I was thinking about this the other day, as I was sitting in the woods scouting, and I was wondering how many of you prefer to hunt with someone else as opposed to going by yourself.
Personally, I love going to the turkey woods by myself. There's just something about it that is peaceful and it's just "my time" I guess. I dont mind having someone with me but most of the time, I think I just enjoy the solitude of it. I also think it's easier to kill one when I'm by myself so that probably has something to do with it. I have one other buddy that I always enjoy going with and any time my son, wife or father wants to come with me, they are more than welcome but, for the most part, I like to go it alone.
Now if we're talking about waterfowl hunting or just about any other kind of wingshooting, I'm all about having my buddies tag along.
What about you guys?
Its fun going with someone but when it comes down to it I enjoy being by myself. If I want to move I dont have to ask I just move. If I mess up I only have myself to blame. I can over call under call with no judgement or pressure. To me its harder to kill a bird by myself so its move of a challenge. Its just you, mothernature and trying to outwit an ol tom.
I like a balance of some group outings and some solitude hunting. I find it incredibly peaceful when I do get out by myself, same with fly fishing or early season bow. There is just something about the peace and the beauty of God's creation that can be more keenly appreciated in the solitude. IMO
I really like to mess with people, so hunting with friends is a blast for me. But if I have a certain bird that really needs killing I go at it solo.
I enjoy the solitude of being alone. Just me and mother nature. I go a couple times a year with a couple buddies, but that is about it.
Being alone I just hunt differently. I don't have to worry if they're feet are asleep, or if they're bored or maybe their butt hurts, etc.. I end up being a little more impatient when I have someone along with me, and everyone knows that a patient hunter is a successful hunter for the most part..
both
I have some good buddies and we travel to different states hunting gobblers before our season in PA starts. We all usually hunt at some point together during the season here in PA. I still hunt with my father every saturday. It's a great time and I wouldn't want it to be any other way. Usually I get to go by myself a few times a season and I enjoy the peace and quiet but it's great to share memories with your best friends.
Love going solo, but also having Jr. behind the trigger. Last spring we moved 13 times on a bird and he killed him with me looking over his shoulder. We have had some great times that we share often. When I am alone I always find myself wishing he was there with me.
Solo for me.
I perfer to hunt (deer & turkey) and bass fish alone. I enjoy the freedom of making decisions on my own. It's me against the animals. I have a great hunting partner and enjoy hunting with him, however i perfer to hunt alone.
Except in the fall have mostly hunted with my buddy. This year I'm looking forward to the challenge of hunting alone.
Unless I am taking a youth with me, it's solo for me.
I almost always hunt alone.
I'd rather be by myself. I mess up enough hunts on my own, and with another person, we mess up even more
It totally depends on who I am hunting with.. I have had some hunts with people that I was so irritated with their every move. My best hunts by far have been shared with good friends.
I'm a loner myself! I go With people but for the most part alone
If I'm really trying to kill a bird, I'd rather hunt alone. That being said, I really like calling birds in for other people.
I love taking people and especially when it's their first time, but I prefer to fly solo so I can take my time and learn as much as possible. It's hard to do that when you have another factor in the equation which may cause an error.
I will be taking my son this year and it will be his first yeast to shoot so I may never step in the woods again without him on the weekends.
I like solo, being on my own timeline. But my partner hunting consists of each of taking a big block of woods so it's not much different. It is nice having someone there to celebrate a gobbler in the back of the truck tho.
I prefer to be by myself but miss celebrating with someone when there is success.
Some days I prefer to be alone some I prefer company so I'd say I'm 50/50.
I went through a stage where my mentor and I were together all the time, he was there when I dropped my first bird. Then I went alone, then hunted a few years with good friends, then my nephew, and now it's almost strictly solo, especially now I'm hunting with a mountain bike.
But I have to agree with the following statement -- I will most cherish those memories I have of spring mornings spent with good friends....
Quote from: Gobblehead30 on March 13, 2013, 08:20:55 PMMy best hunts by far have been shared with good friends.
:agreed:
I honestly can't remember the last time I turkey hunted alone.. I really hunting with others and sharing the experience
Quote from: devin4484 on March 13, 2013, 06:31:09 PM
Its just you, mothernature and trying to outwit an ol tom.
I think this is another reason I really like going alone.
It's just me and a particular bird I'm after.... :TrainWreck1:
During the week I hunt alone before work. On the weekends I enjoy hunting with my friends.
I hunt alone with a few exceptions, calling a bird in for my son or a friend are two of those exceptions. The other is showing someone new to the sport how to hunt them.
I hunt alone 90% of the time...10% with my two grandsons that live 4 hours away.
