Don’t laugh... What is your hunting rig?

[bpitt]

I'll be driving a Ford F-150, 2WD extended cab, with street tires, in a couple of weeks to Wyoming to hunt antelope. So if ya see me stuck, gimme a yank! And yes, I do plan on purchasing something with AWD or 4WD in the future, lol.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

...Maybe I'm just the Marie Kondo of hunting...

When you hold your coffee mug, does joy spring from your soul? It does for me! I'm all about Kondo.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I can get to probably 90% of where I like to hunt in a front wheel drive Honda. There is a point at which tire size, 4wd, and clearance start mattering of course.

 

[R.K.]

2015 Jeep Patriot- 4wd, and I put all terrain tires on it (mostly for snow, but also for USFS roads). Has 112k on it as of this morning. Taken a couple deer and turkeys with it, plus a bunch of ducks and other small game. Hoping to add an elk to that tomorrow (almost did it Saturday).

Unfortunately, I'm 6'2", and can't find a comfortable way to sleep in it, aside from naps in the driver's seat with a pillow.

I'll switch over to the truck once I get new tires on it. But for now- I'll get better gas milage, and hopefully strap a rack on the roof!

 

[Randy11]

I can get to probably 90% of where I like to hunt in a front wheel drive Honda. There is a point at which tire size, 4wd, and clearance start mattering of course.

I think that's probably the case for me also. But for me it's hard to predict that 10% of the time that I need approach angles, clearance, locking differentials and off-road tires. Not to mention the times when I don't need the help, but have to pull others out of the ditch. It makes more sense for me to pay for one loan/insurance/license than try to have two vehicles. So I suck it up and pay for the 20 mpg to always have the option to get somewhere nasty.

My vehicle always has chains, shovel, axe, a place to sleep, food etc. It's nice being able to hop in the rig and know you're good to go no matter the situation.

 

[LCH]

On

2015 Jeep Patriot- 4wd, and I put all terrain tires on it (mostly for snow, but also for USFS roads). Has 112k on it as of this morning. Taken a couple deer and turkeys with it, plus a bunch of ducks and other small game. Hoping to add an elk to that tomorrow (almost did it Saturday).

Unfortunately, I'm 6'2", and can't find a comfortable way to sleep in it, aside from naps in the driver's seat with a pillow.

I'll switch over to the truck once I get new tires on it. But for now- I'll get better gas milage, and hopefully strap a rack on the roof!

the KL I bought, the front passenger seat folds flat, so I can stretch out from the back hatch to the front dash. I suppose if yours doesn't fold flat, you could always remove the front passenger seat for those trips, but that may be a pain.

 

[rwc101]

I've considered trading in my truck for a Subaru, but I've only just paid it off.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I think that's probably the case for me also. But for me it's hard to predict that 10% of the time that I need approach angles, clearance, locking differentials and off-road tires. Not to mention the times when I don't need the help, but have to pull others out of the ditch. It makes more sense for me to pay for one loan/insurance/license than try to have two vehicles. So I suck it up and pay for the 20 mpg to always have the option to get somewhere nasty.

My vehicle always has chains, shovel, axe, a place to sleep, food etc. It's nice being able to hop in the rig and know you're good to go no matter the situation.

This is true. I have a $1000 beater mountain rig I can ramble around in for that, but then I have two vehicles to deal with all the time. Someday soon it'll breath it's last and I'll be down to one; then I'll really have to put some thought into it.

 

[antelopedundee]

This year it's gonna be this Sploder!

Last year it was this one with one of those slick Erickson carriers. Added the lights since a tarped high load tends to obscure the rear lights on the vehicle. I looked around local places for lights that would suit my needs and ended up getting these from etrailer.com. The vehicle was a recent acquisition having spent most of it's life 64K miles as a municipal vehicle in Florida. Put 8 ply tires on it for more security when/if off-road

 

[Bluffgruff]

Not to mention the times when I don't need the help, but have to pull others out of the ditch.

