High Hunt in 2 years- rookie gear mistakes

[Eric M]

Good one haugenna! BGLEMIN are those Western Mountaineering Antelope GWS 5 deg. sleeping bags worth the fortune they cost?

[BGLEMIN]

 

I love these pack weight threads.  It typically follows a low pack weight with a + x. + y +z.

I can get my pack weight down to 20 lbs for a 4 day hunt 10 miles into the steepest nastiest country you could ever imagine.  I wear all of my clothes, put my food under my hat, carry my gun, forgo all safety measures, dehydrate myself to a point of exhaustion because I am not factoring in water.  Actually, I can get it lighter than that.  I just carry everything on my head like these people and everything I would ever need can be condensed into my 50 cubic inch fanny pack..   
[/quote]

Geez you sure have found a way to trim the fat!! Really interested now with your style of getting out beyond the village idiot.

Thinking about it now, it's a good thing you do outpace yourself from the village idiot...boy if he saw headgear like that sneaking through the woods he'd be slinging lead for sure. Fortunately those type typically shoot from the hip for the first clip, all over the board. Another good reason to pack light, gives you a running chance!!

[BGLEMIN]

Good one haugenna! BGLEMIN are those Western Mountaineering Antelope GWS 5 deg. sleeping bags worth the fortune they cost?

Pretty certain you wouldn't want to track me down, wrap me up in the bag and beat me with soap-on-a-rope in order to get some retribution for bad advice!!

For me...hands down the best for these reasons: a 5 deg. bag that weighs a scant 2.75 lbs, packs extremely tight, stays very warm when wet, and the baffling is unlike any other bag I've seen.

Most 5 deg. bags are way too hot for most of the year but not this one. The baffles are continuous from top to bottom. If it's warm out you shake most or all of the down to the ground side, conversely if it's friggen cold ( and you have a pad) the majority of down can be shook to the top.

I had the same sticker shock as you!! I was recommended the WM products by a highly accomplished big mountain backcountry skier. He has skied every 14K peak in CO, climbed to over 21K before descending Aconcagua in Argentina, and has braved ascending many other North American peaks in the dead of winter. He swears by WM quality and now so do I.

[high country]

Good one haugenna! BGLEMIN are those Western Mountaineering Antelope GWS 5 deg. sleeping bags worth the fortune they cost?

I run a western mountaineering badger.....and yes, it's worth it. I sold my Sierra design sandman and there's no comparison.

[Tim in Wa.]

I have a Western Mountaineering bag that is over 30 years old and a 15 deg Badger that is a few years old.They are worth every penny

[Highmountaindan]

Numerous examples recommendations can be made. For me going lite is a necessity because if you are successful than you will have lots to haul and multiple trips possibly. My pack for a 4-6 day solo hunt comes in around 35 pnds not including water weight. For a tent, I use a tarp 8/10. The reason is because it is light to pack in, has multiple uses and is very pack able, also 20ft of Lara corde.If you are gonna be in the backcountry alone you need to buy a P,L,B ( Personal locator beacon) it's your only lifeline, search and rescue can get to you the quickest if a P,L,B is used. A comfortable pack with wide straps is crucial. I use a eberlestock f1 mainframe with the transformer pack ( I also bring in a eberlestock dry bag ) food- I bring In a few types of oatmeal packets, tea- I am a coffee drinker but tea tastes better and is easier to use than instant coffee in the backcountry. I only bring freeze dried for dinners ( there is a organic brand made in Moscow Idaho that I like the best ) I bring a little candy, and trail mix. Or whatever snack food works.Clothes- one pair of underwear except what I wear in, wool hiking socks one one extra pair, no extra pants or shirts or sweaters. I only pack in good rain gear that compacts well. If your cold you can put the rain gear on and it traps your body heat in. I bring a hat and a beanie, I'm not sure why but I like to hike with the ball cap and sleep and hang out wearing the beanie. 1 small two man first aid kit, 10 rounds totall ammo including ammo in the rifle. The clothes that I use are more hiking mountaineering clothes, it's hard for me to buy camo that is 2-$400 for one piece of clothing when it is made out of the same stuff as mountaineering gear. I keep the colors earth tones ( let's not forget that deer are color blind and vanishing hunter is a good product to use that conceals your scent) merino wool is the best and is cheap at goodwill. I have two layers on my legs, polar tech insulated base layer and north face hiking pants. If you can, try to get lite weight flexible waterproof pants. I haven't found exactly what I want yet but will eventually. Up top I have three layers of merino wool. A merino wool base layer, then a lightweight sweater then a heavier sweater that I take on and off and can pack it away. Also my green north face rainwear jacket that comes on and off. Don't forget a nife- I have my havalon for processing and then my pocket knife for everything else. Then there is a pair of Binos and your gun. For all that weight saved on my back I make up for it in my gun ( will be finding a nice backcountry rifle before high buck next year) I use a Remington 700 long range in 7 mag. I fluted the blot, skelotinized the bolt handle, and shortened the barrel to 24-1/2 inches and the gun with the scope weighs 11lbs 9 ounces 😭 there is most of the list, I do bring in a small burner and a minimalist cook set ( one small pot that it also a cup, with a collapsible spork) Hopefully my list will help you. Good luck.

