First time Western Hunt

[Nurmikko22]

I agree with spending money on good boots.

 

[dirtytough]

I would spend money on good bino's first.

 

[Larry100]

Echoing what everyone else is saying.

Boots that are broken in before you get out west.
Best glass you can afford.
and ...get in SHAPE. You will be humbled by the mountains.

 

[ddel23]

@ddel23 what state do you think you're going hunt on a OTC first season rifle as a Nonresident ?

I meant to say either OTC second / third rifle or draw first rifle in a low preference point unit.

 

[gobears870]

I penned an article a while back with your situation in mind

Prepping for Your First Western Hunt

Backcountry Hunters & Anglers is the voice for our wild public lands, waters and wildlife.

www.backcountryhunters.org

More directly to your questions, here's what I would say.

Yes, good boots are essential as everyone says. Take time to figure out what's best for you - REI has the best return policy but limited selection. GoHunt will work with you as well if you don't mind the time required to ship and return (being a member helps a ton in this regard).

On packs, look at the classifieds section. Don't feel like you need to spend $700 on a new rig. There are lots of good quality used packs out there in the $250-350 range.

For binos, I'd say you need more than those 8x28, but how crazy you go is up to you. Personally I do not feel you need $1000 glass if you're just trying to identify legal bulls from long distance. I don't think you can go wrong with mid-tier Vortex and Leupold 10x42s.

And as my article points out, spend money on quality base layers - you can get by with good non-hunting brand outerwear in earth tones, but good merino or synthetic base layers are going to go a long way keeping you comfortable in a variety of conditions.

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Planning on first season rifle

You said your doing first season rifle. To me this means you have a high chance of snow or nice weather. I assume your going to Colorado and the weather is similar to where I am in Wyoming. Are your trophy hunting or going to shoot what walks in front of you? I assume since its your first hunt and still young, you will want tot go back so this will not be a trophy hunt. If that is the case, your binos are fine. When hunting elk on your back there are a couple things that will hit you like a bus if your not expecting them. First, as mentioned, boots. Get good boots and break them in. Second, get the best pack you can afford. I have my recommendations if you would like them. Third, don't overpack. Dial in your clothing, you don't need high dollar clothing to hunt. I do recommend a puffy. Its light and can keep you warm. Also, you said you have a nice sleeping bag. Make sure it gets you down to 0 comfortably. You didn't mention a sleeping pad, you will want a really good insulated one. Rvalue of 5 or higher. I went on a backpacking trip years ago with inadequate sleeping system and to this day still get the shivers from those three nights.

 

[rayporter]

the most important thing is to go hunt.
the second most important thing is to not hurt so you can hunt.

optics are a distant third or fourth.

we killed our fist 5 elk and never carried binos. never once needed binos to kill in 36years.
but you could end up where it is possible or necessary for optics.

 

[Jaquomo]

Aside from what the others have echoed, I would suggest NOT packing in and sticking yourself to a foot hunt from a base camp unless you know there will be elk there from a really reliable source. Use your pack to pack your elk out a mile or two from the road, staying mobile until you happen upon a legal elk or glass some too far to hunt from base camp. Then think about spike camping. Far doesn't mean solitude or more elk anymore. . 47 years hunting in CO and also guiding rifle hunters for a number of years.

 

[Huntnnw]

I would invest in a good pack if walking in. I have never been a high dollar optics guy, I think there is a point of deminishing returns.

Never skimp on boots. Look into an inreach or spot device.

Also, assuming you are talking about CO. 1st season isn’t OTC, May be (probably) able to get a leftover though

that's relative to what you are hunting and terrain. you can get away with low dollar optics on a elk hunt if any elk is what you're after. Elk are easy to see and if you aren't counting inches then it doesn't matter. If you are hunting big open country, counting inches or looking for mule deer then high dollar optics are worth it!

