Ollin Magnetic Digiscoping System

Backcountry hunting and extra ammo?

Curious to hear how many rounds you guys take with you on a back country elk hunt without pack animals. How about just a day hunt? Considering the effort to get pack weight down I was thinking 4 rounds seemed reasonable but perhaps that’s not adequately taking into account possible what-if scenarios. I won’t be using the rifle for any others opportunistic hunting such as grouse and this hunt is in Colorado without the threat of Grizzly bears. What say you, 4 is enough or should I take my ammo pouch with another 6 - the 30.06 cartridges I am shooting come in at 1.3oz a piece.


Ditch the ammo pouch and put the extra rounds in your extra socks or a ziploc in an easy to access pocket. Keep 2-3 extra rounds in your bino harness/on your body. If it's a magazine-fed rifle you should be carrying a spare full magazine. You need to focus less on counting ounces like that and more on the big picture, which is your lightweight pack will stay lightweight on the way out to the truck if you don't have the right stuff to get the job done after something goes wrong. If it's your first elk hunt, don't try to bivy hunt/hunt with all your gear on your back every day. Have a 'stripped down' day mode that you actually go hunt with that has the essentials to hunt & survive 24 hrs. You're going to be losing more than 8 oz/day in body weight anyways if you're doing it right, so bring what you need to be an effective hunter. You should have some more ammo back at the truck too.
 
10 - 3+1 in the gun and 6 in the belt pouch + an extra box back at the truck. If I go thru the 10 without hitting anything, I deserve to walk all the way back to the truck to resupply if I want to keep hunting.
 
Alright - that’s a solid consensus - I will add another 6 or so rounds. Checking/re-zeroing a scope seems to me a reasonably likely what if too.
 
Welcome, I am new to posting myself after following for years. I am curious about your experience with Western Hunting? Is this a first elk hunt or first hunt out west with big open country? Unless you are hunting dark timber with close shoots I would not cut ounces by leaving a rangefinder behind either . Give me your pack list and I am sure I can shave a few pounds off if you are worried about ounces. I personally carry 5 in the rifle, and have 7 in my bino harness with easy access. I keep a full box in the truck. I cut the plastic cartridge holder the ammo comes in to fit the pocket on the front of my harness. I often have a few singles in my pockets as long as they are not making noise. These are not my main rounds as the bullets get a little beat up and I wonder if that will affect their flight at longer ranges. Magazines fall out, bullets get dropped in the snow, rounds get forgotten in the truck, etc. Being able to shoot 3 times for the universal SOS signal is not a bad idea either. Misses and bad hits happen as well. We all want 1 shot kills but need to be prepared for follow-ups.

Circling around to the reason for my first questions: I moved to Western Colorado 20 years ago from the Midwest where a long shot was one over 100 yards. The first few years I hunted without a rangefinder. It turns out I have horrible depth perception and can't judge distance very well. My first year I killed an elk but between cleanly missing several elk and the 2 rounds it took to kill my first, lets just say 4 rounds would have left me going home with a light pack. After moving to Wyoming and hunting Pronghorn in the open the rangefinder really came in handy. Even with a good hit extra rounds sure make me feel more confident. I shot one elk in Wyoming at 60 yards broadside. I thought I hit it high and worried I didn't catch the lungs. As it turned and made a 100 yard dash back to the aspen stand I put two more rounds into it. Following up with only 1 round left would not have been very comforting. Turns out the first shot did catch the top of the lungs and extra lead was overkill. The extra 2 rounds hit lung as well. I walked into aspens painted red but very easily could have had a tracking job with only 1 round in my rifle had my shots not hit vitals. I have come a long way since those early years. Last year I filled 4 tags with 5 shots but my pockets had extras if they had been needed quick. Good luck and have fun!
 
Magazine full which is (3)one in each front pocket so no matter what pocket I reach into it’s the right answer(2). plus a couple in each side of my pouch on my waist from my pack (6-8). Total 11-13. That’s 300 win ammo. Carrying a smaller caliber I tend to bring a few more cuz it’s easier on the weight.
 
Considering the effort to get pack weight down I was thinking 4 rounds seemed reasonable but perhaps that’s not adequately taking into account possible what-if scenarios.

I have seen and heard 4 shots in one encounter from very good riflemen. Sometimes wind drift is an issue and you can't tell until you full send. I carry around 10 - 15 rounds for my rifle at all times not that I would ever use that many but I don't want less than 1/2 a pound to be a difference for me. If I am that worried I will take an exlax and have the weight come out...
 
Curious to hear how many rounds you guys take with you on a back country elk hunt without pack animals. How about just a day hunt? Considering the effort to get pack weight down I was thinking 4 rounds seemed reasonable but perhaps that’s not adequately taking into account possible what-if scenarios. I won’t be using the rifle for any others opportunistic hunting such as grouse and this hunt is in Colorado without the threat of Grizzly bears. What say you, 4 is enough or should I take my ammo pouch with another 6 - the 30.06 cartridges I am shooting come in at 1.3oz a piece.

Depends if you have a side arm, I usually go back to my survival school days and carry extra just in case I need to signal distress. For rifle I usually bring a box of ammo so 20 rounds. If I have a side arm then I only bring two clips of ammo so pending rifle 6-8 rounds.
 
Interesting, the fair consistency of responses here. I typically carry 11-13 rounds total while day hunting from base camp.
 
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