Hunting Group Dynamics
 

Last hunting season I was invited to join a new hunting group for the first time. I happily said yes! I am almost 50 as are the guys in that group. I was shocked at the difference from my other group who are also in their 50’s. The hunting trip etiquette was so vastly different!

It was a 6 day/7 night trip.

Some of the routine seemed pretty standard. Wake up - hunt in the AM. nap /visit/scout game in the early PM - then evening hunt, then supper and visiting. What blew my mind was how these guys spent evenings up till all hours consuming not just a social drink or two - but multiple BOTTLES. And not mickeys or 26’s.more like 40’s. The amount of booze brought was shocking. I’m all for a casual night cap or two but Downing half and half drinks in 5 min and immediately pouring another is not my idea of a good evening. Social drinking took on a whole new meaning. Some of the guys would crack a beer or pour a shot in the morning even.

one guy in particular would come back from the evening hunt and watch movies on his phone while We cooked supper. He would occasionally get up - bud in and stir something lol And then retreat back to his movie. he would toss out complaints like how a person wouldn’t have to clean the table top bbq as often if We weren’t so messy when We cooked or that a person wouldn’t have to do as many dishes if We didn’t dirty as many. Quick to complain but never actually cooked, bbq’Ed or did dishes lol. One of those guys who pipes up about how to do things “right” aka - his way lol, preaches precautionary measures but never steps up and does anything himself. Maybe this is normal hunting etiquette for some but it was sure new to me! Boozing it up all the time and Complaining while letting everyone else do the work? (Is this how he behaves at home?! Is this why he is recently divorced lol?!)

As you can guess - I declined when at the end of the trip, I was asked to join again next year lol. I thought I was over it but just ran into one of the guys up town and suddenly I felt all the frustration all over again. Hence the venting here lol. Not trying criticize or judge their Methods or dynamics. Was just a shock to me and not something I would not choose to surround myself with again is all. Maybe some of you can relate to my frustration or maybe some of you feel my thoughts are old and outdated lol. Either way, maybe it will start a thread of sharing some interesting camp stories or tips/advice on how to survive a group hunting trip and still maintain healthy relations with the people afterwards lol!

Bad experience is also an experience. Live and learn. You will know better now.
People are different, and some are way more different than others.
Take it easy pal, don’t stress too much over it.

Sounds like they have all found like minded people to hunt with, you clearly did not on this occasion.

Dod you at least click with 1 or 2 of the guys where a more lasting relationship may build?

I'm nervouse to do a single day hunt with someone I dont know well, let alone a week long with a bunch of new people! Very ballsy of you lol

I'm probably of a different mindset. I have been hunting with people that joined groups, that I would never hunt with again. Why?

Because nunya.

As in, not anybody's business. What happens in camp stays in camp, so to speak. Your comment 'Not trying criticize or judge their methods or dynamics', was just a shock to me' is completely disingenuous. You absolutely were critical and a touch sanctimonious. Whether it was my way of doing things or not, I wouldn't vent my spleen on it on a hunting forum either. Hunters have a bad rap as it is, and antis look for any ammunition they can find. They troll our forums looking for ammo to use against us.

Thanks for supplying ammo for them. Well done.

I truly have no issue with someone wanting to stay up all night consuming cocktails, sometimes this is the best part of the trip and good stories get told etc... hunting season for some is a chance to get away and connect with some buddies and meet some new friends .. cheers

On one hand. I’m all for honesty so I appreciate yours. On the other hand - ouch lol. I’m a simple guy - I’m not gonna lie and pretend to be someone I’m not. I don’t even know the definition of atleast one of the words you used without googling lol. I have never posted on this forum claiming to be the best at anything or belittling any member. I don’t go around looking for stuff to pick at and in all fairness - the hunting trip was months ago and I never shared anything and maybe you’re right and I should have kept it that way lol.

Mods - please go ahead and delete the post/thread. Never thought about antis trolling. Im Not on this forum to upset people - so my apologies since I did.

Not sure what the antis are supposed to use from this thread. "Look how bad hunters are! Some of them stay up too late and drink, and one guy doesn't even cook in camp!!!" Lol.

I think a thread like this is well within the bounds of what might reasonably be discussed on a hunting forum. It may be useful for people, especially new hunters, to read about how not to behave on a hunt, or at least how certain types of behaviour might be off-putting to your buddies.

I'm about the last guy on earth to judge anyone for having a bunch of drinks and staying up half the night. But being useless in camp, sitting around looking at your phone while others do all the work? Faux pas. If just one person reads this who is 'that guy' and thinks to himself "oh my god is that me?" then this thread will have served a valuable purpose.

Exactly I've been trying to find the right group of guys for 15 years at my cabin ,mostly have it down to four guys now I've invited guys off this form I've invited other people some drink too much some smoke too much which I don't have a problem with if they're not hunting. But if you're staying up all night drinking partying and then having a cocktail in the morning before you go hunting you won't last long at my camp, if you're still looking for a place to hunt give me a shout I'm always looking for some guys to hunt most of my guys come up in September and then I got no one to hunt with the rest of the year,

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It all comes down to finding a group that you fit in with. I tend to hunt with a small circle of friends, because we are comfortable with how we hunt, and how we behave after hunting hours.

