10+ Mile Days

[roosiebull]

Apparently on the gram the only distance is 10 miles.
I stepped out of the tipi 10 miles at midnight to P...

Apparently there's a badge of honor for going harder not smarter.

Five miles total is a solid for me!

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to me "smarter" is staying among elk all season until you get one killed, distance doesn't matter much to me unless i have a bull to pack out by myself. 10 miles total in a day isn't a tough day imo (not all miles are created equal, i understand that well)

i could have a day covering 25 miles by foot, and never be in a situation where i would have to pack one more than 3 miles.

if i'm not finding elk, i'm walking until i do.... that adds up to a lot of walking a lot of days.... for now, distance isn't a limitation i have... in the future, i will re-strategize when distance does become a limitation.

i'm actually really surprised on a western based forum that so many think 10 miles total in a day is almost unreasonable

 

[roosiebull]

People that achieve these distances must have 30in waists and ankles of iron.

maybe that's my trick

 

[roosiebull]

The one thing I've learned hunting for dang near 50 years in probably a dozen states is :
S L O W D O W N.

if there are no elk or very fresh sign, slowing down is just hoping to get dumb lucky imo.... it happens, and i do bump some elk on occasion between areas, but if i slow down, there needs to be a reason.

hear a lot of the same blacktail hunting... people claiming if you walk over a mile, you're going too fast.... is it better to slow down and hunt smarter or do what ya gotta do to get stuff killed?

slowing down has it's merit at times, but i'm not creeping through a bunch of country void of critters.... i'm always in a hurry to find a reason to slow down.

a little perspective.... blacktail season, it's my chillout wind down season after running around in the brush for a month chasing bulls, a chillout day is still often over 15 miles of walking, blacktail hunting i'm usually covering country on logging roads, and generally don't focus on any areas that are closer than 3 miles from the gate (whatever gate that may be) let's say an average day, hike in 3.5 miles in the dark to some glassing point... let's say that's an hour walk.... glass the cut you start at for 2 hours, and then go check another 3/4 mile down the road... don't see a buck, but you see a couple does and some good buck sign... walk back out, go home and chill for a couple hours, walk back in around 3pm, it's a 4.5 mile walk, an hour and a half walk, glass until dark, and walk back out.... very average day deer hunting, seriously not a grueling day... 20lb pack and 7lb rifle. i walk more miles deer hunting than elk hunting, but they are pretty easy miles in comparison, mostly walking gated logging roads.... those are well over 10 mile days, and they are not difficult days, and it doesn't matter how far i walk in and kill a deer, because it's only one trip out heavy.

my sister in law, who isn't the pinnacle of fitness killed her buck 4.2 miles from the pickup, and she was tired when we got back, but not too bad... of course i packed her whole buck out for her, but she did the miles, and that was the first day of a 3 day grind of dragging a 16yr old girl all over the mountains during youth season and my sis in law.... they got tired (won't state the gps miles we covered that weekend, but we did some walkin') but they were able to do it.

i used to use a game cart on most deer... drag them up to the closest road, go get the game cart, and roll it out.... kill one on that program on an afternoon hunt after hunting the morning too, by the time you get home, it's gonna probably be a 20 mile day.

by November, my legs just don't get tired if i'm not packing meat.... pretty bulletproof legs by then. i do live an active lifestyle and spend a lot of days in the woods all year, but it would take a pretty steep 10 miles to make 10 miles feel like a hard day if you aren't packing meat, or at least camp.

 

[FLATHEAD]

if there are no elk or very fresh sign, slowing down is just hoping to get dumb lucky imo.... it happens, and i do bump some elk on occasion between areas, but if i slow down, there needs to be a reason.

hear a lot of the same blacktail hunting... people claiming if you walk over a mile, you're going too fast.... is it better to slow down and hunt smarter or do what ya gotta do to get stuff killed?

slowing down has it's merit at times, but i'm not creeping through a bunch of country void of critters.... i'm always in a hurry to find a reason to slow down.

a little perspective.... blacktail season, it's my chillout wind down season after running around in the brush for a month chasing bulls, a chillout day is still often over 15 miles of walking, blacktail hunting i'm usually covering country on logging roads, and generally don't focus on any areas that are closer than 3 miles from the gate (whatever gate that may be) let's say an average day, hike in 3.5 miles in the dark to some glassing point... let's say that's an hour walk.... glass the cut you start at for 2 hours, and then go check another 3/4 mile down the road... don't see a buck, but you see a couple does and some good buck sign... walk back out, go home and chill for a couple hours, walk back in around 3pm, it's a 4.5 mile walk, an hour and a half walk, glass until dark, and walk back out.... very average day deer hunting, seriously not a grueling day... 20lb pack and 7lb rifle. i walk more miles deer hunting than elk hunting, but they are pretty easy miles in comparison, mostly walking gated logging roads.... those are well over 10 mile days, and they are not difficult days, and it doesn't matter how far i walk in and kill a deer, because it's only one trip out heavy.

