Bivy Campsite

[SouthernHunter]

What do you look for in a bivy Campsite? I am just wondering if there are little things your look for when picking a campsite during a bivy hunt. I am in the process of planning my first elk hunt, and plan on doing a mixture of base camp at the truck and bivy hunting. Looking at maps I was just trying to plan out some good spots for a camp, and I know there are probably some things I should be looking for that I am not.

 

[go4thegusto]

A flat spot...unbelievable how hard that is sometimes.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Exactly why I went to the hammock.

 

[justinspicher]

Close to water. It sucks making a ton of trips back and forth.

 

[bhylton]

distance from hunting area and wind are important. you don't want your camp in a place where afternoon or nightime thermals are going to carry your camp sent up into or down into your hunting area. distance to water as mentioned also. i would rather be a mile further from my hunting spot and have unlimited water than closer and not have any

 

[oldgoat]

Someplace with no widow makers!

 

[TJ]

All the above. Well, except I don't use a hammock!

 

[BroodBuster]

Someplace with no widow makers!

....and no sign of lightning strikes!

 

[bowtech3dhunter]

I like setting up camp near water as well. Besides drinking, moving water is loud and covers up any noise that you might make in camp. I've often had elk come right by my camp.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Jimss]

Are you talking about a true bivy hunt where you carry camp on your back and set up an ultra light bivy camp where you end up that particular night? I would highly recommend a base camp you backpack into and return to camp every night. The learning curve for true bivy hunting is super high and may end in frustration! You will likely stay a lot more comfortable and learn a great deal about what to bring and what to leave at the truck if you hunt out of a backpack base camp. Most guys bring WAY to much stuff on their first trip. If you bivy hunt you are pretty much trying to haul your camp on your back while hunting every day. I've found it is super tough to hunt effectively this way....and I've been hunting for over 45 years!

 

[Jimss]

Another suggestion is to possibly try at least 1 bivy or base camp backpack trip during the summer months. You can possibly scout things out (water sources, access issues, camp locations, what to bring/leave at home, etc) on a trial trip so you know what you are up against. It will save you a lot of time and make your actual hunt run smoother.

 

[justinspicher]

Are you talking about a true bivy hunt where you carry camp on your back and set up an ultra light bivy camp where you end up that particular night? I would highly recommend a base camp you backpack into and return to camp every night. The learning curve for true bivy hunting is super high and may end in frustration! You will likely stay a lot more comfortable and learn a great deal about what to bring and what to leave at the truck if you hunt out of a backpack base camp. Most guys bring WAY to much stuff on their first trip. If you bivy hunt you are pretty much trying to haul your camp on your back while hunting every day. I've found it is super tough to hunt effectively this way....and I've been hunting for over 45 years!

I wish they would've have this thought process when I first joined the army. I was going floorless and doing bivy hunting way before I ever hunted. I also carried a bunch of dumb shit for no reason as well.

 

[William Hanson (live2hunt)]

Mostly what I'm looking for in a bivy site is easy access in the morning to a 430" bull, I've never found that in a bivy site but I'll keep looking.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[SouthernHunter]

Thanks for the responses guys. I guess really I will be doing more of a base camp than true bivy hunting. I am willing to do true bivy hunting, but it really depends on how the spots I am picking turn out, and if we can get on elk. I just know there will be huge learning curve for me, and I am wanting to gather as much information as possible. I would love to do a scouting trip in the summer, but doubt it will be possible my wife is due with our 4th at the end of June. Once again thanks, and if you have any other advice I am always open to new knowledge.

 

[ndbwhunter]

Here's another question too keep this going. How far from you hunting area do you camp? I ask this because one of the spots I hunt is only 1.25 miles from the road, but I don't like hiking in every morning. There are a few ridgelines that intersect and form a "T" about 1,000ft above the road. The past few seasons I've camped right on the ridgeline and literally had a 5 minutes hike to start glassing. The elk were also crossing the ridgelines to access north and south facing timber, and east or west facing drainages.

I have yet to find the perfect camping spot that is away from the elk, near water, and won't require a long hike every morning. Would I be better off staying halfway between the road and camping spot, or camping beyond the hunting area and making the short hike down in the mornings? My biggest concern is spooking the elk. I have to drop elevation to get water and hunt, so camping near water isn't a big deal.

 

[MtnHunter]

All the advice above is GREAT!

When bivying, sometimes I find myself in a place where it's hard to get away from the elk right at night. In that case, I'll do like bowtech3dhunter recommends, and set up close to moving water to help mask sound, as well as well as to draw your scent down the water, as opposed to floating around the area with changing wind and thermals throughout the night. If my scent is going to be in the elk all night, I'd at least like it to be going in a steady direction, as opposed to floating all over the place.

I know some people camp on ridges to glass directly from there at first and last light. For those of you who do this, have you ever had issues with lightening? I've been camping at the bottom of deep valleys and still had lighting blowing up all around me at night, so in those situations, I can't imagine being on top of the ridge!

 

[njdoxie]

I camp close to a stream and the gurgling noise starts to get on my nerves after a few days, but I keep camping there for the access to water, it's just soo convenient. Not to mention bigfoot could come thru my camp and I couldn't hear due to water noise, but it's good problem to have and bigfoot hasn't stepped on me yet. There are dead aspens all around which worries me. Elk are about 1.5 miles away which I like, there's not many elk and if I spook those, don't know where I'd find more. I don't have to worry about noise or scent or anything where I'm camped, but it could be flatter. I always think about camping closer to the elk, but I'm paranoid about spooking them.

 

[lintond]

As mentioned above access to water is key to me. What I have found is that mentally I start to conserve water when I have to hike to it, and therefore don't drink enough. I've found this is a big problem with energy and recovery from hiking. When I camp by water I force myself to down a nalgene with dinner and breakfast to help keep me hydrated.

 

[CrzyTrekker]

A flat spot...unbelievable how hard that is sometimes.

+1

Even worse is finding yourself in a basin with domestic cattle and fresh cow pies everywhere.