Unlimited Hunt Gear Help

[PresRB]

Hi all, I’ve always wanted to hunt bighorn and after a lot of research, I’ve decided to go all in on the Unlimited hunt. I won’t be doing it this year since I tore my ACL over the winter and can’t trust it yet/get in the shape I need to be in, but I’m hoping to begin the journey in 1.5-2.5 years. I’m preparation for that, I’ve been wanting to upgrade my gear to be ready for the conditions. I know I need to upgrade my tent, and that’s where I need help. I know a lot of the units are definitely September hunts, but 502 is more of a November hunt. I don’t know what unit I want to focus on yet, but if I go with 502, would you recommend getting a stove and a tent compatible with a stove, or is that completely unnecessary?


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[B_Reynolds_AK]

I’d suggest participating in the forum, building relationships and offering value before expecting help with the Unlimited’s with your first post.

If your “All in”on something, that denotes effort. Follow the tips outlined above and you might, over time, gain some insight on tactics for what your asking.

 

[PresRB]

I’d suggest participating in the forum, building relationships and offering value before expecting help with the Unlimited’s with your first post.

That’s fair, I understand where you’re coming from and I know that any information regarding the Unlimited’s is held very close to the chest. I wasn’t expecting any information crucial to the area or the sheep or anything of that sort, I was just wondering if a stove would be a necessity and I didn’t realize that was an issue, but I can see now how it could be. I don’t really have value or information to add about sheep as a whole as I’m still trying to learn, and I understand that this is a forum where you need to add value and value will be given back, so I’ll do more research on my own and figure out what’s best for me. Thank you for helping me realize this.

 

[funkafied]

I'm doing my first Unlimited hunt this year and will be scouting and testing gear from June to September. If you check back in a couple months I'd be happy to share my opinions on shelters. I'll be testing some freestanding tents and a couple tipi/stove options. My pre-trip intuition says that it will mostly depend on your fitness. Stove would be awesome in November, but the country is no joke and weight will be the end all and be all.

Wholeheartedly agree with B_Reynolds_AK (take a look through his profile and you'll get a fantastic example of the wealth of knowledge that people freely share here). Never hurts to ask though! Stay humble, ask questions, and share the knowledge you have (even if it's not about sheep!).

 

[realunlucky]

I know nothing about 502, but yes a stove is the way to go in November.

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[PresRB]

Thank you all for the advice! I’ll make sure to be a part of the community and answer questions where I can before I ask for advice of my own. I’ll do more digging and research to go along with that and try to use and share that knowledge if any comes up. The idea of testing equipment throughout the year is a great idea and I’ll start implementing that next year, it won’t hurt to have equipment even if it wouldn’t work for the specific hunt.

 

[funkafied]

For the record, I'm 12 months out from new ACL and meniscus repair so happy to chat about my training plan (and if it pans out!) when the time comes as well. Good luck with your recovery.

 

[PNWGATOR]

I’ve never hunted the Unlimiteds, so take this for what it’s worth…

Personally, a hot tent is a game changer when you need to dry clothes and pass long nights hooched up during late season hunts. That said, I’m not sure I’d want to pay the weight penalty if I were going solo. A solid clothing system and sleep system will allow you to stay comfortable and get dry.

There is a ton of knowledge on this forum and keep digging around and you’ll find the answers to your gear questions.

 

[GoatBoat218]

I used my Big Agnes Copper Spur in 502. Worked great, especially when you set it up in the motel room in Red Lodge.

 

[6.5x284]

Be aware some places you may camp won’t have the wood around needed for a hot tent setup anyway. Either plan your hunt around areas you know you can get wood for the hot tent or swap stove weight for a beefier shelter. A late summer scout trip would help you narrow the his down pretty quick.


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[alexanderg23]

I had a full ACL done last Oct. I bet you’ll be fine this year.

 

[wyogoat]

I haven’t hunted the Unlimiteds yet but will next year with one or two scouting trips this late summer. I have hunted sheep in Wyoming and done lots of remote backpack deer hunts in Wyoming and I think a stove is a good thing to have. Mid September can be unforgiving up high and I’ve been snowed in and cold rained in on a few occasions. There’s a weight penalty but there’s something to be said for keeping morale up when the weather is tough. My approach is a stove and a good book or kindle is worth the weight to stick through those couple days of bad weather.
There was some good advice above in that be sure you will have access to wood and that’s another thing to scout for if you pack in the stove. And for info purposes I went with the Luxe stove and it’s fine but there are a lot of good ones.
I think you’re on the right track to get your gear list planned in advance and I didn’t see that you asked for anything that should illicit a negative response, like asking for gps coordinates of a legal ram, so keep researching and think about your game plan and what you’re willing to endure.

 

[PresRB]

Thank you all for your input on this, I really appreciate this community helping me even though I haven’t provided my share. I definitely have a lot to think about regarding gear, and I’ll take all of your input into consideration on whether I want to take the weight penalty and be more comfortable/keep my morale, or if I should invest more on high performance clothing. Just by putting numbers in a spreadsheet, I’ve found that a lot of my weight in my pack is consumed by my shelter and sleep system, and I believe that to be true for most people when they’re trying to reduce pack weight. I may be able to eliminate some of that weight to make up for having a stove and stove compatible tent, or if I don’t bring a stove I’ll just have an overall lighter pack, which wouldn’t be a negative. Going through this gear research process I’ve gained quite a bit of knowledge on gear, not personal knowledge but testimonials, and if anyone is interested in what I’ve been looking at for certain categories of gear, I’d love to share what I’ve learned so far. I know with the stove, I’ll continue to go back and forth on it until I actually spend time in the area that I want to hunt, so I’m hoping to get over there for some scouting this year and next.

I’d also like to say that I’m impressed by how many people are recovering from knee surgery and are going to turn around and do this hunt, it is incredibly admirable and inspiring. I hope the best of luck to everyone doing this hunt and that you all remain safe and are successful.


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