First Western Hunt. Takeaways and Lessons learned.

[Shangobango]

First and foremost, I am hooked. I enjoyed myself immensely on my first trip.

I thought I would try to write out some of my thoughts on what I could have done differently as a benefit to not only myself but other newbs to western hunting like me.

1. I live at 60 feet. Cardio, cardio, cardio. This hunt was only at like 4200 feet or so maximum elevations. The long uphill hikes really got me. I got much better as the trip went on. When I go higher I am going to need to do lots of cardio work to be as prepared as I can.

2. I brought too much crap. Almost half the clothes I brought never got touched and lots of food I hauled to Montana I hauled back to the Louisiana.

3. A big tent with a wood heater was great but I will be looking at much more light weight and easier to haul and deploy hot tent options.

4. I will be leaving the ATV at home in the future. I used it because I had it but I could have easily got by without it.

5. The more time you spend camping the less time you spend hunting. Camp chores eat up hunting time.

6. Once you wear high quality performance type clothing there is no going back.

7. Cardio, Cardio, Cardio. This deserves two spots.

8. Get rigged up to backpack hunt. There were several evenings that I said to myself, " If I could just stay right here I would be in much better position in the morning".

9. Be mobile. Don't get hung up on an area. This seems even more important out west than home due to lower wildlife densities.

10. Trust my instincts. I have developed them over a lifetime of hunting and outdoors activities. This one is one I have to remind myself of often but it hit me square between the eyes on this hunt a couple of times because of me thinking about my lack of experience with mule deer and talking myself out of the right move.

11. Trekking poles are worth their weight in gold.

12. I need a spotting scope.

13. A high quality compact camera. The Iphone 10 camera ain't cutting it.

I could go on but these are the high points I suppose.

Feel free to chime in.

 

[rtraverdavis]

One I’d add from my own experience is that, if you can, spending time in your unit getting the lay of the land prior to your hunt gives a huge advantage.

 

[blueridge]

All good ones. Next year!

 

[RobertD]

I'm in similar shoes as you as a relative beginner to western hunting and can back up a lot of these points from my own experience. The best part is the more you go and keep a learning mindset the better you get at it. I agree with trusting your instincts too, and that's for all whitetail hunters going west for the first time. They are different animals but you have room to trust yourself when making a move in the field. Lots of skills translate. The ones that don't... well that's how you learn. Ha

 

[Clam]

I have to second the ATV. I hauled mine once, didn‘t need it. I also need to bring fewer snacks, end up bringing lots home. As for clothing, I have to be prepared for anything between 0 and 60 degrees.

Refine, refine, refine.

 

[OntarioHunter]

The problem with overnight camping "on the trail" is it too often means a dry camp or nearly dry camp and that can really get to you, particularly with cramps. Been there. I have stayed on the trail overnight several times, all but once out of necessity and was fairly comfortable. The one time I dry camped at the top of a mountain I had to give it up the next day and miserable through the night. If camped within proximity of the game, which seems to be the intention, building a fire defeats the purpose. The animals will all know you're in the area and vacate. Also weather flips fast at those elevations. It's easier said than done. Good idea to leave the ATV home. One can usually be borrowed or rented if needed to retreive game.

I live at 600 ft and I always feel the elevation difference when I arrive in Montana. This year I went straight to almost Continental Divide to start elk hunting and was actually surprised at how quickly I adapted. But I don't carry much excess baggage during the year and that is probably more important than stair climbing. Keep weight down by watching intake. It's especially critical during the enforced idleness of winter months and for those who have sedentary jobs (I'm a historian so I know about sedentary). Holiday season is the hardest. Just say no. I keep no booze in the house. I love beer but the stuff is habit forming and mega calories. So I may have one out with friends (and yes, I have a few ... friends) but keep nothing in the house. This past year I developed a nasty hernia that essentially kept me out of the gym, so guarding intake has been even more challenging. Yes, I'm hunting my ass off with the same problem right now but out here in my camper no one sees me putting on the support gizmo that looks like a prop from a porno movie. I can envisage men running screaming from the gym change room! Anyway, watch the waistline during the year and the transition to altitude change will not be that rough. And for those who are smokers ... you're looking at a mission impossible transition.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Good list. A few random thoughts.

Don’t make your fitness JUST cardio, strength training is pretty important as well for a myriad of reasons.

I often take too many clothes as well, but they don’t hurt anything sitting in the duffel, and if you need them you’ll appreciate them.

Wall tents and wood stoves are a PITA to set up solo, but really nice if the weather goes really south.

Agreed on camp chores, streamline as much as possible.

Agreed on everything else. Good introspection.

 

[JAG]

Our (me and two sons) first time this year too, your post was very insightful. Our mistake was we hiked too far out at first (6 miles) and then this poo-pooed our interest to go beyond 0.5 to 1 miles out afterward. Lesson: we should have just kept it to 2-3 miles to each glassing area.

Also, I suspect hunting grouse with a 4-10 scared the elk away ... a bow or nothing next time.

 

[Non-resident Hunter]

Something to consider on food. I just got back from a 10 day hunt. This was the first time that we had tried this method. We spent an entire day a few days before we left to pre cook meals. We made things like spaghetti and meatballs, ravioli, pulled pork, shredded chicken tacos, etc. Then we vacuum sealed them and froze them. Also made 20 breakfast burritos that we would heat up in a dutch oven. This was a so clutch because we had almost no cleanup and we were able to hunt more! I don't see any other way to do it now going on future hunts or even just camping trips.