Big Hunt Camp

[CorbLand]

The best thing for big camps is try to find an older dude that cant really hunt anymore but wants to go. They stay at camp and cook good food.

 

[displacedtexan]

The best thing for big camps is try to find an older dude that cant really hunt anymore but wants to go. They stay at camp and cook good food.

I'm not that old!

I've gone as camp cook before though.

 

[taskswap]

For a toilet for that many, consider Walmart's portable potty (Camco?). It's easy to dump at any state campground on the way out or at home in your toilet if you have a strong stomach. Nothing wrong with a cathole, this just saves time if you have to deal with that many people. (Or it's late season - I personally hate digging in frozen ground.) Surface pooping is illegal for very good reasons. If you want a cheaper option that works just as well, a 5 gallon bucket with a seat-lid (they're like $20) is an easy way to go, just throw a contractor trash bag in with an inch of kitty litter, and throw a bit more in after each use. You can just throw that out in a dumpster, no fuss.

For cooking our group takes turns - one guy cooks and another does KP in rotation each night. We keep water usage low not for conservation but just because it's easier cleanup - if you focus on oil/fat-based cooking e.g. cast iron skillets and griddles you can usually just wipe them clean with a few paper towels and be good to go for the next morning.

We share food, too. We're a member of a local meat CSA so I'll usually bring T-bones for one night, one guy does gumbo, etc. It's tradition that the night before the opener, at least one person will bring some elk from the year before. Nothing like starting a hunt with the taste of what you're after fresh in your mind... We don't share breakfast. This isn't a hotel and we're all usually moving out at like 4am so we just do granola bars or whatever each person wants.

We also rotate other camp chores. About halfway through a week-long trip, one guy will drive to town for supplies. We can easily bring in everything we need, but it's less stressful if we just assume one trip will be done - no agonizing over bringing a ton of extra crap in case a pair of boots springs a leak or a tent pole says "this is my last year." It also stops us from having every guy bringing two massive coolers full of ice, some of which will be wasted money/effort. We usually only have 1-2 guys fill their coolers with ice, and that's enough to pack out 3-4 elk. If we're getting lucky, we can get more on the town trip.

YMMV but where we go we don't bring firewood. Even the kiln-dried stuff. I've never seen this anywhere else, but where we go the USFS will drop trees near the road and parking area as part of their yearly maintenance, and they encourage folks to buck up and use that instead of bringing their own wood. It's pretty smart. Folks on a budget would have cut their own stuff anyway, and this way they can control folks bringing in insect-ridden junk AND control what people end up burning. Some monkey from out of state is always going to try to chop down and burn an aspen and smoke out the whole campground, so this cuts down on that.

For everything else folks are on their own. We help each other with pack-outs (for a meat share) but other than the above, we hunt (and live) independently.

 

[11boo]

A battery chainsaw.

 

[Jimmy]

Thanks for all the input, I didn't mean for it to become a shitter only thread but hey it's all good info will probably do the bucket with a trash bag and call it a day.

make sure you save the bag and look for a Biden bumper sticker on the way home...

 

[fishslap]

I highly recommend getting a bathroom pop up tent, digging a reasonably deep hole, and just buying one of the foldable bathroom chairs. I do this anytime I’m going to base camp in an area for more than a few days, and I’m one guy. I can’t imagine crapping in a trash bag then packing it…..wherever to properly dispose of it. I’ve used various homemade seat options and the crapper chair folds flat and is way better.

 

[Geewhiz]

You guys sure spend a lot of time in camp.

That's what I'm thinking. I'm gone long before daylight and back after dark. When I'm at camp i'm stuffing my face and then sleeping!

 

[Jason Snyder]

Depends on the time of year. A late November hunt has quite a few hours of darkness.

That said, don’t be a surface shitter. Especially in a camp site. I can’t believe someone would suggest it, but whatever.

I’d have each person be responsible for a dinner. Figure out who’s in charge of what and who’s bringing what.

Big camps can be fun or they can be a disaster. Plan your expectations accordingly.

