Buying gear for diy solo wilderness hunt

[Curtis C]

Like others have said a 20° bag will work fine. If the temps plummet you should have enough clothing and the stove to keep you warm.

I would not leave my rifle in an unattended vehicle but that's just me.

C

 

[dotman]

Luke , I know the sawtooth is larger than I need but I hope to not be solo in the future. I plan on setting it up as a base camp to hunt out of. I don't plan to hunt with it on my back. Having a door ,bei
ng able to stand up to dress and bath is important to me. I may go with the small stove though. Bicksnort the area I plan to hunt is gmu 751 in colorado. Looking at several areas in the gmu. Along the los pinos river noth of granite lake , up around elk lake , and up vallecito cr at the junction of vallecito cr and rock creek. These are just general areas not the exact spots. I am hunting elk and plan to hire an outfitter to pack out anything I kill. I will be 45 and don't think I can do 5 days of heavy packing in a row. Way too much for my old arse. It will be all I can do to lug me and camp in and out. Larry , the 20* bag sounds about right. I'm not a cold sleeper. If it gets too cold for the bag I will tend the stove all night . Nothing I have said is set in stone. I know I want the duplex frame but not 100% about the bag to go on it. I measured my torso at 23" to 23 1/4" and I'm 6'4". Should I get the 26" frame. My head should clear it and I would be at max on a 24" frame.

That area is a hell hole to get to, not easy and tons of outfitters fyi.

 

[GrantMan]

I am glad you mentioned the Timberline and gunbearer. I just assumed the gunbearer would come with the pack like it does with all of the other packs. I had to verify my order and added the gunbearer. Of course it was an additional charge.

 

[Lawnboi]

Get the medium stove if you don't mind the extra weight!!! Just my opinion but it would be nice to have a little more heating and cooking power that late

 

[Shrek]

More items for your critique

Bag : big agnes summit park with air core mat ( not dual core?)
Jet boil sumo
Msr 10" fry pan and 2.4l pot @ 17.5 oz can be used on wood stove.
I am thinking that mountain house is great but... I want my oatmeal and eggs ( powdered )
Also thinking a little bit of evo , spices , pasta and .... I don't know?
At 6'4" and 220lbs by then hopefully , I will need a pile of calaries to keep going. 4000+ per day to keep up my stamina over three weeks of scouting and hunting. That is 4 double packs of meals per day! Going to look at cooking next and what to pack. I will get a friend to make a couple of deer into jerky for me ( it's the bomb! ) . I think any weight I have left to loose will be gone after this. I see now why people want a partner to go with. The food and equipment weight start to pile up!

 

[Shrek]

More items for your critique

Bag : big agnes summit park with air core mat ( not dual core?)
Jet boil sumo
Msr 10" fry pan and 2.4l pot @ 17.5 oz can be used on wood stove.
I am thinking that mountain house is great but... I want my oatmeal and eggs ( powdered )
Also thinking a little bit of evo , spices , pasta and .... I don't know?
At 6'4" and 220lbs by then hopefully , I will need a pile of calaries to keep going. 4000+ per day to keep up my stamina over three weeks of scouting and hunting. That is 4 double packs of meals per day! Going to look at cooking next and what to pack. I will get a friend to make a couple of deer into jerky for me ( it's the bomb! ) . I think any weight I have left to loose will be gone after this. I see now why people want a partner to go with. The food and equipment weight start to pile up!

 

[Mike7]

I haven't used the BA air core, but I really like the insulated air core mummy pad I have and not so sure about having an R value of 1.0 for your pad at that time of year.

You can use the UL Gunbearer or Universal Gunbearer with the Timberline...the UL version is quiet and secure but can't be used easily on non-Kifaru packs without some modification.

Ya, when you're carrying everything yourself, the weight really adds up fast. You definitely have to do what works best for you. Being over 40 and not in great shape like when youger, I like to have some options that maximize my efficiency depending upon the situation.

Carrying a big load/camp up a hiking trail isn't so bad, but relocating that load cross country to where you really may want to be for hunting really sucks. So far I am very happy using the Timberline this summer. I got the Timberline so that I could finally have a single lightweight compressible pack: that could haul heavy loads of meat out or maybe even a heavy base camp in, that I could bivy hunt out of with medium loads, and that I could day hunt out of with light loads but still potentailly pack back a large load of boned out meat.

 

[Shrek]

Scratch the summit park and air core. Thinking kifaru slick bag long wide cut @ 2lb 7.5oz. What mat for real comfort ?

 

[Mike7]

So far when solo, I have been too tired generally to bother using the wood stove for cooking when I get done hunting at the end of the day and set up camp, and I don't generally want to pack the extra pan or clean it anyway. Thus, I have come to love cooking everything out of a bag, with rapidly accessible boiling water from the pocket rocket...oatmeal, pasta, etc. all goes in the Mountain House/Backpacker's Pantry cooking bag which can then just be sealed right back up.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

Big Agnes Insulated Air Core, Exped UL7, and Neoair are all pretty popular. Of the three I would choose the BAIAC or the Exped.

