Hunting solo

[nrocchio]

My biggest mental obstacle when solo hunting is sleeping in the back country alone. I backpack in and camp in very secluded areas. I don't build fires, and keep the camp setup pretty minimal. I love hunting alone, but wish I had a hunting partner as soon as the sun goes down. I grew up in Colorado, and I have spent a lot of time in the mountains. It still freaks me out to be miles away from anyone, alone in the woods after dark. I don't really mind hiking back to camp in the dark, it is the time spent in camp that is eerie. Do any of you other solo hunters get uneasy back at camp for the night, or am I the only big chicken?

[Swede]

Let's face it, you are chicken. Years ago it bothered me some to be alone at night in the forest. I don't know why, but sleeping out in the forest now is comfortable. Being alone where people can come around undetected still makes me a little nervous. Don't worry. You are quite normal. Just keep hunting and these things will work themselves out in short order.

[nrocchio]

Haha I guess now I have to add a night light and a teddy bear to the gear list.

[BRazz]

I definitely get lonesome at night when I'm by myself. It's easy to do when the hunting is good, but if it's slow I have a hard time not spending a couple extra hours to go home and hug my kids and wife.

That said, I've never had any problems with bears or anything. Once I heard a scuffling around and put my flashlight on what turned out to be a skunk about 10 yards away - that definitely made me uneasy...!

[TurkeyBowMaster]

Slept on the mountain...no sleeping bag, just covered up with branches and a map. Wind was totally calm and a huge tree fell near by. Found the tree the next morning. It was green and healthy looking. Odd that it fell on such a calm nite...it had stormed just a few days earlier. Kind of spooky when such things happen.

[Elkhunttoo]

Good post. I'll just speak for myself, but I hate the dark when I'm by myself, yet I hunt right til the end of shooting hours, always have and always will. Shot a 4 point buck by myself with about 15 minutes of shooting light left last year and it makes for a late night but that's when the game is out. Back when I was I high school we had a guy at the trail head ask my family if we knew how to ride horses in the day light. He said that he had camped at the trailhead for years and had never seen is go in or come out in the daylight.

Back to the question, yep when the sun goes down and you are by your self every branch that breaks is really loud. I agree the hike out isn't bad is the dead silence that stinks. Although I might add that lots of night are really cool, I love the stars! When with a group I really enjoy riding horse in the dark.. By myself it's just not the same

[Stick]

There is an old saying that, "silence is golden". For me this holds true.

There is another saying that, "silence is deafening". This is probably what you are experiencing. Wouldn't call anyone a chicken just a different psychological set up. Every noise is amplified and the mind conjures up all kinds of images.

Personally I sometimes carry a one man tent and if I come on elk at dark I just roll out and sleep with em. Have I had some hair raising experiences?? You better believe it! But the joy of being alone in the silence of elk country with the sounds of nature override everything else.

[six]

Big chicken here. I'll sleep in the truck alone, but that's about it. I don't mind sleeping under the stars 3 or 4 miles from the trailhead, but I'm not doing it alone. I don't like the walk back to camp at night in the dark. The walk away from camp in the early morning darkness is no problem tho.

I really wish I could feel more comfortable being out by myself at night.

[Backyard]

Same here as far as nervous at night. I"ll find out just how bad this year tho as I'm doing it solo for the first time.

[bald9eagle]

Camping out here in Alabama you have crickets, tree frogs, bullfrogs, owls, occasional sleep deprived bird, and wippowills (in the spring). If you don't get any of that up in the mountains then I may be in trouble...lol.

[Fridaythe13th]

Solo hunt! Won't do it. I'm like an elk I have to be social. The story's aren't as good when I'm buy my self.

[Mike_Parson]

i always grew up hunting with a group of folks so it is what i was always accustomed to doing. last year was my first time to hunt anything solo and it was very hard on me. i am a social person by nature and i missed just having interaction with another person. This year i am planning a 12 day solo DIY Elk hunt in CO. I am taking along several small notebooks and pens so i can write down thoughts and ideas as they cross my solo mind during the day and evening. I am hoping this will keep my mind occupied and not leave me to feel alone or lonely.

[bald9eagle]

Something my father in law said about turkey hunting that I think will apply to elk is this...you will take more game when you hunt alone. Hunting in pairs is fine as long as there is one dominant guy calling the shots. Otherwise you get two different thoughts on a situation and both guys second guess themselves.

I have that problem with one of my biggest turkey hunting buddies. We both have an opinion on how to handle each bird and we spend too much time trying to compromise.

[Charina]

Camping out here in Alabama you have crickets, tree frogs, bullfrogs, owls, occasional sleep deprived bird, and wippowills (in the spring). If you don't get any of that up in the mountains then I may be in trouble...lol.

Well then, you are in trouble unless you camp close to flowing water or there's a good breeze in the trees. Camping this last weekend was absolute dead silence in yhe mtns.

