My View on Your Fair Weather Friends Post

[timberjack]

Duckmen, let me know if you need a partner, you sound just like me when you speak of your hunting buds. A quick story: when I was a senior at MSU I found a nice buck holding tight to the little thicket behind the apartment that I rented. I hunted that deer hard, even stayed in Starkville over the XMAS break to try to get him. I finally got my chance late one afternoon when he checked his scrape line right before dark. He trotted within ten yards of me before he spooked and took off. Result, I didn't want to take the shot and risk crippling such a great deer, I bet he was 20" inside and had at least 10 or 12 inch back tines. I told my friends about him and how I wasn't upset that I didn't get him but that I was just glad I got that close to such a monster, inside the city limits no less. They couldn't understand it, why I wasn't tore up about having missed my chance. Two kinds of hunters, those that just like to kill and those that have respect for their prey. My 2 cents. Unkljohn, you mean Big Charlie and Wade let you hunt before work?!! Sounds like I need to be working for SLC!!!!!

[Model12]

Great post Duckman. I found myself feeling alot like you do as I got to 40 and beyond. Most of the guys I started duck hunting with didn't hunt as "hard" as I did and didn't hunt as much. The way I see it...when duck season is here it's time to hunt! I hunt every day that I can. As time went by I found myself hunting with other guys that liked it like I do. I didn't lose the old friends, just gained some new ones. And before long the "new" friends became "old" friends. That's one of the things that keeps it interesting. Now I have a one year old grandson whom I hope to make into an "old" friend. Hang in there, it's only ten months....

[captain duck]

Duckmen-Congrats on one of the best posts of the season. Ironic it was on the last day! After a few good responses by others I would like to add some additional comments about hunting friends, companions, etc. Some of the recent responses have certainly agreed with your views. Not that I'm opposeed-for you have great compassion. Hunting in general however, as previously posted and duck hunting are not necessarily the same days afield. I was the most sociable, amicable,BS-er and hunting companion you would ever want on 11 dove hunts in Sept-Oct on the club's sunflower fields. The more the merrier. I do everything from pull the drink wagon to cook the ribs and chicken. I show up at noon, watch a liitle SEC football, go kill a limit of birds and have a couple of silver bullets afterwards. Dove hunting with all your buddies and having a successful hunt where there are doves is a no-brainer. Everybody kills the limit and you can't screw it up. You can wear hunter orange or Mossey Oak. Duck hunting is different. It's like stalking a B&C whitetail. It requires talent and commitment in most cases. There could be 50,000 duks at Morgan Brake but it doesn't mean you could kill em-unless they were doves. Like yourself, I am no longer geographically located to hunt 50 days. I did hunt 22 days. Some of those hunts required getting up at 2:30 and traveling 150+ miles. On back to back mornings in Dec I drove 124 miles at 3:30 A.M. to be in my office at 10:30 124 miles later and again the next morning. A prominent man once said "the definition of success is when preparation meets opportunity. I view duck hunting along those lines and go to great effort to be prepared. The last thing a serious duck hunter wants is for someone else to ruin the opportunity. I am fully qualified to screw up my own hunts. I love duck hunting with good hunters more than anybody. My three best buddies-Wildfowler-Uncle Walt and one you don't know can out call me, out shoot me and are damn serious duck hunters. They are the guys I want to be with when I go to a lot of trouble to hunt. The rest of my comraderee will be in the dove field, the golf course or whatever.

[NOHERE]

Well said Duckman, those of us on the back side of 40 know what your talking about.We lost our club of 20 years, because the landowner became more interested in the bottle than the land. But the last 3-4 years Ive been doing it solo with my dog.For some reason everything seems to go well when its just us.Every now and then ill go with someone on an invite, and it usually turns into a headache for me,simply because of the reasons you stated, everyone of them.

[GulfCoast]

Its kinda funny, how it all works out. My job keeps me from hunting nearly as much as I want to hunt. I hunt several 3 day weekends in the delta during the season and usually only miss a few. I hunt both days every weekend if I am down here and can't get to the Delta, and a couple mornings during the week before work if I am down here. But I can almost NEVER find folks down here that want to meet me at the boat launch at 4:45 a.m. to GO HUNTING. But I have lots of "duck hunters" who want me to TELL THEM exactly where I have been shooting birds, how to get there, GPS numbers...... I have come to realize that you only have a few truly good friends in your life, that you can truly trust, that you can spend hours with without saying a word without it being uncomfortable.....Treasure those friends while you can.

[MSDuckmen]

To the Two Captains and the rest of the posters thanks for your responses.
I don’t think any of you are wrong for doing things your way, if you love the solitude I say go for it.
Hunters have a goal that drives them. Doesn’t make anyone of us right over the other.
I just plain miss having my hunting brothers around this year. I traveled all over this state and I didn’t enjoy it near as much when I have no one to share it with. I took a lot of kids this year and even some friends that are duck hunters and I know what you guys are saying. It bothers me to constantly tell someone to stay still, don’t look up, and wait. It’s like breaking in a new wife you have to get past their misgivings to enjoy the experience.
Now that is what I’m told, (I still have the same ole gal and don’t won’t to start over.)

