Something I’ve heard said many times in one form or another is, “Good hunting partners are hard to find.” It’s also something I agree with wholeheartedly. As a hound hunter, having the right partners is nearly as important as having the right dogs. They can make a bad day good and they can make a good day bad.  

It's interesting that this topic is rarely discussed in groups. Hunting partners seems to be something that we’re only comfortable discussing when we’re in the company of those we consider good hunting partners, and that’s probably a good thing. Most of us don’t want to unnecessarily hurt anyone’s feelings and we certainly don’t want to be the topic of discussion if the rest of the group doesn’t want to partner with us. I certainly wouldn’t use a column in this magazine to rag someone personally. 

However, I think the topic is vitally important to the overall enjoyment and success of hound hunting. It would do us all well to reflect often on our place within our hunting party. Am I adding value to the hunting experience of my buddies, or am I a net loss? As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become especially aware of my ever-growing limitations compared to years ago. Obviously, I don’t speak for all houndsmen nor do I intend to try. The thoughts shared in this column are generally true enough to be practically applicable to many who unsnap hounds in pursuit of bears.  

As I’ve meditated on the topic, I’ve come to the personal conclusion that the thing I’m mostly looking for in a hound hunting partner is competence. I can overlook a lot of other matters that I’d consider negative if my partner is competent. Does he or she know bears? The terrain? The hounds? His or her firearm and ammunition? Will he or she get into needless predicaments and nonsense that will require a rescue? When hounds are pursuing game, it’s serious business. It takes dedication and concentration. Absolutely no one serious about hunting bears with dogs desires to be saddled with someone they have to babysit (unless it’s a paying client).  

Over the years, I’ve seen countless bear races blown to smithereens by someone doing something totally incompetent. Of course, nobody knows everything and we all make mistakes. Even the most experienced, competent houndsmen can make a rookie move. But some folks make the same incompetent mistakes repeatedly, and it’s hard to take when you’ve invested so much all year long only to have a few months of hunting. Perpetually incompetent hound hunters have a reputation for it, and even if no one says anything to them directly, they are often privately criticized.  

After competence, I would say that someone being enjoyable company would be second on my list. There are some great hound hunters who have the personality of a porcupine with road rage. Others have the personality of cardboard. The road rage guy or gal is always mad about something, even if it’s of little importance, and the cardboard guy or gal isn’t the least bit interesting. When I say enjoyable company, I just mean they are pleasant to be around. They don’t have to be great conversationalists (personally, I don’t care to talk to anyone 24/7). But they are not troublemakers, they are not continuously critical, and they are not pot stirrers or agitators. They are mostly positive, polite, unselfish, and complementary. In a conversation, they leave people wanting to hear them more, not less. They are just “good company”. 

Next, I believe a good hunting partner is a team player. It’s possible to hunt alone but most houndsmen, especially bear hunters, hunt with at least a few partners. It’s important that a partner be competent enough to handle business without someone having to hold his or her hand, but he or she can’t be so independent and reclusive that it creates dissension in the group. I’ve known of situations where one or two hunters in the group would use the group just to gain access to a hunting area but sneak off from the group and do their own little thing, leaving everyone else out in the cold. Self-centered hunting partners are worse than having no hunting partners. Every so often, you’ll run into a houndsman who’s a control freak who tries to micromanage every single person in a party hunt. They cause a lot of bitterness. Team players are just the opposite. They use their skills and hounds to better the experience of the entire group, not just themselves. The best of them can really lift the success rates of a party to new levels. They make everyone around them better.  

Fourth on my list would be a good sense of humor. Hound hunting is hard. It can be extremely stressful and at times a matter of life and death. When a hunting partner has a good sense of humor, it sure helps. I’ve hunted with some hilarious people in my lifetime. Some of them are gone now, but I can still hear them laugh. One fellow that I grew up with was a man named Mitchell Stills who had a laugh that I could pick out of a million people. Mitchell was a great bear hunter in a very hard part of the Appalachians, but his humor made light work of a hard place. The Bible says, “A merry heart doeth good like medicine…” I believe that. Good humored people are good for the healing of a man’s soul. If you can make people laugh in the right ways at the right time, you’ll always be welcomed by the fires of houndsmen.  

Fifth on the list would be an ethical partner. As a pastor, I can’t be on the front page of the paper for violating game laws all the time. People laugh when I say that. None of us are without sin or fault, of course. But the philosophy of Guarding the Gate is real to me. What I kill, how many I kill, and how I kill them are all important to how I prefer to live my life. There’s a certain code that I choose to operate by and it’s important to me. But it’s not something that I seek to impose on other people. Generally speaking, I prefer to mind my own business. But when I’m hunting in a group and someone in that group gets out of hand in unethical behavior, it ruins the hunt for me. People who seek to uphold the law and common sense standards of ethics make my hunt much more enjoyable. Honesty plays a major role in ethics. 

Last, but not least, on the list would be a partner who is twice sober. By twice sober I mean sober in two different ways: they are sober in the sense of being serious-minded and they are literally sober (as in not drunk or high). If a man likes to drink or get high and minds his own business, on his own property, without putting anyone else in jeopardy, that’s his life. But when the dogs are loose and we’re hunting together, that’s the entire hunting party’s business. Every man has the right to know the people carrying firearms, driving vehicles, and handling dogs have all of their senses in full working order. Alcohol, marijuana, and drugs don’t mix with hound hunting. Not to mention the example we should be setting for the next generation. I want my hunting partners sober during the hunt, mentally and physically.  

I could probably write a small book on the subject because there is so much more to say about a good hunting partner. I’ve been blessed to have several that I’ve loved to hunt with during my lifetime. Your list may be entirely different from mine, but the one thing I hope this article provokes is serious thought about who we are to the people who call us their partner.