Advice for the Inexperienced Backcountry Wannabe’s

[cnelk]

Advice.......Boots are the first thing that I would scrutinize. I don't care what brand you get. I care if they fit, and you can do what you want in them. This will take hiking time to figure out. I like a softer boot. Others like a harder boot. What do you like?

Pack is number two, but fit and cost are not related. I have cheap packs that worked great. I've used spendy packs that I wouldn't give to my worst enemy. My best advice is to buy a good one used, and get help in adjusting it. Most of the time, a good pack, adjusted right, will be useable.

Those are the two things that kill me or keep me in the game.

Almost everything else I can buy at Wal-mart and be fine with. Seriously, a cheap rifle, or bow, with cheap binos, and I can kill an elk, deer, or tree rats. We put waaaaayyyyy to much emphasis on optics and gear. Woodsmanship and animal knowledge kill critters. Gear is an aid, and we pretend it matters far more than it does.

The only caveat that I'll throw in is if you go to Alaska. Rain gear then becomes critical and cheap won't cut it. Mid-range will if chosen wisely, but even high end may not be awesome. Rain gear for Alaska takes some research to get right. Hint: If it says Helly, or Grundens, you're probably good to go.

Jeremy

^^^^ Read it. Read again. Memorize it

 

[HighUintas]

I would say,

Know basic first aid
Know how to navigate
Know your limits
Don't buy ultralight garbage if you like durability
Get naked and have fun

 

[trophyhill]

Which part is an exaggeration? I have links to all of those items if needed....I guarantee every marketing department has a reason each item is now a "necessity" lol. My point was that added together, an ATV has way more utility than the rest of that crap put together. Get yourself to the animals is the point. A $900 pack does not need to be a part of that equation despite what a LOT of salesmen on this site will tell you.

Ok let me make a disclaimer; this thread is not meant as an advertisement, or a marketing gimmick or saying that anyone needs to spend 10 grand to go hunt elk. There. Feel better? Good

now careful. Your anti capitalist sentiment is making you sound like a democrat.

And besides, I worked my azz off to save enough money to buy my bad azz $900 dollar Kifaru

 

[ShakeDown]

I’d say...

Get off my lawn.

 

[Stubborn_bowhunter]

I'd say loose lips sink ships on spots, and be ready to argue with your "inner bitch" about being comfortable being uncomfortable. It's crazy how much the mind will try to make you cave and hike out.

 

[HighUintas]

I'd say loose lips sink ships on spots, and be ready to argue with your "inner bitch" about being comfortable being uncomfortable. It's crazy how much the mind will try to make you cave and hike out.

Oh yes.... I crave being alone 12-15 miles in alllll the time. Then when I'm there, I'm reveling in it one minute and wishing i was with my family the next haha

 

[Tyeguy]

I would suggest talking to locals and archery shops and sporting stores. Most locals will at least point you in the right direction. Just be humble and don’t expect anyone to give away their honey holes or coveted areas.

 

[cnelk]

I would suggest talking to locals and archery shops and sporting stores. Most locals will at least point you in the right direction. Just be humble and don’t expect anyone to give away their honey holes or coveted areas.

^^^ Sorry but not a chance.
The best bet is to go to the local Mtn bar about mid-season and have some money in your pocket.
Strike up a conversation with hunters (they will be obvious) and start buying drinks.

Stay sober. Take mental notes when they start blabbing about where they hunted, what they saw.
NonRes are especially gullible.


Been there. Done it

 

[Deadfall]

Load your truck with everything you think you might need. Hit the road. When you get home make a list of the 98 percent of junk you took with you and never used. Which was probably in the way most of time.

Now that you have a list of what you don't need, stash it away somewhere safe so you don't loose it.

Now that it's back to August, spend several days looking for last year's list. Then say to hell with it..Load everything you think you might need back into the truck, and hit the road.

Wash and repeat for next 20 years.

Shot my first deer at 7. Tripped out west from Missouri with dad at 8. Been hooked on mountains ever since. I'm 43 now.

