The love of hunting alone.

[JD848]

I spent most of my life logging and pipeline but my love was guiding for hunting and fishing.
After 2 decades of guiding off an on I decided I had had enough of other hunters.

This became the greatest love affair between my self and nature,to this day I still love being alone planning my day or weeks still learning things I thought I knew. You never stop learning.

Lots of things can go wrong on a solo hunt specially if your hunting in late nov and December.You have to be focused 100 percent of the time because one wrong move can leave you to die or really suffer.

I have my sat phone and many of the new tech stuff but at my age my wife likes to hear my voice at night so I don't worry her.

I am just wondering how many guys feel the same about spending that special time with just yourself and the outdoors.For me it's the greatest time of my life and time is the greatest commodity in life is time ,rich or poor you can't buy it back so spend your time wisely.

I try if I can do 3 or 4 weeks a year and I can take in a couple hundred miles where I hope to see no one buy boat or canoe , just taking it all in,camera and rifle shooting something is just a bonus.

[Bushleague]

I do almost all of my hunting alone. Day trips and weekend trips are all done alone, I don't pack a cell phone anywhere, especially hunting. I did longer trips alone for a few years and loved it, but I'm back to having a partner on trips of a week or more for a few reasons.

For some reason once my kids came along, without any company for distractions on an extended trip it got easy to dwell on any faults I might have as a parent, actual or imagined, and start feeling guilty about leaving them and playing Peter Pan in the bush. Lots of my extended hunts are canoe trips where I need a vehical at both ends, this meant lots of driving for my wife. She never complained but I felt bad about it. And lastly, if the trip was not going well and the guilt of abandoning my responsibilitys at home started gnawing at me after a few days, I was more prone to packing it in early.

Now I'm back to having a partner for most of my longer trips, I don't really ever get lonely without a partner but the distraction of a partner keeps my head in the game. The chore of setting up the vehicals is split up between those doing the trip. And if the hunt is not going well usually both guys are too proud to give up, or at least admit it.

[50-90]

I've spent a large portion of my life in the bush. I started bush flying when I was 23. I did it for nearly 20 years and still do it part time now. I loved the days 500 miles from the nearest town, fueling from barrels at a cache, by myself. A broken leg would have sucked for sure. It was about 12 ft from the top of the wing to the lake. And with only about 12 to 18 inches of water to break the fall, the leg would likely break too.
I'm planning a solo hunt up near Fort Smith this fall. I don't have a Sat Phone but I have a SPOT. And I have the SAR insurance too. As long as I hit the OK button nobody will worry. If I hit the 911 button, they rescue team will be on the way.

[58thecat]

Alone is great but with like minded people or person has its benefits too problem is finding that person(s), fortunate to have two but still like to sit or be on my own occasionally.

[Sooner]

I have done many solo day trips, 3 hr drive to the wmu, some 20 k back to moose camp area to spend the day. Never a worry, always careful. Some of my best memories being alone sitting on a line watching the world and critters go by.

Then a couple years ago, one trip in Nov, I had a high blood pressure incident out there(kinda scary as I didn't know what was happening, just knew something was). Did not leave me stranded, was able to get back to the truck, load up the atv and make my way to a friends cabin 30 km away. Then got driven home and spent a week in hospital getting checked. Off work for a bit after.

I still go out on my own, got to live, not be scared of the what if. Just now, the thought that something can happen is more front and center then before. Keep a little more contact with the worriers back home during the day

[Snm]

I love solo hunting! I find that being alone lets me recharge my soul. I get to see things that nature holds in ways i never experienced before. The silence and being one with nature is one of my top 5 most enjoyable feelings.

[JD848]

Originally Posted by Snm

I love solo hunting! I find that being alone lets me recharge my soul. I get to see things that nature holds in ways i never experienced before. The silence and being one with nature is one of my top 5 most enjoyable feelings.

x3

[slopeshunter]

Agree with everything.

[TBark]

Done it quite a few times.
Once or twice a year, but no exactly roughing it.
Cabin, good stove, 3-4 bars cell service and neighbors a mile or so away.
2-3 days mostly, maybe once 6-7 days. I find it relaxing.
Never got anything big hunting alone, a deer at the most.

TBark

[charves]

I always see more and bigger animals when hunting alone. I love not being on any time expectations of "we'll meet on the next cutline in an hour". Much more relaxing being able to react to the bush and your on instincts.

[cowgirl]

Same here. One of the things I love about hunting is just being out there. Any meat I bring home is a bonus.

[the bourbon peasant]

Alone in the woods is a great way to clear the head, and put life into perspective as long as you're in a good frame of mind to start with. Personally, I love being alone in the woods, and have spent the majority of my time alone out there. There have only been a few times where I really wished I wasn't alone, but have way more memories where I am glad I was alone. I think you're more in tune with what's going on around you when there isn't the distraction of another person. I really think being alone actually helps you to grow as a person, and is something everyone should at least try once. It really isn't for everyone, and it definitely has its downsides, but I think the rewards outweigh the risk.

