If I had a dollar for every time I heard the phrase "former hunting partner," I could probably buy a new shotgun. I understand you got burned by him at some point in time, but do you think maybe it's time to move on and go out and have new experiences, make new friends, and hunt new places? I'm not trying to be mean, but you talk about it in every thread, to what end? What do you want us to say? Sorry that he burned you?
I'm sure you have far more hunting experience than I do, but in my time hunting I have come to notice two types of outdoorsmen, the complainers and the do-ers. Seasons change, new people move into spots, land gets sold, diseases, predators, whatever it may be, things change and there are always people who complain about it, blame WDFW, blame someone else, etc.
On the other hand, there are people who are resilient and continue to be students to the outdoors and find new spots, hunt harder, try new strategies, and take ownership in their success. Sometimes it's easy to fall into the first group, I do myself at times. But I try my best to be a do-er, like I see many other men and women doing on this forum. You've obviously been eaten up by this hunting partner thing for a long time, and I'm honestly sympathetic to it, but at some point you gotta let that go into the past and think about the possibilities of the future. That's my best attempt at a pep talk, and I've been thinking about it for a while, since I always see your posts. Best of luck.