Solo hunting

I'm about to do a solo hunt out west for the third year in a row. I've hunted out west several times in a few different states over the last ten years. I've hunted whitetail solo in Kansas and Oklahoma most my adult life. The whitetail hunts are usually just day hunts, now that we don't have a cabin in Kansas anymore and not seen as dangerous or risky I guess.

Does anyone else catch grief from your family or friends about doing these hunts alone? I'm only 40 and I'm in good shape and not a new hunter by any means. I always seem to get comments from my wife or Dad like "it makes me nervous" or "I really wish someone was going with you".

I have tire chains, Garmin inreach, the insurance if you have to press SOS and all the usual safety precautions western hunters do. Just curious if anyone else experiences this as well or maybe has an idea how to set people's minds at ease.

My wife use to come on the adventures when we were younger. She knows how it goes. She knows I go hard and it's sometimes dangerous.

Then again, we've been through so many combat deployments together hunting is probably the least of her worries.

As far as hunting, I think she's calmed down since I got a inreach. It was a smart move. I've been looking forward for a long time to when I bite off a piece too big.

That said, unless they come with, there's nothing that's going to set any uneasy mind. A lot of it is a "fear of the unknown" kind of thing. Best I can say is ignore it. Probably safer in the sticks than at the gas station or on the hwy.

I've been hunting alone most of my life. My wife worries more now because of my age, I tell her I'm not going out there to die, I'll be home. But things have a way of turning on you. My son 35 climbs 14,000' mountains by himself, he's only about 6 away from hitting all of Colorado's 58, my daughter, 32, camps, climbs and backpacks by herself. I suppose they take after me in being an outdoor loner. Do I worry now, every time they go out, I don't show it, but inside I'm burning up. The one thing I do demand are bread crumbs until they're out of service and an eta, I've had more than a few anxiety attacks when they've been a few hours late, you get what you sew I suppose.

I'm 34 and have solo hunted 7 states over 20 times and STILL if I don't give my dad a morning and evening update, he immediately just thinks I died on the mountain hahaha. My wife doesn't worry as much. But I always update her and my dad via text/in-reach by 10:00am and 10:00pm. Simple thing for me to ease their minds.

I seem to always catch some grief!!! I did a pig hunt in California a few years back just me. I hauled my trailer from AZ to central California. Shot two pigs and was scheduled to make the trip back and woke up with kidney stones . I still had to drive the 7 or 8 hours hurting like a soma bitch to my sister's in Huntington beach. I stayed the night and made the trip to my dad's to pick up my grandfather's 1917 eddystone. Still hurting I got back in the truck to head home and man it was all I could do to not cry it hurt. Two wrecks on the road made for a even longer ride . The wife and daughter were at the storage lot waiting. A super quick unload and a trip to the emergency room and now I'm not allowed to go solo.

I don't get any grief about hunting antelope by myself, but spring bear I do. It's just black bear, and not in grizzly country.

Flight635 said:

I'm about to do a solo hunt out west for the third year in a row. I've hunted out west several times in a few different states over the last ten years. I've hunted whitetail solo in Kansas and Oklahoma most my adult life. The whitetail hunts are usually just day hunts, now that we don't have a cabin in Kansas anymore and not seen as dangerous or risky I guess.

Does anyone else catch grief from your family or friends about doing these hunts alone? I'm only 40 and I'm in good shape and not a new hunter by any means. I always seem to get comments from my wife or Dad like "it makes me nervous" or "I really wish someone was going with you".

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I used to do solo hunts with antelope and deer, but never elk. I always tell a buddy where I am, just in case. I have always told my wife to call my buddy. I told my wife I could crawl out of the hunting spot, but she never cared for my reasoning.

It all changed in 2019. My buddy and I were hunting private property, a place we have been hunting since 2003. It was flat, with plenty of badger and gopher holes and some rattlesnakes (in the summer). I have fallen on holes covered with snow without injuries other than my pride. We were doing a late PM hunt. There's maybe 2-3" of snow on the ground.

When my buddy downed his buck, I texted him that I was heading his way to help him. He was ~300 yards away. Walking towards him, I had to stop every 5 yards because my heart was beating fast and breathing harder than usual. I am a couple of decades older than you but in reasonably good shape. We have no idea why.

The following day, I ended up in the ER with COVID-19 (double lung pneumonia) and was unable to go to work for 4 months. I am just glad we were not in the boondocks elk hunting. At this time in my life, it is not worth taking risks.

