I'm wondering how everyone else feels after harvesting an animal when you have hunting buddies with you. I harvested a buck eighteen minutes into shooting light on opening day. My father in law was hunting a few hundred yards down the trail from me. The buck I took I'd pass on 100 times if it wasn't one of my goals to kill a buck less than thrity minutes into the season. My father in law may of had a shot on him had I passed. To make me feel even worse the spot we were hunting was so remote I knew I was going to need him to help drag it out. By killing so early in the day he never really got to hunt and spent the next four hours helping me. I felt so bad and still do since he doesn't hunt alone and relies on me to help put him in good spots. I really thinking about going out with him and not bring my bow so if he misses deer they don't come my way. Anyone else had that situation before and how did you handle it? Btw he has been hunting for like 30 years and never killed a deer. I took him hog hunting this year and finally got him to get something on the ground.
Tek, it is ALL part of the hunt. One of my hunting buddys shot a buck yesterday and hit it in the intestines. I ended my morning hunt two hours early and then tracked for hours. He kept apologizing to me and I kept saying with a smile, "for what?". He is a young guy of 22 and I kept telling him that I spent many days on my own at tracking poorly hit deer and that it makes me feel good to try and help him out. As for the drag and gutting/skinning, that is all part of it. You should feel good and so should your hunting partners. Good work Tek!
I've missed some hunts because I went to help friends. If we're hunting together and one of us shoots one, we just wait until the other is done then we recover.
30 years of hunting and never killed anything? That should tell you something; he enjoys the thrill, the comaraderie, the outdoors. Maybe he isn't into the "kill". Just thinking that's a LONG time to spend doing something without any fulfillment.
I agree it IS all part of it. For bow and gun deer camp my uncle, brother, and I hunt together(in different areas) and get down and help track and drag or whatever when any of us gets a deer. It's turned into a bit of a tradition and now we even have a beer while we talk about our morning or afternoon and what we saw. I've actually learned quite a bit when we get together after the shot. That being said, when I was having some struggles, they helped me by putting in the prime spot so I could get a shot at a deer. So they helped me and we all help each other. We also split any meat from the week or weekend 3 ways so everyone comes home with something in the freezer for their efforts. Even if you pass on a buck theres no garuantee the guy sitting in the next blind will get it. If the shot presents itself, I say take it.
That is exactly the way I feel it's part of the hunt. But every time I talk to him since he keeps saying it really sucked that he didn't get to hunt! And when he was telling the story to his wife he said well he was up ahead of me which meant I didn't have a chance if he shot something. I've never felt bad about helping any bowhunter track a deer I've done it on outfitted hunts. I think this year I'm just gonna point him to my spots on the map and let him hunt when I'm at home. The 30 thing will get me into a rant so I'll make it clear he spends no time doing what is needed to kill something but will complain all day about missing and not seeing deer.
Perhaps a solution might have been to have allowed your Father in-law to hunt for a few hours before helping you? Oh well...with his track record he probably wouldn't have killed a deer anyway :D
