OK, so we are in for a six day six night hunt. How much does your entire kit weigh, with rifle, ammo and food?

For each person on a two man hunt, so not using pack animals or guides as beasts of burden.

Lets leave off all but two pounds of water cause we can get it refilled during the hunt.

My rifle and ammo and hunt pack weigh 20 pounds with rain gear, gloves, hat, binoculars, and flashlight and the two pounds of water etc.

My pack weighs 10 pounds with pad and sleping bag and matches etc.

My food weighs 1.5 pounds a day, for 9 pounds. 10 pounds with a candy bar or two.

Stove and pot and cup and spoon and soap weighs 4 pounds.

I am now up to 44 pounds without a tent, so I use a large tarp at 2-3 pounds, which is good to zero farenheit and all but the heaviest windstorms.

Add a partial change of clothes, and a map and spotting scope and my back hurts...

How do you guys get a 30 pound pack?

And how old are you?

I am 52 this hunting season.

[ 07-02-2003, 20:03: Message edited by: Jameister ]

I've never heard of anyone doing a six days and nights hunt with only 30 lbs. unless they shoot and eat game for food.
Try logging on to 24hourcampfire and looking up some of Okanagan's old posts. He and JimF are the local gurus of going light. OK, for instance, uses an ensolite pad, a nylon tarp, like the 9 oz. one I use, and tear open chemical hand warmers for sleeping accomindations. No bag, stove, or tent. He's done lots of it.
I've done a little of it. Those tear open hand warmers last for seven hours and do the job. The big trick is picking the right place to stay out of the wind and clearing a sleeping area for the night. A good fire is, of course, very useful.
Good, high quality clothing is another key item. Much of the best mountaineering clothing works amazingly well. I love Patagonia's clothing.
The last thing is getting out the kill. All of us agree you will need to bone it out. A pack that can handle the weight of the meat and head and, perhaps, trekking poles for down/side hill assistance are very important considerations. E

I went on a backpack hunt into Wyomings Mtns.
2 years ago for a 5 day hunt. I packed it in 11 miles on a fairly flat trail.
Pack, tent and pad, sleeping bag, spotting scope and tripod, rifle and 10 rounds of ammo, food, water and water filter, raingear & spare clothes,
knife, bone saw, 2 flashlights 1 headlamp, daypack.
Pack weight with everything was 48 pounds, which was not bad. My partner took a tall 24" buck which was the only buck we saw.
I went back a week later and missed an opportunity at a 28" buck as we startled each other on the trail at 10 yards and he took off like a bat out of you know what and I couldn't get a good shot off as he was diving down the slope between the trees never to be seen again.

I packed the same amount into a different spot the year before, it was only 5 miles but it had a 4000' gain. It got pretty heavy the last half mile as it got very steep on the final climb to the ridge at 10,000' and the air was quite thin. It was worth it though as I took a very nice buck.
My pack going back out was about 100lbs with my camp, meat, cape and rack.

Water weight is the killer. If you are near water just carry a liter and a water filter and refill as required. Take along a couple empty plastic jugs and fill them later and keep in camp.

Jameister
The best way to elimenate weight is to leave behind anything that you do not need. I carry only an extra pair of socks and some goretex socks over and above the clothes on my back, including cold weather and rain gear that I probably do not wear while carrying the pack but will need when glassing for game.
Make sure all your other gear is as light as possible...my wife cuts the handle off her toothbrush.
Your food is one place things can get heavy in a hurry. It seems like I always used have too much food.
I still carry 30 to 40 rounds of ammo for my rifle.
I try to limit my pack to 40 lbs and refuse to carry over 50. Over 50 something has to go. That does not include my rifle or my 44 Mag S&W.
Water can be a big problem, but in most hunting locations water can be found just needs to be pruified or filtered.
Check out tents by Sierra Design they are light and strong.
Start walking around your neighborhood with your pack and the boots you will wear. Start with a light pack 20 to 30 lbs. After a week of so go up 10 pounds per week and increase your time. Try to walk every night at least an hour or too. On you days off try a 5 or 6 hour walk. Do not try to carry to much weight at first. If you cannot walk around your neighborhood with 50 lbs for 6 hours you dang sure do not want to try it on the mountains. I "broke" my wife in to backpacking this way on our first trip over 10 years ago and it made a big difference, she carried a 40 lb pack up a mountain on a 6 day trip with no problems. [She was already an experienced camper]
A light rifle can be a help, but I have carried one of my doubles on my last 4 backpacking trips.
When you see BIG bear prints, both black and grizzly, and large bear scat piles that double don't seem so heavy after all.

