Hunting off your back

[trophyhill]

I’ll be doing this for the first time this Fall in 16B NM. Working to reduce pack weight so it’s not miserable, but I’m hoping carrying the extra weight of camp on my back will have some major trade off benefits.

What I’m most looking forward to is not having a 1-3 hour hike/drive back to basecamp at night after legal shooting light ends - AND - I won’t have to repeat that trek in the dark again the next morning. So, even though I’ll be carrying more weight, I’m hoping that I’ll end up reducing the total miles per day by a pretty big number, and hopefully that translates into more stamina and improved mood late in the hunt.

I also hope this means MORE SLEEP! I am perpetually sleep deprived on elk hunts and late in the trip I get cranky and decision making gets foggy, but the deprivation is mostly due to the long trek to and from basecamp. I’m looking forward to getting to bed a lot earlier and sleeping in a lot later in the morning. Maybe I’ll even be able to leisurely eat the rare HOT breakfast instead of a cold granola bar while speed hiking in trying to beat daylight!







You can’t cheat the mountain

Biggest issue is water. Sure there's water in the Gila, how much time do you want to spend getting it also looking like not much rain in site and lotsa sun and heat unfortunately....

 

[Marble]

Biggest issue is water. Sure there's water in the Gila, how much time do you want to spend getting it also looking like not much rain in site and lotsa sun and heat unfortunately....

That is one thing I do think about it. I normally will fill my 3 liter bag and 32 oz nalgene if there is an unknown on where water will be at.

 

[apkleinschmidt]

Out of curiosity, what pack weight do most of you shoot for when doing a 3-day bivy style backcountry hunt? (e.g. 25 lbs, 35 lbs, etc.)

 

[coloyooper]

Out of curiosity, what pack weight do most of you shoot for when doing a 3-day bivy style backcountry hunt? (e.g. 25 lbs, 35 lbs, etc.)

30lb should get you there no problem.

 

[njdoxie]

30lb should get you there no problem.

A gallon of water a day for 3 days is 27 lbs, that’s a lot to start out with. Where I hunt there’s a stream in every drainage BUT all the elk are uphill from the stream and there’s no water besides the stream. So pack weight goes up quick when you add food and other necessities to the 27 #, it quickly becomes daunting....now if you can count on finding water while you hunt, that greatly reduces the water u need to carry and pack weight goes way down.

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[FlyGuy]

This gets into “what counts” in your pack weight. Seen this discussion many times and there are many ways to do it.

For me, my base weight is going to come in around 30lbs of pack weight. This number will change a little based on decisions on what to include to account for temperature, precipitation, and choice of optics, or ability to split weight with a partner on duplicates.

This does not include bow (~8lbs) or bino harness (4lb 9oz)weight.

Does not include water. Typically carrying between 32- 64 oz.

Add 1.25 - 1.5 lbs of food for everyday of hunting.





You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Marble]

Out of curiosity, what pack weight do most of you shoot for when doing a 3-day bivy style backcountry hunt? (e.g. 25 lbs, 35 lbs, etc.)

Mine normally run around 40. But I do not get lots of lite weight stuff.

My tent, pack, bag and pad are right around 10#. About 1.5 ish for food per day. Sometimes I'll pack in a few baked potatoes, pre made/cooked and wrapped with butter and bacon. I'l eat some the first night, save the rest for when I'm grouchy and tired.

I also usually bring a big steak for the first or second night. I don't mind packing in some heavy stuff that's food related that are high energy things to boost the mood.

I also pack a 16oz plastic water bottle, full of whiskey. I make it last...

I shoot every grouse I can. Clean when I have extra water and begin marinating it immediately.

If I kill an animal, I will eat a fairly large meal of meat back at camp.

 

[Josh24wedding]

Been wondering about this question also would like to have the option never been hunting in the backcountry out west. But trying to be ready for anything.

 

[Eastman528]

Typically I will pack in somewhere and drop my camp or sleep system and hunt 1-3 miles from my camp making it relatively easy to pick up camp and move to a new location. That being said I did hunt with camp on my back for 3 nights over labor day weekend archery hunting elk in Idaho last season. The primary reason I did this is it was more of a scouting trip where I was still trying to locate elk so I wanted to be mobile. Later in the season with my hunting partner we packed in 5 miles and dropped camp, we put in some long days and at one point hiking back to camp in the dark we both wished we had brought camp with us. To answer your original question I think aside from logistics and having the right pack the most important items to make this style of hunting successful would be a light weight and packable sleep system (since you will have it on your back every day) and planning your meals as to not carry extra weight.

 

[Lambchop]

I think hunting off your back or having a spike camp and hunting from that location is a personal preference. Neither is wrong or one better than the other. Hunting off your back may be easier if you really know the area and can split gear between 2 or 3 people. Like others have said if you are gaining a lot of elevation, unsure about water, and in terrain that may be dangerous that heavy pack can beat you up quick. It’s all about learning your skill set, what your body can handle and making the best out of it. I can say for a fact if I am carrying camp on my back I don’t click those miles off as quick. Sometimes less is more and more is less. It’s all a matter of who you ask.

 

[walleye26]

I'm not tough enough to pull it off. If I need to I like to haul whatever I need into a spike camp that I return to each day. My preference is to hunt out of a truck and let it serve as my base camp. That way I can pack more than I need and all my potential contingencies are covered without the weight penalty of having to carry all my gear with me. Then I set out each day from base camp light and fast. In my mind it makes it much easier for me to haul back meat.