Lots of dynamics to sort out when you are the new guy in and now you know about that group. If there is a next time, you know what to expect with them.

Most big groups have that complaining/lazy guy. 1 irritation out of a bunch of good guys is tolerable. Till someone with too much alcohol tells him what they think :sHa_sarcasticlol: Then it is show time. Hunting camp is a get away from all the family rules back home. Some push the freedom a little, some a lot. If it is not your thing, no need to waste another week not having a good time. Move on to the next offer.

When I hunted. I was particular who I hunted with. Needed to have the same values and beliefs. I'd always set up some day trips before and extended trip in the fall. Fishing worked. If we set a departure time of 0500 I was at their place at 455 if they weren't sitting in the truck at 0500 I'd leave. Punctuality was ingrained in me early on in life.

The odd time there would be a 2 or 3 day fishing trip, to see how we got along. I usually did the cooking and cleaning up from the meals. I'm a little OCD in that regard. But they better being taking care of the camp chores. Garbage detail, wood cutting and splitting, fire tending. If they liked to sit on their asses and get plastered that didn't go very far. If they only showed up to hunt and fish and I never heard from them the rest of the year or seldom saw them, I wouldn't invite them.

I had a buddy that was like an older brother. Punctual, pulled his weight, shared the costs etc., no haggling. We hunted and fished together camped with the families etc. It was a great time always. Sure miss him.

BW

You gave it a shot and it was not your fit

Just keep looking that simple

You're right.


You're right too.

The stories I could tell. I’ve hunted almost every year with the same group of guys for the last 39 years. The fun we have had is priceless. If you gave me a choice of going on a Caribbean cruise or going to hunting camp I would take hunting camp every time. We don’t hunt as hard as we used to and don’t like shooting game too late in the day, well because we are old guys and don’t want to work to hard gutting and skinning in the dark.
Now that some of the younger guys have joined us we let them do the wood splitting and skinning as we figure we’ve done our time and enjoy sitting in a lawn chair by the meat pole having a beer while we watch the young guys skin. As far as guys drinking too much, who really cares as we don’t have a bunch of rules in camp. If they want a headache the next day that’s up to them.

I couldn't abide by guys having a drink in the morning, but beyond that, if they are good guys, they can get as gooned as they want at night.

Complainers? No damn way. Life is too short.

I am getting older tooo and have pretty much given over the reins to the young guys. Kinda rewarding.

I've held a hunting license for 44 years. Been hunting with friends and relatives most of my life. When I was younger we'd all drink too damn much booze, but we never went hunting pickled. I hunted with a good friend for a couple years in the 90's. Showed him my spots, gave him permission to hunt on my land and my in-laws. Then one rainy morning he decided to shoot 2 elk, then called me up to tell me mine was ready to field dress :angry3:. Now I only hunt with my son. I instilled in him the ethics and morals that I believe our wildlife deserve, and I haven't been disappointed since.

You find who you blend in with and who you do not.
I change it up depending on who I am with.
One group we drink it up pretty good, except as we get older the drinking calms down a bit as it is harder to get up early.

Another group we are sober from sun up to sun down and everywhere in between.
My third group we have a couple of drinks here and there.
It all depends on the dynamics.

Fishing on the salt chuck usually means a lots of booze down range all day every day. (dehydrated and burnt as a piece of jerky) Late nights 11or 12pm and up early 430 or so. Have to do a resupply run on beer usually day two into the trip. The operators at the Resort usually laugh at us as were carting a few 24s down the dock. We exchange fishing info and lies. Then carry on our way. Go back to having a fun time chasing fish, fighting off the seals and watching the whales. Even DFO and Fisheries get a laugh out of us on the water sometimes when we offer to race them in. Then they pull a helicopter out.

Wasn’t your fancy, so be it, find another’s group to hang out with more your style.

For some a hunt is just that, for others it is a social gathering and a way to unwind. Nothing wrong with either so long as everyone is on the same page and having a good time and being safe. If it is not for you just move along and find a group more in tune with you.

I hunt with a VERY select few. All family really. The same trusted guys I’ve hunted with for all of my life. Their ethics and behaviour are what I would expect and they get the same from me. I also enjoy hunting alone a fair bit.

I don’t drink much at all but you know some mornings a shot in your coffee or a Caesar is kind of nice.

We never hunt with anyone who drinks while hunting, other than that one little eye opener which is darned rare to begin with. I also don’t hunt with people who spark up a joint in the morning.

Finding a good hunting partner is way harder than finding a wife.

[QUOTE=leo;4601559]I've held a hunting license for 44 years. Been hunting with friends and relatives most of my life. When I was younger we'd all drink too damn much booze, but we never went hunting pickled. I hunted with a good friend for a couple years in the 90's. Showed him my spots, gave him permission to hunt on my land and my in-laws. Then one rainy morning he decided to shoot 2 elk, then called me up to tell me mine was ready to field dress :angry3:. Now I only hunt with my son. I instilled in him the ethics and morals that I believe our wildlife deserve, and I haven't been disappointed since.[/QUOTE

Guys use to come up to my camp when I was logging and stayed in my spare atco trailer ,we use to have a riot some nights .Everyone that came knew the rules ,if you over drank it was no show jones in the morning .if they want to go out half cut then back to town .