[Osprey]

I don't really mind hunting solo even in the back country. I'm more worried about bringing the wrong kind of person that wants to bail on you mid hunt than I am hunting solo. This past season I hunted 7 days on the mountain solo. Honestly it wasn't bad at all actually it was really nice to just be solo and do my own thing and the time flew by. I did have a bear I could hear in the middle of the night sniffing around and it was confirmed with prints the next morning but I really didn't loose much sleep over it. Had a bear on a solo hunt in Michigan this past turkey season eating acorns about 10 ft from my tent you know they are close when you can hear them breathing and crunching on acorns I thought it was pretty cool. Both times I kept a really clean camp and the bears never returned but it is somthing I guess to keep in mind that bears can and do wander in around camps at night. On another note its WAYYYYYYY easier to keep a seceret hot spot a secret if your the only one. I've seen first hand how just telling a couple guys something completely ruins an area because they end up talking about it to a few more guys and so on unless they can be really trusted to keep quiet. Thats why I strictly hunt deer solo I spend to much time scouting to locate public land big buck hideouts to ruin my honey holes.

[nrocchio]

I guess I will clarify, that I really enjoy hunting solo. It is my favorite way, and pretty much the only way I hunt (unless my dad or brother want to come with me. I love hunting with those two). I will hunt solo again this season even though I have hunting partners I can go with if I want to. This post was more about me making sure I am not the only one who isn't fearless about it. Osprey, you are braver than me! Last year I was glassing at last light, pretty close to camp. I watched a bear running around, and playing on the ridge next to my campsite before hiking back for the night. It took me a while to stop listening for him and fall asleep that night.

[Navesgane]

A bit of whiskey before bed works for me.

[Ryan Conkle]

I do not even sleep up on the mountain and sometimes get pretty nervous about just walking off of the mountain in the evening at dark, especially if I am in an area that I am not too familiar with. As a flat-lander from Ohio, it is not quite so serious to get turned around back here, as it is out west. lol

[Elkduds]

Nick, the more you hunt alone the better you'll like it. You can use Spot locator or sat phone technology to stay in touch or call the cavalry if necessary, that may ease your mind and calm those who are thinking about you. Spending time alone is one of my favorite parts about hunting.

[NorthIDTLH]

There's certainly nothing wrong with you Nick. Good for you for being honest. I've been a "meat eater", some might even call aggressive for many years now and I still get a little jumpy after dark. To be totally honest, I've probably missed out on prime hunting scenarios because I don't like walking back after dark. My solution was to hunt with my wife, but someone decided to have school start when bow season starts. On top of that, my grandma is dying so I will be headed back to Iowa soon for a funeral and I'm trying to get a house built before the snow flies.

Anyways, enough about me. You're on the right track and don't let anyone give you a hard time about being out after dark...or hunting alone.

[lilshootergirl]

I agree hiking after dark back to camp makes me wonder how many kitty's I past? In the morning, watching the world come alive, nothings better. There's no place on earth than the quite in the woods and the elk crashing around. I've never slept in the woods alone, not sure how is feel? Unless smith & Wesson was by my side!

[Csrbowhunter]

I like to hunt alone, but I don't like camping alone. It's just boring to me. When I hunted with a guy from Montana sometimes I'd get to camp a couple of days before him. I'd go out hunting early and get back after dark. Sometimes I'd hear something and get a little freaked. But mainly I just hated not having anyone to talk to at camp. I end up like Tom Hanks in cast away!
I've deer hunted around here for the weekend by myself and figured out its not very fun without my hunting buddies.
I wouldn't say I'm scared of the dark but I am more on edge when I'm bye myself

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[Indian Summer]

The more you do it the more conditioned you'll become. But... I can't figure out for the life of me why anyone would camp solo. It's just soooo boring. I love to hunt solo but I love to have a few laughs at night. I'd be happy with a non hunter in camp even. Anyone. As far as sleeping in the hills alone goes I do keep a handgun in my bag ready to rock and roll. Never had to use it though. One thing you can do unless you'd rather not is take a cheap over the counter sleeping aid. One of those just as you get into camp and if you've hunted hard all day you won't have time to be paranoid. Next thing you'll know it will be time to hunt again AND you will have gotten some quality sleep instead of waiting two hours or more to pass out.

Turkeybowmaster you better be careful. I hope you weren't too far from a vehicle when you did that. Weather changes in the blink of an eye in the mountains, literally, and that fallen tree is nothing. Hypothermia is THE number one killer out there. Not sure why anyone would do something like that but it's not funny at all. A simple sleeping bag and lightweight pad could not only save your life but also it will help you get the sleep you need to be able to hunt properly and safely. There is no good reason to be in the hills for any amount of time if you aren't prepared. That's even if you are legitimately lost. To not realize and/or respect what can happen in the mountains is ridiculous. Not fair to your family either. I won't bother to tell you stories. You'd rather listen to your own anyway.

[BrentLaBere]

I'm horrible at this. Midday and at night are my worst times hunting. Midday I have forced myself to setup in a likely area and try to take a nap. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. I would avoid the boredom of midday and try hiking and calling. Usually resulted in bumped elk in bad wind situations. Bringing a book for the night and good pair of binoculars or spotter for the day to keep my mind occupied. Just an idea for the night, you're no chicken, just don't let your mind wonder.