 

[Iowafarmer]

Don’t want to overlap any threads, but I feel like this is something I don’t see much people talk about. I am from PA and have hunted for 15 years, have all the gear you would expect of a eastern hunter. Still in college, but planning an OTC elk hunt this upcoming year. Where would you spend your money, and where would you skimp to make do? I have a great sleeping bag and tent so far, now wondering if I invest in a nice pack, or upgrade my 8x28mm binoculars, or make do with cheap. What gear do you guys find to be most important, and where can I save a few bucks? Thanks

Don’t want to overlap any threads, but I feel like this is something I don’t see much people talk about. I am from PA and have hunted for 15 years, have all the gear you would expect of a eastern hunter. Still in college, but planning an OTC elk hunt this upcoming year. Where would you spend your money, and where would you skimp to make do? I have a great sleeping bag and tent so far, now wondering if I invest in a nice pack, or upgrade my 8x28mm binoculars, or make do with cheap. What gear do you guys find to be most important, and where can I save a few bucks? Thanks

Good glass is very important out west can’t shoot em if ya can’t see em

 

[cnelk]

1979 I went on my first elk hunt as a nonresident - I was 15.
Shot my first elk with a .270, I was wearing a flannel shirt, a down vest, blue jeans and didnt have any binos.

 

[gobears870]

Aside from what the others have echoed, I would suggest NOT packing in and sticking yourself to a foot hunt from a base camp unless you know there will be elk there from a really reliable source. Use your pack to pack your elk out a mile or two from the road, staying mobile until you happen upon a legal elk or glass some too far to hunt from base camp. Then think about spike camping. Far doesn't mean solitude or more elk anymore. . 47 years hunting in CO and also guiding rifle hunters for a number of years.

I would second this. I think a lot of people get into Western hunting believing "packing in" is how it's supposed to be done. Or that backpack hunting greatly raises your odds of success. That might be the case in some areas but definitely not all of them. The hardest part of all of this is finding the elk. Covering as much ground as efficiently as possible is the way to do it. That's extremely hard to do with camp on your back unless you are dead certain the area you're going into holds elk.

 

[taskswap]

I understand that I need good gear of each, but I am more concerned of how “good” is good. Will a $300 pair of binos be okay, or does it make sense to spend a grand? Do I need a spotting scope, or can I get away with just binos, etc.?

I'm personally a HUGE fan of cheap gear. I own a really nice pair of Danner boots that I hate, and a pair of average Timberlands that just fit me like a glove so I always use those. I took several elk while hunting with entry-level Vortex Crossfire bino's - I've upgraded since, but it was a luxury, not a requirement. My tent was $70. I own a really nice >$1000 Browning A-bolt but since it's so heavy that I almost always take my 7mm-08 carbine, which I got mostly for fun (I think I paid $450 with scope) and ended up loving so much I just always use it.

Wrangler pants from Walmart for $25 are a total win. I think I got my coat there too (might have been Murdock's). It was cheap and it's comfy. Costco for socks and 32-degree base layers. You don't need expensive Sitka gear to hunt elk in rifle season - you're going to cover most of it in orange anyway.

These are largely personal choices, but areas where I spend:

1. Mystery Ranch or similar pack system with load lifters and a really good waist belt. Elk pack-outs are very taxing. Anything you can do to address that is worth it.

2. I know there are plenty of stories about pillowcases for meat bags, and I'm sure those work, but I'm in love with my Caribou Gear game bags and think they were worth every penny. My current set has held up for 5 seasons so far and no sign of fraying.

3. Weight-saving items. I field-dress with a Havalon Talon which is pretty light, but if I wasn't using that I'd reach for my cheap-o Morakniv any day vs. my fancy, expensive belt knife my wife got me as a gift. It's not just because it's cheaper - it's extremely light, too. Black Diamond 160 headlamp, lithium AAA batteries (half the weight of alkalines), lightweight sleeping pad, anything I can do to save a few ounces. It all adds up.