I have no idea what I even had for gear in those first 10 years.

I do remember dad having to change the motor on his 57 chevy pickup on the side of road somewhere in Kansas.

I remember the first elk.

All the old man stories and pranks/shenanigans.

Moral of story. Just freaking go. Make some memories, have some stories noone cares about, take some pictures noone cares about.

If you hunt at all, then you already have enough gear and craft to not die. If you do die....well it was a good run...

 

[SoTxShooter]

I buzzed through the thread, and I don't think this has been mentioned yet.

If you are not from the mountains, you can't fathom how big the country really is. Learn how to read and interpret a map. Odds are, you cannot just walk from Point A to Point B as the crow flies. If those contour lines are really tight, it is likely cliff-like steepness. Google Earth does not paint the full picture, even though it's a helpful tool. This was a huge eye opener for me coming from South Texas.

 

[rayporter]

get enough short trips in at home before you go that you know your gear and have some idea of your abilities.

spend a few nights alone in as remote country as can find..

as coon dog says, it is big country. i will never forget the first look i got at the country we would be hunting, as we came to a small clearing.

 

[EastMT]

Go have fun, keep realistic expectations. No need to go in 15 miles in on your first trip, ease your way in. If you get in a ways, get comfortable, go a little farther.

if you are inexperienced make sure someone knows exactly where you are going, a broken ankle is a big deal with several miles to go

 

[Btaylor]

Besides good boots, good fitting pack and physical fitness, I would add work on your mental game. Find some physical something that just basically is the suck and do hours of it. That may just be rucking a 50# pack but pick the worst possible conditions and grind through it. Teach your mind that can't never did a damn thing. More times than not the mind will quit before the body.

 

[rayporter]

i will add, just go. you can not get the experience with out going, no matter how much you read or how much you buy.

you dont need high dollar gear to succeed. i killed my first five bulls with a 19 dollar tasco and rubber rain gear.

you will up grade and you will change your mind several times as you fine tune what works for you- so dont get hung up on what works for someone else.

mental attitude is extremely important, that is why i say to get many short trips in before you go.

 

[Indian Summer]

Don’t get too excited about anything you “think you learned” from e scouting. There are elk where you wouldn’t think and some places that look like heaven on earth don’t hold a single animal. If I could give a piece of advice it would be to do whatever you can to get out there pre season to get an actual sniff of where you hope to find elk. Also wherever you end up if you’ve never hunted it before show up early to get a look at things right when hunting is about to start.

 

[mlgc20]

IMO, one of the most important things is practicing with your gear. Whatever gear you choose, make sure you aren't using it for the first time when on a hunt. That's not the time to find out your boots aren't broken in. Or your pack doesn't carry well on technical terrain. Or you don't have the right tent stakes for the ground you're on. Or that your sleeping pad has a hole in it. Or whatever. None of it is rocket science. But, I want my hunting trips to be about hunting. And not managing and figuring out my gear.

 

[dtrkyman]

I love the truck camp, have been able to locate game within a reasonable distance to the truck most of the time. As stated it is nice to have some creature comforts and not eat mountain house for a week!

I do have gear to spike in if needed or if the weather is suitable, spike camping in shi--y weather sux!!!

 

[Customweld]

Be absolutely honest with your abilities and your experience. You don't realize how big and elk is until you are sitting next to it on the ground. Have a solid plan for when that animal hits the ground and Plans B-Z for when Plan A goes t!ts up.

 

[Team4LongGun]

Intestinal fortitude. Train not just your body, but your mind. Hike, camp, scout with a heavy pack in miserable weather and get used to your gear and how it holds up-see what you need and more importantly don't.

 

[trophyhill]

I love the truck camp, have been able to locate game within a reasonable distance to the truck most of the time. As stated it is nice to have some creature comforts and not eat mountain house for a week!

I do have gear to spike in if needed or if the weather is suitable, spike camping in shi--y weather sux!!!

Lol I don’t do Mountain House anymore. I like the Mendes Refuel meals personally