Choose Your Hunting Buds Wisely

Would you hunt with this guy?!

Jay recently commented on a thread on the shotgunworld.com forums about a guy (username Pumpster) who was wondering whether it’s wise to agree to inviting a third person on a ruffed grouse/woodcock hunt in Maine. He doesn’t know this third person, but his friend does.

Pumpster wrote: “The third guy (very nice, good guy) has just started shooting and this would be his first hunt. He’s mature and serious but a true novice.”

Our advice: Don’t do it, with maybe one exception.

The “just started shooting” phrase is the most worrisome part because safety is of course paramount in the field. Being new to the grouse woods is a big deal in itself. Throw in someone who is new to shotguns, shooting and that loud-as-heck flush, and who knows what could happen.

The exception is if you get comfortable with the guy before you go. Safety-wise, that means shoot clays with him a few times, get a feel for how he handles the shotgun, his personality, how competitive he is, etc.

But that’s not the whole ball of wax. We have a section in Serious Grouse Hunting, Book 1 about choosing your hunting partners, and like this line (we wish it was ours!) written by Jim Harrison in the Nov. 4, 1974 issue of Sports Illustrated: “It’s bad as a general rule to hunt with anyone you wouldn’t camp with or introduce to a secret trout-fishing spot.”

‘…In the Bar When It’s Time to Clean the Birds…’

For a bit more on this, check out these excerpts from a column by Rick Petrekovic that recently ran in the Prior Lake, MN American newspaper:

> “Ever hunt with someone who has to stop for a license, never offers to drive, forgot to bring his share of the food, is short on cash, runs out of shells the first morning and shoots yours the rest of the trip, is in the bar when it is time to clean the birds, has a dog that’s overweight and poorly trained, wears your socks, drinks your beer, claims credit for every bird he shoots at and then criticizes your dog after his is toast in 30 minutes? If you have…get your wife or dogs to pick your hunting partners for you.”

> “Dogs can make or break…an upland trip. If one dog is not trained and flushes birds out of range, it spoils the fun for everyone. The time to train your dog is not with your friends on your one big trip of the entire season with everyone else’s well-trained dogs. By discussing this ahead of time, you can plan to break up the party so the untrained dogs hunt separately from the veteran dogs. Another option is to alternate the dogs if acceptable with both parties. Every owner of a new dog wants and needs to get his dog on birds, but not at the expense of the whole party. But under no circumstances should you criticize your friend’s dog. That will end a friendship or hunting trip as sure as a rooster’s flush out of range.”

> “After hunting hard all day, feeding my dogs, having supper and maybe one drink, I am ready for bed. My dogs are already snoring before I have the one drink. They are smart enough to rest up to be able to chase birds again the next day. Serious hunting requires rest every night to recharge your depleted batteries. Some people are not as smart as my dogs. If you want to go out and drink all night, that is your choice, but do not expect everyone else to go with you or ever want to go with you again.”

> “Gun safety is an absolute non-negotiable trait in any hunting party. Once you pull the trigger, the load is not coming back. Shooting a shotgun right past someone’s head is going to prematurely end any trip. No ground-pounding birds under any circumstance should be discussed ahead of time. Shooting at a bird on the ground is one quick way to kill a dog. It only takes one unsafe member of a party to ruin it for everyone. Often, the hunter without a dog of his own needs to have this clearly explained before hunting. A good idea is to shoot a round of clays together with someone you have never hunted with before to insure proper gun handling and safety.” [We’re on the same page with Rick!]

> “Everyone is fun to be around when everything is golden, but how you handle adversity separates you from the average hunters and reduces potential friction in your party. No one, when they are hunting, wants to listen to someone complaining all the time. We need to chill out and take the whole experience in. Harvesting the birds or game is important, but it is not the main reason we go or train our own dogs.”

Category: Rants