[BANG]

It is a great experience and i very much enjoy hunting alone.
Not that i dont enjoy a partner or two but good ones are few and far between sometimes.
It never ceases to amaze me how loud people are after a week or two without hearing a human voice even a normal volume conversation is sensory overload for a short adjustment period.
Or how depressing driving into a busy urban center is after your all to short of time spent at "home" as i like to call the bush.
9 more weeks!!

[Almer Fudd]

I typically take mid week solo hunts.
Couple years ago I spent 24 nights out sheep hunting on horseback, about 7nights were solo.
I take a SPOT and leave the breadcrumb tracking feature on during the day and send an OK signal once back to camp.
I figure if I get bucked off or rendered unconscious the SPOT will pinpoint where to find the body.
Once my camp is set-up I go in for 4 days at a time. One saddle horse and one pack horse. I take the pack horse hunting with me every day.
Usually never see another person mid week.

[Prairiewolf]

For a day or two each season I find myself on my own. It is very peaceful and I find I walk a lot more on the day's hunt than I would with a partner.

[50-90]

Well folks, you are making me feel better about my plans to hunt alone. My wife thought I was crazy but it looks like I won't be the only one. Good to know the marbles aren't all gone. (And I do own a SPOT)

[Speckle55]

The love of hunting alone.

wow special time for me

here a couple from last year

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=230820

http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=232023

David

[KegRiver]

If I'm looking to fill my own tag I would much prefer to hunt alone.
But I also enjoy helping others fill their tags.

I've worked as a guide and I loved it. But a rough guess is I've hunted alone ten times as often as I've hunted with others.

When I was trapping I'd spend weeks, even months alone and I loved it.
No phone, no GPS locator, no one to worry about me or for me to worry about.

It was only recently that I started packing a cell phone. I'm over 60 now and I can't do the things I used to do, so I carry a phone.

But if I were young and single I wouldn't hesitate to head out alone, anywhere. I know how to be safe and how to survive.
In fact I have more to fear in the city then I do in the bush.

Yeah I could fall and break a leg, or a bear might attack me. And in the city some crack head might decide to stick a knife in me or I might be hit by a drunk driver.

The way I see it I'm ten times more likely to get injured or killed in the city then I am 100 miles from any civilization. Maybe 1,000 times more likely.

Besides I like the sound of birds singing and wolves howling. I don't care for the sound of traffic or of 10,000 people arguing with no one in particular.

[Almer Fudd]

The solitude is sweet.
The nights in late October and November start to get pretty long so I take a 3 liter bag of wine along...it helps make the evening a little shorter.

Lots of grizzly around my sheep camps so I'll be using an electric fencer from now on.

I've found tying the horses close to the tent should keep the bears away at night.

[waterninja]

I do a lot of hunting and fishing by myself and really enjoy it. The main reason for this, is that since I'm self employed I can pop out to the river/lake or to a deer stand any time I want to and leave when I feel like it. Don't have to worry about co-ordinating with a partner if weather changes or something comes up in personal or buisness life. I find it very enjoyable being out there by myself, but at the same time also enjoy getting out there with friends or family.
Biggest setback for me hunting alone is field dressing and/or dragging an animal back to the truck or loading/unloading a boat or canoe by myself.

[JonBoy]

I hunt alone and with a partner.

My "big hunt" is with a partner, for a number of reasons.

1. We get along great.
2. We have similar hunting values.
3. It's cheaper to spread the costs over 2 people.
4. We have complementing gear.
5. Easier to deal with harvested game with 2 people.
6. Someone to talk to (we hunt for a week, give or take).

However, I am also perfectly happy doing day hunts by myself. Last year I hunted in the coldest part of November, on weekends, by myself. I sat out in -30*C and loved every minute of it (it did warm up to -18*C, mid-day), even though I didn't see an animal that particular day. The quietness, and yet the subtle (and not-so-subtle) sounds of nature, the cleanliness, the lack of interruptions or distractions: it's very calming and enjoyable. Add in some expectation and the surprises that nature can throw at you and it's just a very good time.

Can't say I'd look forward to bagging an elk or moose by myself. A deer is bad enough...

[nelsonob1]

I long for scenes were no man has ever trod
A place where woman never smiled nor wept
There to abide with my creator god
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie
The grass below, above the vaulted sky.

J.Claire

[Red Bullets]

When I was younger I hunted alone all the time. Was way more successful hunting alone. Like Keg mentioned...without any cell or spot and no one to worry about me except myself. To go into the deep woods (no human influences) was safer than going to the city.

It should be mandatory that all people should have to go to the land by themselves for at least a week, with only the basics. Get some of the urban and technical sludge out of the system and get perspective and in touch with themselves.

[KegRiver]

Originally Posted by nelsonob1

I long for scenes were no man has ever trod
A place where woman never smiled nor wept
There to abide with my creator god
And sleep as I in childhood sweetly slept
Untroubling and untroubled where I lie
The grass below, above the vaulted sky.

J.Claire

Beautiful !

[nelsonob1]

Originally Posted by KegRiver

Beautiful !

Claire's final verse to one of the most moving English poems of the 19 Century, is entitled "I am". He wrote the poem whilst in the Bedlam Asylum.

