Bad hunting partner

quail hound

quail hound

Moderator
So Saturday is our valley quail opener (my most anticipated day of the year) and I will have my brother (best partner) and my dad with me and JP, so I thought. My dad loves telling everyone of our successful hunts and inviting anyone who is interested.

I specifically told him I just wanted it to be us 3 and the dog, and guess what, 2 of my uncles somehow got an invite.:mad:

Last year only one uncle got the invite and the 4 of us bagged 20 quail. I honestly believe me and my brother would have limited that day if it was just us, but the older hunters gassed after bagging 2 birds each.

I love hunting with my dad, but he never took me hunting as a kid and now I do all the leg work of scouting, gaining permission, and training the dog. My dad just gets to do the fun part (the hunting).

Sorry for the novel but I needed to vent. Do I owe it to him for raising me, or can I drop him as a partner if he doesn't shape up?
 
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Agreed... you owe it to him, just because he invites more family out doesn't mean he is a bad partner. I wished my family all still got out and hunted together, but those years are long gone as some have moved further away and some just do their own thing now. And its the opener, so put up with it for a weekend and you have the rest of the season.

it's not always about how many birds you shoot... There have been plenty of trips that I'm very sure I would have limited out if it hadn't been for the others in the group but at the same time I took alot of memories away from that same trip.

You will have those chances to go alone and get your limit, or with your brother and do the same. Enjoy the time you get to hunt with your father while you still can.
 
I know where your coming from. My dad a couple of years ago. I got permission to hunt a killer buck farm. I shot a dandy 10 pointer. My dad ran to the guy and took the field after asking where I had shot the buck.He said he was hunting that spot now. He went and run right over the top of me and kinda barged his way right into my spot by going to the land owner. The land owner was the best man in my wedding 27 years ago. Dad has done this all my life. I find the spot, he tries and take it. It even happens on my own place. He will just decide he's hunting my back field, which is my stand and spot. He expects it and if don't like it too &^%$# bad! He thinks he deserves the best spot every time, even if it's yours or your kids. I love my dad and care very much for him but he's always been a selfish individual.

I had to walk behind my dad for years when hunting. He would say stay behind me in case something gets up. I never shot anything when I hunted with him.
 
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If you enjoy it then share it but if it really is a pain then do not include him in your plans.

I would enjoy having my father join me on a hunting trip but he never hunted growing up and never really got into firearms.

I taught myself and have enjoyed sharing the experience with those who have an interest. I make sure that my hunting partners understand the lay of the land and that they are expected to pitch in on thank you gifts to the landowners. They should also be willing to pick up the dinner tab. Fortunately I have never had a bad hunting partner.

Do what makes YOU happy.
 
QH what is the specific issue?
Sounds like you want to hunt with your dad but the uncles slow you down?
I don't see how JP is going to keep up with 5 guys.
Maybe you can arrange it so you are not all in the same place at the same time.
What kind of cover?
I'd make the most of it regardless.

C-dad
 
You guys are right, I love taking my dad and I always enjoy the time regardless of how many (if any) birds we harvest. The real issue is what calisdad pointed out, five guys hunting quail is not the ideal set up. They all expect to hunt with the dog, and and the cover is best for 2-3 hunters. We will be hunting riparian cover on a river bank.

Not to mention that now I need to contact the farmer and see if its ok to bring 5 instead of 3. Or change my plans all together and deal with the opening weekend warriors on public land.

Oh well it is just for one day then I have Sunday- Wednesday alone.
 
Consider yourself lucky. Your father at least hunts, mine did not. I learned on my own while in the Navy, not the best way believe me.........Bob
 
bobeyerite said:
Consider yourself lucky. Your father at least hunts, mine did not. I learned on my own while in the Navy, not the best way believe me.........Bob
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Bob I taught myself also. Now that I have a decent bird dog and some good spots to hunt I finally talked him into getting his first license in over 20 years last fall.

Before I got the dog my brother and I went pheasant hunting alone about 6 times and only saw one rooster (we missed him):mad:. After one of our unsuccessful outings my dad said " next time get your guns and walk our pasture, you'll save some gas."

Now he can't wait for pheasant season.:D
 
You like hunting with your brother. Your dad likes hunting with his (I'm assuming your uncles are your dads brothers). Just take it for what it is and be glad you can ad some memories to your dads life. You'll be glad you did.
 