Based on my fishing trips I guess I could get away with something like 20kg if we where two.

Johan

I hunt in fairly steep country in Colorado just about every year. I carry only what I need, and it has been pared down a great deal since the first time. I don't carry extra clothes anymore, if you happen to get wet, get a fire started and dry out (I do carry extra socks). I carry a lot of dried soup and ramen noodles, and instant cocoa. I carry a single man bivy tent, and a light tarp. Since I rarely camp when rain is a possiblity, I don't pack rain gear, I do however take a few real large plastic trash bags, they can be used for a lot of things, from a rain poncho to an emergency shelter. A good way to find out what is neccesary and what isn't, is to practice. Camp out a few weekends locally prior to your hunt and see what works. You will probably be amazed at how much stuff you don't need. I am 45 years old. have fun, and shoot a big one.

DGK

Fully loaded for 6 days, complete with everything except my rifle (I consider it separate of my pack), my pack would weigh between 45 and 50 pounds (usually closer to 45 than 50).

Fortunately, at the beginning of the trip, my Dog carries all of the food. You can usually count on 2 pounds of food per day per person. So for a 6 day trip, my pack only weighs about 35 or so pounds. This is a for a solo trip, BTW, so I am carrying everything necessary: ie. a light tent, a tarp, bag, thermarest, clothes, stove, fuel, pot, mug, spoon, toiletries, first aid stuff, knives, binocs, spotting scope, flashlight, game bags, etc, etc.

My Dog carries from 25 to 30 pounds. As the food gets consumed, the more durable objects from my pack goes into his (tent poles, cook pots, water bottles, etc). At the end of the trip, my pack weighs from 25 to 30 pounds and his still weighs about 25 pounds.

Works pretty nicely...well, for me anyway.

If I get lucky and crack something, my pack will shoot up to the 100 pound mark, and I'll max the Dog at 30 pounds (they won't tell you its too heavy until its too late and they are injured, so you have to be careful from the start).

FWIW, my "mountain rifle" weighs 7.5 lbs fully dressed and loaded.

There are ways to stay under 30 pounds, if you don't mind going "spartan" (no tent, no bag, meagher food, etc). I have never tried it for a 6 day trip, but you certainly could. For anything exceeding a long weekend, I am usually pretty cautious and like to have a certain amount of comfort just in case things go bad (injuries, weather, etc). I'd rather wait out a freak snowstorm, or wait for medical help, in a warm sleeping bag and dry tent, if you get my drift.

Cheers,
Canuck



[ 07-03-2003, 00:28: Message edited by: Canuck ]

I have done lots of week long back packing trips. I find with two people the packs usually come in at 50lbs with 3 people and one tent you can drop down to around 40 to 45 because to the shared weight. Like the tent stove water filter ect. Now add a rifle and some ammo total weight is up. -----------------I have went in with a 38 lb pack that felt like a dream. On on trip with My young kids I ended up carrying out about 75 lbs that ws a chore.

Thanks for the great information. I have done lots of backpack hunting and backpacking, I just always end up with a plus 50 pound pack.

I guess just doing without is the only weigh to go. Problem is I have also been in this hunting area in October when it fell to 18 below, and that was not a time to be light on clothes or food.

so I will wear only the four layers plus raingear. all fleece.

great idea that about sandles, I have taken sneakers and boat shoes, but light flipflops is a great idea...

and a one pound tarp instead of the big tarp.

and that picture of the dog and the sheepy mountains. I fell in love wiht your dog.
Reminds me of the old story of the miner and his dog, they got lost and food was gone, and the old timer looked at his dog. He cut off the dogs tail and roasted it for dinner. after wards, he looked back at the dog, and realized the dog was hungry too, so he gave his dog the bone. I read that story in an 1899 railroad pamphlet. dont want to get that hungry.

keep the light ideas coming!! thanks

When sheep hunting in the mountains our packs will weigh between 50 and 60 lbs including our tent and all gear.

When I try to lighten my load, I lose 4 things right away.

