Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Versatile Shelter Options

My son and I are wanting to start doing some hunting out West (primarily NM, CO, UT, AZ, WY) and we are doing our research with regards to acquiring gear. I would prefer to buy as much gear as possible that we can use whether we are chasing Elk in August or Sheep at higher elevations. I can't financially justify multiple shelter purchases so I am really trying to find a well rounded option. I was leaning towards a hammock tarp setup as it would eliminate the need for level ground but then hunting above timberline would be a problem. Any suggestions on a durable and very versatile shelter? All the info out there seems overwhelming to someone who has never actually done it. Thanks in advance!

I would tell you to forget a hammock of any kind at 40 deg or less... Froze my ass off in one even with a pad underneath me. Best setup I ever bought was a 5 man tipi with an ultralight wood stove. I used it for years and it was da bomb, especially with an ultralight cot from therma rest.

Bivi sack with insulating air mattress.

Double wall tent for temps above freezing where precip is anticipated.

Single wall tents for alpine areas below freezing. Add rain fly to use above freezing temps.

a sturdy pyramid shelter (Seek Outside, Kifaru, a few others) would check most of the boxes and most of the weather you could expect hunting in western states

the only place a sturdy pyramid might fall a little short for you, is very (very) high winds at elevation

one possible shelter to check into that might check all boxes is Stone Glacier's newer bomber tent- the Skyscraper 2

Below timberline, I use the plain ol' Noah's Tarp with a reflective firepit in front. Never had any luck drying clothing in any kind of modern tent. If you get decently dry weather, I just roll up in old Noah and don't bring a sleeping bag. The tarp, paracord, combo walking stick/centerpole (saguaro cactus rib) prolly don't weigh 5 pounds total. Before Noah, I learned the many benefits of a third of a parachute from the aircrew mountain survival/escape and evasion school in the Northern Sierras. My recommendations must be taken with a grain of salt, I tend to pick my weather and I definitely pick my elevation.

THE TRAVELING HUNTER – U.S.
I went on my first out-of-state expedition in 1987 and repeated the adventure every two or three years since then. I prefer to do everything myself and reap the greater personal satisfaction and lower cost that comes from doing it myself. If I had to pay an outfitter, I couldn't afford to go as often. So all of my out-of-state hunting trips have been DIY hunts where we did all the recon and planning (that’s half the fun) and provided all of our own camping gear and food. We contracted with locals for transportation, horses, rafts, etc., but that’s about it. Over the years, I've had questions and encountered problems. I wrote down the answers and solutions and have updated the list after every trip. Here's the latest version.

You can fly or you can drive. I’ll start with challenges associated with flying. I get free airfare with my credit card and fly anywhere in North America for free at least once a year. If you have a credit card, you should make sure it’s the kind that accumulates air miles. If you want to hunt in Alaska, get an Alaska Airlines VISA card because they are the only commercial airlines that flies to Alaska hub communities.

Modern restrictions and costs associated with baggage when flying make it critical that you keep down the weight and bulk of what you take. When I fly, I think of the trip as a backpack hunt whether or not I’m actually backpacking. I assume that everything that I take will eventually end up on my back in a pack. That strategy automatically keeps the weight and bulk to a minimum.

A 100 quart Igloo or Coleman cooler is the largest that the US Postal Service will accept without charging extra for over-sized packages. Avoid wheels and small door in the top lid. The wheels make the cooler heavier and they take up room that could be filled with contents. The door makes the cooler leak in the rain. I mail a 100-quart Igloo cooler via US Postal Service. It is mostly filled with freeze-dried and dehydrated food and other disposable/consumable stuff. Make sure you insure your mail and mark your name and address on the outside with magic marker, then seal it shut with strapping tape. I have mailed two containers in both directions because airline baggage rates for a third bag are a lot higher than US Postal Service rates. Freeze your meat and put it in the cooler and carry it home as your baggage on the airplane. It will stay frozen for at least 24 hours.

On the departing trip I check only a rifle case and one large duffel bag or Duluth Bag filled with clothes and camping gear. I also take two carry-on items. One is a small hunting daypack filled mostly with travel items. The other was a small duffel bag that I leave at the trailhead or landing strip. It is filled with my first set of hunting clothes and a pair of boots. Make sure that there are no TSA prohibited items in your carry-ons.

