Where to start? Building a western hunting/ mountain hunting setup.

[GMBbowhunter#7]

To all. New member here, currently in coastal Georgia. Trying to slowly acquire gear to prepare for some western hunts I am trying to plan. Will be starting from scratch. Minus a pack. I just bought a Mystery Ranch beartooth 80. Which has been great thus far.

My goal is to stay as minimalist as reasonable without going over the top on price! Trying to research as much as I can to buy stuff once!

One of the challenges I’m trying to consider. Is I want the shelter and sleeping system to also work in the southeast. Where the humidity can be brutal. So my initial thoughts are to not go with a floor less shelter. As I will also use this setup for the Georgia mountains.

What are peoples must haves and there unnecessary items?

 

[kevin11mee]

Do you have a rifle? What do you plan on hunting? Where do you plan on hunting?

 

[Brotherbear67]

Water purification and multiple fire making/ignation sources/tinder are tops in the must haves for me. Found out the hard way on both of em.

 

[PNWGATOR]

You’ll find a lot of really good information and gear lists here digging through historic posts. Take your time and do it right from the start. You can also check forums like backpacking light and look at the pack dump videos and lists on Stone Glacier’s and Exo’s blogs/websites.

Personally, I love floorless shelters out here. Zero chance I’d use one in the SE! Lol. I grew up in FL and spent a lot of time outdoors throughout the SE and I too would prefer a floor. Too many creepy crawleys.

 

[Moose Drool]

Mountain smith mountain lt shelter is a cheap way to try out a floorless shelter and see if you like it. Optics and boots would be my priority.

 

[GMBbowhunter#7]

Do you have a rifle? What do you plan on hunting? Where do you plan on hunting?

I have rifles and bows. I’ve mainly hunted whitetails on the east coast my whole life. I’d say my main plan is try and do elk hunting in MT,ID, WY or CO. Possibly a Canadian moose hunt.

 

[kevin11mee]

Ok. I’d say a good pack because you might need to pack out the elk. Some good boots for walking, nothing real heavy. Some good binos with a tripod. Also, you want to be able to shoot out to 400 yards, so you can accomplish that by dialing a turret or holding over.

 

[GMBbowhunter#7]

Water purification and multiple fire making/ignation sources/tinder are tops in the must haves for me. Found out the hard way on both of em.

What purification. System do you run. Was looking at platypus bags and sawyer filters.

 

[PNWGATOR]

Platypus bags work great for me. I use a 3L zip top bladder with hydration hose and a Nalgene bottle. I drink a lot of water and find it easier to stay hydrated with the bladder. The Nalgene I use for mixing electrolytes as well as adding hot water for a warm bottle in the sleeping bag on cold nights.

I use a sawyer squeeze filtration system. I am considering changing to aquamira drops. For base camp I have a Katadyn 10L gravity fed filter.

You’ll need a striker for building fires. Get a Holland’s Mini Lightning Strike and learn to build fire.

Another good resource for you is Proving Trail Ventures and their gear list.