#1 Tent. Unless you have one of the super ultra mega light tents, a small tarp and some parachute cord is 50% lighter.

#2 Extra cooking utensils. One spoon, one fork and a small tin cup/bowl that's all you need.

#3 Stove and fuel. If you want hot food, build a fire. Above timberline? get one of those little stoves that boil water with bits of bark and lichen, or learn to enjoy Power Bars, crackers and landjaeger for all meals.

#4 Clothes. You need:

A toque
Polypro undershirt
Light fleece or wool shirt
Heavier fleece or wool jacket or down vest
Gor-Tex jacket
Poly pro shorts
Depending on season,light or heavy pants. In the early season I wear lightweight pants that can be unzipped to make shorts for hot hikes.
Some sort of gloves that don't get cold when wet. I use fingerless wool gloves with thinsulite liner, and a flip over mitt.
Socks
Another pair of socks
Good boots.

I don't bother with rain pants. If it is raining hard enough for you to want them, you should hide under a tree. If there is no tree, you get to tryout how warm your fleece pants are when wet!

That's all you need for clothes unless you are going into crazy arctic weather. IF you get cold, either walk and warm up or build a fire. Resist the urge to throw in your favorite Michelin man snowmobile suit!

I take a sleeping bag and a sleeping pad of soem sort. I suppose you can do without it, but I get grumpy and lose focus without quality sleep. I don't need ALOT of sleep, but I need about 4 hours of quality sack time.

Ditch everything you can.

You need your rifle and ammo, you need a knife. You need a compass and map and maybe a GPS. You don't need bone saws, axes, 3 sets of clothes or Porterhouse steaks.

My packs weights from 55 to 60 lbs for a trip that long. What has worked good for me is to pack in a base camp and then with a solo or light weight two man tent hike in prime hunting spots and set up a spike came in the area you plan to hunt being very careful to not spook the animals, this saves alot of time and puts you right on the game you plan to hunt without doing a death march from camp in the dark. This works good for about 2 to 3 days and you return to base camp to refit.The spike camp has to be ultra light and very few comfort iteams. Greg

My backpacking trip setup for a eight day trip runs about 35-40 pounds. I try for 30-35, but after water and such it's about 38lbs usually. I too am thinking a lot about this as I might be doing my first backpack hunt this year and am concerned about extra weight. I agree with the oters that mention making sure your pack can handle the game weight. Extrenal frames may prove best for this and they have lots of places to lash gear so you can keep hands free. Treking poles are a god send and I highly recommend them. Usually we split up group gear which is why my 8 day weights are fairly lowand I have paed down extra clothing to a bare minimum. Some things for thought and double duty.

1. Extra socks can also be used as mittens.

2. Carry an extra fleece beeny cap as it will add the same warth as an additional sweater at a fraction of the weight.( the idea being your head it was radiates heat away from your body the most.

3. Consider some of the new moisture barrier clothing options. Very warm ad lighteight, but could make you feel clammy in a humid locale.

4. Garbage bags make great liners for fleece/lighteight jackets to trap heat. (see above)

5. Keep a list of everything you bring on the trip and when you get home cross of everything you DIDN'T use and don't pack it next time.

6. ALWAYS pack reliable rain gear and a good jacket.

Hi
When i was younger"long ago" i could carry a pack of at least 30 IB"including the rifle" all day long,but as I said it was more than 30 years ago,
regards
Granpa danny

When people to climb Denali, they will hump 60-100+ lbs for up to 20 days with no problems, they arent hunting but it is similar. When I head into the bush, i usually can go for 3-4 days on 20lbs plus rifle, or if I really want to get out there i could probobly go 30+ days on about 45lbs plus rifle.

Rock

When I am hiking in, and am generally above 50 pounds, I carry my gear in two packs.

Last season on the hike in, my external frame pack weighed 42 lbs and my day pack (worn backwards hanging in front) weighed 16 lbs. This balances me out and makes the total weight feel like much less than if it was all hanging off the backside.

I learned this trick portaging Duluth packs in the Boundary Waters back in my younger days. I may have been a dumb 15 year-old, but when I got stuck carry two 30 pounders I noticed it was easier than carrying one 45-pounder. I let everyone think I was a stud!!!

Tim

Here is the classic work on this topic from the military point of view.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0686310012/qid%3D1057921498/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/002-5683278-3608835