Honestly? You do not need ANY of this. Don't let anybody tell you that you need something fancy or expensive to be successful. You need your orange, your rifle, some kind of pack, food/water, and enough clothing to suit the weather. Everything else is a want. Don't forget, people have done this in jeans and flannel with no technology at all. A few decades ago, binos were so primitive lots of people didn't even use them. Get out there, and bring whatever you can afford just to make it easier, not to make it possible.

 

[sodaksooner]

My first elk hunt was in all cotton with my treestand boots and a pair of 7 x 35 bushnells I got for xmas as a kid. Boots were cheap timberlands. Sole came off one of them in the terrain (Managed to cobble it back together. Binoculars fogged up the first day. Spent the week wet and miserable due to the clothes but had one of my favorite hunts, even though we didn't shoot anyting. Immediately went out and bought new boots and optics after that hunt. Clothes came later. We camped in an RV at the trailhead so tentage wasn't a big deal. Since then many thousands in backcountry gear and camp items, but it didn't happen all at once. We just went with what we had and modified and adapted as the years went on.

 

[BarCO]

I would not worry on a pack. I would make sure you have good boots.

 

[3325]

The work starts when the elk is down. How are you getting this thing out of mountains? It might be five or six times as big as the biggest whitetail buck you’ve ever killed.

I use two pack frames and leap frog boned out loads. This can make for a long, hard day that can make a tough day’s hunting seem easy.

 

[BarCO]

The work starts when the elk is down. How are you getting this thing out of mountains? It might be five or six times as big as the biggest whitetail buck you’ve ever killed.

I use two pack frames and leap frog boned out loads. This can make for a long, hard day that can make a tough day’s hunting seem easy.

Out first elk 5x5 bull we used normal backpacks and also quarters over our shoulders. 2 of us, 4 trips. One of the best memories I have .

 

[3325]

.......quarters over our shoulders.

I carried both shoulders together out over my shoulders once. It was a smaller 6 point but it was sort of like hitting myself in the head with a hammer - it felt really good when I stopped.

 

[ddel23]

You said your doing first season rifle. To me this means you have a high chance of snow or nice weather. I assume your going to Colorado and the weather is similar to where I am in Wyoming. Are your trophy hunting or going to shoot what walks in front of you? I assume since its your first hunt and still young, you will want tot go back so this will not be a trophy hunt. If that is the case, your binos are fine. When hunting elk on your back there are a couple things that will hit you like a bus if your not expecting them. First, as mentioned, boots. Get good boots and break them in. Second, get the best pack you can afford. I have my recommendations if you would like them. Third, don't overpack. Dial in your clothing, you don't need high dollar clothing to hunt. I do recommend a puffy. Its light and can keep you warm. Also, you said you have a nice sleeping bag. Make sure it gets you down to 0 comfortably. You didn't mention a sleeping pad, you will want a really good insulated one. Rvalue of 5 or higher. I went on a backpacking trip years ago with inadequate sleeping system and to this day still get the shivers from those three nights.

Thank you for the response! I am interested in what packs you recommend. I have been looking at the mystery ranch metcalf, but I am still in the searching phase. Thank you

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

Thank you for the response! I am interested in what packs you recommend. I have been looking at the mystery ranch metcalf, but I am still in the searching phase. Thank you

If budget is of no concern, buy new and get what you want. If your only going to buy one, the top 3 pack companies really produce a pack that can be compressed into something that is so small you don't know its there. I typically run a 1700-3200 cu. in. daypack. Right now I use a Stone Glacier Serac and a Kiowa. If it is a day hunt that has the potential to be an overnighter the Kiowa gets the nod or my Stone Glacier Sky Archer. Most of the time I run the Sky Archer but it weighs more than my Kiowa. If I am ounce counting that is. The Sky Archer comes in at over 5900 cubic inches. If I could only buy one, I would buy a pack around 5200 cubic inch or larger. It will allow you to do a day hunt to a multi-day hunt (10 days). For Kifaru I would look at something like the Reckoning with duplex. For Exo I would look at the new K4 with a 4800 bag. They haven't released those yet and I have no experience. I would love to try it out and compare to my SG but funds aren't going to allow that one. Hopefully that helps.