What Makes a Good Hunting Partner?
With the added responsibilities of being a good and dependable hunter, there’s much more expected from a hunting partner than an average day-to-day friendship. Here are a few tried-and-true traits of a good partner.
Hunting Knowledge
Look for someone whose hunting knowledge is at—or slightly above—your level so you can bounce ideas off each other without one person having to lead all the time. If you’re just starting out, you’ll ideally find a more experienced partner who can help show you the ropes—but don’t take that as an excuse to not contribute. A good hunting partner does their fair share of research, scouting, and planning.
Work Ethic
Laziness is probably not a trait you’ll tolerate for long in a hunting partner. Find someone who holds their weight on a pack-out, who is willing to pitch in on grunt work camp duties, and who can persevere through bad weather.
Timeliness
Animals don’t wait for you and good hunting opportunities are missed if you aren’t on time for those peak moments.
Easy-going
Hunting can be stressful. Ideally, your hunting partners know how to keep high spirits and can adapt to even undesirable situations with a positive attitude.
Good Judgement
From deciding whether to take the shot, when to call, and what to do if something goes sideways, you want to be able to trust that the person in your corner can make good, quick decisions.
And Remember…
You should work toward being the best hunting partner you can be, too. And that includes following unwritten rules, such as not sharing your hunting partner’s spots, or hunting your partner’s spots without asking permission beforehand.