 

[pyroducksx3]

I really like my big agnes Q-core, its not as light as the exped ul-7. I went to rei and laid out all the pads I liked the exped ul-7 and the q-core just a little more. I can get the big agnes on a discount so I went that direction. If weight was the most important factor than exped ul

 

[ohhiitznik]

Give klymit a look. They make some great stuff as well.

 

[Shrek]

Like others have said a 20° bag will work fine. If the temps plummet you should have enough clothing and the stove to keep you warm.

I would not leave my rifle in an unattended vehicle but that's just me.

C

The rifle will be stashed in the woods far enough away and hid well enough that it would be unlikely to be found. In a thick patch under tree litter so you would have to step on it to find it. Thats what I do with my backup gun even at my private hunt club.

 

[Shrek]

That area is a hell hole to get to, not easy and tons of outfitters fyi.

Tons of outfitters you say ? good to know. It looked like it will be rough. I was thinking it would thin out most people. Where else to go with a high draw chance , public land , and at least a small chance of a good bull ? I'm just working toward a hunt at this point and could go anywhere. I just picked an area the seemed to have all the elements. The person I have talked to said he saw one other hunter the whole season after he left the los pinos river.

 

[dotman]

Tons of outfitters you say ? good to know. It looked like it will be rough. I was thinking it would thin out most people. Where else to go with a high draw chance , public land , and at least a small chance of a good bull ? I'm just working toward a hunt at this point and could go anywhere. I just picked an area the seemed to have all the elements. The person I have talked to said he saw one other hunter the whole season after he left the los pinos river.

Not telling you not to try it out just giving you a heads-up that it may be 8 air miles but more like 12 miles by foot in some rough country and I wouldn't want to pack an elk out solo that far back in that country. I would suggest going out and exploring this year even if you can't hunt just to get a feel for what 3000ft up and down mile after mile is like plus scout it out.

I personally do not go much further then 3 miles on my solo hunts because of the meat packout. A lot talk about going deep but remember you will never go deeper then the horses and it is always good to find the middle ground between outfitters and road hunters. In CO put your finger on the map and go, there are elk everywhere and hunters everywhere you just have to find your spot. Last year I went back 8 miles in a new spot with a buddy and saw more hunters then elk in my area not far from where you are going but it was also archery season. Packed up went to plan B which was 3 miles from any roads and was in elk everyday with no other hunters around.

Now i'm going off archery season, it may be different during rifle.

 

[Shrek]

The friend I'm talking to about the area has offered to pack out anything I shoot with his horses. If he falls through I will hire an outfitter to pack it out.I could do a drop camp maybe but my report card always had " does not play well with others". A camp full of strangers could be a disaster! Plan A is to hunt where I find elk. If that means walking just walking far enough off the road to make the shot legal I'm all about ot! I making plans to go as far as you can go in the area. If the best hunting is shorter than as far as you can go that would be great! All this packing and camping is a means to an end , not the reason I'm there. I'm there to kill the best elk I can find.

 

[Shrek]

Got a GI foam pad at the gun show today. Od green 24"x60" with tie staps. Don't know what it weights but I thought it would be good to lay on while glassing and under an air pad to protect it. $8.00 so I can't go wrong.

 

[Shrek]

It has been a while and I have been narrowing down my list. I have not purchased most things yet and want your opinions. For shelter a Back country shelter by seek outside with a 22" ti goat cylinder stove. Sleep system; a 30* ul spiral down hugger bag , exped ul down mat , ti goat omni raven bivy , and a woobie. A stone glacier terminus pack with two side pouches and a gun sling and spotting scope bag. A jet boil sumo ti and a two liter pot as backup. A one hundred oz camelback bladder. I will post more later but want feedback on this first.

 

[Shrek]

I have already purchased a 10x51mm brunton eterna binos and a 18-38x50mm brunton eternas spotting scope but no tripod yet. I am looking for a light weight tripod and want sugestions. The spotter weighs about 24os so the tripod doesn't need to be heavy duty. I want a light , inexpensive head and tripod. I can hang a bag of dirt to hold it in the wind if need be. Missed it in the last post but I plan to get the golite ponch / tarp to carry for rain and bivy out if I'm caught away from my tent. I may leave the tent up but I will have the sleep system with me along with the poncho tarp. I have no idea about game bags yet so throw out your 2 cents worth. Do I need a water filter or can I just use purification tablets? I plan to hunt the NE corner of colorado gmu 751 for first rifle. I have somone who hunts there with horses who will pack out anything I kill.

 

[Outdoorsman3830]

I would highly recommend an Outdoor Research Advanced Bivy. They are a little heavier than most bivies, but they can handle the nastiest weather around. I'm 6'1" and have more than enough room inside and they are fast and easy to setup. They have been around for years and have proven to be one of best bivy sacks on the market.

The Thermarest Neoair is very comfortable, but I'm still a fan of my Thermarest Z-Lite. I have it cut down to only cushion and insulate from the top of my head down to the bottom of my butt. The Z-Lite is great to sit on while glassing and sitting around camp on. I just prefer the versatility of it over my Neoair.

I use a 0 degree bag, but am looking into using a Kifaru Doobie and Doobie Express. It would be more like a blanket, but I'm not sure how they would do if temperatures plummet. If I can get multiple uses out of the same item, I prefer it as long as it meets my personal criteria. Shaving weight is important and you are planning to hunt far back there.