I agree with most of what you said but there is something to be said for hanging out drinking some beers talking to like minded people about what happened during the day or to have someone around to celebrate a kill with. It's not fun to make fun of other hunters by yourself or text funny crap all day to yourself. I would never wait for someone for 2 hours after daylight to go whitetail hunting but after the hunt why not! To each their own I guess.
Splitting hairs here but you said at "NO COST" to me that means all you do is show up and hunt with no effort at all. It doesn't mean money has to exchange hands. I own 130 acres and I have never charged anyone to come and hunt but I do expect them chip in on the chores and that is their cost to hunt.
To me a good hunting partner is someone who likes to hunt similarly to you, is not selfish, and will come at the drop of a hat if you need help. I try to surround myself with people in my life that share my beliefs and opinions, so if I call you a friend chances, are pretty good I would hunt with you. I have been hunting with the same friend since 1999 and we get along great, very similar attitudes and opinions. I have tried hunting with other people over the years, the one thing that will end me hunting with somebody quickly is poor ethics. Not showering, expecting me to pick stands, being out of shape, heck even spending more time on their phone than paying attention I can over look. Taking poor shots consistently (one gut shot you can over look, if every deer they shoot is a bad shot? No), and shooting illegal game are deal breakers for me. On the topic of being late; nobody is ever late because I have a 5 minute rule. If we plan to leave at 5:30 and you not here by 5:35, I am pulling out . Unless they call and have a good reason for being late. You get one "I slept in", after that you are on your own LOL.
Not really. The question was what makes a good partner, and the fact that they don't require or even expect anything from my perspective does. From their perspective what makes a good partner (IMO) is me voluntarily doing what I can, and voluntarily donating meat, or giving cash.
I look for a good friend and if it turns into a hunting partner or partners then great. I have 2 people I consider "hunting partners" and both became friends of mine before becoming hunting partners. One owned land and invited me to hunt/manage his land and basically do whatever I wanted because of the friendship we developed just over 3 years ago - he treats me as well as his own son who is a non hunter. My other hunting partner has become one of my best friends and hunting more or less brought us together. His ex-wife introduced me to him but now he is one of my best friends. But I don't go out seeking a good hunting partner with some check-list of values, plans, goals etc. If you develop a good friendship your hunting goals, plans, ideas don't need to align 100% - if it is built on relationship first then it will be rewarding no matter what. If you are going out and looking for the "perfect" hunting partner you are doing it all wrong. Life is about God, Family, Friends for me before everything else. So my answer is a good friend makes a good hunting partner. Because if you have a good friend they are loyal, not jealous, honest, commited etc. Go find a good friend and not a hunting partner.
I have no way of answering this question because I hunt solo 100% of the time. I have zero interest in having company while I hunt. I take my hunting too seriously to give a "hunting partner" the chance to mess up my hunt. I go to the woods to kill a deer and having two guys doubles your chance of disturbing the hunting area and not killing a deer. jmo
When I step into the woods, I'm on my own unless I call or text somebody to come by me. My hunting partners are more about before season and at night after hunting.
I have that kind of partner ha. But we've none eachother whole lives practically and I work for him in his construction business and help on the farm alot. So guess it's not really free.
This is an interesting thread. This fall I will be hunting with 4 or 5 guys I have never hunted with and really don't know at all. Only met the owner a couple times. I'm the new guy to the cabin. And I see this as an awesome opportunity to meet some great guys, have awesome land to hunt, and learn a lot about everything they do at the cabin. I'm really looking forward to participating and putting in my time to earn my keep to show everyone how much I appreciate them allowing me to go in their group! Who knows, maybe this is the start of something really great!
I tried doing the hunting partner thing with my bro-in-law. He and I have access to a fairly large piece of prime family land in KS. The honey hole piece where most of the hunting is done is just shy of a section in acreage. Plenty of ground for two hunters. What started off as big hopes and dreams to improve habitat, Install food plots, get scouting done, hang cams and stands TOGETHER, quickly turned into I did all the work, Invested all the time and money, and he did squat. Things got heated last year when I set my wife up over my turnip plot and she killed her first buck, a 141" 6x5. He was fuming about how it shoulda been "his deer" haha. I quickly reminded him how for three years he's done jack on the property and reminded him to go look at my shoulder mounts to see what hard work and dedication will do. Needless to say, this year is the same story with his work ethic, so I'll have the place to myself and I'll put my wife is a great place to kill a buck. She's becoming a great hunting partner!
My wife is my favorite hunting partner to, she love to hunt so in a nutshell I get to hunt more lol....what part of Kansas yall hunt? I ran a lease the last 4 years and needless to say I did all the work out of 6 guys that hunted. It became to much and I gave it up and joined on closer to home.
They have to have the same passion as you or it won't work out. Everything is 50/50. From trimming stands, setting stands, any costs involved, trail cams, scouting, thinking, dragging, butchering, etc..... You'll be joined at the hip for a few months. Probably spend more time with him than your wife.
My only requirement is that they aren't color blind so they can help me find the blood trail. My brother and I could never hunt alone together, we'd be following water droplets the wrong direction. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I hunt from home so if I get up at 4am to drive to my hunting spot I don't want someone holding me up. After the hunt I head straight home to help shuffle kids to hockey, gymnastics, wherever, or just get them to do homework. Getting home late because I was waiting for someone only gets the wife pissed off and less likely to let me hunt whenever I want.
