Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

How many of you share your hunting lands? How many of you insist the "others" (to the best of your abilities) hunt "exactly" the way you do (RE: scent control measures, entrance/exit routes/etc...)?

What's the difference in your success rates?.....and....what might you attribute that to?

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

If they are hunting with me Irespect them well enough to say nothing about how they hunt.

My hunting skills are only god like in my own mind.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I'm wondering how much control (if you wanna call it that) people have over the others they hunt with.

You know.....like....YOU could be doing everything "right".....but if the guy you hunt with is going in there "dirty" on days you're NOT there.....how does that affect YOURhunting?

Do you have similar outlooks on what to take? Are you "outhunting" "them"? Why? Or.....why not?

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I hunt with the fam and a few friends .... I am the most patient one out there ... they will get up at different times when they get bored .... but hunting with them is what I love ..... I just hunt the other side of the street ;)... Seriously, we are all different ... I would rather put up with their different styles, methodsor customs than to not hunt with them at all.....but that's me ..... as soon as hunting becomes all about me, I am done with it.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

Yeah, I often chase my buddies down, tackle them, and hold'em down while I spray scent control on them. I may also give them a finger full of slobber in their ear as punishment. I get my mom to come out and ask them if they've washed their hands.

LOL!!!

The truth is my buddies have grown up huntin just like me and I trust they know what they're doin'.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

LOL hillbilly :D

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I have a guy I hunt with every once in awhile when our schedules align. I respect the guy alot. He is very quiet and respects the woods. He is patient and is willing to walk a long way to get on deer. He is also a hell of a topo map reader. I really hope I can hunt with him more this year as I seem to have alot of fun. I have always been a loner hunter type, but the older I get, the more I enjoy others around when I hunt.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I agree with this.....and it goes kinda without saying that if it's an invitee......you have a good idea of how that person's gonna hunt.....OR....you wouldn't have likey extended the invitation.

My question was more along the lines of people you CAN'T "control" (or 'control' their invitation)......or those who have every standing you do on the lands you hunt.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

That's why I am very selective of who I bring into my spots. So far that's only been one guy, my Dad.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

If it's my property, they won't be invited if I feel they are a sloppy hunter. If it's somewhere else, I just make sure I'm far enough away that they don't affect me. Dan's place in NY has a few other guys that are family friends that hunt it and don't hunt as "smart" as we do.They definitely smarten up the deer there. We just make sure that we hikein,stay away from the easily accessible and destination source stands, and we continue to encounter and kill more and bigger bucks than anyone else on the property........consistently.

There are only 2 people that hunt my place in PA with any regularity. Dan (Jawshooter) and my father. Dan hunts exactly the same way I do. Our success rates are very similar. I'm 1x buck up on him over the last 4 years, but I suspect that if you average us out over a longer period of time we will have very similar success.

My father on the other hand, is not so sensitive to the little things that we are. I love the guy to death, but he will sit ina stand when the wind is wrong, he won't follow a scent control regimen, and he likes to sleep on stand. He's my dad though and still my favorite hunting partner [8D]. He's been hunting this way since the 1960's, and he's not going to change now. His success is much lower than Dan and I, yet hunts the same property and a lot of the same stands. The deer are quickly educated to him once season starts, and change patterns based upon what stands he hunts. Luckily (for Dan and I), it's usually only our destination stands that he hunts, so Dan and I simply get into the timber to get away from the spots he pressures.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

that fits my answer to a tee ....

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

But do they affect your "success", PT? Not worrying about whether you care or not. Do they?

WHat good are all of your measures......if someone is undermining them?

I'm assuming if you're "part" of a lease......and you have no higher standing than anyone else.....this "could" be an issue.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

BTW Jeff ...... you can use those guys that don't hunt like you to your advantage ..... I have killed MANY MANY deer, knowing they will be up and walking around across the street ;)

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

see above post ... it absolutely affects it ... to the good if I use it that way .... I hunt across the street .... they end up walking around around 11, and the deer almost always run across right to me .. mpst of the times, they never see them. I always see more deer than all the guys I hunt with, partly for this reason ...

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

GMMAT---I have NO control over the people that hunt around me on the military base I hunt. For that very reason, I look for places that no other fool in the world would venture in order to at least maintain some amount of control. In fact, I just hiked out about 1.5 miles into the woods this morning on a jog/hike in order to find an entrance way for one of the spots I hunt. I am going to be using my kayak to get across a lake to hunt a swamp/creek area that is at least one mile from any known trail. That to me is eliminating as much of the negative risk factor from other hunters as possible.

Here is an example of how people have screwed things up for me this past year. I had a great place pegged that I saw a big 8 point the second to last day of season two years ago. I didn't hunt the bedding area the entire year until the first week of November. I moved in and set up on some large rubs and a scrape. I did not see a thing. I got down and scouted for a bit around the perimeter. Someone had put up about 3 tons of surveying tape to mark their route in and out (probably without gloves). They also left food containers and a can of "buck bomb" lying on the ground. I hunted that place one more time last year and saw nothing again.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

Yes, there is someone our group that, for example, does not practice the same scent control or pay attention to the wind before selecting a stand. Fortunately, he only hunts out of 2 or three stand locations. Once he's been in those stands, I dont' go back.

