What makes a good Elk Hunting Buddy?

[JohnFitzgerald]

My son is the absolute best hunting buddy.

Another buddy, ChukarNUT, is hunting with me this year. He wont have a elk tag in his pocket but he still took the time off to come up and help me. To me that\'s a true hunting buddy.

What makes your hunting partner a true \"buddy\"?

 

[Swede]

A good cook. A good packer is great too. lol
Someone that loves the hunt. I don\'t enjoy a complainer or someone that consistently tries to take advantage of the other hunters in camp.

 

[Deertick]

For the most part, I hunt alone. I like the independence of that.

But, I enjoy having friends in camp. It\'s fun to get together with people who you haven\'t seen for a while. It\'s been a couple years now since my best hunting buddy and I actually hunted together, and we both look forward to getting something set up in the future. Unfortunately, this year, he didn\'t draw any tags, and we\'ll be putting another hunt-less year on the books.

My wife doesn\'t hunt much, but she wrangles the horses if needed, helps with butchering, and it\'s great to have company.

The trouble with hunting along with another person is the \"negotiations\" that occur: Should we hunt this draw, or that one? How should we respond to that bugle? Who\'s job is it to clean up dishes? If it\'s a good mix, those \"negotiations\" don\'t even occur verbally ... they just happen. In a bad mix, every dang thing has to be discussed.

One thing that I do enjoy is a hunting buddy who is excited about the hunt in the off season. I enjoy making plans, researching areas and gear. Thinking about new ways to hunt old areas ... stuff like is on this forum. I would bet most of the folks here would make decent hunting partners.

 

[cnelk]

First define \'Buddy\'
A buddy is different than a \'Pal\' or \'Friend\' when it comes to hunting.
I have hunted with plenty of \'Pals\' and \'Friends\' but only have a few hunting \'Buddies\'. And the ones I have are damn good ones.

A buddy works as a team, knows what to do around camp and in the heat of the moment when hunting.
He calls you or comes over during the off season and talks about hunting and other things in life.

A buddy is someone who you may only see once or twice a year, [or regularly] and the conversation picks up right where it left off the last time you spoke.

 

[elkmtngear]

First define \'Buddy\'
A buddy is different than a \'Pal\' or \'Friend\' when it comes to hunting.
I have hunted with plenty of \'Pals\' and \'Friends\' but only have a few hunting \'Buddies\'. And the ones I have are damn good ones.

A buddy works as a team, knows what to do around camp and in the heat of the moment when hunting.
He calls you or comes over during the off season and talks about hunting and other things in life.

A buddy is someone who you may only see once or twice a year, [or regularly] and the conversation picks up right where it left off the last time you spoke.

This ^^^^

 

[Tenderfoot]

Everything metntioned above makes a good \'buddy\'. I think it also speaks volumes about a hunting partnership when you can argue and debate with each other about tactics, equipment whatever and not get worked up... I know that my buddy is not holding in emotions and thoughts to blow up later...and he knows the same about me.

 

[Lark Bunting]

My son is in the making to be an excellent hunting buddy. He pitches in to get camp set up quickly, as well as dis-assembly of camp. He listens and doesn\'t talk back when things need to be done. I always make sure to include him in the day\'s plans and let him make the plan on occasion.

He\'s been walking our dog with 30#\'s on his back to get ready for packing out meat if we are so lucky.

He never squawks during my least favorite part of a trip...unloading and cleaning my truck.

He has put numerous hours into practicing his calling and knows we are not going to run through the woods squealing off elk sounds every 10 yards.

He\'s spent a lot of time on the forums reading up on situational threads and asks me a lot of questions and my opinion of what he read.

He loved the Tree Stand hunting stories in the back of Swede\'s book and has come up with some excellent strategies on using those tactics with ground blinds.

Lastly, he\'s closer to the ground than I am and sees tracks and poop more than I do. I\'m hoping he/we can get some good practice on blood trailing this year. I\'m guessing he will be an excellent blood tracker.

 

[razorback]

I wouldn\'t know. I\'ve pretty much hunted by myself most of my adult life. I have some cousins I hunt with. I can count on them and they can count on me if we hunt together. They know if they have a buck down, I\'m there to drag, skin, track or whatever. We share some of our spots on public land. I was hoping they would join me on my elk hunt this fall but none of them could make it. I thought they would have had a great time. My son is also great to hunt with. We don\'t deer hunt much together, he hunts with his grandpa on a smoking farm a pretty good ways from the house. I try to not to intrude, he enjoys that time and I remember what that time was like with my grandpa. We spend plenty of time turkey hunting togehter though. I think I can impart enough woodsmanship in the turkey woods. I hope to establish myself as an elk hunter and one day bring him along with me to the mountains. Oh yeah, his first job is at a feed store, the little man is getting pretty stout I bet he could pack out an elk quarter right now!!!!!

 

[ABQ_Chica]

cnelk\'s definition of \"buddy\" summed it up pretty well.
As a newbie, having reliable hunting buddies (and better yet, being considered a good hunting buddy) has been the most rewarding aspect. The few buddies I\'ve been fortunate enough to hunt were there for me even when I couldn\'t hunt, and that was more meaningful than any trophy.

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

Everything metntioned above makes a good \'buddy\'. I think it also speaks volumes about a hunting partnership when you can argue and debate with each other about tactics, equipment whatever and not get worked up... I know that my buddy is not holding in emotions and thoughts to blow up later...and he knows the same about me.

Yes, ability to talk tactics benefits everyone.

 

[Billy Goat]

once an elk hits the ground, my dad says he wants \"a man with a size two hat, and a size 52 jacket\".