GUN CASE: needs to be very sturdy and have locks. I use a Cabelas two-gun "Bulletproof" gun case, which has endured many trips and is still going strong. There are many that aren't as good and a few that are better. I put all my fragile optics (range finder, camera, GPS, binoculars, etc.) inside the gun case along with rifle and ammo. You must declare your firearm at the ticket counter and have it inspected by TSA, then locked. Then you give it to the ticket agent at the counter. Your gun case will be delivered at a location or window separate from regular baggage.

US POSTAL SERVICE: You don't want things to get lost so mark your name and address on the outside of all packages in such a way that it can't possibly get lost, torn off, etc. They will accept some really odd looking packages so long as they are within certain dimensional restrictions. I have mailed two sets of caribou antlers via US Postal Service and they both arrived in perfect condition. Cut the skull plate in half and nest one antler inside the other, tape them together and cover all the points with cardboard and duct tape. It looks really awkward but works fine. I also mail back my large duffel bag full of clothes and camping gear. I used the same cooler to carry frozen meat, as my luggage on the plane and I mailed my gear home, again with USPS. I froze the meat, put it in the cooler and it was still frozen when I got home.

I’ve flown and camped on all of my Alaska hunts, three trips onto Mount McKinley and a bunch of trips in the lower forty-eight. You really have to know what you are doing and be very organized, if you are flying to a remote spot in Alaska and you better have good gear because if something fails, you don’t have any backup. Colorado (or any of the western states) is more forgiving because you can hike out and drive to a local sporting goods store to replace something that you forgot or something that broke or failed.

If you are flying to Colorado or any other western states, you will still need a 4x4 vehicle to get from the airport to the trailhead, or camp spot. A pickup is best but it’s hard to find a company that rents pickups. Most of the major car rental companies at the airports, offer SUVs and that’s a good way to go. You’ll also need chains for all four tires because we can get deep snow in any of the rifle seasons and when they get wet, some of the roads get real slippery. Generally I fly only when I have a local contact with a vehicle.

If you live close enough that you can get to your destination in a long day of driving, then do yourself a favor and drive your own 4x4 vehicle. You'll be grateful that you did once you've arrived. Things are different when you are driving from out-of-state. You can carry more gear than you can if you are flying, so weight and bulk is not as critical. Since you can carry more gear, you can setup a better, more comfortable base camp. You also have the vehicle as an emergency backup if a tent fails. Remember that you have to stay on established roads, usually US Forest Service roads, and that in a designated wilderness area nothing with a wheel or motor is allowed. A lot of people will drive to the end of a dirt road at or near a wilderness area boundary, camp there, and hike in from there. If your pickup has a topper, it’s even better.

I use an MSR Whisperlite or Dragonfly stove for cold weather and MSR Pocket Rocket or Optimus Crux Isobutane stove for warm weather. I use propane appliances when base camping.

For base camping I use Cabelas Instinct-6 (aluminum poles) as a group cook shack and a Cabelas XPG-4 for sleeping. I use to setup a big wall tent and occasionally I still do. The dome tent takes up less room when packed, is lighter, and is easier to setup and break down. But it’s not big enough to use a wood burning stove like a wall tent. So I use a Buddy heater in the cook shack and good sleeping bags and mattresses in the other tent. There are always trade-offs. When backpack hunting in an early season, I use a Big Agnes Copper Spur UL-2 tent. That’s a 3-season, 2-man tent that weighs about 3 1/3#. When I hunt in a later season, I use a Kuiu Storm Star 2P tent. That’s a 4-season, 2-man tent that weighs 5 1/2#. Don’t depend on just an air mattress because when (not if) your air mattress leaks, you will have no insulation between you and the cold ground. I always take a lightweight foam pad as a backup just in case. Put the pad under your air mattress to protect it from a puncture.

If it's warm, you will have to be concerned with keeping your meat from spoiling while waiting to return home. We put our meat in game bags, keep it clean and hang it in the shade, covered by a tarp to keep the birds away. It will freeze solid during the first night and stay frozen until you leave. I’ve seen other hunters had place their meat in a side braid of the river so that the cold water kept the meat cool. We also used Game Saver citric acid spray. You mix the powder with water in a spray bottle and it works great. I ordered it over the Internet from Indian Valley Meat Co., in Indian Valley, AK. http://www.indianvalleymeats.com/about.htm

Make sure you have USGS maps of your hunting area, a compass, and a GPS. The GPS is not a substitute for a map and compass. Use it to augment your map and compass. Mark your camp or pickup as a waypoint in your GPS so you can always find your way back in the dark, in the fog, or in a raging blizzard.

