Hunting alone

[mikeman20]

I love solo hunting. Its totally a mental game for the first day or two before you settle into it though.

[Leveraction]

A couple of years old, but none the less.

Most of the time, I hunt and have ended up hunting alone.

I'm not a drinker, and don’t like camp full of beer cans,
Im also not a smoker, and the smell of cigarette smoke in the bush sure does advertise .
nothing against those that do smoke or drink and hunt, but it’s not for me.

get yourself a spot device, ( google that = spot device )you can send updates every hour to your family, send a link to your exact location and it has an sos button, press it twice within 1 minute and rescue is coming.
hunt smart, I recently started spending a lot of time hunting on the water and it’s a very good way of getting away from all the other hunters that don’t want to put in a serious effort to get remote, so you will likely not see anyone and will come across more game.
animals don’t think of danger coming from the water, IMHO.
play smart stay close to shore 20-30 yards, life jacket, a watertight bag for survival gear, everything in the canoe roped off, even if you tip, get to shore with your canoe, rope everything up and ashore. Have some dry kindling and a means of starting a fire if your wet, be prepared to spend the night out and as good practice, do that, spend the night out, freeze dried foods, get a mini stove, backpackers stove, 2-3 small fuel bottles, boil water, pour and eat.
if your on foot, remember your feet are your transport, take care of them, spend money on a good pair of hiking, hunting boots.
dont hunt in shoes, protect your ankles. Break them in with several hikes in non hunting season months.
if there uncomfortable, take em back, try others.
wear a hat, keep the top of your head warm.
bring a small mirror, 3”x3”, its a great signal means to a search plane.
I pack an 8 inch knife on my hip at all times, it does not come out of the holder, it’s not a hunting knife.
it’s a protection knife if I can’t get to my gun,
if I’m Fortunate enough to harvest an animal, it’s a 3-4 inch blade in my backpack for that.
I also pack some bear spray
buy a can of bear spray, go into the woods, make sure your upwind and discharge the bear spray at a stump 15 feet away and see how it works and what it does, then you will know how to rely on it, if you have to.
keep the wind in your face if you can.
if your returning to a kill site for a 2nd or 3rd round of packing meat out, stay back and watch it for a few minutes before you walk in close
You will do fine

[Trapper]

Sounds like you did pretty good on your own

[HarryToolips]

Well said Lever, many good bits of info there, I too hunt about 2/3 of the time alone, carry a SPOT, and carry all survival gear on me including a stove, fire starters etc....My protection blade on me at all times is a 6" blade, and for the mirror my primary compass has one...I also recommend learning how to use a compass/the sun for navigation....

[Downwindtracker2]

I backpacked alone, my friends were more interested in partying in the city. So when I started hunting, I did the same. They say finding good hunting partners is harder than finding good wives. It might be true. But when you are alone. remember watch your step, do it wrong and it could be your last.

[Leveraction]

Thanks Harry,
made a few mistakes over the years, so nothing like first hand experience. ....lol
the compass is very very sound advice for the born after mid 80’s group, as the reliance on electronic has taken away the ability to rely on self taught knowledge.

[Arctic Lake]

Some very good information ! I have hunted by canoe but how do you keep your firearm from going to the bottom if you flip . Do they make flotation devices for rifles . As you would usually have it out of the case when cruising the shoreline Arctic Lake

A couple of years old, but none the less.

Most of the time, I hunt and have ended up hunting alone.

I'm not a drinker, and don’t like camp full of beer cans,
Im also not a smoker, and the smell of cigarette smoke in the bush sure does advertise .
nothing against those that do smoke or drink and hunt, but it’s not for me.

get yourself a spot device, ( google that = spot device )you can send updates every hour to your family, send a link to your exact location and it has an sos button, press it twice within 1 minute and rescue is coming.
hunt smart, I recently started spending a lot of time hunting on the water and it’s a very good way of getting away from all the other hunters that don’t want to put in a serious effort to get remote, so you will likely not see anyone and will come across more game.
animals don’t think of danger coming from the water, IMHO.
play smart stay close to shore 20-30 yards, life jacket, a watertight bag for survival gear, everything in the canoe roped off, even if you tip, get to shore with your canoe, rope everything up and ashore. Have some dry kindling and a means of starting a fire if your wet, be prepared to spend the night out and as good practice, do that, spend the night out, freeze dried foods, get a mini stove, backpackers stove, 2-3 small fuel bottles, boil water, pour and eat.
if your on foot, remember your feet are your transport, take care of them, spend money on a good pair of hiking, hunting boots.
dont hunt in shoes, protect your ankles. Break them in with several hikes in non hunting season months.
if there uncomfortable, take em back, try others.
wear a hat, keep the top of your head warm.
bring a small mirror, 3”x3”, its a great signal means to a search plane.
I pack an 8 inch knife on my hip at all times, it does not come out of the holder, it’s not a hunting knife.
it’s a protection knife if I can’t get to my gun,
if I’m Fortunate enough to harvest an animal, it’s a 3-4 inch blade in my backpack for that.
I also pack some bear spray
buy a can of bear spray, go into the woods, make sure your upwind and discharge the bear spray at a stump 15 feet away and see how it works and what it does, then you will know how to rely on it, if you have to.
keep the wind in your face if you can.
if your returning to a kill site for a 2nd or 3rd round of packing meat out, stay back and watch it for a few minutes before you walk in close
You will do fine

[Downwindtracker2]

I too have hunted from a canoe. The answer of course, is the Canoe Rifle . The best Canoe Rifles were designed to work the mud of Flanders, a little swim is nothing compared to the trenches. Mine is a P-17, but a Mauser 98 would be just as good, no flies on the handloaded 8x57. Tradex has others that would work. A lanyard keeps track of the rifle. These battle rifles tear apart and dry out easily .I had a old Bushnell Scopechief on it, it didn't leak but the cross laid on the bottom of the tube after it's river voyage. I had a spare scope. But finding a target to resight in was a problem. Weaver mounts and rings are a big plus. Oh Bushnell warrantied it with a Legend .

[Arctic Lake]

Have to look into a P17 never heard of one !
Arctic Lake

I too have hunted from a canoe. The answer of course, is the Canoe Rifle . The best Canoe Rifles were designed to work the mud of Flanders, a little swim is nothing compared to the trenches. Mine is a P-17, but a Mauser 98 would be just as good, no flies on the handloaded 8x57. Tradex has others that would work. A lanyard keeps track of the rifle. These battle rifles tear apart and dry out easily .I had a old Bushnell Scopechief on it, it didn't leak but the cross laid on the bottom of the tube after it's river voyage. I had a spare scope. But finding a target to resight in was a problem. Weaver mounts and rings are a big plus. Oh Bushnell warrantied it with a Legend .

[Downwindtracker2]

Oh dear, so you have never heard of them, eh. That was the wrong thing to say to me.

After the Boer War, The Brits realized the hard way the advantages of a modern 7mm cartridge and a Mauser type rifle. So they designed one. It came out in 1913, it had problem with with the British chemical industry's attempt at a high power powder, it fouled. Britain wisely decided not to change it's cartridge, the 303, with war on the horizon. But in 1914 it needed rifles and got Remington and Winchester to make the new rifle, now called the Pattern of 1914 for the 303. When US entered the war, they needed rifles and modified the P-14 for the 30.06 It became the Model of 1917 and their main battle rifle. Many more were made and used than the Springfield. So the P-17 is a 30.06 . It's a well made rifle using the same steel alloy as the pre-war Model 70 Winchester. Basically, I wanted a cheap 30.06 for a Canoe Rifle. I think I paid $100 , maybe less.