I too enjoy the time alone....usually have scouted a tom before I go and it's just a game of chess from there on.
Just me,myself,and my nephew!!!
I don't hunt alone much. Lucky enough to have a dad with a flexible spring work schedule and usually if I'm going he's going. Which is just how I want it, we are much more dangerous as a pair for sure. I like to deer hunt alone but when it comes to turkey I'd rather have somebody else tag along and enjoy the fun
I hunt solo about half the time. I have one awesome spot that I'm not allowed to take anyone. So I'm not ruining it for me. Have friends I enjoy hunting with also.
really depends on the person, I enjoy hunting with others for the most part, but some people will get on my last nerve in the turkey woods. I really like taking first timers.
on the flip side, if I wasn't able to hunt alone about half the time, I wouldn't enjoy the company nearly as much.
my success rate is better alone.
Solo unless I have one of my kids!
I hunt a lot with other people, 2 or 3 very well with and in tune with each other's styles, etc. gained only by many hunts and trips together. I usually take a few different people hunting each year, a few of which I have been privileged to call in their first turkeys. I enjoy carrying the camera and sometimes here at home it may be several days into the season before I am going solo or being the main shooter. I'll admit I sometimes am excited at the fact to get to hunt alone. I think most of the time I am more effective alone, because I can over analyze or second guess decisions when other hunters are involved rather than just making those quick, second nature decisions and rolling with it during a hunt. I like both aspects, but it is nice to squeeze in some solo days. I do look forward to hopefully many future hunts shared with my two boys.
I hardly hunt alone.. Maybe a few times a year. That's when I usually get one. I love sharing the whole experience with friends and my son. When I'm alone the gun is on my knee. When I'm with someone it usually laying across my lap. My priority is always to let the person I'm with get the shot. An assist is even better than getting one myself,especially first timers. That's what I really enjoy :turkey:
I do like to be alone at times just to take it all in. Thank You :cross2:
I enjoy both for different reasons. Most of the people I turkey hunt with have been at it less than 6 years, some much less. I enjoy getting to watch them "discover" little things about the hunt, like hearing their first spit and drum, or having a bird hammering out gobbles from behind a bush 10 yards away watching them just about crawl out of their skin wishing he'd step out from behind that bush. Time with good friends comes less and less these days too, so sometimes its just nice to get to hang out enjoying the things we love in life before all the stuff that doesn't really matter gets in the way.
Parts that get frustrating are the usual arguments we have with ourselves when we hunt solo. Should we try and get closer, or sit tight, which is usually met with "your call". That burns me sometimes, but its all part of the hunt. All said, I do "enjoy" the hunt more when I'm hunting with someone.
Solo hunts are all business. When we hunt out of state we always ride together but split up and hunt solo when we get there. I enjoy the intensity of the way I hunt alone, but I can't help but think that maybe sometimes I forget to sit back and enjoy those little things I seem to notice more when I'm with someone.
I can't wait until my kids are old enough to hunt so I get to see all the things I fell in love with all over again.
I always hunt solo unless my son happens to be home from college.
I would choose to hunt with a buddy, but like Ronnie if I really want to kill a bird I have a lot more confidence by my self.
like going solo always thought one person sneaking around was enough movement and noise let alone another
Solo for me.
I will certainly run solo if my hunting partners can't go, but now that my granddad retired I am pretty much always with someone.
I hunt with my granddad every Saturday morning at the very least and then with one of three guys any other day I am off. I just enjoy spending time in the turkey woods by myself or with a good friend.
I've had this discussion many, many times with my friends. Most of my close friends that turkey hunt will not go alone. They feel that the more people, the better their chances. I, on the other hand, feel like every time I add a person to the hunt, I cut my chances 50%. I just don't like having anyone else's opinion on how I should approach a bird, especially when I've got 5X as many beards on the wall as they do. Also, the one on one, me vs. Ole Tom, aspect gives me more of a thrill than party hunting.
Quote from: Gobblehead30 on March 13, 2013, 08:20:55 PM
It totally depends on who I am hunting with.. I have had some hunts with people that I was so irritated with their every move. My best hunts by far have been shared with good friends.
I agree 100%
I like hunting alone..especially spring gobbler hunting.
I mostly prefer hunting alone... Can really do it my way and hunt the way I like. But, I do also like to hunt with a friend or two because you can share the hunt and the memories and also hunt differently with 2 people covering the same ground. It's mostly the social aspect that I like about hunting with someone when I'm not hunting alone. I've killed most of my birds alone and sat right next to a buddy when he killed one last year.
