A good hunting partner is as important as any other aspect of the hunt, and all hunters know, not just anyone will do. The wrong partner can sour a day of hunting as surely as leaving home without any ammo. And hunting with the right partner can help make even the most miserable trip into a pleasant experience.
Luckily for me, I have been blessed with the best when it comes to partners. While it isn’t easy to put a finger on just what it is about some people that might make them unsuitable as companions afield, there are certain qualities about partners I’ve had that contributed to the success of the relationship. Some are only peripherally related to hunting.
When I planted the truck in a snowbank on the last day of one hunting season, my pal Erwin took it in stride. One look at things told us we could forget the hunt, but Erwin was determined to make the best of it.
It took hours of digging underneath the truck, ramp building, giving it a try and then digging some more. We took turns under the truck with our one shovel, with Erwin pretending to be Charles Bronson in the tunnel-digging sequences from “The Great Escape.” When the truck finally clawed back onto the road, the sense of accomplishment we shared nearly overshadowed our disappointment over not getting to hunt.
Self-reliance and competence in the woods are also vital qualities in a partner. It’s nice to be able to point to a spot on a map and know that your partner will ghost up behind you in a place you may have never seen before and scare the daylights out of you with a simple, “Boo!” If he doesn’t appear, it means he’s on a fresh track and he’ll show up back at the rig.
Hunting with partners who bridle at the thought of attacking the steep, the deep and the dark generally causes me to spend more time worried about their whereabouts and well-being than I do about hunting.
That’s not to say that none of us ever gets a little confused. One dark night after a day of hunting with my old friend Johnny, I became completely disoriented in a blinding snowstorm. As I groped my way along an unfamiliar ridge clutching a useless flashlight, I suddenly came face to face with a shadowy figure coming from the opposite direction.
“Johnny?” I asked hopefully.
“Where are we?” came the familiar voice.
Despite our obvious dilemma, my concern eased with the knowledge that at least I wasn’t alone. Together we figured out where we were and made it back to the truck.
A partner who shows up at the right time can be invaluable in other ways, as well. That’s especially true when the game is down. Knowing that a pal will appear when it’s time to break out the pack frames is like knowing you have extra money when the unexpected bill arrives.
Unselfishness and a strong back are essential when it’s time to haul out the meat. My friends Sparky, Casper and Walleye come to mind. Each has heartened me more than once when, alone, I would have been inclined to sit down in the middle of the trail and bawl.
I don’t mean to suggest that there’s no room for a little diversity among hunting companions. In fact, I strongly recommend finding hunting partners with varied political views. A little political incompatibility can go a long way toward spicing up a backcountry camp.
Erwin once spent an evening berating me for my support of a certain presidential candidate. His placid demeanor evaporated as his accusations of knee-jerk liberalism echoed across the alpine lake next to camp. I’m still puzzling over his argument that Gerald Ford’s experience as a lineman in college football qualified him for the presidency. I was a college lineman, so I know it can’t be true.
Whatever the differences, a good hunting partner is a rare and wonderful gift, and I have been fortunate enough to have great ones for nearly 50 years on the hunt.
Greg Tollefson is a freelance Missoula writer whose column appears each week in Outdoors. He can be reached at gtollefson@bresnan.net.
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