my sister in law, who isn't the pinnacle of fitness killed her buck 4.2 miles from the pickup, and she was tired when we got back, but not too bad... of course i packed her whole buck out for her, but she did the miles, and that was the first day of a 3 day grind of dragging a 16yr old girl all over the mountains during youth season and my sis in law.... they got tired (won't state the gps miles we covered that weekend, but we did some walkin') but they were able to do it.

i used to use a game cart on most deer... drag them up to the closest road, go get the game cart, and roll it out.... kill one on that program on an afternoon hunt after hunting the morning too, by the time you get home, it's gonna probably be a 20 mile day.

by November, my legs just don't get tired if i'm not packing meat.... pretty bulletproof legs by then. i do live an active lifestyle and spend a lot of days in the woods all year, but it would take a pretty steep 10 miles to make 10 miles feel like a hard day if you aren't packing meat, or at least camp.

Stud alert!!

 

[5MilesBack]

People that achieve these distances must have 30in waists and ankles of iron.

I have a 36" waist........but you're focusing on the wrong measurement......my inseam is 38". Covering ground every day is NOT one of my weaknesses.

 

[Southforkguy]

Most of these guys are so full of spit their eyes are brown. 3 miles in to hunt tells me your camping in the wrong spot. I have the 10 mile a day buddies and the same guys pack out an elk in 3 loads.... ya ok

 

[SWOHTR]

Most of these guys are so full of spit their eyes are brown. 3 miles in to hunt tells me your camping in the wrong spot. I have the 10 mile a day buddies and the same guys pack out an elk in 3 loads.... ya ok

I thought we packed it out in one load? Isn’t that what we strive for?

 

[5MilesBack]

3 miles in to hunt tells me your camping in the wrong spot.

If you have multiple spots in a unit that you hunt that are all 1/2 mile to 3+ miles in but a few to several miles apart, where exactly is the "right" spot to camp? Personally, I choose a camp site that's most central to all of those spots. And some of those spots tend to set up better as a morning hunt, and some set up better as an evening hunt because of the thermals.....so there's reason as to when I pick each to hunt, and how I hunt them. My buddy refers to each of them as par 3's, par 4's, or par 5's, depending on how far in and tough they are.

If people think 10 miles in a day is so difficult, I'll really blow some minds now. Sometimes......after one of those 5-6 mile mornings, I go back to camp and change and am on the river fly fishing for a couple hours and back in camp in time for lunch. And then out again for the evening hunt. There have been times where my buddy and I hunted, fished, and got a round of golf in all in the same day. And the average golf course is 4+ miles by itself. This thread has got me wondering........just how the heck most guys hunt. I have no idea now.

 

[PMcGee]

I’d say we average 6/7 miles a day but a 10 mile day isn’t unheard of. It doesn’t take much to walk 10 miles in a full day of hunting.


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[Alvie]

her

I have a 36" waist........but you're focusing on the wrong measurement......my inseam is 38". Covering ground every day is NOT one of my weaknesses.

Staying behind this dude! He would step on me and never know it.

 

[Moserkr]

All depends on the hunt. In a new area just trying to locate animals, hunting blind, 10 miles isnt hard just going non-stop, slow all day, on/off trail. Id prefer to use my eyes but not always possible

For a few of my muley spots I will do 5 miles on a trail in 2 hours just to get to where they live, hunt within a mile of there, then 5 miles back if its just for the day. Missed a big buck that way and that walk back sucked…

Still hunting from the truck is always fun in good areas. Filled plenty of tags just going a few miles a day. Packed out my grandpas elk 400 yards from the atv, uphill both ways, definitely, seriously, not on a nice trail.

 

[roosiebull]

Most of these guys are so full of spit their eyes are brown. 3 miles in to hunt tells me your camping in the wrong spot. I have the 10 mile a day buddies and the same guys pack out an elk in 3 loads.... ya ok

the other end of the spectrum... a lot of the replies in this thread make me understand why success rates are generally so low

 

[ridgefire]

Different strokes for different folks. About the only time I'm not moving while elk hunting is if I'm set up on a bull or I'm taking a break to eat. Most days I will take a little break/nap from 2pm-4pm or so. My older brother can get into area and hunt it all day where I might be thru that area in less than a hour. We both kill elk but two different styles of hunting.

 

[WHI13tan]

Buddy and I did 7 miles on average in Colorado trying to find the elk.


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[Southforkguy]

the other end of the spectrum... a lot of the replies in this thread make me understand why success rates are generally so low

Well if that's what works on the coast all the more power to you. I do pretty well taking it slow in the area I hunt, miles are possible certainly not necessary. I know the 3 mile in to hunt comment triggered you a bit, but that is clear to the next forest service road in this area. My question is, why not camp a little closer than 3 damn miles from where the hunting is any good lol

 

[5MilesBack]

My question is, why not camp a little closer than 3 damn miles from where the hunting is any good lol

Do some guys hunt the same spot every day all season? Serious question.

I have one spot that I hunt at least once every year I have a tag for this area that's 85 miles round trip away from my camp. Sometimes I'll take my pack tent along for that one and spend a night or two there, but then back to base camp after I'm done hunting it or packing a bull out.

