Hunting Partner

Few weeks ago I went on a hunt/scouting trip up north with a friend from church. We had a great time scouting and trying to find turkeys however I am not sure I would like to go with him again. Just don't feel he is a good fit for me.

My question is for you guys who have life long hunting partners how did you get there?? I have been thinking about a hunting partner application, jk, but seriously its hard to find a partner that works well with your style. I had a hunting partner that taught me a lot we hunted a lot and things were great. Only problem was he had a short temper and I couldn't deal with that getting to old for that kind of stuff.

Either way figured I would try and start a thread where people could help us who are looking for a partner find the right one. :)

Nebraska Outlander

I too have been searching for a hunting partner. I hunted for 25 years with the same friend, but his wife passed away and he moved to be nearer his son. My son is an owner/operator of a long haul trucking business and is on the road all the time. Most of the retirees in all my shooting clubs and activitees arn't in good enough condition or have limited funds. I do hunt several times a year with a friend from California who is retired, but he lives too far away to much more than we do now.

I went solo on a guded elk hunt last year and it was fun, but would have been better with someone I knew and had been hunting with before. I do most of my waterfowl hunting solo now too. My elk and deer hunts will be local solo trips this fall. Will be going to Wyoming for Antelope this fall with my friend from California in late September. I am still looking for a hunting partner and have a couple of prospects locally.

As you get older, it is definately more of a problem as lots of friends just can't do the physical part of it.

I have been fortunate enough to have 2 great pals that I hunt with. One of them I've been friends with since high school and the other I've known for 20 years. I think a hunting partner is your best friend. Mine are. One of them more then the other. I think that to find a good hunting partner would be like finding a new best friend and that to me is a big deal and hard to find. I don't care for solo hunts anymore and the hunt is not as enjoyable without a friend to take to about the hunt and I think it's safer. I think you on the rite track in finding a new partner. Church is always a great place. Work could be another, Post a add on Craigslist in your area! JK, heck you never know maybe this post will turn someone up for you and CC. Good luck, I hope you can find a good pal to hunt with.

It is a trial and error process.

Well most of the hunting partners I've met through work or from school. Over the years they have moved, retired or just don't hunt and fish like they used to. A hunting partner for me is very similar as finding and developing a great friend. Lot's of things seem to need to be met in developing great friends. Compatibility, likes and dislikes being pretty big on the list. Liking, wanting and able to hunt animals and fish places like you want to can be a big challenge in itself. There are guys that I've taken backpack backcounrty hunting that just said that was just to hard on them :D.

My last hunting partner was one I met through my church. We hunted and fished for 16 years together. A little over a year ago he and his family packed up and moved to Washington state. We still have hunted and fished together and we plan to hunt out of state together or at least base camp together on those outings still but sadly due to the distance in our locations, I won't have the opportunity to hunt and fish with him as much as I'd like. At my church, the pastor let me put together a father and son salmon fishing trip, where I met some guys a few years back too. Like you mention Nebraska Outlander they don't really fit wanting to do the same kind of, hunts, fishing trips, or have the same amount of time, etc....

Good hunting partners and good friends as all relationships take time and effort to develop and take work in finding. They don't happen overnight. All I can say is keep trying. I surely will keep trying myself at least. There are good friends and good hunting partners out there :).

You know my story. I hunted with my dad from 1950 to 1982 when he passed away. I've hunted alone ever since. As a still hunter. I'd be hunting alone even if there was 10 guys in camp. Now that I only hunt my unit and come home every night. I don't see a need to look for a partner.

Not much help to the question. Sorry.

What seems funny in a way is how quickly it becomes after hunting with someone if for only a day or two, we know almost immediately if it could be a long term deal unlike a friendship or relationship where it often takes a lot of time to develop. I have found that I learn very quickly so many things about someone that either work for me or they don't.
You usually can tell almost immediately if that person is someone who will share in things from paying for the next tank of gas, food, labor around camp, or sharing in your success. I had a buddy get a great big non-typical buck in central Montana a few years ago and the guy he hunted with was jealous to the point of being a real PITA and ruining some of the moment for my friend! I really hate when guys won't help around camp, or just jump up when they see something that needs to be done, and are just flat out lazy.

I want someone who can have just as much fun working your butt off, not getting an animal, and freezing your tail off in the process, all while laughing and having a good time. Sometimes at our own expense. Some of my fondest memories of times I have had with friends packing game out of this awful places they have managed to get an animal in, doing it in the middle of the night, and in zero degree weather with 10 inches of snow on the ground.

Two years ago I got to take my son who even then was a pretty darn fine hunter, and a young friend of his hunting who had never had a chance to do that. Andy has always wanted to hunt, but his family just does not. I started shooting with him and my boy Jeff, and Andy was using my wife's 25-06 which was perfect for him. I knew it would work for elk and yet not beat him up shooting it and make him afraid of the rifle. We got lucky and got them both on a ranch just north of Missoula for 4 days elk hunting. As they were both 15, they could shoot either a cow or a legal brow tined bull. The ranch guy said if they saw a monster bull they could shoot it, so they weren't regulated to a cow or young bull. It was something special too in the fact that Andy has Cystic Fibrosis, so his number of hunting seasons might not be too awful many.

We started the first day and hunted and walked the ranch all day. Built a fire at lunch to warm up and have some food and tell a few lies and stories. Started hunting again, and at last light found some elk that came out to feed. My son made a great shot and got his first elk. We started the day before it got light, and after dressing the cow and putting her on my dad's Critter Cart (whole), we wheeled her out to the truck. It was midnight when we got home.

The next afternoon we found some elk again towards evening and had to make a mad dash to get into range for a shot. After several minutes of laying in the snow, Andy finally shot a big old cow. She ran about 40 yards and went down. By the time we dressed her it was well after dark, and again it was about midnight when we got home. Two of the best days I have ever had in the field and I never even pulled a trigger. In fact the best year I have ever had and I never got anything myself. It meant way more for me to help them than it did for me to do it myself. When you find someone like that, you have found a hunting partner, because he is the guy you will be able to get in touch with at the last minute and when he gets off work at 11:30 PM, he will drive 40 miles, walk 5 miles in the snowy cold night to get to you, and then help you pack your elk off the mountain. That is exactly what I did for a friend of mine, and I know he would do the same for me.

Pretty much what 6mm said. Ull know with in the first day or two if its a fit or not. It sucked moving away from home where I grew up with my 2 best hunting partners and friends. We grew as hunters together from the time we were 13 or so and it made for a perfect match. Now I do most of my hunting alone. Most of the time thats fine with me but at times I wish I had some one to share it with.

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Originally Posted by Jon Boy

Pretty much what 6mm said. Ull know with in the first day or two if its a fit or not. It sucked moving away from home where I grew up with my 2 best hunting partners and friends. We grew as hunters together from the time we were 13 or so and it made for a perfect match. Now I do most of my hunting alone. Most of the time thats fine with me but at times I wish I had some one to share it with.

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I agree with you Jon Boy on that one. I really enjoy hunting alone, but I sure would have liked to have shared my mountain goat hunt with someone more than just the 4 days I got to do it with friends. It was so special and I wanted someone else to experience it also.

You make some good points 6mm Remington. There's a lot that goes into into a "great" hunting partner. For me, a lot what you mention sounds like what makes for a great friend too. I have many "good" friends, "good" hunting partners and casual aquaintances. Finding the "great" ones.... Now there's where the treasure lies. Finding treasure is awesome when you find it and truly a great gift.