I've only got a few real close friends I hunt with. Just the average buddy does not get the invite, nor would I be willing to tag along with them. I love taking kids out. I enjoy hunting with me dad alot. I guess since he's up in years and doesn't get around quite as well I feel like I'm giving back what he gave me when I was young, hard headed, and couldn't be still. If it wasn't for him I wouldn't have the full fledged obsession that I do. My wife is probably my favorite person to hunt with. She learned a long time ago that if she wants to kill a turkey she better do exactly as I say....If only I could get the rest of the marriage to go like this, HAHA. Without sounding selfish I would rather turkey hunt alone for obvious reasons that have already been stated. Basically the complaining, asleep feet, hurting butt, and the uncomfortable tree. If I'm alone I can do what I want, when I want, and how I want it. If i bugger a bird, miss, or make a mistake in any other shape or form it's all my fault. If the others happen when I am with someone I'm more apt to think it must have been there fault, or how in the world could you miss a turkey strutting at 20 yards? I mean I could never do any of those things because I'm a well trained turkey killing machine that never screws up.....I wish, lol. However, some of the best memories in the turkey woods have been with other people, wife, dad, freinds, and young people. I guess for me it's about finding some type of balance which is tough sometimes, but I must have my "me" time turkey hunting at some point.
Also, I definitely prefer hunting solo on public land. Unappreciative hunting partners always tell someone that we heard/saw birds or sign even when they say they won't...pisses you off when you do the legwork scouting and calling.
I do like long-gunning a hunting partner. "Wait until he comes past that tree....10 more yards." Then Shooting the bird when my buddy thinks he's about to shoot after the bird takes 2 more steps :toothy9:
I spend hundreds of hours each fall and winter pursuing whitetails alone. I enjoy the solitude of that season to think and just enjoy nature - its my church. When spring rolls around I am ready to throw on stinky hunting clothes and enjoy the hunt with others. I love youth season and taking someone young out for their first hunting experiences. Or just taking a first timer out. I also have my hunting buddies (My brother and brother in law). Its a special time for us. We are obsessed turkey hunters. Soon I will enjoy the company of my two young sons on spring turkey hunts. So my answer is I enjoy hunting spring turkeys with others. That said I make it out at least once a season all alone and my success rate goes up a ton. Alone you can sneak quieter and get and get away with a little more.
Good luck this spring everyone.
Heath Smith - Illinois Turkey Hunter
I have forgotten what it is like to go turkey hunting alone. I really do miss it. However, when you hunt private land and you don't own any of it, you are constantly taking other people. I cannot complain though since it opens up a lot of oppurtunities for me to hunt some prime NE Missouri farm ground. I have seen so many birds get taken by the guy/gal sitting next to me that I have never even thought of shooting and it really never gets old. If all I have to do is put someone or their kid on a turkey so that I can hunt there in the future, thats a small price to pay. I do miss just making my own decisions instead of having a small conference about when, where, and how everytime.
:icon_thumright: :icon_thumright:
I only hunt with one buddy and he doesn't get to go much. Other than him I prefer to hunt alone.
Love going solo but there is nothing like taking my dad and older brother. They have never turkey hunted much and only in the last 2 years have I gotten them in to it. I was over their shoulder when both killed their first toms. It's awesome to be able to introduce my dad something new and be able to give back some of the time he gave me.
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I love going with my dad. He's 70 and has slowed down quite a bit, so I'm not sure how many more years I'll get to hunt with him. I take my older brother once in a while, but he's busy coaching high school baseball. I also have a good buddy that I really enjoy hunting with, we've had lots of fun and exciting hunts together over the years. I do love hunting by myself a few times each season as well. I'm hoping my 7 year old daughter will eventually want to hunt with me, time will tell.
I'm a "solo" hunter and always have been except when I take my grandson out in the Youth season.
Prefer solo unless it's my son, dad, or the 77yr ole man that tought me alot of what I know. I have been filming the last couple of years with a buddy of mine and I sure miss those days alone in the woods to be honest.
If I wanna have fun, I take a friend. If I wanna kill a limbhanger, I go solo.
Last year was my first season on hunting Turkey's and since I didn't have anyone to show me the ropes I went at it alone. I missed having my dad along with me who I do all my other hunting with. Good thing I got him hooked into going this year before the season started!!! All in all either way is fine with me, a good nap going at it solo and waking up to a noisy hen close to you really gets the heart racing all most as much as a Tom Gobbling in your ear.
It's all fun. What ever blows your feathers back.
I prefer going alone. I used to fish buddy trail bass tournaments and I would fish by myself. Somebody always wanted to go with me but I like the solitude and the freedom to make my own decisions good or bad. I think I learn more without the distraction of another hunter. I had rather take someone that's never fished or hunted rather than someone who has done it unless I might learn from him/her and vice versa.