millerhunter13

^ i wish i had a "camp" with friends, to hunt with, all we can hunt is public land, and i dont have a whole bunch of friends who hunt, so it is just me and my dad, which really we havnt gotten to go much, so maybe this year will be different. This is a good thread, alot of threads right now are all about fighting[:@]

early in

Yes, as time discreetly passes by, friends get married, have childrenand move away. Dad gets too old to walk the woods.Jobs force others to have to move on, and still others just get taken awayfrom us by something we will never reallyquite understand. That can leave some of us feeling alone, by ourselves. Bowhunting is a solitary sport anyway. It's not so bad.

GordonGekko

I agree 100%...and that is one of the reasons I enjoy waterfowl hunting so much, the social aspect. I pretty much grew up in a deer camp. My dad and I were good hunting buddies, when his hunting slowed down so did mine. A few years after my dad quit Istartedhunting withgood buddy of mine.We bow hunted together a lot for several years and I really enjoyed it again. He is still a good friend but lives 3 hours away. But, I pretty much gave up bowhunting for the last few years. I did this for several reasons, but in part it was the lack of a bowhunting buddy. So I am in a bit of limbo as to where to go from here. I'm probably a bit peculiar in the way I deer hunt and that may drive a lot of folks off (I don't ride in to any of my stands, I'm pretty persnickity about my setup, and I'll let any buck that won't qualify for B&C walk, a Doe however will get whacked).

Hunting is a funny thing, not everyone hunts together well, then again maybe it's just me, but I have hunted with a lot of great guys who I wouldn't ever hunt with by choice because the way we hunt just doesn't mesh(particularly duck hunting because you are literally hunting "with" the other guys, not just on the same land). Oh, well I've rambled, but suffice to say that to me at least the social aspect is one of my favorite parts of hunting. I hope I'm able to recapture some of the magic of having a bow hunting buddy again.

jackflap

While I do hunt at times with friends, I prefer to go it alone most of the time. Just more relaxing not having to worry about coordinating schedules and whatnot.

I personally don't find a need/desire to have to share my stories or accomplishments (or lack thereof) with anybody. I like the quite time.

mobow

If that's not gospel I just don't know what is. When I shot my first buck lastyear, I was in the woods, all by myself. It was almost..anti climatic. I made more phone calls in 30 minutes than I even remember. I had more fun sharing that hunt with my friends than I can even express. I even had a terrific phone call w/ a feller I've recently said a few nasty things about. Sharing that hunt with my "cyber" friends (some of which have quite literally become my best friends) and my "local" friends....it's been so much more than a hunt; it's literally been a life changing EXPERIENCE.

I called my best bud Dave and told him. He was 4 hours away on some business, and he's put in some time and hunted w/ me where I killed him. I so wished he were there with me..When I called and told him, he was of course excited, and told me I had to talk to Laura (his wife.) She asked if I was going to have him mounted, and I said no, I would do a skull plate or something, but I wasn't going to pay that kind of cash to put a deer head on my wall. Long story short, he's at the taxidermist right now, and I'm not paying for it. I've told them before that "Thank you" just didn't seem like enough, but it's all I had. Well, just the other day I thought of something else. I'm gonna pay it forward. Some time in the future some young hunter I know will be in the same spot, and I'm gonna do for him what my buddy, and his wife, have done for me.

BigJ, like I said in my "brag up your fellow HNI'ers" post.....you have a heart of absolute gold. Thank you for this reminder. I, more than most around here, needed it.

BigJ71

Wow.....Thanks for the replies fellas. I really wasn't expecting it and I'm humbled.

I just felt with all the bickering going on perhaps some "perspective" was needed. Hunting means different things to different folks, I know that and I don't expect everyone to think the way I do. We as humans however are drawn to one another, it's just the way we'redesigned, we are social beings. When I hunt, I hunt for me and only me but I love to be with others who share my passion. You know we've all talked about "sharing a campfire" with other folks here on the boards and one day I will actually meet some of you. I was planning on attending this years get together but a good friend was under water (with all the flooding we've had) and I just couldn't not help him.

So until then this is about as close assome of us will ever come to conversing with each otherbut believe it or not it's helped me especiallythe last few years to deal with the loss of my Father-in-Law as well as all the others who no longer hunt with me (for whatever reason). My Brother-in-Law hunts (bow only) and we get together as often as we can to hunt but our schedules are so differentit's not as often as I'd like. As far as the gun season is concerned, it's just me. I do the same routine I've done for so many years, take the same path to my gun stand (it hasn't moved in 14 years) only the last few years there's been no one to walk with andquietly say "good luck"as I dropped them off at their stands. Some had never been there (the property) before and until the sunrose above the timbershad no idea the layout or where they were on the property.Last year I walked right by my Father-in-Laws stand as I have for as long as I've been hunting there and whispered "get a big one" something he's said to me every year just before I made sure he got into his stand safely and headed to mine, it was his thing........

I've shared more "stories" with you folks than any other in the last few years and I appreciate the conversations, (yes even the ones that get heated) more than you will ever know. Perhaps someday things will change with my hunting situation, I can only hope my son will also hunt and along with his friends, my families woods will be full once again with a whole new generation of hunters....I look forward to it.

Thanks guys

Critr-Gitr

Last year, I didn't get to hunt with my father very much, for the first time in a very long time. The place we had been hunting started charging a lease fee, he could afford it and I could not, since we had a new baby. It was very tough for both of us. He did get to take my boys out there some, no one will turn down a kid, but I was not going to go even if I was asked because I didn't want to add stress to his situation. I had a couple of places several miles away I was hunting, but it just wasn't the same. It left both of us with a pretty hollow feeling.

peakrut

I am ready for the superbowl one my friend.

LouisianaTomkat

This post BigJ has actually brought a lump to my throat. My Dad has reached the age where hunting is not on his to do list anymore. I miss it so bad. It is definately not the same. I too had friends when I was younger who would share the hunt. My brother has been in and out of drugs for so long we just don't hunt together anymore. All of my old friends have dispersed all across the country and are no longer able to share the hunt either. I miss those days.

If you would ever like to have a hunting partner whether here or there, let me know. I would be honored to share some hunts with someone that has a heart such as you BigJ.

With all sincerity,

LT

tsoc

Big John,
You are top notch! You have done it many times before,expressing your self in such a way to cut through all the BS and get right to what matters! I mostly bow hunt alone,and that is okay but it is not because I am looking to exclude any one or to hoard particular locations.I just want to be with friends new or old who have similar outlooks or approach it in the same manner.The reality for me now is that I am actively looking to share those experiences more and more so.
I rifle hunt in Idaho every year and we have rented the same small house for eight straight years.That trip means every thing to me.The same four friends of mine and I.As much as I love the country and the deer hunting there,there are other area's of the country we could go and see more bucks and bigger bucks.That isn't what it is about though for us.It is about tradition and friendship,we work hard to have every body succeed,and we tell stories and laugh until we cry.We just have a tremendous time.The memories from these trips are some of my fondest and they are driven deep.
Big John,simply beautiful perspective!!