 

[IDVortex]

That said, don’t be a surface shitter. Especially in a camp site. I can’t believe someone would suggest it, but whatever.

Folks who do this are as the same quailty of human as of a politician.

 

[TaperPin]

Lol
I expect to see Rokslide special buckets strapped to packs this fall.

 

[displacedtexan]

Lol
I expect to see Rokslide special buckets strapped to packs this fall.

View attachment 704801

I just can't decide what color to run.

 

[Crusader]

I highly recommend getting a bathroom pop up tent, digging a reasonably deep hole, and just buying one of the foldable bathroom chairs. I do this anytime I’m going to base camp in an area for more than a few days, and I’m one guy. I can’t imagine crapping in a trash bag then packing it…..wherever to properly dispose of it. I’ve used various homemade seat options and the crapper chair folds flat and is way better.

Would you happen to have a link to share for the foldable bathroom chair?

 

[ORJoe]

You know what a chainsaw mill is, right?

 

[TaperPin]

I just can't decide what color to run.

If it’s not carbon fiber is it worth getting?

 

[displacedtexan]

If it’s not carbon fiber is it worth getting?

Obviously.

But if I can only get it hydro dipped in fusion, I'll have to get rid of all my Sitka kit and convert my personality to First Lite, and that would probably mean I need a new caliber to match...

Any suggestions?

 

[fishslap]

Would you happen to have a link to share for the foldable bathroom chair?

https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-big-outdoorsman-camp-commode-camping-toilet?ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Cabelas%7CShopping%7CPMax%7CProprietary%7CGeneral%7CNAud%7CNVol%7CNMT&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwir2xBhC_ARIsAMTXk86X9G_MTR5ef1-xYh9VktTylc5Ngc3wKgmUNT1fgrUwSos1Pp3eykoaAkdaEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

I’m sure someone will want to “crap” on this for the price but I’ve had multiple homemade solutions and this is much easier to pack up, cleaner, etc. I also hate seeing old shitters built around camp areas.

 

[Crowmangler]

maybe it's just me but my blood pressure went up just thinking about being in camp with 7 + people.
I'd be miserable.
Here's the best option for the toilet seat though:

https://www.amazon.com/HXSEMAYIG-Portable-Stainless-Emergency-Convenient/dp/B09G34NQXL/ref=sr_1_37?crid=1IZ5V70EKSUM8&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MPs2nFNGoVgBY3iLeTWxAYs85BNd_ou4-oerNhmWsc3g9aUAGdE1i4MdVWjfO33TnTKktQpaRQLTG2Hr2Jg-40gj3cW71USvX2lKTHbMVV16rxyiOGIy7oZkpiKml2aNGfVn6IS-M93AdmC2Zim9KTqciOglLcCFzNrjjnUvM0L7AhB70uAA_D3wjx9kD4mBR3ze2LggyCx_EBO-7fRmtaXTNfDyhcUXL_5GRBmL6LmKXOPApHSYf9lJCDa9-IQYN9SuOL18NBL_XFujDjCUVII-3Zz7Cd9li5NZaD52LNk.VGQ4wt-8RdqC0N8Q0ygQ86N_e4ci15s_TC-mJ1X2sf8&dib_tag=se&keywords=folding%2Btoilet%2Bseat%2Bfor%2Badults&qid=1714416535&sprefix=folding%2Btoilet%2Bseat%2Caps%2C99&sr=8-37&th=1

 

[MNGrouser]

Plenty of shitty advice on this thread. Some good; some bad. Seven sounds like an awful lot of people to have in one camp. Maybe you've got 6 of the easiest going friends on the planet, but 7 personalities feels like a recipe for disaster.

You need to go in with clear expectations of who is doing and bringing what. Meal planning, gear and other camp chores should be figured out in advance. I've had 3 guys bring chili to fish camp. Had the usual camp cook get his nose out of joint because someone else wanted to cook. Had the never-invited-back slobs who didn't think they needed to contribute. Small groups of close friends who run as a seamless machine are my preference.