How do you find a hunting buddy for a spring bear hunt in Montana would like to trek in and spike camp

I'm not trying to discourage you (though I do think choosing the Frank Church would be a terrible idea), I'm just saying to make sure to spend some time camping and using your gear so that it's not your first trip. There's a lot suck that can go with backpack camping and you don't want to be dealing with it for the first time on top of elevation, exhaustion, trying to figure out how to kill a bear and all the other things you have to manage on a hunt.
Thank you for the outlook and understanding
 
Spring bear for a Floridian? You realize you're probably dealing with snow and cold. And for someone thats never been in the backcountry, yeah 2 weeks is a while. That's not an insult to you. If your goal is successive years then base out of a trailhead to get your feet wet. Sleep in your truck. Sleep in a tent. Get used to it. I know there's a lot of guys on this site and on TV that make it sound amazing and awesome and easy. For those of us that have been around Rokslide a while we can tell you there's a ton of guys that have been here over the years looking for the same and they never post again. I think they struggle and figure out its bit as easy as it sounds.
 
Spring bear for a Floridian? You realize you're probably dealing with snow and cold. And for someone thats never been in the backcountry, yeah 2 weeks is a while. That's not an insult to you. If your goal is successive years then base out of a trailhead to get your feet wet. Sleep in your truck. Sleep in a tent. Get used to it. I know there's a lot of guys on this site and on TV that make it sound amazing and awesome and easy. For those of us that have been around Rokslide a while we can tell you there's a ton of guys that have been here over the years looking for the same and they never post again. I think they struggle and figure out its bit as easy as it sounds.
Right on. I havent lived in Florida in 16 years. Michigan has me well acclimated to the snow and cold thanks for the advice lol
 
Ive been on both sides of this before. Both sides of this taught me to be very good at hunting alone. Hunting alone is one of the most efficient hunting skills to have.


Having said that, i hope the best for you.
 
I would say your best bet would be to try to pick an area that’s pretty remote but still has a decent amount of access for your first trip. Get your backpacking setup dialed and test it out on shorter 2-4 day trips using your truck as a base camp so you can still be mobile while figuring out the new area.

Just to be blunt you aren’t going to make it 7 days solo in the mountain west backcountry in spring conditions (let alone 2 weeks) without any experience living out of your pack with your gear for extended periods of time unsupported. This is all before we even consider locating, killing, and packing out an animal.

Pressure wouldn’t be a huge concern for me on a spring bear hunt in the region you are considering, there’s a ton of country and it’s not hard to get away from folks with a little effort and planning.

My best advice to you would be go try it out wherever you can get into some good public land with a bit of elevation to hike around, setup camp, and start getting your backpacking setup perfected, but realize it will likely need major adjustments traveling to a different climate.

What you want to do can absolutely be done but it’s going to take a lot of work and learning that you want to do before hand or you’ll end up sinking a lot of money into a disappointing experience. Check out the Exo experience project series and podcasts, they did a really good job of breaking down most aspects of planning your first adventure hunts.
 
I would say your best bet would be to try to pick an area that’s pretty remote but still has a decent amount of access for your first trip. Get your backpacking setup dialed and test it out on shorter 2-4 day trips using your truck as a base camp so you can still be mobile while figuring out the new area.

Just to be blunt you aren’t going to make it 7 days solo in the mountain west backcountry in spring conditions (let alone 2 weeks) without any experience living out of your pack with your gear for extended periods of time unsupported. This is all before we even consider locating, killing, and packing out an animal.

Pressure wouldn’t be a huge concern for me on a spring bear hunt in the region you are considering, there’s a ton of country and it’s not hard to get away from folks with a little effort and planning.

My best advice to you would be go try it out wherever you can get into some good public land with a bit of elevation to hike around, setup camp, and start getting your backpacking setup perfected, but realize it will likely need major adjustments traveling to a different climate.

What you want to do can absolutely be done but it’s going to take a lot of work and learning that you want to do before hand or you’ll end up sinking a lot of money into a disappointing experience. Check out the Exo experience project series and podcasts, they did a really good job of breaking down most aspects of planning your first adventure hunts.
Thanks man gives me hope. Something I really want to do. I'd send ya a personal message to pic your brain but im still learning this thing.
 
Back
Top