Are you a backpack hunter?

[ScottR]

As I am sure many of you have figured out, once season slows for me I start doing a lot of evaluation and asking a lot of questions. Strategy and gear gear tend to dominate my November thoughts taking a look back.

This year, per usual I lived out of my backpack. I used three different packs...

However, I did a few hunts out of the Yukon...i.e. mobile camper. Which got me to thinking, how much variation did your hunting style have?

Do you love one style enough that you don't look for opportunities in places that don't allow you to hunt outside that style?

 

[Hilltop]

I'm a creature comfort base camp guy - wall tents/campers. I do day backpack hunts where I am prepared to stay out but haven't in many years. In areas I hunt in southern Wyoming, it is hard to get more than 3 miles from a decent road so there really is no need to coyote out.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I've changed my tactics a lot in the passed 15 years.
I used to be the road hunter that didn't even have a pair of binos I used my rifle scope!
Then I started to watch Eastman's and a few other western hunting shows. I Used what I learned in Idaho hunting elk for a few years out of a back pack that was way too heavy and I had so much crap in that pack it was a sight to be seen. We did have success on elk so that just kept me motivated.
I drew a Nv elk tag after 12 years of applying and invited Guy to come on my hunt. At that time he was done hunting for the year and wanted to come check out Nv so we met up and hunted together for a week. What I learned from Guy was unlearnable by watching tv shows.
I then became a back country hunter and lived out of back packs on all of my deer and elk hunts. My gear became lighter and my knowledge grew with every trip and now being a part of Eastman's I had a wealth of knowledge to go to with questions.
Gear changes in clothing from back then and packs made it much easier to stay in the hills and enjoy it more.
Now I like to have a base camp. That could be a 2 person tent with with a heavy sleeping bag and many luxuries that I can get to with a side by side. Then I like to carry a overnight or 2 nights spike camp in my bag. That way I can get to the end of the roads with the side by side and hike out to hunt. I can be mobile if I find a animal a few miles away and stay the night or head back to a comfy camp.
The short answer is yes but where I hunt spending a week in the mountains in a bivy surviving on water and cliff bars is not needed and in my passed. The older I get the more smarter I think I've become in hunting and I don't have to kill the biggest thing on the mountain, only the biggest thing I can find.

 

[Catahoula12]

What I have done for years is similar to Ikeepitcold in the latter. I use my camper as a base. Usually will carry 2p tent with sleeping bag and essentials needed in pack. Climb on my atv. Get to where I need to start my walk, ditch the atv. I’m off. If a decision is made to spend the night under the star so be it. On average, I find this only being done during archery season. Much beyond that for rifle seasons.... I do day hunts and make it back to my camper in darkness.... I’m not freezing my butt.. gets pretty chilly.

 

[ScottR]

If I didn?t have the packable stove my excursions in rifle seasons would be bass camp oriented.


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[Timberstalker]

I can be but it’s not necessarily my favorite way to hunt. I really like a comfortable camp, home is my favorite camp! I’ve had success in all different styles. There is one place I hunt in the Cascades here in Oregon that it’s nearly required to stay to hunt, it’s just a little too far for me to day hunt. Most of the time I hunt within 3 miles from the truck. Not many places where I hunt that you can get that far from a road or trail.
I would do it more often if I had better success but I don’t always see more game away from roads.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

If I didn?t have the packable stove my excursions in rifle seasons would be bass camp oriented.


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I've never had a stove in my tent set up but most of my backcountry hunting has been in October.

 

[Biz45]

I have been hunting since 2003 and each hunt has always been day hunts. Leave camp at 430 start the hike up with head lamp and hopefully i get to my destination before sun up that way i can start glassing the areas. But reading this other post makes me wanna try and do a 'Overnight' in the hills as we only live once. Also i would imagine it helping with being out further maybe getting more successful.
Any one do overnights in Colorado ?.

 

[tdcour]

All depends on the hunt. I really enjoy the backpack hunting when I can, but won't do it if I don't have to. I enjoy eating a greasy burger at night still so truck camping and things like that sure are nice when you can do it.