I use Leupold 12x50 binoculars. My buddy uses Swarovsky 15x56 binos mounted on a tripod. I’ve seen him spot a black bear from five miles away. We both use chest harnesses to ensure that our binos are accessible all the time.

I use T/C Icon Weathershield 30-06 rifle with Leupold VX-III 3.5x10x40 scope and Warne rings when I hunt in Alaska or when hunting elk in Colorado. I use a T/C Venture 25-06 with a Leupold 4.5x14x40 CDS scope when backpack hunting for Coues deer in southern Arizona.

My buddy takes some T.T.C. (Taxidermy Trophy Compound) https://www.bringmin.com/catalog/index.php and uses it to treat the capes in the field. It’s lighter than salt. If you are not returning home immediately, put some “Stop Rot” on the cape. Once I left mine at the meat processor for two weeks and instructed them to keep it frozen. They put it in a cooler (not a freezer) and it was ruined.

MEAT CARE WHILE DRIVING HOME: Keeping meat cold while returning home is important. Do not use dry ice. You can get freezer burn if the meat comes in contact with the dry ice. I've driven from south Texas to central Colorado and from southern Arizona to central Colorado with a 100 quart Igloo cooler full of meat. In both cases I did not have the opportunity to freeze the meat. I put the bagged meat in the cooler and filled the remaining space with cubed ice. Milk jugs filled with water and frozen work pretty well if you are not waiting at base camp for too long. When you put the meat in the cooler it is body temperature warm and a lot of the ice melts. The next morning, drain out the water and refill the cooler with more ice. It will stay frozen for two days. If you need to make a longer drive, then drain the water and put in more ice that you buy at the convenience store where you fill up with gas. This process removes some of the blood from the meat and I think that makes the meat taste better. The meat of a big bull elk will fill two 100 quart coolers. Including the ice, a caribou, mule deer, axis deer, or big whitetail deer will fill one 100 quart cooler. You can use a smaller cooler when hunting antelope.

You need to own all your gear and be an experienced camper. You need to know what you are doing in the wilderness, must be self-sufficient and know how to survive when everything goes wrong. Have a backup plan, contingency for emergencies. Expect some gear to break or fail and be ready to repair it or adapt to do without it. Expect someone to get injured or sick and be prepared to care for them.

The biggest obstacle that you will face is thinking that you can't do it on your own. You can. If I can do it, so can you.

Good luck, have a great adventure and a safe hunt.

KC
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" Do not use dry ice. You can get freezer burn if the meat comes in contact with the dry ice"
KC: Great article. You are right about direct contact with meat and dry ice. I use ice to insulate the meat from the dry ice.. I do not bother with coolers. I hit the Dollar General store (they are in every small town) and buy a couple of cheap plastic containers. Load meat, cover with bagged ice and then dry ice on top. When I get to a town with a building supply store I buy a roll of Reflectex insulation (bubble wrap with a silver coating) and a roll of duct tape. Wrap the plastic containers in reflectex and tape. Cover with sleeping bags. I have driven from the West to the Midwest in 90* daytime temps and the ice was still solid, the meat cool and no freezer burn.

Wing: Get a tipi type shelter with a small collapsible wood stove. I have Kifaru but it is expensive. Seek Outside and others make similar shelters and stoves. Go to the Kifaru website and read the archived articles on camping while hunting written by Patrick Smith. Above treeline or in the Arctic with no wood use a small propane catalytic heater with fiberglass tank. My Kifaru tipi has withstood a 60 knot gale in the Brooks Range without ripping or collapsing. A GoLite Shangri-La tent survived 2 weeks in the mountains chasing tahr on the South Island of New Zealand.
Get a copy of "The Big Book of Big Game Hunting" by John Barsness. After some experience out West put your big boy pants on for a trip to Alaska but get a copy of "Hunt Alaska Now" by Dennis Confer before you go.

Great article KC. I always enjoy reading them.