BowHunting Partners?
 

A know a Bowhunter (never a friend of mine) that hunted and spent time with another guy. I know at one point he had even made the statement he felt like they were brothers.

They quit hunting together and as far as I know don't even talk much anymore, at least in a constructive manner.:biggrin: When I asked him what happened he said the other guy just did Not bring much to the table.

I can only speculate what he meant by that, but I know I would never expect a friend to do something for me or bring something to the table so to speak. Is this anyway to pick a friend? I hope I would never pair up with another hunter hoping he would be doing something for me, or for that matter expecting me to do anything for him other than enjoy some Great hunts, tips, Conversation, etc., etc.

What's everyones thoughts on this? IMHO it seems a pretty shallow minded way tp pick a friend. I hope I never get to that point.

Dan

I guess I look at this differently. I look at all my friendships on that level....and ESPECIALLY do so with "acquaintences".

It has nothing to do with material things, though (that sounds like a business).

How old would it get if you were the sole contributor to a partnership?

I guess I'm different. I don't look at my friendships as partnerships or compare them to a business transaction in any way. I have friends that are very wealthy and I have some that are basically scraping by and barely able to pay bills. I don't expect any of them to bring anything to the table other than being a friend in return, sharing conversation, hunting tactics, stories, equipment opinions, etc., etc.

Just curious how others feel about this. Just asking Ya know:D

I'm sure there are some I could have guessed their feelings;)

Dan

You twisted this ALL up (my remarks).

I guess I'm different. I don't look at my friendships as partnerships or compare them to a business transaction in any way.

I DO see them as a partnership (what else could it be)? I don't compare them (as I stated earlier) to business transactions. I stated that material goods involved would make it more like a business transaction. I don't base my friendships on what the other guy can give me.

I have friends that are very wealthy and I have some that are basically scraping by and barely able to pay bills. I don't expect any of them to bring anything to the table other than being a friend in return, sharing conversation, hunting tactics, stories, equipment opinions, etc., etc.

Common ground.

There can be a fine line between hunting buddy and mooch IMO.

I agree! I think most guys figure those out fairly quickly. :s2:

Dan

I have friends i won't hunt with. they are friends not hunting partners. well i guess i'm different but my hunts are different and expensive. My hunts are 4 days to 4 weeks long. my life can be put in jepordy by a friend that is careless and unsafe in the woods or on the water, if drinking is major part of their hunt or even fishing they are not welcome in MY camp. I don't want that hassle or responsibility.
I have the proper toys to play the game in Alaska. i see no problem with them helping on fuel and food costs.
last fall. with alot of help from my son we spent a week getting mods ($$$ , needed for the trip) to truck for a month long caribou / ? sheep / moose hunt. then the day I was to leave my partner cancelled. ( son drove up 10 days later) i went and spent >$1000 for diesel for truck and gas for boat. my hunt was cut short after 3 weeks (2-3 days of caribou and my week of moose hunting were cut from plans ) My son had joined me and was involved in roll over accident on the way home, i needed to get him and our friend and all there gear the 700+ miles home. I did not return for the moose because i did not want to drive very long day and spend additional $5-600 to return to hunt area by myself.
I have had a friend refuse to take his truck up the hual road (2 days drive each way, alot of very rough road and dirt) but he is more than willing to go with me or others. doesn't want the wear and tear on his truck but ok for my newer truck. we are still friends but don't hunt together often ( not only because of that, timing of hunts have not worked out), twice in last 3 years ....we used my boat for one and my truck, camper and jet boat for the other. hunts were probably a total of 15-16 days.
i went with a friend on a brown bear hunt we used his plane ( one of the toys i don't have) i paid for all the fuel he had the expense of the air plane seemed reasonable to me but costly. such is life.

There are 3 guys (not blood) in this world that I would give a kidney and one of them bowhunts.

Dan,

We, of course, don't know all the situations your friend speaks of so it's a little dificult to make a judgement. I will say that any healthy relationship must be a two way street. They don't have to be completely equal, such as apples for apples but each must contribute in their own way. That is why it's said in a marriage relationship that opposites attract. If a relationship is one way, after a while, the giver in the relationship will begin to feel as if they are being taken advantage of and will begin to feel resentment. The "taker", on the other hand, can become too dependent on the giver and fall into a routine of feeling as if the other person always owes them something. The things I am speaking of here are not neccessarily material, but may be of an emotional, spiritual, or intellectual nature. Maybe your friend is seeking someone like that and as it turns out, that's not what the other person is about. It is very dificult for us humans to give completely unconditional love forever. As a matter of fact, it's probably impossible. For completely unconditional love, read my signature, that's the only one I know of. One thing I'd like to add to this answer, if the two were as close as they claimed to be, they should have been able to discuss this openly and honestly. Just my .02 cents worth.

