Darren Best
WKR
1. Be in the absolute best "mountain" shape you can be in. Maintain and improve this fitness each year, don't slack off and let it slide each winter. Make your fitness sport specific and this means, lots of walking and hiking. Walk everyday and build your mileage up. Take a longer hike in the woods or nearest mountains each weekend. Go slow, easy and steady though, down time because of injuries does not get you in shape.
2. Get the very best boots you can afford and makes sure your feet can handle high miles in them.
3. Learn to take care of your feet. This means parking the ego and stopping when you start to think you might have a problem. This also follows #1 with all of the walking and hiking, which toughens your feet up. Part of your gear list should be a foot care kit.
4. When it comes to gear, keep it simple, less is more. The less you buy, the more money you save and the less you have to carry. Here is a pretty basic gear list. http://backcountryhunter.net/2013-gear-list/
5. Test everything ahead of time in all weather, know how to use it, what it's strengths and weaknesses are. Don't go on a big hunt with untested gear.
6. Scout as much as you can using the internet, maps, phone calls, etc..
7. Buy once, cry once on gear. Don't work up in increments on gear by settling for less than what you want, just get the good stuff from the start. Listen to the guys that use it and hunt a lot. You will find their posts scattered all over this forum. Luke Moffat, Aron Snyder, Stid and a few others. Stid especially does some amazing write ups on his hunts, gear and his learning experiences. Luke is a serious hardcore bargain hunter and any gear that doesn't cut the grade gets tossed, he doesn't have a single brand loyalty bone in his body. Aron has access to almost anything he wants to try. All three of these guys do some really serious hunting and game killing. Just look for their posts.
8. Take lots and lots of pictures. My biggest regret is not even carrying a camera for most of my years of hunting. Learn to stop and take pics as often as possible. Especially if you live back east and you do a western hunt, you will see country that you don't get to see often, record it. With modern digital cameras and their huge amounts of memory there is no excuse for not taking pictures. I did a trip to South Dakota 4 years ago and took 600 pictures in 10 days. Take multiple shots of each thing because many won't turn out and will get deleted. It is not at all uncommon to take four or six shots of the same thing and end up deleting all but one.
9. Practice your shooting as often as possible with as realistic conditions as possible. When you think you are good, practice some more and keep practicing. So many times I have seen guys get on a really nice animal and miss. When you finally line your sights up on your first bull and he is screaming and trashing everything in sight, your adrenalin is going to be through the roof and you will forget everything you told yourself to remember, practice until the shot is automatic.
10. Have fun. If you want to backpack bivy hunt, then do it. Whatever your dream is, reach for it, don't sell yourself short, but plan carefully and work your ass off.
2. Get the very best boots you can afford and makes sure your feet can handle high miles in them.
3. Learn to take care of your feet. This means parking the ego and stopping when you start to think you might have a problem. This also follows #1 with all of the walking and hiking, which toughens your feet up. Part of your gear list should be a foot care kit.
4. When it comes to gear, keep it simple, less is more. The less you buy, the more money you save and the less you have to carry. Here is a pretty basic gear list. http://backcountryhunter.net/2013-gear-list/
5. Test everything ahead of time in all weather, know how to use it, what it's strengths and weaknesses are. Don't go on a big hunt with untested gear.
6. Scout as much as you can using the internet, maps, phone calls, etc..
7. Buy once, cry once on gear. Don't work up in increments on gear by settling for less than what you want, just get the good stuff from the start. Listen to the guys that use it and hunt a lot. You will find their posts scattered all over this forum. Luke Moffat, Aron Snyder, Stid and a few others. Stid especially does some amazing write ups on his hunts, gear and his learning experiences. Luke is a serious hardcore bargain hunter and any gear that doesn't cut the grade gets tossed, he doesn't have a single brand loyalty bone in his body. Aron has access to almost anything he wants to try. All three of these guys do some really serious hunting and game killing. Just look for their posts.
8. Take lots and lots of pictures. My biggest regret is not even carrying a camera for most of my years of hunting. Learn to stop and take pics as often as possible. Especially if you live back east and you do a western hunt, you will see country that you don't get to see often, record it. With modern digital cameras and their huge amounts of memory there is no excuse for not taking pictures. I did a trip to South Dakota 4 years ago and took 600 pictures in 10 days. Take multiple shots of each thing because many won't turn out and will get deleted. It is not at all uncommon to take four or six shots of the same thing and end up deleting all but one.
9. Practice your shooting as often as possible with as realistic conditions as possible. When you think you are good, practice some more and keep practicing. So many times I have seen guys get on a really nice animal and miss. When you finally line your sights up on your first bull and he is screaming and trashing everything in sight, your adrenalin is going to be through the roof and you will forget everything you told yourself to remember, practice until the shot is automatic.
10. Have fun. If you want to backpack bivy hunt, then do it. Whatever your dream is, reach for it, don't sell yourself short, but plan carefully and work your ass off.
