Solo hunting advice

[diamond hitch]

Two points I want to add. 1) It is important to get the meat a reasonable distance away from the gut pile. Often times I will pack my quarters a short distance to staging area where they are safe and visible from a reasonable distance so you don't have to kiss a bear. 2) I hunt nasty enough places that sometimes I can't get horses to the site. In those situations I carry two packs. I load both packs and take 1 a reasonable distance and set it down. Then I rest walking back to the other pack. I get the other pack up and carry it past the first pack and go beyond to wherebI can set the first pack down and go back for the first pack. I repeat this event yoyoing the meat to the truck.

It gives you bit of a rest and saves you some of the endurance fatigue. When you run out of strength - hang it up in a tree and come back the next day.

 

[wsco3506]

Most of my elk hunting has been solo. I don't backpack much because I am not crazy about the number of trips required to bring it all out. I usually camp from my vehicle and hike in every morning. That being said, most of my elk have been over 3 miles in. That makes for some long heavy trips. Other have already mentioned it, but I will say it again, watch your load weight. Trying to carry too much over rough country can lead to a blown knee or broken leg. Plan on lighter loads and more trips just to be safe. Plan well and enjoy the solitude.----R

 

[hank4elk]

Welcome.
I started backpacking solo @12,hunting alone followed. Don't think I can count big game hunts with others on more than my 2 hands. Always been the lone wolf in the pack.
It will test you mentally & physically. But with luck you will find yourself. The good & bad self. Your limitations will find you. You will surprise yourself. One way or another.

Had tips from friends on my 1st 2 elk hunts,as they watched. They did help load the meat bags in truck on way out. Had help the whole way on 3rd. Would have lost the meat for sure solo there.
Only done 2 BP elk hunts solo and they were a bear. The next few were worse and from my truck...lol.

Real good advice from above folks. I have not BP hunted in 7 yrs now. I know my limitations and how to hunt by myself. I still do every year.

 

[diamond hitch]

I just thought of another trick my old partner showed me. On a downhill pull with a little snow you can drag a calf or a yearling cow a long ways. A big cow and for sure a bull doesn't drag by yourself very well. If you halve the elk at the back of the ribs you can pull the front half fairly easily. The hide at the cut on the hind half can be pursed with a series of holes and the hide won't rip. I usually carry a couple of 12-15' lengths of 1/4" hemp rope for dragging. If you tie a 1 ft long stick about 2 inches in diameter, you move an elk downhill a long ways 1/2 at a time. When I was in my 30s I drug a medium cow out 2 1/2 miles to a road.

 

[Sytes]

Solo - main items of focus, imo.:
Confidence.
InReach.
OnXmaps.
Paper map.
Compass.
First Aid kit.
Pack sled.

 

[elkhnter]

A lot of solid advice here. One thing I didn’t see was, get in the best physical and mental shape of your life. It’s just you out there, there’s no one else to blame for anything, just you. You will have a “Come to Jesus” meeting out there with yourself and find out if you really like the guy your with. Don’t be too hard on yourself.
Above all, get an InReach and know how to use it. Set a time each day to send a message out. It’s not as instant as texting, but it’ll let everyone know you’re OK.

 

[wilson3144]

Holy Crap! Thanks for the info. I was at my hunting cabin doing some work the last few days with no service and have a ton of information to go through. I’m from southwest Missouri, the 14-16 hour drive is a concern for me. I have a exo gear pack, without water but with five days of food I’m around 34 pounds. I have the inreach mini and my wife loved the continuous communication last season. I have all the ultralight gear and most of the knowledge, just not sure I got the guts for a week by myself in the backcountry. Everyone’s, stories and advise are helping my confidence and the info is invaluable Again thanks.

 

[AggieHunter]

Like others mentioned if on a steep slope have para cord to secure it to a tree. Was doing a sheep solo last fall and ended up sliding a good ways holding onto it with one hand while I tried to keep my knife away from me in the other.