Blessings.....Pastorjim

Two way street
 

These are wise words (above).

The best partnerships are a cooperative effort towards a single, envisioned goal. Each partner brings different strengths and wekanesses.

Good hunting partners are easy to find.
Great hunting partners are very, very rare.
Perfect hunting partners don't exist.

I have hunted with guys that 'brought nothing to the table' and it gets old.

Great post subject too.

i agree, if someone is offering to take you and they have all the stuff, expenses are chump change compared to the items needed and work already invested.
definitely sux when you have a mooch..there was this guy who used to just catch a ride and not chip in for gas, never took his truck, and said if they were gonna go any ways , why couldnt he ride with them. where does this guy stand?(this went of for at least a year.)

I think what he meant by saying he was the only one bringing anything to the table was that, he was the only one putting his friend before himself at times by inconveincing himself for the good of his buddy, and never receiving that same action and effort when he was the one in need.

I have had lots of friends that have been around since i was a little kid and as we grow up i realize that most of them arent true friends who are THERE FOR YOU when you need it, alot of people simply bail when the situation no longer benefits them.

That's Very True!!

I don't think I am talking about a Mooch here but rather someone that expects too much himself. Should a friend give? Sure but what he is able to and can give are different with each individual!

I have many friends that have never been put through the fire, so to speak. The ones that have I know they are Friends for Life!

No denying that!!:cool2:

Dan

my hunting partner is my dad and he owes me nothing and i owe him everything!

If I'm asked to hunt with some one, I "am" the guy I want to hunt with.

I will drive, I will have an extra mag lite, the spare lighter is in my pack, the pans will be clean because I will be happily do it.

After listening to some of you, its clear to me, many of you would never dream of picking up a pan and washing it when sipping coffee and whining about dirty dishes is so much easier.:s4:

I just don't wanna be the guy on "PLO" (Permanent Latrine Orderly).

It's never fun, when your golfing buddies invite you out every week......and you're the one constantly carrying the bag. We call those guys "caddies". And, my guess is they don't get the same enjoyment out of a round as the guys playing.

If I'm on the hunt I will be on "PLO" just because I would rather carry the bag than ruin a hunt.:confused0024:

But that doesn't mean I will ever hunt with "that guy" ever again.
Ever notice that great guys never need to look for hunting buddies?:wink:

Probably a lot of truth to that, Jim.

I had 6 friends hunt here with me, this year. I hope they all had as much fun hunting as I did hosting them.

5 had shot ops. (1 only hunted here, once).
2 of them took shots.
1 scored a doe, opening day.
1 shot at, but failed to take, the largest buck seen from my stands this year.
ALL of them ate well.

I never had a chance to experiance that situation as I always hunted alone. The only hunting Friends I have now are my wife and next year my son will be old enough to hunt so I'll have two.

Im with AK on this one, I have friends that I just won't hunt with. Aside from that, the two "partners" if you can call them that are in no way "moochs". We all have certain patches of timber in various places that the others don't have permission to hunt, and it is understood that the others will not seek out permission to hunt there (Works out perfect because of the amount of ground we have to hunt).