I've had more opportunities to pull people out with my AWD crossover than I've been stuck, and almost every one was a 4wd pickup

 

[tim81212]

In my defense I am doing a 2 week antelope, deer hunt. That's alot of water, food, gas and beer.

 

[Randy11]

I've had more opportunities to pull people out with my AWD crossover than I've been stuck, and almost every one was a 4wd pickup

That doesn't change the fact that there are many places I can get in to that a crossover can't.

This weekend I'm meeting up with a fellow hunttalker, and I'll have to shuttle his camping gear into the spot we're going because there's simply no way his crossover can get in to the spot.

I think it's great that guys are able to get these crossovers in to some of the spots that they can, and it's not a bad way to go. But regardless to an anecdotal story, there are very real off-road advantages to things like approach angles, clearance and locking differentials. Just because it has six stars on the grill doesn't change how physics affect it.

Relevant article- https://jalopnik.com/this-is-what-makes-a-vehicle-unstoppable-off-road-512501606

 

[glass eye]

It kinda cracks me up how much crap people bring out for a camping trip, I mean sure it's nice to have some creature comforts but then it makes breaking camp take so much time.

Amen !......I like a Spartan campsite. Pack up in 5 minutes and on to the next spot.

 

[Bulldog0156]

I rocked my outback in the mountains and the breaks until I bought a pickup. A raghorn will easily fit in the back of an outback.

 

[Keeptrying]

We made a change this season to a 4runner. Taking a bit of adjustment but we are really enjoying it so far. Sleep inside. Yakima on top. Hitch hauler with coolers and water out back.

Goal is to be able to travel fast and start hunting right away. Worked really well last weekend.

 

[Buschy]

I hunted for MANY years in a low rider Dodge Intrepid and a Pontiac Grand Prix. I just realized I was going to do a lot of walking from main roads. I did and was very successful. I also got a lot of strange looks and laughs from others. No worries as I killed antelope, WTs, mulies, elk and a ton of upland and waterfowl!

Did you know one WT buck, two WT does, and a fawn will fit in the trunk of a Dodge Intrepid if you field dress them, cut off the legs at the knees and push down very hard on the trunk? I might have a picture somewhere.

 

[buffybr]

As posted previously, I'm planning to take my daughter on an antelope hunt in WY in 2021. Being a long ways from home (SE TN), I am trying to be mindful of cost savings without being totally cheap. I’m thinking about driving my Subaru Outback (over 200k miles and not a beauty queen) out there to save on gas, and with it being AWD and having decent ground clearance I figured it would be a better choice over the 4WD Expedition.

What do you hunt out of, and do you think that the Outback would work for a WY public land hunt?

Most of my hunting has been out of a F250 Ford PU, but I've also hunted out of a Chevy Blazer, a Suburban, and I've hunted elk and did a number of eastern Montana antelope hunts from my Subaru Outback.
One time I hauled a cow elk home in my Subaru.
Another time 3 of us and my Golden Retriever took my Subaru pulling a 1/4 ton trailer antelope hunting in eastern Montana. I pulled that trailer all over two-track 4wd roads, and we brought camp and 3 antelope home in my Suby and the trailer.
Another antelope hunt I slept in the back of my Outback, and killed a buck first thing opening morning, less than a quarter mile from where I spent the night.

Like others have posted, some western prairie roads can be very greasy when wet, but a AWD Subaru can handle them about as good as anything else, if the ruts aren't too deep. If the roads are wet, I wouldn't advise getting off the main roads.

 

[88man]

Black Ford F 150s

 

[hillstone]

after reading this thread im throwing a tow strap in my pickup. .

 

[choc dogs]

I've covered the seats in visqueen, seat belted deer in place, and brought home six whitetails from western oklahoma to central oklahoma in a lebaron convertible. Got some strange looks from the highway patrol, but fed the teenagers for the year.