I have done almost all my traveling hunting trips solo. For the most part I prefer doing them solo.
Personally, for me, hunting is 10% social and 90% about hunting. I have noticed a good number of my friends back home and many hunters I meet in hunting camps feel the opposite and see it as 90% a social/drinking event and 10% about hunting. I have even seen multiple people just decide to not go out and stay back at camp and socialize and drink all day and late into the evening, foregoing hunting completely. I have a hard time understanding paying a lot of money for a guided hunt and doing the same thing you can do back home for free, but it's their money, and not my business.
I agree with all the things
@Ridge Runner and
@BRICKBURN said so far and I would echo all their comments.
A large part of why I started going on many adventures solo, or just with my wife if she was able, was because I noticed how many adventures got cancelled or "postponed" (usually indefinitely), when trying to plan them with others.
A great example was that I had always wanted to see the grand canyon. I was supposed to go many years ago with a friend, but at the last minute they backed out and the way they did it caused me not to be able to go as well. Same thing happened with alligator hunting before that. Now, I just plan a trip I want to go on by myself or with my wife and do it, by doing things that way, I have had more awesome adventures than anyone I personally know.
It isn't without it's own nervous feelings and risks. Of course traveling by yourself is always a bit more unsettling when you end up in bad situations. But 99% of the time it works out and that's part of the excitement as well.
In regards to, and back to just specifically about hunting: Something I notice about most "local" hunting groups of people that have hunted together forever is that there is a lot of jealousy and negativity. No part of me wants to bring that along to a new DIY hunt adventure or a paid guided hunt.
Like someone else said, if you take a bunch of people you know, it often turns into a bit of a competition. I don't really want to do that on a new hunt. I just want to enjoy it.
I also find it frustrating when you have done a ton of research to find a good quality hunt for a fair price on an animal you have done a bunch of research on, or have lots of experience with hunting. Then some random buddy in the group decides to google hunts for 3 minutes and comes back saying they found a cheaper deal or a fancier place and want to try and change everything up.
This is longwinded, but it's the wee hours of the morning and I just happened to have thought about this subject a lot lately. Because I was recently planning another trip and, as I always do when I first start planning another trip, I think, "I wonder if any of my other hunting buddies would want to go with me." Then I run through the list and it goes like this, "No, Tom is always busy and has no more vacation time. Not Mike, he refuses to spend money to hunt and only wants to hunt deer. Not Bob because he will say X animal isn't worth Y price and he can find a cheaper deal. Not Dave, he always backs out last minute. Not Mark because he gets super cranky anytime someone has success and he doesn't and ruins it for everyone else." Then I come to the conclusion I do 90% of the time, that it's way easier to plan and go on my own.
I will say, the largest drawback to hunting solo all the time is that it is becoming common to charge a large increase in price for a person booking a single guided hunt vs. with a group. Often even when it makes no sense to do it and being solo changes nothing about the setup of the hunt.
