?'s about backpack hunting basics

[alexanderg23]

Hey guys I have a couple of questions about backpack hunting. I'm trying to visualize a hunt in my head and I'm wondering what to do.

The scenario I envision is driving to a hunting area access point, parking truck and then hiking in a considerable distance.
Once you get to the general area you want to hunt, set-up a camp and then next days go out from camp and hunt.

One thing that comes to my mind is, do I want to anticipate hunting all day until last light, and then return to camp in the dark or do I want to return before it gets dark. I guess my fear would be having trouble finding my camp in the dark in an area I'm not familiar with. I think this scenario could apply to solo or a small group.

I guess there is also the option of carrying your camp with you and just sleeping around where you end the hunt that day. I guess with GPS you could mark you camp and not have too much trouble finding it, but batteries die and such.

I'm sure it's something that with experience you're level of comfort of retuning to camp in the dark will rise, but I just wanted to see what other do. I know every situation is different, but in general what do y'all plan for?

Thanks in Advance.

 

[realunlucky]

If you don't hunt until last light you miss out on the time animals are moving the most

 

[colonel00]

I guess there is also the option of carrying your camp with you and just sleeping around where you end the hunt that day.

+1 for sleeping around .....sorry, couldn't resist

 

[alexanderg23]

If you don't hunt until last light you miss out on the time animals are moving the most

For sure, and I always do stay until total darkness. I was just thinking do I really want to be out there get turned around have big foot get me... These dang "what's the scariest thing you've seen in the woods" threads don't help my elaborate imagination.

 

[colonel00]

Well, on a more serious note, do you have or plan to use a GPS? That would make it fairly easy to find you camp in the dark

 

[alexanderg23]

Well, on a more serious note, do you have or plan to use a GPS? That would make it fairly easy to find you camp in the dark

I've got an old one that needs to be replaced. This year I'll just be practicing my backpack hunts in AR at places I'm comfortable with, either solo or w/ 1 or 2 other people. In the future I plan to do some hunts out west more than likely with some friends that have more experience than myself. By then I'll have a better GPS, or maybe one of those Delorne INReach.

 

[fillthefreezer]

once you spend some time, out west, youll find the high country would be very difficult to get lost in. hopefully you scout the area so before your hunt comes, youll know it well. either way though, its not like dark timber where if you close your eyes and spin around, youre fawked.
youre camped near a paticular creek, or long ridge, etc, just hit that creek/ridge and walk it up or down....

 

[Browtine]

This year I'll just be practicing my backpack hunts in AR at places I'm comfortable with, either solo or w/ 1 or 2 other people.

If you can tromp around off trail in the heavily timbered mountains of AR and not get lost, you should be fine out west.

 

[MuleyFever]

When bow hunting I dont sit until dark. If I see a deer right before dark I wont be able to make a stalk in time anyway and he will still be around there in the morning anyway. With a gun it is different because it is much easier to get within a few hundred yards in the last minutes of shooting light.

 

[bivouaclarry]

You'll be fine going back in the dark if the weather is good. However, if you get fog/low clouds, heavy rain, ect., the level of difficulty increases significantly. A GPS will tell you where your camp is located. However, the straight line it shows could be over a cliff or across some gnarly deadfall or some other obstacle that will suck to navigate in crappy weather. Always have a topo and compass as backup and know how to use them. The topo will be life saver for naviagtion because in most cases, a straight line back is not feasible.

 

[Trumpkin The Dwarf]

Experience in the mountains is the only way to know your own comfort level. I generally think nothing of 2-4 hours of time spent moving in the dark as the bread of my hunting sandwich. But if you aren't familiar with the area it could be easy to panic. I think most people are quite capable of staying safe in the dark in the back country, provided they keep a cool head.

 

[alexanderg23]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I really appreciate it.

 

[larryschwartz]

You'll be fine going back in the dark if the weather is good. However, if you get fog/low clouds, heavy rain, ect., the level of difficulty increases significantly. A GPS will tell you where your camp is located. However, the straight line it shows could be over a cliff or across some gnarly deadfall or some other obstacle that will suck to navigate in crappy weather. Always have a topo and compass as backup and know how to use them. The topo will be life saver for naviagtion because in most cases, a straight line back is not feasible.

I do all of my navigation with map and compass so that I can plan my route to avoid swamps, cliffs, and such like bivouclarry noted. The only time I use the GPS in my phone (Backcountry Navigator on a Samsung Galaxy S4) is to see where on a ridgeline or hillside I am if I can't triangulate off of a couple of obvious landmarks.

As for your original question, get used to going back in the dark, or spending the night where you are. Again, just use the GPS to see where you are and then use the map to plan your route. Scouting/hunting in a big loop can help you be closer to camp as the dusk approaches; take one ridgeline out in the morning, drop down to the valley and have lunch, then up to another ridgeline for the leg back towards camp.

 

[Stid2677]

When I long range hunt, we use a basecamp we pack in and spike out hunt from there for a day or 2 packing out from the base camp taking only a light tarp tent and qulit to siwash overnight. Then fall back to basecamp to refresh and repeat until successful or out of supplies. I long ago learned to save energy and effort and just be comfortable staying put in place when light fades, leaves me where the game is at first and last light.

 

[alexanderg23]

When I long range hunt, we use a basecamp we pack in and spike out hunt from there for a day or 2 packing out from the base camp taking only a light tarp tent and qulit to siwash overnight. Then fall back to basecamp to refresh and repeat until successful or out of supplies. I long ago learned to save energy and effort and just be comfortable staying put in place when light fades, leaves me where the game is at first and last light.

What type of Quilts are you talking about? What are their benefits over a sleeping bag? Ok I researched them a little. Why are they lighter than sleeping bags? Is it the zipper, they look to be made out of the same material.

 

[larryschwartz]

A quilt is basically a blanket that you tuck under your sleeping pad with straps of some sort. The weight savings comes from not having insulation under you, which gets compressed when you lay on it and therefore is not very effient and therefore extra weight that isn't doing anything for you. If you roll around a lot at night they may not be the best option.

As a compromise, some sleeping bag makers are making SBs with no insulation on the bottom and a slot for your sleeping pad. Big Agnes did or does this.

 

[Gambyt]

One thing that should help you is some preseason scouting. If you can't make a scouting trip before the season try and get out there several days before the season and scout the area you want to hunt to familiarize yourself with the area. A lot of the west has big features, depending on where you are, which gives you bigger landmarks than the east and makes it easier to not get lost.

 

[Elkfitness]

Use a GPS and bring extra batteries. Use your lower light setting on your headlamp to save juice. Like others have said, hunt the magical hour (or 30 min morning and evening) to have the best success. The winds is easier to predict at that point too