Backcountry Camp question

[Danderson]

Hey everyone. I’m new to the forum. I am from East TN and mainly hunt raccoons with hounds, deer, and turkey. My friend and I are planning a DIY elk hunt for the 2nd OTC rifle season in CO for 2021. We are planning on hiking in with our gear and camping in separate two man tents while we are there. We are going to have several different areas picked out in case someone else is already camping in the area. My question is do most people break camp everyday even if they are planning on staying in the same area? If not and you leave your stuff, has anyone ever had anyone mess with their gear? Obviously we would be hanging out food and other things in trees to keep bear out, but I didn’t know if it is ok to leave our tents and sleeping bags set up. Thanks!

 

[bsnedeker]

I almost always leave my tent setup. Never had anyone me with my stuff.

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[Smokeslider]

Always leave my camp set up if coming back to it.

 

[Marble]

Never had someone or something mess with my camp while I'm gone.

Next 2nd season is late. Make sure you are prepared...

We had -2 this year for several days.

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[Thoff1989]

Never had someone or something mess with my camp while I'm gone.

Next 2nd season is late. Make sure you are prepared...

We had -2 this year for several days.

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This year was pretty cold, -10 the one morning made me happy we opted for an Air bnb for dad. There was a fire ban in the area we were in.

 

[TomJoad]

Don’t worry about leaving your stuff in the backcountry. Strategically I move camp based on how the hunts going. Rarely move everyday but I have on occcasion. More often I move 2-3 times per hunt.

 

[Preston]

I personally would not be planning to backcountry hunt any later than mid October in Colorado. I have hunted all three of the rifle seasons and by late October you will need a warm base camp and they can get some significant snows by Oct 15-30. You don’t need to hunt miles into the backcountry, but look for places with oak brush/pinyon filled canyons/drainages, or heavy timbered north slopes with water/springs and areas of aspen on the adjacent south facing slopes with no trails/roads.
I’m planning to hunt the 2nd rifle season in unit 49 Oct 30-Nov 5 and I plan to set up a large wall tent with wood stove, and use a utv to hunt areas 1-3 miles away from trailheads.
What type of hounds do you use for raccoons. I’ve had Leopard Hounds, Walker, and a Plott. The Leopard Hound was my best hound.
Let me know if you need any help.

 

[Danderson]

I personally would not be planning to backcountry hunt any later than mid October in Colorado. I have hunted all three of the rifle seasons and by late October you will need a warm base camp and they can get some significant snows by Oct 15-30. You don’t need to hunt miles into the backcountry, but look for places with oak brush/pinyon filled canyons/drainages, or heavy timbered north slopes with water/springs and areas of aspen on the adjacent south facing slopes with no trails/roads.
I’m planning to hunt the 2nd rifle season in unit 49 Oct 30-Nov 5 and I plan to set up a large wall tent with wood stove, and use a utv to hunt areas 1-3 miles away from trailheads.
What type of hounds do you use for raccoons. I’ve had Leopard Hounds, Walker, and a Plott. The Leopard Hound was my best hound.
Let me know if you need any help.

I’ve got walker and English dogs. That’s what Ive always stuck with. I’ve hunted with some leopard hounds that were pretty nice. That’s kind of the game plan we are looking at as far as hunting is just trying to get away from people and hunt the thick stuff. We might redo our plans for sleeping arrangements before it’s all said and done, or we might put in for the first rifle to see if we can get drawn for a tag. Also thought about bringing my side by side, but haven’t made a definite decision on that.


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[Preston]

I really like English/Redtick. First rifle is a great time and the elk are normally not as pressured, as the 2nd or 3rd season

 

[Beendare]

Backpacking in 2nd rifle can be really rough, deep snow.

My advice would be to set a base camp and hike out every day until you find them then if you want to spike camping spot do that

 

[Rifleman86]

Invest in a good floorless hot tent. You will be glad you did.

Below is my gear list for a similar hunt in Montana. This is after one season of tweaking. It's still a work in progress.

https://lighterpack.com/r/5gqqtl

I'd also recommend a nice wall tent and or larger floorless setup to make a comfortable truck camp. First year I just had a small Cimmeron for two and we ended up getting a hotel two nights to warm up and dry out.

 

[sneaky]

Hey everyone. I’m new to the forum. I am from East TN and mainly hunt raccoons with hounds, deer, and turkey. My friend and I are planning a DIY elk hunt for the 2nd OTC rifle season in CO for 2021. We are planning on hiking in with our gear and camping in separate two man tents while we are there. We are going to have several different areas picked out in case someone else is already camping in the area. My question is do most people break camp everyday even if they are planning on staying in the same area? If not and you leave your stuff, has anyone ever had anyone mess with their gear? Obviously we would be hanging out food and other things in trees to keep bear out, but I didn’t know if it is ok to leave our tents and sleeping bags set up. Thanks!

What part of East TN are you guys from?

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[go_deep]

I leave my stuff, never worried about it, backcountry or by the road. Agree with the posts above, any kind of stove will make your hunt much more enjoyable!

 

[Danderson]

What part of East TN are you guys from?

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Up around the Bristol Motor Speedway.


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[Finch]

Never had my stuff messed with and I've also come across several tents on my hunts as well. Thing is, you never know if someone is in there for a siesta. I think it would take some balls to walk up to someone's camp with ill intentions but it could happen I guess.

 

[rayporter]

second season weather can be a crap shoot for sure. it can be dry and hot or wet and cold. the last weather forecast you get is golden.

 

[The Ri Guy]

I always leave my tent and non-day-hunt-essential items at camp -- UNLESS I'm supremely confident I'm going to make a kill or there's a high likelihood I'm chasing a critter into the next basin.

I've never had someone mess with my stuff, but I've had two or three times where I camped too close to a known trail or out in the open and got back to camp and noticed someone had definitely been there and checked it out.

 

[Mosby]

When I hunt in a new area and moving around a bit, I set up a base camp tent at a nearby campground. Use that as home base while scouting and trying different areas hunting and it gives us a place to go to if we need to come out late for any reason. Really nice when you come out dead tired, a storm rolled in or your just moving to a different area in the morning. Never had a problem with thieves...knock on wood. Whatever you bring, expect snow and make sure your equipment can handle a snow load and cold weather. It gets cold at altitude and ultra light tents suck in snow.