 

[snowgoose02]

I like to choose a spike camp location that is in or near the epicenter of where I want to do the majority of my hunting. Leave most of the bulky items and extras at camp and day hunt or bivy hunt from that location. Only stay out overnight if I have to, but have just enough gear with me to do so, that way I'm traveling relatively light or moderately heavy most of the time.

 

[commandoNate]

I did this for the first time last season and really enjoyed the freedom of being able to hunt an area until dark and not have to hike out/hike in in the pre and post dawn hours. Then starting my hunt at daylight with my pack loaded was nice too. I was doing just a couple nights and making a loop then relocating the vehicle (base camp) to another spot. After a week of this (and a few days off at home) I did more of a base camp/spike camp trip. The lighter day pack was really nice. But realistically my shelter, sleeping bag and 3 days of food is only about 15#. That's not that much of a hindrance.

 

[BrokenArrow]

My main goal is to hike-in base at the sweet spot between road hunters and horse packers. Set a location to spike out of.
There is usually a zone where road hunters (who are limited) will go and the 8-10 miles out that the horse guys will be able to get to with ease.
This usually includes steep as hell drainage's and non-trail areas. Almost guaranteed by the second week of bow season those other two groups will push elk into nasty ass spots. By hiking in a base camp 2-4 miles (45# base weight), it allows me to hunt around the base area 3-4 miles in any direction and spike with a paratarp, stove, Peak freeze dried meal (20# base weight), and hopefully some grouse meat every night and not have to return to base.
A base spot also allows you to stage hiking out a downed animal. It gives friends a spot to hike into if you need help, cause its usually right next to a significant stream or landmark. I try to pick one that has fishing as well. Needless to say, I don't carry a lot of protein into the backcountry, except for old trapper jerky. I'll never be able to quit that stuff!

 

[BradNSW]

Same MO as SnowGoose and BrokenArrow. Hike in (35-40lb pack). Set up camp. Rotate hunting quadrants around this camp for 3-4 days, thoroughly cover several folds, and terrain features in a quadrant/drainage, looking for sign and occasionally calling. I carry the almost empty pack while hunting, with a kill kit, water and empty bottles, light bivy bag and rain gear.

No elk in quadrant A, I head back to spike camp, filtering water into empty collapsible bottles. Gets me a full night sleep each night with minimal hiking with the FULL 35lb pack. Repeat quadrants B-D. No action by day 3-4 move spike camp to another drainage. Do this twice and it's back to momma in the trailer. Rest, eat well, shower grab more food and repeat in a new drainage.

First 7-8 days I'm holding out for bull only. Second 7-8 push, I'm shooting bull or cow. Using this MO, I'm hunting from sunrise to sunset. I've had just as many encounters still hunting the thick stuff mid day as I've had early morning or late afternoon. Seems to me bulls do a mid-day stretch/feed around mid-day...had some nice ones walk right by still hunting this time of day, in thick cover.

 

[FlyGuy]

I'm not tough enough to pull it off. If I need to I like to haul whatever I need into a spike camp that I return to each day. My preference is to hunt out of a truck and let it serve as my base camp. That way I can pack more than I need and all my potential contingencies are covered without the weight penalty of having to carry all my gear with me. Then I set out each day from base camp light and fast. In my mind it makes it much easier for me to haul back meat.

My issue with this is that after 2-3 days in one location I have probably pushed out any elk from the immediate vicinity. I’m sure we will do this whenever possible, but no way I can imagine we would be in the same spot for 7-8 days and still be into elk. Anyhow, we are going to plan to move every night (so that we pack extra light with very few comfort items or just in case stuff), but if we can stay a few nights in one place that is holding elk then we will take advantage of it.





You can’t cheat the mountain

 

[Cornbore]

For me the worst part of a hunt is the hike back to camp in dark rough country. Well worth it for me to carry an extra 10 pounds and stay were I end up. As long as it isn’t to cold I can keep my pack weight down and save on the most grueling part of my hunt the hikes to and from camp. I would rather hunt morning and evening and go back to camp to resupply during midday than be killing myself in the dark .

 

[trophyhill]

I'm not tough enough to pull it off. If I need to I like to haul whatever I need into a spike camp that I return to each day. My preference is to hunt out of a truck and let it serve as my base camp. That way I can pack more than I need and all my potential contingencies are covered without the weight penalty of having to carry all my gear with me. Then I set out each day from base camp light and fast. In my mind it makes it much easier for me to haul back meat.

Good plan man. This is what I will be doing this year, and have done in recent years. It helps that there have been elk between me and my truck camp. I'm taking a Ribeye or 3 for truck camp

 

[chindits]

Never really thought of this. I live here so I don’t feel the need to carry camp with me when I hunt. I pack into where the elk are and hunt there. I don’t have the concept that the elk will disappear from where I have packed in to hunt. The one time the elk totally left the area was when it was crawling with bears. It took me two weekends to be convinced the elk had vacated. So I just started hunting another area I knew the elk were. Luckily it was archery so I had that time for weekend hunts before the week long push. I don’t think most of the country I hunt is conducive to hauling a camp through while hunting. There are certain places I need to be at day break that would really be hard to get to with more than hunting and survival gear. Maybe wolves will change that in the next 10 years, but for now I pack into where the elk are and then hunt them with as little on my back as possible. I guess I’m old school, I have been backpack hunting that way since the 90s not counting the deployment years.

 

[chindits]

I usually camp a terrain feature away from where I am actually hunting. Kind of more like a patrol base than an objective rally point though . I don’t actually ever set up camp right where the critters are so another reason I don’t carry camp when I hunt. Some areas it’s 30 minutes away and elsewhere it’s more than an hour all uphill. Water is never an issue. Either I have it at camp or I know where to get 2 liters on the way back to camp and that will carry me through to the next day.