On the positive side of that, I've been able to locate the areas the deer use to get around his stands.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I am on a lease that for the most part all are good hunters, we have 1200 acres with 9 of us hunting it. A few of the guys are gun only hunters and I would say that they affect it a lot. Not in a bad way though, like PT said they push deer to me, I am lucky I have the biggest section of land to the tune of 400acresto myself, it is in the very back of the property that is the most remote as well as the thickest woods on the ranch. We all have our sections that we hunt and it doesn't change, they don't enter my section and I don't enter theirs...Works out for me well being all the way in the back of the place, if they leave their stand early, go in smelling like a good ol camp fire or anything along those lines the deer have but one direction to head....To me!!!!!!! Nobody else hunts my stands, so that is not an issue in our set up....This particular group of guys are all management minded and we have created rules to abide by in that area, so we don't have any issues there either...Works out pretty good, all in all....

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I don't share hunting properties with my buddies except maybe for one day out of the season we'll hunt together usually on their private land. If I had my own property it would be no problem.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

its kindve hard hunting with friends because there thoughts of a big mature buck and our thoughts of a big maturebuck is way different and so we can only hunt with honest trustworthy friends who respect our property and respect our management rules...........just last year we had this happen, one of our friends from nebraska came down and shot a year and a half old 10 point that scored around 80-100". he said that when it came running by his stand it looked huge[:'(] he then said he didnt want it because it was so small,and thats why he wont hunt on our land again![:@]

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

This is very similar to what I deal with. I would love to put my dad in a position to kill a real nice PA buck, and if he'd just tidy up a few things in the way he hunts, I could probably put him in position to shoot a nice buck with his bow. He's never really killed anything nice. But I don't want to kill both our chances, the property isn't big enough, and the nice buck chances are too few to take shortcuts. A little bit of tact, along with him getting lazy in his age, has helped minimize the areas he goes into and hunts.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

This is why horn porn is so bad for the hunting community. You willingly giveup ona friendship because of a mistaken kill.
When we place a bucks rack abovefriendship I really think it might be time for a reality check.
The phase "its just a deer"seems fitting here.:eek:

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I have leases on a couple different pieces of good hunting land. I have invited a few HNI members over to walk it with me. I have actually learned a few things from the guys that have taken my invitation, so I look forward to be able to hunt with them this year.

Last season my friend who I grew up with hunted a few times with me, and chuckled about how serious I was on concealment, scent cover, wind direction, etc. I cant ever expect that othere hunt like I do, nor do I ever expect to hunt like others. I told him if he wanted to go into the woods, where I was, then he would have to use skills that are simple and common among hunters...such as scent control, entry points, etc.

I dont expect to hunt much with him this year, as I have offered several trees to friends I have met here. I dont think I will disrupt their tactics, nor will they mine. Hunting with others is all about comradery...and helping drag a deer out of the woods! :D

As far as your question in your post, I cant control what goes on after they go into the woods, but I can certainly control what goes beyond my locked gate! I would not let any friend or buddy go into my woods without proper scent control, camo, or general hunting etticate. I certainly can turn them away if they are unwilling to abide by the rules set from the beginning.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

For the most part the friendship I have and the companionship I enjoy with a particular friend will out weigh whether they hunt in a similar manner as I or take the same precautions as I do relative to preparation and scent control.
First off the majority of the hunting I do is by my self.Even if I go in to an area with a friend we will divide and be likely at least a 1/4 mile a part.The friends that I regularly hunt with are serious hunters and they are certainly much more conscious than most.One friend repeatedly makes fun of me and the Germ like regimen that I do bit that's ok,it's all in good fun.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I stopped hunting with my best friend 12 yrs ago due to the fact he couldnt sit still in a stand and when he walked to his stand it sounded like a freight train but I think he must have gotten better due to the fact were going on a muly hunt in western north dakota the 1st week in sept....It should be interesting to say the least.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I guess I'm lucky with the friends I hunt with in that we all feed off of each other and learn from each other. We all have our short comings and give each other tips on how to improve on them. Everyone seems receptive to the feedback and we've all gotten better over the years we've been hunting together.

It also helps that we're all pretty obsessive about hunting so there isn't likely to be one that cuts corners.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I will bow hunt with anyone I know that wants to hunt. Last year my cousin, Pastor Ron, took an 8 pointer from one of the stands. He went out in blue jeans and a camo'd jacket that smelled of gas. When it's meant to be, it will be. I take all the precautions I can, but being color blind, I still have to see them before and have them come into range to take the shot. Like it has been said, I trust the people I know to do what is right.

I do have restricted areas that have to remain human free and expect those who come out to stay out of there. If someone did break that rule, I'd never invite them back.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

We try and comunicate on where we are hunting so as not to tread on the other so to speak. so far we have been good and respect the others space so its not to big of an issue with us. :)We have plenty of ground to work with.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

We have a sacred rule at our cabin and if you break it your not coming back, so you better be having FUN if you want to come back!;)

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I have a buddy whom I let hunt with me and a couple years ago the 1st morning the buck busted us! I told him that his damn back pack smelled like his wifes candles in there house he insisted that that was not it! I told him lose the pack or else no more hunting on my land! So he has now washed it and keeps it in with his scent loc clothes!

