Camp set up. Where to camp in the back country

[Aboyer35]

heading out to MT this and plan to spike tent a few days. Where is the best place to set up camp? What should I avoid doing?

 

[5MilesBack]

heading out to MT this and plan to spike tent a few days. Where is the best place to set up camp?

How are we supposed to know where you should set up.........post coordinates and we'll have a better idea.

And actually, most all of my scouting is based on looking for camping locations. I'll find the elk when I get there during the season.

 

[Aboyer35]

How are we supposed to know where you should set up.........post coordinates and we'll have a better idea.

And actually, most all of my scouting is based on looking for camping locations. I'll find the elk when I get there during the season.

How are we supposed to know where you should set up.........post coordinates and we'll have a better idea.

And actually, most all of my scouting is based on looking for camping locations. I'll find the elk when I get there during the season.

That is my game plan for setting up camp. Thermals are something I want to look out for for sure. Do you favor slopes or set up in the bottom?

 

[ChrisAU]

Water access and a flat spot were what decided our spot last year...which makes it really hard to get to a good glassing spot early in the morning. I’d like to hear input from others as well.

 

[CMF]

Also curious how others set up when there are no flat spots around?

 

[GCC79]

If the area has grizzlies, I would prepare for that as well.

 

[spike camp]

There’s always a flat spot, big enough for a 2 person tent...

Water, proximity to the Elk and thermals are the three biggest factors imo.

 

[tttoadman]

The endless debate. Camp high or low?? Know the prevailing winds in the area. The prevailing winds will trump the thermals in most cases. The best find is a high spring or lake where you can set up a camp in the timber a few hundred yards away. Make certain you are not cutting off the best elk routes. Move camp in the middle of the day if you figure out you picked a bad spot. Look for excessive blow downs or standing deads that can get you. Easy way to eliminate a potential campsite. As long as I can be glassing after a short walk in the morning, I am happy.

Someday I will shoot an elk out of my tent door. That will be my new favorite camp.

 

[sagebuster]

Hunt high, sleep low. How you do that depends on your imagination.

 

[Wrench]

I like to camp where I can wake up and glass. Elk are going to come up with the sun....think about your thermals sucking your scent down or up. There'sno perfect answer.

 

[Conrad101st]

I have literally shot a 6x6 a couple feet out of my tent

Hiked hard all day to get to a big bowl way back. Bowl was 2000 yards across. We camped in a little pine thicket just below timber line in the bowl 2/3 of the way up. We glassed the ridges off the back of the bowl. Monday morning slept in. 9am elk are bugling 75 yards from camp. I shot him while only wearing my blue boxers and unlaced boots. Had to get out of tent because rifle was leaning against tree 5 feet from door.

 

[Mosby]

Water source is a big consideration for me. Safety is also a consideration. I also look for widow makers, avalanche shoots and if storms are coming, someplace where I am not going to be a lightning rod.

 

[njdoxie]

Yeah, I camp near water, but there’s dead aspens all around which makes me a little nervous, but other than that it’s the best spot around, but wish it was closer to the elk, but I’m super cautious not to spook them, so I’m ok having a hike to and from. I try to find other spots but keep coming back to it, it’s the best spot other than the dead aspens. I already have trouble sleeping, I don’t need to worry about a falling tree, so once again I’ll look for a safer spot.


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[brsnow]

Just make sure there are no dead trees near by

 

[Marble]

Are dead trees really a concern? Im 43, been elk hunting 20 years, back packil mule deer since 1990, never had a tree fall ever. I wouldn't set my camp under something obviously getting ready to fall, but would not hesitate otherwise.

I really like to set up where I'm either hunting first thing, glassing or near water. Sometimes a combo of the 3. I've killed deer and elk from camp, but normally am pretty darn close to where I will kill them.

 

[juan trueno]

I’d say dead trees got enough guys along the way that the word got around that camping under dead trees isn’t viable in country / during a season that can dump a decent snow load over night, etc. it’s generational knowledge. And all that standing dead and burned is still looming out there ready to cull those from the herd that failed to get the memo. Are they really a concern? Only if your sleeping under them when they fall. Which as evidenced by the number that are on the ground- happens time to time.

I prefer to camp about as low as I expect the elk to be overnight. I might camp across the the creek from and a couple hundred yards below wherever they most prominently and obviously are coming down to it at night for instance.


I also will camp a few hundred yards out of the way of obvious escape corridors that I anticipate the elk will utilize in response to pressure up high.

I honestly don’t spend a ton of time behind glass during elk season- though I do leading up to it. Most of the places I hunt though- if you have been able to glass elk moving to them- it’s from a vantage point that doesn’t offer ready access to them so you will meet me packing mine out while you are on the way in and illl be able to help point you to where they are in there.

 

[spike camp]

The wind takes down the dead trees, more than snow.
On a windy night, in certain beetle kill areas, we’ll hear 5-6 big crashes.

 

[Mosby]

Are dead trees really a concern? Im 43, been elk hunting 20 years, back packil mule deer since 1990, never had a tree fall ever. I wouldn't set my camp under something obviously getting ready to fall, but would not hesitate otherwise.

I really like to set up where I'm either hunting first thing, glassing or near water. Sometimes a combo of the 3. I've killed deer and elk from camp, but normally am pretty darn close to where I will kill them.

It is a concern for me and it isn't just dead trees. I have been in areas where the trees are short rooted and fall over in heavy winds, roots and all. I look for dead trees, widow makers, blow downs or a lot of limb debris before I set up. Most areas are fine but I still look. People are killed and injured all the time by falling trees and limbs.

 

[Beendare]

"A flat spot"...ha!

My take; first you have to find a spot the elk are using....and that spot might not be the same once hunting season starts...so its best to anticipate where the elk will go when pressured.

Your camp can have a small effect or large- depending. I prefer having to walk a little further vs letting my camp and scent screw up an area.

Of course, All of the other basic woodsman skills apply; Water source, Deadfalls, wind currents, etc

..

 

[Beendare]

Standing beetle kill- sure its a problem. I had pics on the old site of a horseback camp in Wyo in 2015 I think it was. We had 7 trees fall close to camp...but missed our tent as we paced off the space we needed to clear those standing deadfall.

Our horses high line wasn't so lucky. We had a tree whack the muzzle of one of the horses in the middle of the night.