Advice for Solo hunts

[Grant K]

I'll echo the people saying just go, if it was me I'd do a truck camp to start, buy an OTC elk tag while you still can and just go, you will learn 20x more from a week in the field that you can off the internet...

if you're dead set on backpack hunting learn to be comfortable backpacking by just going backpacking in the summer first, you will shake out what you need and what you don't, and if you are comfortable just existing in the wilderness then hunting is easy... I see tons of people that think they are hardcore backcountry hunters who are so uncomfortable in the woods that they just sit in their fancy teepee and run the stove the whole hunt, never getting out and hunting because they might get cold, or wet... learn to be comfortable in the wilderness, then buy whatever tags you can and go, learning to figure out new areas on the fly is a skill bes learned by doing.

 

[5MilesBack]

Just go. Get one under your belt and it will get easier from there. I was born extremely independent so it's easy for me. I've been spending time in the woods and river bottoms by myself since I was a little kid. Just getting a little bit of experience doing that goes a long ways.

 

[Guy]

I hunt alone often. Am 68 now and haven't backpacked in years, but I take the Jeep either from home, or set up a camp, and hunt.

Deer and antelope are a lot easier than elk to pack out.

One of my most satisfying hunts was just a few years ago when I headed out from home well before sunrise on opening morning. I ended up hiking and hunting most of the day then sat very still about 4:00 pm and waited. Was presented with a 212 yard shot which was easily accomplished with my 25-06 sighted-in at 200 yards. By the time I got to the buck and field dressed it, the sun set and I finished quartering up the buck and stuffing all the parts & pieces in my backpack by headlamp.

Walked out, up and over a low ridge, in the dark. Rifle in one hand, warm pack pressing against my back.

Reached the Jeep and unburdened myself of the heavy pack, rifle and my hunting gear. In my early 60's then, I had a very satisfied smile on my face.

You can do this!

Regards, Guy

 

[ccoffey]

I'm kind of surprised that it has not been mentioned, but I would say one of the more important aspects is to have your affairs in order at home. Pay all of your bills, give the lady some cash, don't have work giving you a hard time.

If your home life is at peace, you're just throwing your gear in the truck for a few extra days. I always tell the lady that "I will see her in a few days" regardless of how long I will be gone. If you have someone at home, buy an InReach or similar to communicate.

Get a tag and go. You will learn more in a week of doing than a year of interneting.

Dude that’s probably the best most overlooked advice of all. It’s hard to focus on the hunt when home life is not squared away.

 

[deerninja]

There are drop camp folks out there who can take care of so much so that you can simply focus on hunting an area if you aren't too concerned with bagging something quickly but rather learning and putting in the time. I've done this in Utah, Montana and Colorado. Success can vary greatly depending on too many factors but being prepared and doing your homework like asking on this forum is a great start. Best of luck to you out there!

 

[GoneFullTrad]

Get out for a few over night solo trips in Texas before you commit to a trip. Work out your shelter system, your navigation, food etc all before you get out there.

There is truly nothing worse than getting gear and going out and being miserable and not be able to focus on while you are there.

Get your house in order, if there is anything stressing you out it just turns ten fold when you are alone with your thoughts and that sends people home more often than not.

For minimal gear and skills I would suggest the following- (coming from a solo hunter/ former SAR cadaver dog handler) You should always know how to have a basic understanding in the following


1. Navigation -

- Basic azimuth (back azimuth, bearing, azimuth, landscape / landmark navigation
- Knowing how to operate a GPS device. Lat / long, bread crumbing, waypoint navigation
- Know how to read topographical maps with elevation changes, drainages, roads, water ways etc and learn how to cross reference those maps with your compass, bearing and GPS device.

Things you need -a Decent compass (Silva, Suunto etc) a GPS device or app on your phone (Onx, Backcountry etc) I use an Inreach Mini, a Suunto compass and a Garmin Instinct watch and my phone has Onx. I will print out a topo map of the area and I typically use azimuth navigation for actual hunting more so than navigation (take a back azimuth and a front azimuth for navigational aids )

2. Water -

- Know how to locate water sources on a map and by natural features. Understand rain and water/creek flow directions because they will.... lead you to water.
- Have a working water filtration and storage system (I use Steripens and Befree system and Nalgenes)
- Know how to get water where you are at. I live on the wet side of the PNW so I its hard not to find water but when I lived in the Southwest I had to learn how to get ground water, how to treat still water and just really slow leaky water supplies.

