Archery OTC Dilemma

[danwolf]

Hi Everyone. I have a major dilemma and would appreciate some input. I really, really want to do an OTC Archery hunt this year, not particularly picky what state but I can’t seem to round up any interested hunting partners. Living on the Central Coast of CA, any state I drive to is a rather long haul (15 hrs+), and while I have hunted mule deer solo, I haven’t hunted ELK solo. So for these reasons, my preference would be to have a hunting partner(s) …and besides, it usually makes the overall drive & hunting experience enjoyable.

I’ve thought about posting a “Hunting Partner wanted” but I am a bit reluctant without getting some feedback on any similar experiences.…or do I suck it up and go it alone. I have rifle hunted one CO GMU last year south of Grand Junction during 4th rifle season so I am familiar with a portion of that area….

While I will be doing a rifle hunt in Montana, the thought of not doing an OTC archery or even a rifle hunt has me sick to my stomach.

What to do?

It's not easy to round up friends that are typical weekend warriors to drop vacation time to hunt, and drive such a long way. I drove 18 hrs to AZ this year for my first OTC mule deer hunt. I'd do it all over again. I will be going on my first elk hunt this year OTC archery and it'll be a 20 hour drive. I'll be doing that solo as well.

 

[GrantK]

Go solo! I do a pretty good mix of solo and sharing camp with good friends, while it is more work to go solo it makes the experience more intense, there is some real reward when you do everything without any other input or help... and a week or two by yourself is a great way to think through stuff you are too distracted to really consider in day to day life...even if I am sharing a camp we pretty much split up to hunt, coming back to hang out for dinner and to share packing duties.
given that they are pretty cheap these days I would get an inreach mini for peace of mind, and load up on elk hunting podcast for the drive...

 

[cmeyer733]

Hi Everyone. I have a major dilemma and would appreciate some input. I really, really want to do an OTC Archery hunt this year, not particularly picky what state but I can’t seem to round up any interested hunting partners. Living on the Central Coast of CA, any state I drive to is a rather long haul (15 hrs+), and while I have hunted mule deer solo, I haven’t hunted ELK solo. So for these reasons, my preference would be to have a hunting partner(s) …and besides, it usually makes the overall drive & hunting experience enjoyable.

I’ve thought about posting a “Hunting Partner wanted” but I am a bit reluctant without getting some feedback on any similar experiences.…or do I suck it up and go it alone. I have rifle hunted one CO GMU last year south of Grand Junction during 4th rifle season so I am familiar with a portion of that area….

While I will be doing a rifle hunt in Montana, the thought of not doing an OTC archery or even a rifle hunt has me sick to my stomach.

What to do?

I drove 15 hours to New Mexico and hunted for a week solo, and 16 hours to Idaho to hunt solo, I don't regret either. Go do it.

 

[SBAHunts]

Hi Team HT,

Thank you all for your input, it is greatly appreciated. I also appreciate all your words of encouragement, I will not regret doing going solo. If you see a solo hunter in the Grand Mesa area, stop & say hi......

 

[prhunter]

Lots of good advice on this thread. If you cannot find anyone that has your same interest and desire to hunt, take the necessary safety measures and do the solo trip. Any time spent in the mountains is good a good time.

Be safe and let us know how the trip turns out.