Well, I must say I agree with you MeanV but I put some conditions on it. My very best friend and the person I enjoy hunting with the most (son's aren't old enough to hunt yet ) is one of my father's old hunting partner's son, that I grew up hunting with and he's like the little brother I never had. I tought him how to bowhunt (our dad's hunted EVERTYHING that flies and most everything else except for deer) so I taught him to bowhunt and bass fish and to this day I try to help teach him how to be a better man. (I'm 35 and he's 29). I enjoy hunting with him more than anyone else and for the most part I just hunt alone (he lives about 2 hours away) and it's getting to be more so with every year that goes by; I become more of a loner. In part I bellieve it's because of my growing passion for killing big bucks and that can be a lonely lifestyle when you are hunting where there aren't many. Which, is kind of sad. Now, with all that being said, my friend doesn't bring much of anything but his friendship to the table. He is a warm loveable guy that you can't help but love. But I have been paying his way since he was little and still do so much of the time (don't mind doing so cause he's like blood and I have always been better off than him financially) he is frequently late and not exactly the picture of dependability. He is an excellent outdoorsman in all regards. But eventhough he is one of my favorite people to be around and to hunt with, I still don't invite him on my out of state whitetail trips. I would love to share one of those camps with him one of these days. But, he is just too undependable to make plans with a year in advance and stake that kind of hunt, time, and money on. Most of my other hunting relationsships are much more equitable but we have all quit hunting together as much because we are all trying and succeeding at killing big bucks and we have gotten more and more secretive with each other and only 2 of my best 4 hunting buddies even know that I killed a 144 7/8 this year here close where I live and because I don't want anyone to know where I killed him because I just found the spot and plan to hunt and kill big bucks out of it for the next several years. Two of the tem both killed really nice bucks this year as well and I don't where they killed their deer were killed. Unfortunately, it's just a part of hunting big bucks. It's like fishing. The best fisherman, never tell you where they are catching them......that's why they catch them! It's just part of my hunting transition and those of my hunting partner's. Mine's all starting to change and gonna do a 180 because I have a 7 mnth old and another that will be here in 4 mnths. and when they get to be 5 and 6 all the big buck crap will go out the window and it will be all about them!!!! Sorry to thread jack!

By the way, nice talking to you the other day MeanV. I haven't gotten the Maximum yet but I know I'm gonna love it!

IMO...(and yours, obviously)...that's PLENTY!

Same here!! I always enjoy talking Bows & Bowhunting, on the phone or in person.:party0005:

Dan

Bow hunting is a solitary sport...I don't understand why people want bow hunting partners? I take someone, only to train them. Then, they are on their own. I don't need twice as much noise, scent, and fighting over who gets to kill an animal. I will share an elk, bear camp, or whatever with someone, but you aren't tagging along with me during hunting daylight. I'll see you at night, back in camp.

I Agree Don! I've always preferred Hunting alone unless I am teaching a Newbie or sharing a hunt with a special friend, but for the most times I hunt alone. I do have friends I shoot with swap stories with etc., etc.

The guy in question in my OP is not me. Some guys seem to really enjoy hunting with Buddies. I think it may be a carry over from gun hunting, which seems more likely to hunt in groups.

I do travel with a companion from time to time as it is nice to be able to share traveling expenses. I just don't understand expecting something from your friends that you may occasionally share a hunt with, and if they don't come across ditching them. Maybe I got it all wrong.

I know if we shared a hunt together I'd hope it would be for the Hunt, sharing stories, etc., and Not because one or both of us were expected to bring something to the table.

Neither am I talking about a Mooch. I think those are easy to spot and avoid early on.:s4:

Dan

Partners don't sit with you while you hunt. That would be absurd. Partners discuss tactics, locations, scout with/without you and share notes, share notes about what was seen on hunts and deer behavior exhibited and much more. Sometimes hunting partners will arrive and park at the same place, walk to a point in the woods and then go separate ways to hunt separate areas. But to think they sit with you while you hunt is ridiculous.

Different perspective.....

I was sitting in a tree (had a bow, but had no interest in shooting) approx. 10yds away from a buddy of mine when he took a beautiful doe from the woods I hunt. It was 3 yrs ago.....and it's still one of my fondest memories afield.

This guy has taken over 100 deer with his bow. Had nothing to do with getting him started....lol.

I'll promise you I got more from that hunt than he did. It was exciting as heck.



I was also 100yds from another friend when he took his '09 buck. Again.....the recovery of that animal was something I'm glad I was around for. I snapped the photos.....and we both loaded him into his truck. Glad I was there.

A hunting partner in my eyes has nothing to do with what one can bring but hinges on so on fellowship, shared times good and sad, sharing time together doing something you both love and doing it the same way as you, there is no conflict because you hunt the same way. The partnership can carry over to family get togethers for a cookout or whatever shared between each and their wifes a few times during the off season. It's about the anticipation you share with each other as the season nears. There's a lot that goes into choosing and finding a compatible hunting partner but when you finally do it can be a very rewarding thing.

Very Well worded! My thoughts and beliefs exactly.

Dan

I take my hunting serious. If I'm going on a trip I'd like the people I'm going with to have a similar drive as I would. I have very few hunting partners but I have many hunting friends that I associate with.