multi-purpose backpack/bivy hunting items

[rclouse79]

I have been getting fired up for my first true attempt at a bivy hunt for elk this October. I weighed my pack fully loaded, minus food, and it came in at 49 lbs. I have been trying to cut as much weight as my budget will allow. A nice trick is to find one object that will serve multiple purposes. One piece of gear that was bugging me was my game bags. For elk you need four or five, and the ones I have take up a decent amount of space and weight. I had already decided I needed to man up and glass while sitting one the cold wet ground instead of bringing my nice cushy, and heavy, butt pad. During one of my sleepless nights I came up with an idea while my mind pondered over any conceivable pickle I might get myself into while hunting.

I rolled up four game bags individually and wrapped all of them with a fifth game bag. I then cut the leg off an old pair of levis, which I found were the perfect size for the rolled game bags to just fit. I sewed one end of the leg shut with my wife's sewing machine and sewed Velcro strips one the other side to close it. It makes a better seat than a rock and weighs less than bringing my game bags and seat cushion.

 

I have also:

Switched to a cook pot that doubles as a mug/bowl

Switched from a commercial cooking system to an alcohol stove made out of an aluminum beer bottle (that fits inside my mug/bowl/pot + windscreen + fuel + pot holder + matches)

Switched from an ok tent to a good bivy and tarp

Accepted the idea of one pair of clothes (minus undies and socks)

Realized that my body is my most important piece of equipment. . . . and it is not something I can buy on Amazon as an impulse purchase a couple of weeks before opening day

 

I know there are people out there smarter than me with more experience. Be a pal and throw some ideas out.

 

[Flatlander]

I would definitely not hunt minus undies and socks no matter how much weight it saved. I have tried and it did not end well . . .

[43F]

What about setting up some caches in the areas you are going to hunt while scouting or between now and the hunt. Like water, power bars, maybe socks, etc. Your game bag idea is GREAT! I think that can be used by anyone, whether they are bivy hunting or operating from a camp.

I'll say this, I was in 10th Mountain while I was in the Army and we were a light infantry unit. I humped many a heavy ruck and I'm a little concerned about your pack weight. You are already at 49 pounds and that is without an elk. I would guess just the cape, head, and antlers alone are going to put you around a hundred pounds. I rucked around a hundred pounds a couple of times and it was not fun. Do-able, but not fun and you still have yet to pack the rest of the meat.

Perhaps I'm not seeing the whole picture like your working out of a larger camp and planning on bivying around that area.

[Heat]

Sleeping systems and packs themselves are great ways to save weight. For game bags I now use the Caribou Gear bags. They are lightweight and re-usable.

[rclouse79]

What about setting up some caches in the areas you are going to hunt while scouting or between now and the hunt. Like water, power bars, maybe socks, etc. Your game bag idea is GREAT! I think that can be used by anyone, whether they are bivy hunting or operating from a camp.

 

I'll say this, I was in 10th Mountain while I was in the Army and we were a light infantry unit. I humped many a heavy ruck and I'm a little concerned about your pack weight. You are already at 49 pounds and that is without an elk. I would guess just the cape, head, and antlers alone are going to put you around a hundred pounds. I rucked around a hundred pounds a couple of times and it was not fun. Do-able, but not fun and you still have yet to pack the rest of the meat.

 

Perhaps I'm not seeing the whole picture like your working out of a larger camp and planning on bivying around that area.

 

My plan is only to go in as far as the weather permits. If it is a normal year I think it will be cold enough to freeze the quarters during the night which means I won't have to hurry too much. If I get one I will quarter it, put it in game bags and hang it in a shady spot. I plan to pack out the backstraps and tenderloins inside my normal pack on the first trip out. At the truck I will have a pack frame to go back in for more. I also have a friend who does not have a tag but is meeting me to help glass and be a pack mule if we are successful.

[Viper]

I admire your sense of adventure. I'm wondering where you are hunting, that there isn't a road within a mile or two, and what time of year... that you think the meat will freeze overnight? I've not found many elk areas in AZ where there isn't a road close enough for a day hunt, or overnight bivy.

I doubt elk quarters will freeze overnight. It would take two or three days at zero degrees to freeze an elk quarter. It only needs to be cooled down quickly as possible and kept cool...preferably around 40 degrees. The Sept hunt is usually warm, so cooling the meat is real important, while the nights are perfect for hanging meat.

I would be sure my scouting shows it is worth remote bivy hunting. Otherwise, you could go to all the trouble and find the animal numbers/quality no better than hunting closer to the road. If it's just the wilderness experience you're after, then go for it...I understand....I'm wired that way too.

Give us a good report/write-up when you get back.

[AZ_SAWBUCK]

I like that game bag idea! Good Luck.....

