# friend blew it



## holton27596 (Sep 6, 2016)

Ray finally drew a tag this year, but hes an alcoholic. Every time we talked about going I emphasized that he would have to be sober to go. Dday comes and he is drunk by noon. Told him we could still go, but ther ould be No alcohol in the boat so that he would have time to sober up. Of course then  he went to cussing, called me a control freak and said that he was a grown man and nobody would tell him what he could drink. At that point I took the keys out of the truck and the boat, told him his hunt was over and went back in the house.

Do you know of any guides that will take a sloppy drunk on a gator hunt??


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## watermedic (Sep 6, 2016)

What I do know is that if he is (was) a friend, I wouldn't throw him under the bus on a public forum.

You both made decisions. He decided to drink and you decided to stay home. End of story.


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## EAGLE EYE 444 (Sep 6, 2016)

When someone is in fishing with me in my boat or hunting with me on my property....they play by MY RULES or they don't participate at all.  It is just that simple.


I don't consider Holton's statement as "throwing this person under the bus" at all.  Fact is, he could have very easily saved this alcoholic's life by NOT allowing him to try to get a gator while drunk because he could have easily fell overboard and would have been gator bait instead.

One thing that I will NEVER tolerate is someone drinking as such while they are hunting or fishing with me.  It just is not going to happen and I don't care if you have been my BEST friend for life, the President, the Governor, the Pope, or whoever, it still is not going to happen. 

Common sense should tell all of us that alcohol and guns and being on the water just don't mix at all. 

I'm glad that Holton has posted this because maybe it will help someone else understand how important that it to be prepared mentally and physically when it comes to alligator hunting.  You might not get a second chance.


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## RUGERWARRIOR (Sep 6, 2016)

I love my beer, that being said, I am serious about my hunting. I'm not going to waste a tag that takes no less than three years to get when I can celebrate later.


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## Dep6 (Sep 6, 2016)

No one gets in my boat to Gator hunt if they have been drinking.


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## holton27596 (Sep 6, 2016)

I was not throwing him under the bus, he just did not see the danger and is still mad saying that I was treating him like a child and being a grown man he should be able to drink whatever and whenever he wants.


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## mossyoakpro (Sep 6, 2016)

Might be time to find a new friend....just my $.02

Good call by the way...gator hunting is not something to do if your not 100% in the game.


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## NCHillbilly (Sep 6, 2016)

Did he take a drink or two, or was he literally visibly drunk? I know many of my Baptist family who have never taken a drink in their lives think that you actually get drunk to the point of being impaired off one beer or one shot.


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## shdw633 (Sep 6, 2016)

holton27596 said:


> I was not throwing him under the bus, he just did not see the danger and is still mad saying that I was treating him like a child and being a grown man he should be able to drink whatever and whenever he wants.



Too bad if he's mad!!!  You didn't put that liquor in his glass and force him to drink it!!  You also told him prior to the hunt that their would be no drinking, so it's ALL on him.  Gator hunting is nothing to be messed with as Eagle Eye 444 stated.  You get that biggun up beside the boat all ticked off and he loses balance and either shoots someone in the boat or falls in and becomes a target for that big boy to vent some frustration on and your the one having to deal with the situation!!!  NO WAY, NO HOW!!!  Like I said, if he's still mad....too bad!!


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## watermedic (Sep 6, 2016)

My point was that the people that personally know you also know the person that you are referring to. 

I would only do that if that person was no longer my friend.

What happens between friends stays there as far as I'm concerned.


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## holton27596 (Sep 6, 2016)

I don't think I will let him back on my place unless he is sober, so that's probably it. He has a ben a good friend when sober. He is fom another state so no one here knows it.
By 1 he had already had drank over 1/2 case and was trying to put another case in the boat.


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## leoparddog (Sep 12, 2016)

Well Holton, you did the right thing.  Not easy to tell a friend no at times.  I've had a couple of relationships like this over my life and with each of them, a day came when we had to part ways.


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## cwa1104sab (Sep 14, 2016)

holton27596 said:


> I was not throwing him under the bus, he just did not see the danger and is still mad saying that I was treating him like a child and being a grown man he should be able to drink whatever and whenever he wants.



Well...he should be able to drink whenever/wherever he wants, as long as it's not your boat, on the water, while hunting. That's just how I see it. Your boat your rules. I would worry less about him being mad than worrying about IF he is mad. If he doesn't want to respect you and your rules on your boat why are you worrying if he's mad ? I can tell you from experience alcoholics are manipulaters


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## mattech (Sep 16, 2016)

You did the right thing. Gator hunting is one of the most dangerous hunts we have here, you need to be on your a-game


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## biker13 (Sep 16, 2016)

alligator take the mad right out of you in a hurry.They are very strong and very fast.Bring the A game fo sho when you go picking on a gator.


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## ripplerider (Sep 17, 2016)

If he drank more than 12 beers by 1:00 then he had no business going anywhere in public, much less alligator hunting. I'm sure in his own eyes he wasnt drunk, they never admit theyre drunk. Until the day after they say or do something terrible, at which point it becomes "the liqours fault" or "the beer was talking, not me." You did the right thing.


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## Flaustin1 (Sep 23, 2016)

Id take him.  Like he said, hes a grown man.  Hes fully aware of his actions and the consequences of said actions.  im not one for pity though.  My wife says I lack compassion.  I just call it "being responsible for ones self".


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## Big7 (Sep 23, 2016)

mattech said:


> You did the right thing. Gator hunting is one of the most dangerous hunts we have here, you need to be on your a-game



^^^^^^^^^^^ THIS ten-fo..

Fishing if you ain't behind the wheel bout' toasted is one thing. 
Been there many times with a sober driver and have been the DD plenty.

Don't want to mess with a gator or shark if you bout' half tuned.

MY BOAT... MY RULES... END OF STORY..


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## MudDucker (Sep 24, 2016)

holton27596 said:


> I don't think I will let him back on my place unless he is sober, so that's probably it. He has a ben a good friend when sober. He is fom another state so no one here knows it.
> By 1 he had already had drank over 1/2 case and was trying to put another case in the boat.



Tough love with a drunk is the best love.

I don't let anyone who has partaken take up a gun around me.


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## Bobby Linton (Sep 25, 2016)

.....


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