 

[Brian in Montana]

Sounds to me like you're experienced enough to pull it off safely. You know what mountain hunting is like, the only real difference is doing it alone.

So, go light as possible - shed every pound you can, then start working on shedding ounces.

Be mentally ready for the isolation. I'm kind of wired for it, but I recognize not everyone is. And packing out an elk by yourself is probably about 3 times harder than doing with a friend. I'm not sure how that works, but it's true.

You'll want to adjust your hunting strategy as well. The run-and-gun method of hearing a bugle, close the distance, call him in, works better with 2. What I've had better luck with while solo hunting elk is to slip into the timber very quietly in the dark, set up in an area I believe they will naturally be moving through and start at first light herd talking sparingly using several different calls and sounds. I'll throw out a bugle now and then, but use mostly cow and calf talk - mew and chirp around a little, then taper off and don't touch a call for at least 10 minutes. You'll be surprised by the elk that come in to investigate, both bulls and cows often quietly. I move very little when using this method, staying in place for about an hour before trying a different location. There's other methods, but this one seems to work the most consistently in my solo hunts.

And you probably know this already, but get in extremely good shape, focus on cardio. Hopefully you've started already.

And welcome to HT!

 

[deer_shooter]

Holy Crap! Thanks for the info. I was at my hunting cabin doing some work the last few days with no service and have a ton of information to go through. I’m from southwest Missouri, the 14-16 hour drive is a concern for me. I have a exo gear pack, without water but with five days of food I’m around 34 pounds. I have the inreach mini and my wife loved the continuous communication last season. I have all the ultralight gear and most of the knowledge, just not sure I got the guts for a week by myself in the backcountry. Everyone’s, stories and advise are helping my confidence and the info is invaluable Again thanks.

Lots of good information shared already. I'll reiterate the slow and steady approach to everything, especially knife work. I drive out west usually twice per year and usually solo. The average trip for me is around 26-28 hours. If I can answer any questions regarding the drive, I'm happy to help.

 

[pabearhunter]

I usually let the local game warden know where I am going to camp and hunt.

 

[Sagesniffer]

I'm new to hunting but started out solo backcountry after years of backpacking alone anyway.

My advice, go ultralight as much as you can. Get your pack weight down as far as you can and it will make the distance you can cover and the meat you can haul out alone that much greater. My total pack weight last year in an Alps Traverse pack was right about 30 pounds with food and water. I'm going to try to cut that even further this year, possibly with a move to a Stone Glacier pack. Focus on the big three: tent, sleeping bag, and pack, then cut out everything that isn't really necessary.

A great quote I heard from another HT member recently was "don't pack your fears."

Oh... and as others have said... InReach.

This is good advice but an elk hunt in the Rockies can have widely swinging weather. You don't want to be without the right gear and then get hypothermia and die naked hugging a tree.

 

[Hilljackoutlaw]

Take an inreach and have fun.

 

[thatsjet]

This is good advice but an elk hunt in the Rockies can have widely swinging weather.

Absolutely true. I always pack for emergencies even though ultralight. SOL bivy has been used on more than one occasion when weather turns sour. Ability to make fire is also critical.

 

[stealthy_bowman]

Have a backup plan in case the weather gets extreme. Last year for example, solo backpacking the first few days of rifle elk in MT were just not doable since it got to -15 at night and in some places colder. That’s just dangerously cold, thus I would suggest having a base camp set up that you can heat.
Last year on my solo hunt that’s exactly what I ended up having to do. My intention was to sleep in the backcountry, but instead I ended up mostly using my base camp (Kodiak flexbow with two buddy heaters) out of necessity.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

During archery season I pack my 44 mag. I have a SPOT - 1st message is all is well. My 2nd message is that I killed something I need help packing. Any one mention a whistle?

I've bragged before that I'm a retired timber cruiser - have worked 1000+ days speed walking straight lines throught the forest. All solo. Hunting solo is the only way. A few others in camp is ok but not mandatory. Rather be totally solo than being with a bad camper though.