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I thinkthata big part of my success,is due to hunting alone for the most part.

I do havea select fewthat I hunt withand IMO, I havechosenthem wisely.

The only thing I ask of someone hunting my woods, is that they don't get down and walk around before coming out of the woods. Curiosity killed the cat, its the saving grace of many bucks and demise of many hunters.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

In the situation as portrayed aboveI don't even worry one bit about it because I can't DO anything about it. In the situations where I might have some say I still won't do or say anything because who am I to tell someone else how to hunt??? If they ask me for my opinion or hunting strategies then I'll throw my .02 in but other than that I just enjoy the company.

If it was my land and they were invited then obviously I think enough of that person to just let them hunt the way they want to.As long as they don't break any rules or game laws it all good with me. It's not like they are going to be tromping through the woods playing a tuba or anything like that, hey they want to kill deer too.

So.....so what if they decide to take a different route to their stand (than I would) or hunt the wind a different way or fidget and move around in their seat oreven touch every tree on the way to their hunting spot. Will it effect my hunting success?? probably not becausemy stands are far enough away from each other to where it wouldn't make a difference. In most cases itcould only helpas the other hunter would probably move the deer out of his location and possibly into mine.In my situation, It wouldn't bother me in the least.

As far as who would ultimately do better/success rates, that's hard to tell because you can only gain that information by both of you hunting the same propertyat the same time for an extended period, like an entire season and that doesn't happen with me and the people I hunt with.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I've got a cousin I bowhunt with who is a great guy and would do anything for you.

But I had a hard time biting my tongue last season hunting with him. We'd ride together in the truck to our spot and he'd light up a cigarrette in his hunting clothes. He went like three days between showers and sounded like a herd of elephants walking through the woods. Sometimes he'd start up his 30 year old truck and stand in the exhaust cloud in his hunting clothes while smoking a Marlboro. It made me cringe! The guy didn't see any deer all week, but I saw lots of deer and killed two - even though we were hunting within 1/4 mile of each other all week long.

I'd try to offer advice on scent control and being quiet but I didn't want to sound like too much of a jerk. I think by the end of the week when he hadn't seen any deer and I'd seen a bunch he figured out why.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I hunt with my brothers and a couple friends everyone does things diffrently. I would have to say that me and my youngest brother probably hunt with the same kind of control scent wise and camo. We also have basically the same thoughts about where and when to hunt. However he doesn't believe in shooting does as much as me but thats another story.We would also agree that some of the other guys that hunt with us are doing some things wrong atleast in our eyes but if it works for them than GREAT!!!!!! We just wouldnt do them. Like riding youre 4 wheeler to within feet of youre stand or eating crackers while in the stand or talking to youre girlfriend / wife on the cell phone at daylight on THE FIRST DAY OF HUNTING SEASON!!!
But all in all we get along very well and always willing to help each other out.

P.S. The guy talking on the phone also kiled his first deer that morning a 3pt so shows what i know LOL:)

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

My brother-in-law who recently started bow hunting, hunts in the same place I do, but I don't like him any where near my stands. We go and hang our stands at the same time and I usually hang 2and still have my climber. He hangs one ladder stand (not that hanging one stand is not OK) in a terrible location and then asks me all season long if he can sit in one of my stands when he goes.Not thatmy hunting methods are thebest, but I am pretty particular about entranceand exit, and scent. He tramps through anywhere he can at anytime, and then sitsin his stand and spits chew all overthe ground. So yeah, I think it affects my success. Lucky for me, he moved and just won't be around to hunt much now.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

For me it's fairly simple. I hunt public land, and have 0 control over who hunts where, and when. This being said, I hunt a portion of this land thatmost other hunters don't bother walking back to because there are easier more "convenient" spots to hunt closer to the parking area. Also, I bring NOBODY back to the spot that I hunt. Like I said, fairly simple.;)

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I have this problem at the cabin land. The guys pretty much hunt like stereotypical gun hunters in bow season. Lucky for me I have a few places where it is me only and I can hunt the way I want to.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I have been burnt in the past so it is something I just choose not to do. People will hunt the way they know how no matter what they might tell you. I hunt alone, wish I didnt sometimes but that is just the way it has to be if you want total control.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

I like to hunt alone also but sometimes my friend who is a avid bowhunter goes along. He can never make up his mind on what he wants to do and it ends up being too late to even go hunting. Now when my twin brother and I go hunting we mean business. We are ready to roll, he is in his dream season suit, so am I, and We both hunt in a very similar way.

RE: Hunting buddies.......Things you can't control?
 

In my hunting camp we have all know each other since we were kids so giving suggestions is ok. However we talk tactics so much it is not like we take hard feelings about recieving them. I respect them enough that I usually wait for them to ask my opinion though. You know how people just feel better if theyprovok a repsonse from you rather than you just blurting it out.No one likesthat feeling ofbeing talked down tointentionally or not especially iftheir buddy's arethere.