunt, in the style that you like to hunt. If they are where you are when you are, they tend to have a similar mentality as you.

Why don't I hunt with some people anymore? When I'm trying to hunt, I want to be in control of the hunt. Adding others to the equation limits that. So I guess I don't hunt with some people when I'm most passionate about a tag. If I'm ok not filling a tag, then I'll hunt with others and consciously put their success over mine. If the tag's about me, then I can't expect others to support that. So when hunting with others, make it about them and be ok fully supporting them. After all, their success is your success at that point, so it doesn't matter who pulls the trigger. If you "have to have" a hunting partner, then make it about their success.

 

[IsThisHeaven]

I run into, or ran into, two problems frequently. The first was guys committing initially then backing out. This could happen anytime from minutes after making plans until you're backing out of the driveway to leave for the trip.

The second problem I ran into quite a bit was guys who were really just trying to get away from home. The trip is really about drinking and playing cards or whatever.

It took me a long time to realize I needed to go alone or with the two guys that are reliable.

 

[robtattoo]

Oh, I also flat out will not hunt with super fit, go-getters. The kinda guy who insists on hiking 6 miles, when there's a much easier, half mile route. Nothing against em, but i'm a fat bastard & the only thing I hate more than someone spoiling my vibe, is the thought of me spoiling someone else's.