[PRDATR]

My thoughts, and take it for whats it's worth, is why take anything that needs to be cooked at all? Get some MRE's or Mountain Home meals. I find that 1500 calories a day get's me by so I don't starve. The biggest thing for me is staying hydrated so I'll pick a few areas for a stash and pre-pack in water 3-4 weeks ahead of time. When I go remote I don't even make a fire at night. I don't know what you use for socks but I highly recommend Smart Wool brand socks. Wear one pair and pack another that will easily get you through 4-5 days by alternating them and rinsing them out on off days.

They don't get matted down like other socks and wear like iron. I would also wear Under Armor to soak up sweat and keep you warm at night. A lightweight down bag with a liner will keel you warm and they are very light. However they are pretty much worthless if they get wet.

Take some para cord and hang the meat to keep it away from four legged predators but be advised that Yellow Jackets and Ravens may find it. I would also take a few lightweight plastic trash bags to put over the meat when hanging it in case it rains, just cut the bottoms out so they can breath.

[rclouse79]

I admire your sense of adventure. I'm wondering where you are hunting, that there isn't a road within a mile or two, and what time of year... that you think the meat will freeze overnight? I've not found many elk areas in AZ where there isn't a road close enough for a day hunt, or overnight bivy.

I doubt elk quarters will freeze overnight. It would take two or three days at zero degrees to freeze an elk quarter. It only needs to be cooled down quickly as possible and kept cool...preferably around 40 degrees. The Sept hunt is usually warm, so cooling the meat is real important, while the nights are perfect for hanging meat.

I would be sure my scouting shows it is worth remote bivy hunting. Otherwise, you could go to all the trouble and find the animal numbers/quality no better than hunting closer to the road. If it's just the wilderness experience you're after, then go for it...I understand....I'm wired that way too.

Give us a good report/write-up when you get back.

 

I will be in Colorado October 12th at 11000 feet. I will be in a wilderness area where there are no roads. The last elk I shot was in unit 10 in December. We hung the quarters in a shady tree for three days while my buddy hunted. We did not put the quarters in a cooler and they were still frozen when we dropped them off at the butcher in Tucson. From what I can gather the weather at that elevation will probably be colder than unit 10 was at the beginning of December.

[PRDATR]

You can definitely expect freezing temps at night and a possibility snow if that's where you will be. I was hunting in mid October above Purgatory one year and awoke to 8 inches of wet snow.

[rclouse79]

You can definitely expect freezing temps at night and a possibility snow if that's where you will be. I was hunting in mid October above Purgatory one year and awoke to 8 inches of wet snow.

I am crossing my fingers that I don't get dumped on, but you have to be ready for anything.

[PRDATR]

It pays to have a pair of snow chains on hand.

[Viper]

I admire your sense of adventure. I'm wondering where you are hunting, that there isn't a road within a mile or two, and what time of year... that you think the meat will freeze overnight? I've not found many elk areas in AZ where there isn't a road close enough for a day hunt, or overnight bivy.

I doubt elk quarters will freeze overnight. It would take two or three days at zero degrees to freeze an elk quarter. It only needs to be cooled down quickly as possible and kept cool...preferably around 40 degrees. The Sept hunt is usually warm, so cooling the meat is real important, while the nights are perfect for hanging meat.

I would be sure my scouting shows it is worth remote bivy hunting. Otherwise, you could go to all the trouble and find the animal numbers/quality no better than hunting closer to the road. If it's just the wilderness experience you're after, then go for it...I understand....I'm wired that way too.

Give us a good report/write-up when you get back.

 

I will be in Colorado October 12th at 11000 feet. I will be in a wilderness area where there are no roads. The last elk I shot was in unit 10 in December. We hung the quarters in a shady tree for three days while my buddy hunted. We did not put the quarters in a cooler and they were still frozen when we dropped them off at the butcher in Tucson. From what I can gather the weather at that elevation will probably be colder than unit 10 was at the beginning of December.

 

YIKES!! I guess we're kinda spoiled here in AZ.

[rcdinaz]

I have bought a lot of ultralight and expensive gear and it is still tough to shave a bunch of weight. You just can't leave water out and it is not light, neither is a gun for that matter. It looks like you have done most of what you can that would save much weight.

 

If you are carrying more than one knife ditch all but the one you feel you would need for sruvival. Add a havalon and 8-10 scalpel blades and it will weigh nothing and be more than enough to take care of an elk.

 

If you can cache water or find a source where you can use a filter or purification tablets it is a huge plus, which was already mentioned.

 

Food really isnt a big weight problem if you by the freeze dried stuff as mentioned.

 

Change of underwear/sox is a must as a friend of mine learned the hard way (brutal).

 

Clothes you cant minimze too much because getting wet or cold sucks and will make you miserable.

 

Tent, stove, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, optics, phone, all end up being choices on what you feel you have to have as well as how much money you spend to some degree.

 

Some people find ways to minimize any stakes or poles choosing to use trees, sticks, and rocks to set up their tent/bivy. I dont do this but have substitutted shooting sticks for an ultralight tent pole. I am just not willing to have my tent fall down when I need to be sleeping.