I recommend having a main filtration system and a back up redundant system (tabs or boiling)

3. Shelter -

- Practice with your system before you go out on a trip. Your system should include whatever you are sleeping in - tent/ tarp/ vehicle, what you are sleeping on - inflatable pad/mat and your bag or quilt.
- Tents are easier to start with, tarps are "roughing it". I prefer floorless shelters but most people starting prefer tents. Seam seal every thing that is going to get wet (tarp, tent, rain fly)
- Learn how to properly pitch your tent/ set up. Avoid steep inclines, avoid water collection table spots, avoid places with standing dead trees because branches are much more likely to come off and hurt you.

4. Food -

- A balanced diet in every day life is essential so dont just pack up a bunch of freeze dried meals and think every thing is going to work like a well oiled machine.
- You can go hot meaning you bring a stove, gas and pot or you can go cold and you bring shelf stable foods that can be cold soaked or eaten room temp. I rarely bring cook kits on backpacking trips but I always bring them when Im car camping/ base camping.

5. Optics - Specialized tools -

- Your optics decisions need to be based around optimal performance for the area you are hunting.

Open country - you need 10x42 binos minimal but best practice is 10x42s or 10x50s and a spotting scope and tripod or 12x binos and a tripod.

Dense Timber, Coastal - Closed Country - I would say go with 6 or 8x binos and that is pretty much it.

Your cash flow will determine the level of optics you would need but I would say if you plan on going open country that is where you are going to be focusing more on higher quality in your budget. In timbered areas or dense areas anything over 10x is useless.


6. Fire - know how to and bring at least two ways of starting a fire.

- Lighter, Ferro Rod are usually the two best choices. Learn how properly build a fire safely and maintain a fire with minimal tools. You dont need to pack in axes and machetes to have camp/cooking fires.


7. Knives - Tools

- One fixed blade knife in my opinion 4 inches blade length or smaller is my choice. I dont baton wood or cut down trees when I am hunting so keep the knife to field dressing, food prep and small fire prep. I use an Esee Izula in S35vn but before that I primarily used and old Browning Hunting knife my dad gave me.

- A sharpener for said knife is a good idea - I prefer the Worksharp Field Sharpener for car camping/ base camping and just a small DMT 600 grit diamond stone for back packing.

- A back up multi tool or pocket knife is never a bad idea in case you lose or break the first one. I carry a Leatherman Signal on my belt and an Esee Izula in S35vn in my pack.

8. Clothing -

- Stick to Polyester, Nylon, Merino wool clothing, absolutely no cotton.

- I like merino wool underwear and socks/ baselayers in winter, nylon pants and poly blend shirts with merino or fleece hoodies and puffy vests.

- I typically do not buy camo patterns but I have a leafy jacket from North Mountain Gear that I throw over my top if I am not wearing camo base layers (I often just hunt in First Lite merino base layer piece I have) and that saves me a lot of money. I can wear solid colors in technical clothing that typically costs a fortune in camo patterns and still have camo.

- Boots should be worn and broken in. You typically have a choice between light-mid-heavy support boots. Go with what you like but consider the terrain.

- Gaiters are grrrrrrrrrrrrreat for wet and sloppy conditions. Dont go crazy on price though, they all get chewed up easily. I just buy camo ones on Amazon to be honest. They last two to three seasons.


9. Poop -

Yeah this gets an entire section devoted to just pooping. Freeze dried food, stress and all that hiking can cause stress on your bowels and if you do not frequently poop in the woods this can actually be a problem for new to the back country/campers. This is something that I bring up because its something that I overlooked when city dwellers or new to hunting / outdoors came out with me and they were shitting on their socks and pants or having near mental break downs worrying about how they are going to relieve themselves.

My basic kit - Back Country Bidet. Yeah, I pack it in. Yeah, its water being squirted up your bum. But its the cleanest you can be in the woods and it has become a beloved piece of kit . There are all kinds on the market but I suggest you getting a dedicated bottle kit not the screw in adapters you put on random water bottles.

I also bring a small package of wet wipes and a few squares of TP just in case for wipe up. But 99% of the fecal matter gets handled by the ole butt blaster.

And FFS dig a hole or at least cover it with a rock.

