Hunting pack weight

[Thor0331]

What's a good weight to shoot to stay under or around for backcountry hunt pack weight? I know each situation is different but just wanted to know if any of you experienced hunters have a rule of thumb to go by..

I'm leaving for my scouting trip tomorrow. Spending about three days in the mountains and I'm bringing a scale just to see where I'm at before I step off. My rifle is about 13lbs scoped and I'll be hunting Elk so I want to be a light as possible. Taking in a Kifaru Reckoning pack so I can pretty much stuff my whole closet in it which makes it tough because I want to take everything with me.

I've heard around 50lbs but I think I'm around 55-60lbs without my rifle depending on how much water and food I have. Any input is appreciated

 

[kickemall]

That's a brutally heavy rifle. For three days I'd be under forty lbs., rifle, food and a full water bladder included. Your doing the right thing scouting first because you'll see what you need and what you don't and next time you'll leave everything but the essentials.

 

[snowtoy83]

Last year I was at 44lbs not including my bow for a 4 day trip

 

[greyghostnw]

mine varies.... i carry 12-15 pounds in camera gear/optics so mine is always more even in day mode. i never count my rifle or bow, not going on a drop hunt in a plane where it counts on weight for transport..... there is a argument if it counts but mainly i carry in hand. with water and food et.... i usually am at 42-45 pounds pending on food needs for length of time. honestly budget will dictate your pack weight as light gear is $$$. all of our needs are different as far as must haves but for one who is not bringing optics, tri pod, spotter, dslr etc.... 30's is pretty easy for 3 days, and thats being comfy. good luck. imop who cares what others are doing.... just get out and learn as you go. its all trial and error and you will be better for you in doing so.... good luck.

 

[Thor0331]

That's a brutally heavy rifle. For three days I'd be under forty lbs., rifle, food and a full water bladder included. Your doing the right thing scouting first because you'll see what you need and what you don't and next time you'll leave everything but the essentials.

Okay thanks. Yeah it's not exactly an ideal rifle for hunting but it was either buy another rifle strictly for hunting or a solid pack.

 

[Thor0331]

mine varies.... i carry 12-15 pounds in camera gear/optics so mine is always more even in day mode. i never count my rifle or bow, not going on a drop hunt in a plane where it counts on weight for transport..... there is a argument if it counts but mainly i carry in hand. with water and food et.... i usually am at 42-45 pounds pending on food needs for length of time. honestly budget will dictate your pack weight as light gear is $$$. all of our needs are different as far as must haves but for one who is not bringing optics, tri pod, spotter, dslr etc.... 30's is pretty easy for 3 days, and thats being comfy. good luck. imop who cares what others are doing.... just get out and learn as you go. its all trial and error and you will be better for you in doing so.... good luck.

Right on. Thanks for the advice

 

[7-Pointers]

For what it's worth, my own budget and comfort levels typically have me shooting for 30 pounds (3 day trip) without water (since that varies a lot per trip) and without anything I'm carrying on my body being counted (I don't count bow or bino's since I carry/wear them). With a total pack weight in the lower 30's I can basically forget that I'm wearing it, at 40lbs or above my body is reminding me pretty frequently that I'm carrying extra weight as I try to balance over boulders or sit/stand etc. I tune the comfort items to make sure I stay in the range where i can basically forget my pack is on depending on the length of the trip. Some of my own extras that come and go to tune the weight are camp shoes, collapsable saw for firewood, extra knives, fishing gear.

Last note is that tuning my packlist and getting as efficient with weight is at least 50% of the fun for me as I get to think about it all year round! Enjoy the process of learning and optimizing if you can!

 

[paleraider]

For me for a 4 day trip with water, camera, and all gear except a weapon I am at 43 lbs. I could go a few pounds less if I go with a tarp instead of a tut for a tent. That said I am not a big ounce counter. I spend more time trying to shed my winter girth then cutting down every possible ounce off of my pack.

 

[Akicita]

This is my 10 day late season high country load out with 8 days of food and 2.5 liters of water - around 68 pounds.

P.S. My rifle weighs 14.75 pounds which is still 1.75 pounds lighter than the M40A variants I carried in the Marine Corp.

 

[Yellowknife]

I aim for high 20's for gear weight + 7 lbs of rifle. Next week I expect to be at 34-35 lbs combined when I load the pack and strap the gun on. Add food at 1.7 lbs/day after that and + a couple liters of water for final weight. Usually end up walking off with just under 50 lbs for a 6-7 day hunt. I'll likely be at 55 lbs or so next week packed for 11 days but sharing some camp gear. Solo or late season adds about 2-3 more lbs.

Recently did on comparison to my current pack weight from 2010 and 11. Almost nothing has changed. As I slowly upgraded to lighter gear in some areas, I also tended to add better optics that offset all the gains. Packing list hasn't changed in any significant way though.

Main thing though isn't the oz counting. I certainly don't have all the lighest coolest stuff. Main thing is just learning what you can live without. The lightest piece of gear is the one you leave at home. Booze, ipods, camp shoes, books, extra clothes, spare or redundant anything... all adds up.

 

[rgrmike]

I'm a military guy as well and carried a 12lb rifle around for 2 seasons. Never again. I have a tendency to build a rifle for the possibility that I'll be taking a long shot. Realistically you need a 400yd rifle. I had to shoot a Mountain Lion last year at extremely close range and my long range rig was useless. Take a rifle for 90% of the shots you'll make...250yds and under. You can get a Tikka and some decent glass for well under 1K and I think you'll be a whole lot happier. It depends on the duration of the trip and the season/weather but I think I'll be under 60lbs this year and that for water and all.

 

[mvmnts]

With all of my gear, bow, tripod, glass, I am right at 30lbs. Not including food or water. I can't really get much below that for a 7 day hunt. That puts me around 45lbs total. Judging by what I see on here, that's pretty good, but I'm not looking forward to hauling that around everywhere.

 

[mrbillbrown]

Im at 27#14 oz for everything minus food and water. (Archery elk in CO). It's my gear for 3-10 days. Only thing that changes is food and water amounts.

 

[rgrmike]

I'm going to have to weigh my setup. I've been making an effort to try and reduce weight. I think I'll have to weigh it minus water and food. I guess weapon can be left out also as that changes with the season. 27# sounds pretty good especially if that's including a bow.