But personally, I prefer a 6 mile round trip and back to the comfort of my base camp to sleeping on the ground these days. And if I did set up camp back there, that would then limit my options once I'm back there. I like options and variety.

 

[Ross]

I’ve said it before I’m the shorter version of @5MilesBack we are the same age similar age injuries and elk hunting tactics 97.5 % the same Different places and loops everyday and bugle bugle bugle

 

[roosiebull]

Well if that's what works on the coast all the more power to you. I do pretty well taking it slow in the area I hunt, miles are possible certainly not necessary. I know the 3 mile in to hunt comment triggered you a bit, but that is clear to the next forest service road in this area. My question is, why not camp a little closer than 3 damn miles from where the hunting is any good lol

certainly not triggered, more surprised that 10 miles in a full day is unreasonable to so many people. it's also very difficult to get more than a couple miles from a road here too, but it's also hard to NOT walk 10 miles in a day. when i leave the pickup in the morning (mostly day hunting because backpacking in doesn't make sense for that reason you mentioned.... too many roads to get far from a road of some type) my goal is to find elk, or at least fresh sign.... i have a couple areas in mind i'm planning my hunt around, but i'm not going to a spot and just hanging out there.... i'm checking spots.... if i get to the first zone (good habitat, a place i know elk hang out when they are in the area) and there are no elk or fresh sign, i keep going.... very easy to get 3 miles away, don't find what i'm looking for, i have to walk out of there....

if it's still early enough, or later in the season when they get easier to kill mid day, i am walking out another spot.... that is going to add to mileage, let's say a couple hour 4 mile loop... we are already at 10 miles and still have an afternoon hunt, and if i don't have anything going by then, i'm most likely planning a walk where i can cover ground and cross through a lot of habitat.... not a very uncommon day, and i'm most likely finding something to start on the next morning.... hopefully a little less walking.

it seems hard to not walk 10 miles per day at least if you are trying to find a place to slow down and hunt a bull... it seems like it would be harder to not walk 10+ miles a day in the rest of the west in more open country.

if you are not among elk, slowing down and covering a total of 5 miles a day seems like it would be pretty slow action, i love the days when i only walk 5-6 miles at the end of the day, that means i had a good day of action without a reason to cover country, but as it is, we have a fairly low biomass of elk, and it takes a lot of ground covering to stay in elk.

like i mentioned before, deer hunting equals more miles than elk hunting, but they are in general easier miles covering a lot of ground on closed logging roads.... the roads go everywhere, but you can't drive them, it's all walk in only.... i could kill a buck every year staying within 2 miles of my rig, but why? walking logging roads with a 20lb pack is not hard, and i would way rather focus on the places further away, so when i do find that sign that excites me, i know i can be patient, hunt smart, not blow that buck out, let him make a mistake and kill him.... that's not a plausible option when you are hunting country lots of other people are hunting too.

elk can be the same way on timber company property, walk in further than most others are willing to, and have it to yourself.... find elk, no reason to rush anything, leave them alone and come back that evening when there is a better scenario to get one killed.... i won't walk as far "in" elk hunting as deer though, because i'm most likely getting the whole thing out myself, and i know i don't want to kill one 5-6 miles from my rig, if that's the closest i can get, because it's most likely 4 trips for me, and i don't want to have to pack one that far.

i'm just a little baffled that people are actually calling BS on 10 mile days.... don't want to do it? i get that, and if you can get a bull killed without covering a lot of ground, that's awesome.... but to say people are full of it by claiming they average 10 miles a day elk hunting is crazy to me, it's not that far at the end of the day. it's walking 3 miles in the morning, walking out and walking 2 more in the evening (there and back) and that's if you aren't at it all day, just a morning hunt and evening hunt.

 

[AaronMColeman]

This all comes down to two things I think:
1) How do you like to hunt? I love to cover ground, even if sitting and glassing accomplishes the same or better results, I like to move and be in the mountains. I also live here so I'm acclimated to 8000'+. I'm also a generally active person and work out regularly. So covering ground is absolutely doable. If I'm not hearing, seeing, or smelling anything that makes me want to stay in an area, I'll move a lot.

Which leads to 2) If there is a reason to stay still, I'll sit and wait. If I'm in sign or hear bugles I'll work that spot.

I am not a sit and glass hunter very often so that means I cover a lot of ground, especially during early and archery seasons.

 

[AaronMColeman]

i'm just a little baffled that people are actually calling BS on 10 mile days.... don't want to do it? i get that, and if you can get a bull killed without covering a lot of ground, that's awesome.... but to say people are full of it by claiming they average 10 miles a day elk hunting is crazy to me, it's not that far at the end of the day. it's walking 3 miles in the morning, walking out and walking 2 more in the evening (there and back) and that's if you aren't at it all day, just a morning hunt and evening hunt.

I think a lot of people can go 10+ a day, not many can average that. I'm in good shape and live in the mountains I hunt. I can do that maybe 2 days in a row then I need a breather. But I have 2 good friends I hunt with who could do 12+ a day every day. So, yeah 100% people can do 10 and more a day every day.