The best strategy to poop that I have found is drop your pants and underwear to just above your knees. Make sure there is clearance from your bung hole. Get as low as you can to the ground by squatting like an Iraqi in a shit box taking heavy fire. Hold on to something, get those knees up and clear from your boots. Let it rip and just hang there for a bit. Get the ole butt blaster out, squirt up there a few times. Grab a square of TP and do the oil check and if its clean you should be dry and pack the dirt over the hole you hopefully made and get back to hunting.

Out of all the conversations I have had with family and friends who hunt with me, its our shit talking that truly brings us together.

 

[TaperPin]

Good advice in here already.

Other than learning on the job elk killing, everything you need to practice and prepare can be done close to your home. Make your list today and gather gear in one spot - you’re now a backpack hunter!

There’s no way around getting a gear list together. Not only does it help to plan for things you don’t have, it’s an essential checklist to go over before any hunt just to make sure nothing gets forgotten. A good backpacking setup is also great for minimalist car camping, so don’t think anything you dedicate to backpacking will not get used much.

The number two rule to preparing, is simply getting outside and testing your skills and equipment - in all weather. Want to know if your rain gear and tent will be sufficient - wait until a couple days of rain are coming then hike around your neighborhood for 5 miles in the rain, set up your tent in the backyard and spend the night out there, then pack it all up and hike around another 5 miles before going in the house. Seriously, it will teach you things about camping in wet weather that can’t simply be understood by reading.

Same goes for all aspects of backpacking. Get your meals planned out, then actually prepare them on a backpacking stove and eat them for a week at home. I guarantee you’ll change things up from what you initially were going to pack.

Experienced hunters and backpackers get killed every year, usually from getting lost and hypothermia, so learn how to stay alive. There is no better test of what you learn than driving out into a forest, go 100’ from your car, and spend the night with whatever you carry in a daypack. Again, I guarantee this will change how you think of what’s in your “survival kit”. Do this a number of times in different conditions and you’ll be miles ahead of most guys in the back country.

As long as you stay away from cotton, most clothing works ok and doesn’t have to be matching. A $20 polyester pullover will work nearly as well as a $120 name brand fleece. $20 polyester sweat pants do everything $120 pants do.

I think of equipment in terms of how they are used:
- Food/water/cooking.
- Tent/sleeping bag/pad/etc.
- Gun/shooting stuff, optics.
- Knives/game bags/etc.
- Clothing.
- Daypack essentials that are carried everywhere (google “ten essentials for survival”).

Starting out, you use what you can afford, and build up better equipment over time - lots of guys in the backcountry making it work with cheap heavy gear, eating pork and beans and peanut butter sandwiches - lovin’ life.

 

[SharkDog]

9. Poop -

Yeah this gets an entire section devoted to just pooping. Freeze dried food, stress and all that hiking can cause stress on your bowels and if you do not frequently poop in the woods this can actually be a problem for new to the back country/campers. This is something that I bring up because its something that I overlooked when city dwellers or new to hunting / outdoors came out with me and they were shitting on their socks and pants or having near mental break downs worrying about how they are going to relieve themselves.

My basic kit - Back Country Bidet. Yeah, I pack it in. Yeah, its water being squirted up your bum. But its the cleanest you can be in the woods and it has become a beloved piece of kit . There are all kinds on the market but I suggest you getting a dedicated bottle kit not the screw in adapters you put on random water bottles.

I also bring a small package of wet wipes and a few squares of TP just in case for wipe up. But 99% of the fecal matter gets handled by the ole butt blaster.

And FFS dig a hole or at least cover it with a rock.

The best strategy to poop that I have found is drop your pants and underwear to just above your knees. Make sure there is clearance from your bung hole. Get as low as you can to the ground by squatting like an Iraqi in a shit box taking heavy fire. Hold on to something, get those knees up and clear from your boots. Let it rip and just hang there for a bit. Get the ole butt blaster out, squirt up there a few times. Grab a square of TP and do the oil check and if its clean you should be dry and pack the dirt over the hole you hopefully made and get back to hunting.

Out of all the conversations I have had with family and friends who hunt with me, its our shit talking that truly brings us together.

Thanks for bringing this up, as it is often overlooked. There is a lot of TP and surface shits floating around after hunting season, and having your kit and a plan is important.

I will add, carry a little deucing spade. I like to start by flipping a rock over, then digging a little dookie pit, using the pit, placing the soil over the pit, and putting the rock back. This seems like the easiest way to get 6-8 inches down.