Most people are missing the point. This isn't about loving your dad and taking him hunting. Quail hound since you set everything up, you need to decide who's going and who's not going. It sounds like 3 is the right number for the hunt for safety, fun, and practicallity. Tell the two uncles they can go some other time. Better to enjoy yourself, the dog, and the birds than be frustrated all day. I have been in these situations where a friend or my dad tries to bring someone else on a hunt. I tell them no, we have enough.
 
Well I'll bet QH packs in close to 100 hunts days a year. Safety would be my biggest concern tho. I have a hard enough time keeping track of 1 other hunter- 4 others just won't work.

Maybe you can do it in shifts.
 
Safety is definitely my biggest concern, and I won't tolerate any unsafe behavior or situations. We may take turns gunning, or spread out and hunt in straight line on either side of a good string of cover and hope for a lot of quartering shots. The good thing is the river is pretty open except for strings of cover so we will be able to keep an eye on one another, not like that jungle we were in c-dad.:D

I've never really thought about how many days afield I spend each year with my dog, I think I will go buy a journal and start making entries for each of my hunts.
 
Be thankful you still have your father to hunt with. Many of us do not and wish we did. Sounds like you are still quite young and it's still about the number of birds you shoot. Wait until you get older and it won't be about the number of birds but about the opportunity to be with family and friends. Some day you will look back and cherish the memory of these hunts with your dad and uncles. Cut the ol' guys some slack. :)
 
I am a young man but, It's definitely not about birds bagged for me. I have been mountain quail hunting 2 weekends in a row without shooting a single shot, and if it weren't for valley quail opening this Saturday I would be up there again this weekend. I enjoy being out with my dog and the opportunity to bag a few birds.

As a matter of fact I have been quail hunting for 5 years now and still haven't got that elusive limit, not for lack of trying or opportunity though.
 
pheasantaddict said:
Most people are missing the point. This isn't about loving your dad and taking him hunting. Quail hound since you set everything up, you need to decide who's going and who's not going. It sounds like 3 is the right number for the hunt for safety, fun, and practicallity. Tell the two uncles they can go some other time. Better to enjoy yourself, the dog, and the birds than be frustrated all day. I have been in these situations where a friend or my dad tries to bring someone else on a hunt. I tell them no, we have enough.
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Thanks for summing up my thoughts in a non-offensive way. Truth is, when I'm hunting private land, I ask permission for the exact # of people I'm hunting with. I consider it disrespectful when someone surprises me with an extra or 2 the day of the hunt, whether it is my dad, son, brother, wife or whomever...doesn't matter.

HOWEVER, I invite my dad every time I go. He's learned to respect my wishes when I ask him not to invite anyone. The ole man is my best hunting partner now that he follows my rules. On "his" hunts, we follow his rules.
 
I'm sorry if I was one of those that missed the point. But if you go back and read Quail Hound's original post you sure could interpret it as if he was not happy with his father for a couple of reasons. 1) the father brings extra hunters. 2) his father didn't take him hunting as a kid. It also came across as he would have shot more birds without the "older" hunters. And he did say,
Sorry for the novel but I needed to vent.
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But with the subsequent posts it's now clearer what he was trying to say.
 
I think he is right in bieng upst as far as others bieng invited by someone else but on the same hand and maybe i'm different in thinking this but atleast he still has a father to take him hunting I haven't seen mine since I was 16 when he passed away but i have some fond memories of the time we did spend out in the woods and fields together he should be thankfull to still be able to make memories
 
I hunt and fish with people I enjoy their company and with hunting safety is very important. Since I am the one usually planning and preparing for trips it is easy for me to decide who is and who is not included. I enjoy these trips more than anything and have decided someone that is "cheap" or "lazy" is simply off the list.

As far as number in group, more than four is never a pleasure for me on a hunt, 3 is like a perfect number.
 
How you know you have the wrong hunting partners

I never had my dad to hunt with, he was blind from a failed cataract surgery, and was never the outdoor type anyway, acted interested in my adventures afield and always helped me get equipped and fostered my ability to hunt. died when I was 18 and he was 53. That said I've hunted with a host of characters. The only ones I found offensive, were the guys who jumped out of the car while I was visiting with a farmer I was confirming permission to hunt from, and started blasting at a covey of quail in the driveway! I wanted to crawl away on my belly, but the farmer took it well, and knew from previous experience I was not like that. The other guy I made sure to leave at home was the guy who shot one of my dogs! Fortunately, just peppered, couldn't shoot well enough to kill anything, thank heaven. I have found that lots of things like group size and organization of the hunt, missed opportunities, shots, that used to drive me nuts at 25, become less a factor now that I'm 56.
 
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