So it kept an even deal till I just decided to hunt solo or bring the odd freind up.

Now I hunt with my grandson and before he shot at anything he had to show respect to the animals we hunted .There's way more to hunting then just dropping something. Reading sign,hunting with the wind and thermals ,feild dressing , finding your way around with compass ETC. We hunt thick bush so I want him to learn this way first.

Slowest part of my hunting career ,but by far the most rewarding .

AS for the OP sometimes we just need to find others to hunt with like everything else in life .One good true freind is worth a fortune in life, you don't find them by the dozen . In time things will fall into place for you.

All the best
JD

More than a touch sanctimonious yourself. Guy just wanted to vent - who cares what the antis think -nothing to see in his post except too much vino.

Just like anything in life when dealing with people - some you like, some are ok, some you don’t like but can tolerate, some you can’t stand, etc.

Sounds like they found each other or are at least ok with the way they do things. Obviously, it isn't for you and likely your group wouldn’t necessarily be for some or any of them.

I’d ask the movie guy if he wants to start moving himself around and get useful though. Lol.

Other then reinforcing the drunken slob hunters stereotype that has been around since Disney screened Bambi, nope, nothing wrong with venting publicly on a hunting forum at all. If that is ok with you, please vent your own stories, if you believe that is what this platform is for. I will keep mine to myself.

I have to tell this story because it reminded me of something that happen years ago.

We had one guy who came up hunting in camp that walked in his sleep and sometimes there were a couple workers staying in camp also.

After a couple night's one of my fallers told me there's a guy acting weird walking around at night .

So I stayed that night at the other end of the trailer and the guys all had a few drinks ,but the sleep walker got drunk. We all thought he won't move all night. We thought wrong.

No way around 3am he walks right right over to my worker and taps him on the forehead hard and the guy woke up just steaming mad and the sleep walker was dreaming he was working on a carburetor. He eyes were wide open he asked my faller if had a tiny piece of wire to attach to his carb to make a choke.

That guy said a tiny wire you sob it's 3 am and before he grabbed him I was right there and the guy came to and woke up still half cut.

The guy went back to bed and me and my faller started laughing , for and hour we both laughed so hard I cried. That guy was as strong as they came and if I wasn't there he may have hurt that guy.

We cut the sleep walker off the booze or go home. The guy got a very decent bull and had a great trip after that, but man was he lucky he never got hucked out that trailer head first.

In camp I had the greatest days of my life .There a big price for being free ,but it has it ups and downs .

Cheers
JD

I type with only one eye TC ,it takes me longer to post .so hope this isn't out of line.

Cheers
JD

Tc my freind us hunters could all be saints and still someone would find fault in us . Being a logger all my life and a hunter I got it from both ends ,but not one of them whiners wipes there butt with saran wrap and all have homes that are made of wood while walking around in full leather skin tight outfits .

Hypocrites the whole darn works .

This forum is one of the most decent and has a ton off great guys .

Cheers
JD

I’ve learned a few questions before hand helps out. I flat out ask how much are we drinking. Total cost. How many hours a day we hunting. And a few other things.
Had one guy watch the food get cooked then eat and out the door. No cooking no dishwashing.

Did an ice hut rental. Four guys in a big hut. I did some cooking and cleaning. Then as we were packing up to leave I figured I’d man up and bag the turds in the outhouse. A ray of sunshine came down. Then the operators helper showed up and bagged them.

Did a trip and two guys were already in camp. Me and buddy got to camp just before dinner so I cooked up some steaks I bought to break the ice. They liked me fine but they didn’t like the guy with me. I didn’t know he snored real loud. They packed up and left the next morning.

My situation is very similar to yours.

Our main "group" is getting older. Couple of guys started bringing their sons years back. They were great leg holders then, and learnt the passion from good guys. Today, they have molded into great hunters, and some of us now are the leg holders.

Once in awhile, we invite a guest. Usually, this person knows one of us, and pretty well know how we operate, in regards to chores, and after hours activities. So we never really have any issues that way.

Most of us enjoy our toddies, more so in the younger years. Most us are now in bed at 9/10. Did some miss a morning hunt here and there at any given time? Yep. But that did not happen often at all. And because our group has been together for so long, I don't recall any extreme behaviors while consuming spirits after the hunt. A few "friendly disagreements" of course, but soon forgotten the next day. Respect to one another I suppose after all these years.

One sad thing...we are all getting older. 2 years ago, we lost one of our friends. A picture with his last moose is hanging above the chair he always sat on. So the Camp "dynamics" changed a little, but not much.

Earlier on, one of our guys was kinda like the OP's movie guy, without the phone. Little walk and frank talk outside. Basically told that if he does not contribute like everyone else, he's out. Period. He got the hint, and we all still enjoy his company now.

OP, I am sure you will get other opportunities in the future...:)