My buddy Jack is a tricky retired Montana logger who hunts like a cougar. Certain, he enjoys his looking buddies. However for many years now, every looking season, he disappears alone into the excessive nation with a easy package of dried meals and a rifle after bighorn and elk. Typically, he returns with recreation. All the time, he returns with an journey.
Whereas I share Jack’s style in solitary looking, I don’t have fairly his tenacity. For me, a day or two alone is commonly sufficient.
When you consider it, nature rewards each solo and crew large recreation hunters. Wolves hunt in packs and thrive collectively. Mountain lions are about the identical dimension and have the identical eating regimen as wolves however thrive alone, looking by stealth. Some days, I take pleasure in looking with a crew of different hunters and admire the corporate. However most days, I like looking just like the cougar.
Solo looking isn’t for everybody however does have rewards, each tactical and aesthetic. Backcountry rangers warn in opposition to venturing into the wilds alone. I’m no dare-devil, however danger is a suitable a part of any worthwhile enterprise.
When looking with buddies, the comradery is far of the enjoyable—the ribbing, the encouragement, the tales. A looking companion may even see or hear clues that you could be miss.
When calling, I’ve had nice success when one hunter calls and the opposite units up and waits for the shot. Drive hunts involving many hunters are among the many oldest and simplest looking strategies all over the world. And no time is a looking companion extra appreciated than when the sport is down and the pack-out begins.
Through the years, I’ve observed a development towards looking in teams. When people draw a very prized tag, social media posts are filled with hunters posing with squads of spotters. Searching tv reveals function teams of hunters backed up by digital camera crews.
That stuff will not be for me. Even after I do hunt with a buddy, we typically break up up at daybreak and regroup on the day’s finish, or a reconnoiter solely at noon. This is smart for the still-hunting I desire. Two individuals make thrice the noise as one.
I additionally discover solo looking extra rewarding. After I succeed, the sense of accomplishment is bigger. After I fail, I can solely blame myself. Alone, I’ve absolute autonomy. I hunt the place and the way I need; if I get drained, I can relaxation or go house. If I need to linger deep within the backcountry till effectively after darkish, I’m free to do it. I’m sufficient of an introvert to take pleasure in my very own firm once in a while.
Is solo attempting to find you? In that case, there are some essential issues to think about.
Foremost is security. Once you hunt alone, you’re taking further dangers no matter in case you are within the yard or the backcountry. There isn’t any one to assist, and even discover you, in case you have any sort of accident. In the event you’re married or have a household, this isn’t only a danger for you however a further stress on your family members.
Communication is essential. First, plan your hunt and hunt your plan. Write down the place you’re going and once you intend to return. Share this notice with somebody—if not a member of the family, a reliable neighbor, co-worker, or buddy. Even when your mishap is minor, say your truck breaks down, a minimum of people will know the place to start out trying.
Contemplate distant communications. Most locations I hunt don’t have any cell service, and I’ve robust misgivings about carrying my cellphone after I’m looking anyway. Nonetheless, I do carry a Garmin InReach for emergencies. There are different comparable emergency beacons, and a few cell telephones embrace emergency satellite tv for pc name companies. None of them are any good in case your account is expired or if the battery is lifeless.
Know your limits and entry the panorama. Searching solo forces you to be trustworthy with your self. There’s nobody to bail you out in the event you transcend your capabilities or comply with scorching elk tracks into some distant canyon that may be a bit too far on your personal good.
Plan for boredom. Searching solo isn’t a thrill a minute, and you may solely take so many naps. On in a single day solo outings, I carry a paperback ebook and a journal to assist go the time. Listening to music or podcasts would possibly suffice on a brief hunt, however prices treasured battery energy.
Plan for the packout. Searching backcountry alone will get monumentally tougher when you’ve a kill to care for. Have your extraction plan and all vital instruments in place earlier than you start. I’ve an inside body pack that’s able to carrying an elk quarter, so I can a minimum of get one load off the mountain that first journey. Once you slam the tailgate, you’ll slam it with satisfaction.