If hunting alone is your forte then I say go for it. I just want more out of it and even if my crew never returns to our ways of old I’ll find others with the same interest.

OK now that we know where we stand lets move to the Positive and Negative of hunting with someone verses alone.


Hunting alone
1. You can’t blame the ducks flaring on anyone but your dog or yourself.
2. You have no one to say did you see that shot?
3. Ducks not responding to your call so you can’t blame your partners calling.
4. You put out all dekes alone.
5. Don’t have to explain anything about why you think it happened the way it did

Hunting with someone
1. Opposite everything above
2. I could have limited out if I was alone
3. You have to take turns shooting
4. You’ll have no one to dog for shooting a hen, out of turn, or too soon.
5. But you’ll have a memory that is shared that one day you’ll both talk about again.

Add to them boys lets see what your Positives and Negatives are.

[NOHERE]

Hunting alone
POSITIVE
If you wake up and dont feel like going, you can roll over and go in the afternoon.

NEGATIVE

Its probably no very safe to go alone, you never know what may happen.

[treblA]

I only have a couple of comments. First, I would like to say that I feel I am truly blessed to hunt with a couple of guys that truly love the sport. We have one guy that this was his first year to go and he cant wait until next year. Like was said before, to us it is the experience and not the killing that makes an enjoyable hunt. If I have to go hunting alone, I would rather not go. That is why I dont care to deer hunt any longer. The last thing I want to do is hang on to the side of a tree, by myself, and wait to ambush a deer. I drive an hour to work - alone, I am alone all day in my office, unless I have an appointment. Then I drive the hour back home - alone. The last thing I want to do is go sit in a duck blind by myself. The only other thing I want to say about it is if you are going to hunt alone, Please Please Please let someone know where you are going. When I lost my father, we had about a 200 square mile lake to search, and the only place we know, for a fact, he was is where he launched his boat from. Where he went from there is anyone's guess.

No one is right or wrong, go with whatever floats your boat. I do this because it makes me happy, and I enjoy having people to share it with. Just my 2 cents.


Albert

[BigGun]

I had some frustrating moments this season too. I found myself in a group (6 people) lease this year that will never happen again. The season looked great when it first started. One of my so called buddies found us a lease for 2500 bucks. I coughed up my part and we began to prepare the hole. It ended up with me and my best friend Russ (That i've hunted with for the past 4 years) doing all the work. It didn't bother me all that much since we got to set up like we wanted too. The only thing that got me is they had no time to work, just to hunt. Season started and me and Russ were the only ones who brought decoys and atv's for the half mile drive to the hole. This was all fine and good until the others were all sitting in Russ's and my blind (4 person blind) after we threw out the decoys. Hunt was over for the weekend, and me and Russ had: hauled them out there every day, used our decoys, my trailor, our blind, and we had cleaned all the ducks (30). It didn't help matters that they sat in the blind and talked when we went to pick up decoys. After 4 weeks of this we were pissed and were glad to see them go to the other end of the field and hunt their sleds. Many other things took place that caused much discontent, but it would take 400 lines to explain. Just looking forward to next year

[Doc & Nash]

duckmen,

This is the first of ten years where I did not hunt with the individual that got me into duck hunting, if you were to ask him, he would tell you the same about me, Needless to say this year was awful, As the season was over, Thursday night, I was calling him asking him if he was intrested in us getting a place together again, even if it was only a blind on plublic land, It amazes me how much you miss the thing you never thought mattered, I was greatful when he said yes and shared how he had felt the same way, It is all about the companions, best friend, father, or child, (in no certain order)it does not matter.

[Quack Attack]

I hunt alone. Already done the friendship, buddies, crap on a pie plate, shoot my decoys, and the rest of it. Good and bad it was, I remember both well. I learn more when I'm not watching my bud crap on a pie plate, although I admit that would be entertaining, especially if he could make a miniature labrador. Alone is the way to learn for me, so that is how I hunt, and I love it. Every once in awhile I take someone, but I get out of bed expecting nothing, so that the 50% of the time doesn't ruin my hunt.

If I die alone duck hunting, well there you go, who could ask for anyting better.

In fact I hope that is exactly how I go, but it could be another 40 years and it would not hurt my feelings. I've learned enough to make it close to that safety wise, and these days with these clothes and communication options, there is hardly a reason to get killed. You can sit in a 20 degree freezing ice storm and never get a chill, in days gone by that could be the end of it.
Perhaps the aroma of a fresh miniature labrador may end it for you, not even 911 & the Coast Gaurd can help you with aromatic asphyxiation. I've been subjected to "air prep" that would stop the chopper blades.

Camp is for friends, and I love that too, the ducks are all the company I need,once I finally realized that my hunting got a lot smoother and lot more enjoyable.