Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

After reading all of the posts lately with guys going at it with one another....about hunting strategies:eek:I can't help but realize how different "I" approach hunting than others. I'll use my personal experiences as an example. Many years ago on my families hunting land I started hunting with my soon to be Father-in-Law. The land was new to me and I quickly got the lay of it as well as time in scouting for deer sign. I killed a doe my first year (with a bow) and missed a nice buck that same year with my slug gun. (no I don't want to get into detail other than to say it was a monstrous operator error that caused the mis.[&:]). The next year I killed my biggest deer with a bow, I've never scored it but I'd guess in the low 150's and I'd seen an even bigger deer earlier in the day. My point was I was very excited about the potential the land held for nice deer. To this day it still produces great bucks and I've been lucky or skilled(probably lucky:)) enough to kill quite a few.

While I was in "buck heaven" It (the hunt) was lacking something......others. So I talked it over with my Father-in-Law and he was more than receptive to adding hunters. There was plenty of land plus his property backed up the a public portion of the Shawnee National Forest so there was room for plenty. Well as the years rolled on more and more guys showed up to hunt, mostly during the gun season but there were a few who bow hunted as well and we had a time for a while there. Spending time with them talking about the days activities, bragging and telling great lies about why we missed or what have you....it was finally something special.

Never once did I feel like I was loosing on potential big bucks for my self and to be quite honest and absolute slammer was killed from one of my bow stands. It was a deer I had seen before and tried to get setup on. Well gun season rolled around and I put a fellow who I had only met the year before there and told him about the buck and about when it might show his face. Well as luck would have it, it did and this kid put a slug through a 198 2/8 deer! He was literally crying thanking me for letting him hunt. I showed him how to field dress it without ruining the cape and we celebrated through the night.

As with all things, nothing stays the same and as the years went by fewer and fewer people showed up to hunt. People get older, they move, get different jobs, wifes, kids, etc... Before you know it, it was just me and my Father-in-Law again. This as most of you know this didn't last long either as cancer took him from his family at a far too early age of 69 and for the first timeI've found myself hunting alone....I still enjoy it, the hunt, but the experience is lacking once again.

Hunting and especially hunting with friends...to me is what it's all about. Sure I can easily keep the place to my self, plant food plots, put up fences, set up cameras, the whole nine yards......but for what?? To say "look at me, look what I killed" No thanks, I'll trade a wall of big bucks for a forest full of friends, family, laughter and good times over that ANY DAY.

To me there is something special about sharing the hunt, to others it doesn't mean squat and only the "trophy" matters. I say, what good is the trophy if you don't have anyone to enjoy it with you. I guess you can always drive around town with the deer in the back of your truck and go from house to house showing it off, to each his own I guess. To me nothing is more important that the experience and the group dynamic of it all. This is evident across the Midwest during the gun seasons. Here it's more of a "rite of passage" than anything else. Folks come in from all over the state (and then some) to gather for the hunt. It brings friends and family together with a common interest and the memories will last for ever.....I know mine will.

I miss those days, hunting with friends.....

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

I hear ya BigJ as with our hunting group up north a few have passed on but luckily we are still going strong. When Thursday hits before the Wi gun opener you can see us parading up highway 94
en route to Hollistor, Wi. We got a cabin 2 years ago and best thing we ever did and now the new memories we are creating are priceless.
Luckily my family lives for this time of year and I am very thankful for it. Usually with me its not bow opener coming soon but when will that gun season get here.
This is the reason I look forward to new friends here and hunting with them. That get together last week was thecats ass for me.

T

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

Well said BigJ71! I couldn't agree more with you. I don't know if hunting would be nearly as good without my father in the woods with me. We always try to invite at least a few people to hunt with us every year. There just is something about having people around that makes it all more fun. I just can't wait for fall to come!:)

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

That's got to be the italian in you! :D

For some reason, I'm a hermit when it comes to hunting. I like to hunt for trophy bucks by myself or with one other person such as my son or my friend Sam. However, gun season is a much more social event and I really enjoy it. So you could say I do both, just at different times.

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

This is the best post I've read in a long time. I couldn't agree more. Well said.

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

I agree 100%.back when i first started bowhunting I ataryed with a couple of other friends,we did everything together,we shot our bows together,we scouted together,we hung dtands together and we hunted together.We only had access to public hunting land and we didn't kill many deer,but it was the best time of my huntingcareer, eventhouh I kill more deer now I wouldn't trade those times in the woods with my buddies for all the trophy bucks in the world.I sure do miss those guys hunting with me,it's just not the same.GREAT POST!!!! WE NEED MORE PEOPLE WITH YOUR ATTITUDE HERE!

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

Nice read BigJ. I agree with you, but most of my bow hunting isdone in Kentucky on in-laws land and I am not allowed to take guest. I do socialize while gun hunting though.
chris

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

You the man BigJ. I like sharing my woods too. If you ever want to hunt Kansas I will share them with you.[&:]

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

Ahh yes, a camp full of buddies is worth their weight in gold or gas... Both kinds!

RE: Just Some Ramblings About Hunting With Friends.....
 

Thisis a great thread! Thank you for sharing those thoughts.Very well said, I couldn't agree more.:)When I was younger there wasn't ANYTHING that I looked foward to more than going up to deer camp in Bradford Co to hunt with my Dad, brother in law, and a few friends. Thosewere truely "the good old days". I miss them. Isn't it a shame how time changes certain things?