[haugenna]

What sleep system?  Looks like you carry a tripod in as well based on your avatar. How many lbs of food do you pack for 6 days?

[BeWitty]

High mountaian dan- just your pack and gun weigh 21 pounds together. And food for a 6 day hunt will be 7-9 lbs. the rest of your gear is only 5-7 pounds? Sleep system, binos and tripod will likely be more than that.

[Bill W]

You guys must use leaves.   I see no one listed toilet paper on the gear list.   You also must have been in the boy scouts as I see no liquid soap for cleaning dishes and hands.

Hygiene is important as there's no doctors office in the back country.

I did the high hunt for 20 years starting in 1977 and ending in 1996.    Lots of mistakes made on the first couple high hunts and lots of improvements and weight savings on the tail end ones.

One thing to remember on packing out deer is you don't eat bones nor hide.   Use a saw to cut the skull plate off and bone the deer out to save weight.   Garbage bags can be your friend as cheese cloth does not keep blood out of your bag.  I also wouldn't skimp on a sleeping pad.  I'd take a thermarest as if you don't get a good night's sleep (relative in while hunting) you won't have a good hunt.

Another thing, 10 rounds of ammo is the most you want to take.  Even then the last 5 are extra weight as if you have to reload your rifle to get a deer you didn't put in enough range time.   Don't take along compact binos as it's false economy.  While it will save weight, compacts aren't the easiest for long time glassing of hillsides.  Will cause eye strain.  Just my thoughts on binos.   I had a full size set of Leupold 9x32's made in 1983. 

I used to seesaw between freeze dried foods and store bought foods.  Freeze dried (back then) just didn't taste as good as regular food.  Regular food would cause a lot of whining while packing that load in.   I'd usually have a light pack (relative term) weight with freeze dried foods one year and then go for the tasty regular food the next year.  I'd be whining while carrying that load in and swear I'd be back with freeze dried the following year.

If you want to have one trip out, make sure your pack is big enough for camp and a boned out deer.  That pack will be around 110 lbs, not counting your rifle.

Parachute cord is your friend for tying things to your pack (trip out) that won't fit into your pack.  Garbage bags help here also.

[SilkOnTheDrySide]

You should never need a 5 degree bag in September. Also...2.75 lbs is heavy as %#%*


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[haugenna]

Never say never. I remember 2006 or 2007 when I woke up with 7" of snow on September 15.

[Branden]

Agree with Silk on the bag. And snow means its not that cold usually. I have hunted the high hunt off and on and use a 40 degree down bag. Lots of buddies use anywhere from 15-25 degree bags.

[BeWitty]

"And snow means it's not that cold usually"

That's just a funny statement. Because it's typically in the 40s or 50s when snow is present, everyone knows that.

All I know is if I spent $6-700 on a WM sleeping bag I would sleep in it 365 days a year to get my money's worth, even in September.

[Bill W]

Snow in September is a wet snow.  It usually pushes the tent side down into the sleeper's face.   I favored a lighter weight 30 degree bag for the high hunt and if needed, augmented it by wearing in lightweight long underwear I'd taken along to stay warm.  Where I mentioned garbage bags are very useful on the high hunt I've also used them to put on the foot of a sleeping bag to make it warmer.

[fillthefreezer]

i would guess brandens point is it isnt 5, 10 or even 15* if its snowy. it usually takes cold, clear, windy to get that cold around here..
all that said, im not far off using a 5* bag. ill save weight elsewhere, and not freeze all night. my thermoregulator is broken though