 

[mntnguide]

For me, 10 years of guiding horseback wall tent hunts...i was spoiled haha. That being said the past years, I have spent uncountable amounts of miles with camp and gear on my back. For me, its a great change for not having to take care of horses, find camp spots with feed and water etc...That being said, im still a sucker for horse hunts. This past season i used horses for elk and had a great time. I also will do early morning day hunts from my house in a few spots, or hit places after work in the afternoon. I really hate being around other hunters, its a personal issue of mine that just annoys me, so i would rather put in the effort to get away from crowds even if i know hunting is good in an area where people are. Thats why i prefer to get away and backpack in. I will use about any method though, depending on the species and hunt, but my personal preference is seeing as few other hunters as possible and seeing lots of new country. I rarely go to the same spot, because i constantly like to explore and connect the dots of the different mountain ranges.

 

[ScottR]

For me, 10 years of guiding horseback wall tent hunts...i was spoiled haha. That being said the past years, I have spent uncountable amounts of miles with camp and gear on my back. For me, its a great change for not having to take care of horses, find camp spots with feed and water etc...That being said, im still a sucker for horse hunts. This past season i used horses for elk and had a great time. I also will do early morning day hunts from my house in a few spots, or hit places after work in the afternoon. I really hate being around other hunters, its a personal issue of mine that just annoys me, so i would rather put in the effort to get away from crowds even if i know hunting is good in an area where people are. Thats why i prefer to get away and backpack in. I will use about any method though, depending on the species and hunt, but my personal preference is seeing as few other hunters as possible and seeing lots of new country. I rarely go to the same spot, because i constantly like to explore and connect the dots of the different mountain ranges.

That is my struggle with horses. The reality is that as much as we believe that we own them they really own us...

 

[mntnguide]

That is my struggle with horses. The reality is that as much as we believe that we own them they really own us...

Yep.. anyone who hasn't been around them assume they just make life 100% easier... sometimes very much not the case. They come first before you always and require plenty of attention and care especially when feed is hard to come by... did you get my PM last weekend?

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[ScottR]

Yep.. anyone who hasn't been around them assume they just make life 100% easier... sometimes very much not the case. They come first before you always and require plenty of attention and care especially when feed is hard to come by... did you get my PM last weekend?

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I did, just got slammed here this week at work. Will message you back now.

 

[grizzly]

I just got back from probably the best backpack hunt I'll ever get to go on. I'd give about anything to do this again.

 

[ScottR]

I just got back from probably the best backpack hunt I'll ever get to go on. I'd give about anything to do this again.

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Make sure that THelms sees your best pics!

 

[gonhunting247]

I just got back from probably the best backpack hunt I'll ever get to go on. I'd give about anything to do this again.

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Congrats on a great ram and pic. That's a dream hunt of mine!

 

[Timberstalker]

I wish I were prepared for a overnights on my sheep hunt. Where I had a tag the area had very little water and was pretty steep, It was also in the mid to upper 90’s. There are places I just couldn’t hunt in one day so I never went to those areas. I did end up with a nice ram but the big ones I scouted I never could find. I still wonder if they were in those canyon that were just out of my reach.

Nice ram grizzly!

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I just got back from probably the best backpack hunt I'll ever get to go on. I'd give about anything to do this again.

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Great ram! Congratulations

 

[Predatore]

After years of finding plenty of good animals within a day's walk of roads, I've gotten used to only dayhiking in and going back to camp each night. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I often hunt alone, and have safety concerns with packing out big animals from far in. If I hunted with others, I would have no issue whatsoever backpacking hunting. After all, I backpack for fun in the summer. Now after reading some responses, I might need to branch out a bit, at least for deer hunts.

One valuable piece of info I learned from a friend of mine who is a retired game warden, is that big animals can very easily be found close to the road where nobody thinks to look for them. He kept track of radio collared trophy bucks who would often bed right next to the road, and each year would survive the hunting seasons. Armed with that knowledge, I have made a point not to discount those unsuspecting areas that are rather easy to access.

 

[Ikeepitcold]

I learned that same lesson from Eastmans. Can't remember who it was probably Guy. He said never walk passed a ridge or a bowl on the way to a trail head without checking for animals. They will live there during hunting season because guys will drive rite passed them. There was an episode a few years ago where a staffer killed a great bull in one of these same scenarios. Guys were camped out just below the mountain shooting their guns and causing a ruckus.