Quack wrote:I don’t come from a deer hunting family. I’ve mostly hunted by myself over the years but I’ve started hunting with a buddy who is a genuinely great guy.
He arrowed a nice buck so I was thinking I had the gun season to myself. However, he mentioned wanting to party hunt with me.
I’m trying to be cool with it but there’s definitely a part of me that wants him to back off, at least for opening weekend.
Are there any customs or traditions like, “hey man, thanks for letting me use your buck tag, here’s $40 to cover the cost”
Or anything else like that?
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I'd start with your and his definition of "Party Hunt". I know the legal definition, but you'll need to understand the rules of engagement. Directly to your question, some of these are developed over generations.
In my family, we've always split whatever success we had. So, 1 deer 5 guys- split 5 ways. 1 deer 10 guys- split 10 ways. That had it's challenges as the "kids" came up. I was oldest by far, like 8-12 years, and my dad and I were two of the three "serious" hunters. Most of the guys were happy with drinking, poker, Vikings game at a bar, and 5 lb chub of salami or sausage. With that, the 3 "serious" hunters accounted for >75% of the deer shot no matter how many guys in camp. It was likely closer to 85%. Blind squirrels find nuts. In that group, they were happier if you shot their deer.... that got them out of gutting it.
The challenge started in that group when we'd have 4 deer processed, get to the sorting, and the Slackers would say, "I just want a pack of chops and some sausage"....... then only want to pay for the pounds they took.... that was the beginning of the end for that group.
Now it's just my uncle and I. We had the discussion last year with one deer hanging. He likes the venison but doesn't do a ton of wild game. Mine will be gone sometime between Easter and Fishing Opener. We also give some to my grandma (his mom), my mom (dad died), and my aunt that is wheel chair bound. So, I said, "Let's shoot 'em". Knowing we'd split the costs, but I'd take a higher amount and pay accordingly.
But that's been developed over 25 years of hunting together and a "Party" that started hunting together in the late 70's.