Regardless of where or how one hunts, there is a certain amount of utility that can be enjoyed when hunting undisturbed animals, away from competition. My own preference is the places that simply take too long for most to hunt effectively. These places, many far from the boundaries of wilderness areas, are often visible from roads. The main requirement is travel time, if it can’t be reached in a reasonable amount of time it will simply be passed over for more accessible haunts. Think about it this way, if the sun is coming up at 6:00 am, and setting at 7:00 P.M., there are 13 good hours of daylight to work with. The normal hunter goes between 1 and 2 miles per hour when hiking off trail, a real animal can stretch it towards 3, occasionally even 4.
If a place is three or four miles distant, the normal competitor will take between an hour and a half and four hours to get there. And the same to get back. A slow goer will be putting in 13 hours of hunting and at least six of hiking. That leaves five hours to eat dinner, sleep, wake up and get dressed – plus the commute. I know a few gents that are up to this kind of grind, and can do it at an unrelenting pace- but it is something that is relegated to the double tough amongst us. While these guys are tough as nails, they can still be outperformed. For those willing to show up a little early and take a few extra pounds of gear, all the commuting is cut out of the equation. Instead of a grueling hike every morning and night is a cozy sleeping bag and a warm meal, with plenty of time left over to scrutinize the maps for a potential gold mine after the sun sets.
Packed right, a hunter can be comfortable, and have short hikes to glassing points, allowing all day hunting, more rest, and generally more success. A small camp will provide the requisite shelter, and a base to hunt out of for day hunts. This means that just about any hunter can take their time getting into the right country and hunt fresh every single day. So what does it take?
I break my gear into three main categories, life support, navigation, and hunting. Life support items include: clothing, sleep system, tent, food, water, and first aid. Navigation is crucial as it shows how to access the country, how to move within it, where to find water, and for a keen student of maps - where the animals should be. This includes a 7.5 minute topo maps, BLM or Forest Service maps, a compass, and a GPS. Hunting gear being the weapon of choice and extra ammunition or arrows, tripod, binoculars with a tripod adapter, and a spotting scope.
The next string of articles will deal with the categories, and the gear that comprises them, with the potential for some tangents into specific materials and situation specific recommendations. I will also include links to manufacturers that I feel make the right stuff for your further investigation. For many of these items, I can be contacted to round them up, as not only do I eat sleep and breath backcountry hunting, I am in the backcountry gear business.