I used to solo hunt all the time, trapped all season and ran lions mostly solo, TILL I had an accident and had to crawl through knee deep snow to get back to a 4 wheeler then I couldn't get it loaded with a broken ankle so road it out over 20 miles to a road then all the way to town, I barely made it to my folks house. Thee only reason I'm alive was guardian angels, period, I was a dead man in those mountains and conditions back so far no had been in ther in weeks.
My wife doesn't worry but I feel I owe them to be more safe so I add safety steps every year through tech, teaching my daughter where I'd be and how to find me.

At eighty I still hunt alone. The place is all uphill from the road so I ignorantly feel if needed I could sort of slide and crawl back to the road. Two years ago, I got a doe about three quarters of a mile in and had to side hill it for about half a mile because I went over a place I don't normally go. It was a little fun at the time and a great memory. But normally it's just downhill all the way.

If being able to track your position and communicate via the Garmin does not alleviate their concerns, I doubt anything will.

At 67, I hunt solo most of time. In addition to an InReach, I always tell someone where I'm going and when I will return and check in with them upon returning to camp or home. Having an SOS capability gives me the freedom to go into country most folks my age would shy away from. Since I mostly hunt public land here in PA, getting 2-3 miles back in is the necessary if you want to avoid the crowds.

I used to spend a lot of time in the woods on solo hunts. I've never been deep in the mountains without having someone nearby. At this point in my life I don't think it would be wise. I really enjoy the solitude of hunting, but I also enjoy the laughs and companionship at camp or at the truck.

Flight635 said:

I'm about to do a solo hunt out west for the third year in a row. I've hunted out west several times in a few different states over the last ten years. I've hunted whitetail solo in Kansas and Oklahoma most my adult life. The whitetail hunts are usually just day hunts, now that we don't have a cabin in Kansas anymore and not seen as dangerous or risky I guess.

Does anyone else catch grief from your family or friends about doing these hunts alone? I'm only 40 and I'm in good shape and not a new hunter by any means. I always seem to get comments from my wife or Dad like "it makes me nervous" or "I really wish someone was going with you".

I have tire chains, Garmin inreach, the insurance if you have to press SOS and all the usual safety precautions western hunters do. Just curious if anyone else experiences this as well or maybe has an idea how to set people's minds at ease.

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I do as well. I used to have buddies that could not get enough of hunting, and we would hunt from Georgia to New Mexico. Now when I plan a hunt no one will commit to going, they just talk about wanting to go. Just a few years back my wife decided that she would join me on an elk hunt. The hunt was not too hard very warm for the season and not much activity. When my wife spotted a pile of Bear Scat, she informed me that I had not told her that there would be Bears in the area. Talking about someone with a heighten since of awareness, ever log, ever rock, ever shadow had to be studied closely for movement. The hunt would up be being 5 days of camping with my wife and not bring home an elk, but it was a great time together. Now I hunt solo for most of the time, but I have met some of great people on my hunts, from pulling pickups out of the ruts to sharing eggs and bacon with others that have run out. I will let some of the hunters I know where I will be camping, and some will come out to check on me and see if I need help. Now that I am a senior citizen, I hunt close to camp and don't push it anymore. If I get a heavy snow that day, I will sip coffee and keep the fire going until the weather improves. There is something about looking at the stars at night, listening to the critters that are about and feeling the crunch of snow under your boots as you start your day. I have pick out a high mesa for ashes to be scattered when my time comes and hope my family will carry out my wish.
Ace

Whether they admit it or not most loved ones will worry about you. I remember my wife pestering me about getting a cell phone so she could stay in touch if needed. The following year I hunted a spot in Ohio that's only about 3 hours west of home but I didn't have service until I was at the truck. I explained that it was a half hour walk to the truck so I would be a little late calling. After the first evening I called when I reached the truck and she was frantic about how late it was. She said that she was so worried because it's been pitch dark for an hour! Of course it has been dear since you are east of my location and it stays light longer the farther west you go.
It's not always possible but it's a good idea to let someone know the general area that you plan to be in.

I don't like hunting solo, that's because I don't like packing elk out solo. So I don't hunt solo often. However, that last hunt wasn't a wilderness area so I was able to take an ATV for the solo pack out. Still it was a lot of work for a guy who was 49 at the time, I'm 52 now.

My last bull hunt I went solo, I made sure to find a camp with cell service so I could check in. I used OnX to drop pins where I was at throughout the day and shared with my wife if I had coverage. I also let her know what general area I'd be hunting every day, and didn't deviate from the plan. I also told her that if she didn't get a text from me by when she woke up to send help. I often wouldn't make it back to camp before 9-10 pm, but would text if I hit coverage on my way out.

I tried to get an InReach, but couldn't find one two weeks before my hunt. As that's when my buddy had to back out, making it a solo hunt. CO puts S&R fee on every license it sells, so I wouldn't have purchased any extra insurance. There are ways to make a solo hunting trip easier on your loved ones, just never easier on the hunter.