 

[diamond hitch]

Camping by yourself is one issue. Hunting is an entirely separate issue. When I have partners, we hunt separately together. We design traverses that can be run as a team or alone. When alone I run the upper third of a ridge or series of ridges and finish on a final ridge that takes me back to camp. A camp is selected to give me 3-4 hunt traverses. After that it's time to move camp.

when hunting in a team, we hunt separate traverses from a central location and end up together. That way we can cover more ground in figuring where the elk are or aren't. Over 2-3 days we can run out 3-4 drainages in the process of elimonation.

In hunting parallel ridges by hunting in pairs we can kick them back and forth and increase exposure for a shot. Bow season is a differant animal but some of the same techniques can be employed.

 

[COelkhunter2020]

I would echo the concerns about weather, particularly the cold. You are making a big time commitment by driving in from out of state. I would suggest choosing your season, hunting area, and accommodations so you can have comfortable and restful down time at night. Cutting a hunting trip short due to freezing nights, frozen water bottles, and inconsistent sleep due to weather impacts would be less than ideal. A lot of people use small campers or heated tents for this reason. It was 8 degrees at the bottom of the mountain in my hunting area first season last year. So I believe your biggest risk is fatigue; the above are just suggestions to limit that, and keep morale up during your trip.

As far as hunting goes, I would recommend shooting your elk uphill from a forest road, and packing out the meat in 5 bags/ trips. This will be less risky to your joints. Pack weight will be less than 45 lbs this way. If you hang your meat in a tree overnight and it’s cold, it will freeze and you can take your time getting it out the next day.

I leave the bones in the quarters so the meat bag has structure and does not slump to one side during pack out. Better balance is easier.

Yak tracks or other boot traction devices will help a lot if you have to walk through the snow. Melting snow is the slickest. Last year I slipped and fell on snowy downed tree and broke my rifle stock. Hunt over. I intend to use micro spikes and winter boots now.

Get back at camp and stay there by dark. I shot an elk first season at dusk and was butchering until 10:30, above tree line, with snow and wind kicking only moderately. Staying out this late was a bad idea and I ended up with frost bite on my fingers, they swelled up, and had to cut off my wedding ring back at the camper. Should have just gutted it and come back in the morning. Could have been more of an issue if I was by myself.

Use a GPS. Mark the truck at the beginning of the day then turn it off to save batteries. Check where you are during snack breaks. It’s easy to flip over a mountain top in the saddle and end up on the wrong side if you are busy tracking prints.

Don’t put food in your tent, cooler goes in the vehicle. A bear has chewed up my cooler before when it was under my camper. They can be chased off with loud noises, I used a kitchen spoon and a plastic bowl. Save yourself this excitement by putting the cooler inside the truck. I carry my rifle when hauling quarters for this reason, likely unnecessary but it makes me feel more comfortable.

You can have a great trip by yourself, and I think you will. Stack the deck in your favor by minimizing your risk due to the weather, fatigue, and injury with good gear, good nutrition, and conservative decisions and you should have a great time.

 

[Huntin' Fool]

Screw GPS's to hunt with. Always carry a top map and 2 compasses. Keep track of were you are on a paper map. When in a new area I will cut out the area to be hunted so I can take a peek at it often.

Trusting GPS's have gotten people killed.

 

[406dn]

Telling someone to screw GPS's is telling them not to use one of the best tools available to any outdoorsman. Certainly the batteries can go dead when you prefer them not too,,but that is an easily handled inconvenience. The ability to know exactly where you are is a very valuable thing for any public land hunter.

Being able to mark locations,,, like your quartered elk,, a couple of hours after dark, can't be done with any precision with a map and a compass. I mark where I have horses highlined, so that I can easily find them if it gets dark before I return to them. You can mark small hidden gems and find them again, easily.

I carry a compass and a map,,, but haven't needed to refer to either in many years.