Claire was a naturalist and wrote many poems that captured the beauty of the English countryside. This verse finds the heart of every person who heads into the wild and I find it comes to mind in the most special places and splendid moments whilst out hunting. To lay back into the grass and look up into the vaulted sky. And sleep as in childhood sweetly slept.

As you say, beautiful.

[Mountain Adventurer]

Love this thread ! I always go on adventures by my self and love it. Last weekend I made it back to a place I call smiley face valley. A very interesting area, from google earth you can actually see huge smiley faces carved into the bush. It is a very remote area but I always carry spot with me. Not that it would help a great deal in a real bad situation but as the OP stated it makes the wife feel better! Cheers

[JD848]

It's nice to read all the stories on solo hunting,like one fellow said the cost and splitting the gear for a hunt these days is not cheap.

Every story has a bit of something I can relate to and there are more solo hunters out there than we realize.

Iv'e taken a couple hundred guys out on hunts and the majority was good,but the minority made me turn away from it all.

I just love the fact of being free to go where I want and not have to drag someone around with me'.

For people who want try this for the first time,make sure you prepare your self for this in every way. just don't pack a nap sack and head out,talk to others who have done this often and make a list and check it twice. Nature can through you a curve ball when you lest expect it,so prepare well.

[Raptor]

Originally Posted by JD 848

I am just wondering how many guys feel the same about spending that special time with just yourself and the outdoors.For me it's the greatest time of my life and time is the greatest commodity in life is time ,rich or poor you can't buy it back so spend your time wisely.

Before my son was coming hunting with me, I hunted about 90% alone. Then my son became a hunter and I never went alone. Now with my son playing Hockey in the US during the hunting season, I pretty much hunt alone. He comes back at Christmas time and we try and get an under-subscribed tag during that time. Now I have a new hunting partner, my dog, and we will hunt together.

But I do love getting out and being alone out hunting in the wild.

[KegRiver]

Thinking of this takes me back.

I didn't have the greatest childhood. I was small and skinny and the kids I went to school with were from a different culture so I was an easy target.

I learned early that I had less to fear from Wolves and Bears then I did from people.
By the age of ten I was spending most of my summer vacation days alone, out hunting, fishing, trapping or just exploring and learning about wild creatures.
That was my safe place, my solace. I would sit for hours watching Moose browse the Sastatoon patches across the river from home. One year my brother built a boat and I would borrow it when I could and paddle about the sough down the flat to see what birds were there and what they were doing.

I'd leave the house at first light and come home just before dark. I didn't pack a lunch. I packed a .22 or a fishing pole or both.
I'd eat berries or cook a fish on a stick, like a wiener. More then one unfortunate Blackbird became a Duck in a pot for a hungry youngster with a vivid imagination and a pocket full of matches.
Often I would eat nothing from breakfast till supper and to this day I do the same.

At 12 years old I trapped my first Beaver and that same year I caught my first Fisher. Two years later I shot my first Moose, with Dad's assistance.
At 16 years old I took my first job. Fighting forest fires for the forestry department.

Then I had to leave home to go to high school. There were no high schools close enough for me to live at home and go to school so I moved to Wetaskiwin to live with relatives and go to school.

At first I hated Wetaskiwin. The people weren't like the folks I had grown up with. There was few places where a person could hunt or fish and every square inch of ground for hundreds of miles in every direction belonged to someone. There were no trespassing signs everywhere.

Eventually I made friends, found places to hunt and fish and settled in more or less. In time I finished high school, met a young lady and got married.

I worked around town, at the CO-OP, Alpha Milk, Warnke Drilling and others.
I fished and hunted some but it just wasn't like home so when my marriage broke up I headed north. Back to where I belonged.

I never fit in, in the city. I need forest and wild animals to feel whole.
These days I live 100 mile south of where I grew up.
I have Deer in my yard daily. Bear wonder through from time to time. The odd Moose shows up along the perimeter of our property. And there are tons of birds. I am home, where I belong and where I will stay.

[JD848]

For some people that spent most of their life in a small town or away from large cities nature becomes part of their life and they feel comfortable in their own environment .

Same as some people that live in a large city and you take them out of their comfort zone some find it hard to be in the bush alone and some adjust.

To hunt by yourself if your use to it is no big deal and is just a way of life that has become part of you and every cell in your body feels good when no one is around.

When you spend enough time solo hunting you have more time to concentrate on what your doing and learn the true patterns on animal behavior and find tune your senses to all that is around you with no distractions from others.

Some people ask me some times ,don't you get lonely when you spend a month all by your self and I tell them that your only lonely if think your lonely.

You can become lonely in any environment ,bush,city,work with tons of people around you or none.

But if you truly love what your doing I don't think you can be lonely,only when my love for the outdoors is gone and I can't smell those big spruce and pines will I be unhappy.

Hunting solo is more than just running around the bush looking to kill something,it's about spending time away from all the B S in life we think we all need.If we could only all be happy in life ,life would be great and the greatest joy in my life is the sound and the smell of nature and all it has to offer.