Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting Lightening Up my gear..Forbes 20B

How's that 20b shooting for you ?

So 300pds? You carry that weight well my friend and enjoy your weight loss effort!

Can you drop the plastic container the Pocket Rocket comes in and get the lid shut on the Optimus? Ounce or two there. How many meals a day will you boil? Mountain House?

How long will you actually be on the hunt? In the mountains. Several trips?



Thanks

Hello Shaq. 2 boils a day. I dehydrate a lot of meals at home. Porridge in the morning. Cold meal at lunch and dehydrated meal in the evening. For water I either chemically treat or use a small Sawyer filter. I can lose the plastic stove safe...still won't fit in the pot. Probably we will take the Polaris Ranger or Freighter Canoe and set up a base camp. Will do 1-3 day trips away from the base camp which will be set up with a bear fence to keep my gear safe.

One of my favourite cold meals was taught to me by a Canadian Ranger. A wheat wrap with peanut butter and a sea weed sheet as used in Sushi. Rolled tight like a cigar. Surprisingly good, easy to assemble and the combination of tastes make it hard to get sick of.

Oh and I started this journey at 305. Now down to a Svelte 290 (ha-ha) with a goal of 210.

This sample seems to be doing ok. Will need to wring it out a bit more time to be definitive. Last outing with a cheap Simmons 3.5-10X Whitetail I went 3/4 MOA with 150 Accubonds and RL 15 and Remington 150 CL factory loads. 1.25 MOA with 125 Nosler BT's and W748 and 1.75 with 200 Noslers and H414. Now have the Leupold on it and will take it out Monday. All most out of RL15 and haven't seen any RL powders for sale up here for 18 months.

Haven't had time to tune loads..just where I started. Preliminary work shows some promise.

Damn..started looking at some of the light weight options for packs. Technology does march on. Unfortunately I don't have enough money to grab onto every trend. I'd say if I had to do it over again that the rifle is the most expensive way to lose weight. Fun but not the most cost effective place to lighten up.

I hope you shoot a lightweight off hand better than I do!

Have your son carry the pot and fuel. You carry the pot. etc

If possible.

Yes splitting up the load will help. If my daughter comes it gets even better. Should have had more kids!

But then you wouldn't have money for gear.

If doing 1-3 day trips, I'd be much more inclined to run with the tarp. Which bearpaw one are you using?

The whole woobie thing looks awkward to me, but I guess people use it. I like a decent insulated (primaloft for me) jacket and pants that can be thrown on over top of stuff for glassing and zipped off for moving. Seems like your down jacket will fill that role for you. I'd ditch the impertech for sheep, but that depends on how much rain you are likely to deal with.

As an exercise, I like to cut my gear down to the minimum I need to survive, then add luxuries from there. First luxuries are in sleeping well/warm.

For 1-3 days, I'd probably have no "spare" clothes, and your food weight can be cut way down. Good way to go. Have fun with the hunt prep.

Good point!

This one, in it's three person variation. Like it a lot so far.

http://www.bearpawwd.com/tents_tarps/lagarita.html

North, thanks for the link, right in my back yard. They have some good stuff!

I have bought several things from them. Good construction, fast shipping and well priced. An unassuming little company that seems to have some pride. Well worth supporting!

That is impressive indeed!!! Figure 1.5 pounds of food per person per day makes that roughly 32 pounds in just food! So just gear is down around 36 pounds. Everyone using 4 pound packs makes that down to just 24 pounds of stuff besides you are putting in your packs!! After taking 5 pounds out for spotter and tripod and another 4 pounds for 3 pairs of binos you are looking at less than 15 pounds split 3 ways for the gear you need to survive, or 5 pounds per person. Raingear per person around 1.5 pounds, sleeping bag/quilt another 1.5, sleeping pad another .5 and either a puffy coat or baselayer for additional warmth when needed and you are there. Of course shelter and cooking stove and fuel comes into play there, but very doable for sure. Very well done indeed.

Of course omitting rifle and water weight, trekking poles all help for sure when starting out helps, but regardless that is impressive!

It sure didn't happen overnight.
And honestly with the very latest technology like the platinum Big Agnes fly creek three man tent at an even 3 pounds, Kifaru dyneema <3 pound packs, etc, more weight could be shed these days.

My first sheep hunt I did in jeans/cotton shirts and coats, my pack was 65 pounds without rifle! and I literally took pots and pans with handles on them... Crazy.
After we about died of hypothermia with a shredded tent--we had record rains that year--soaked clothes and exhausted bodies we resolved to be as light as technology and a sane budget would allow.
The rest was history.

And that 1.5 each/day seems like a heavy weight for food, Luke.
At least for us...Of course we could pack more.
If one is using dehydrated stuff, the weight is in the water.
I don't think we take more than ten pounds total for a week for all.
Lots of dehydrated berries, lots of oatmeal, couscous, small oriental noodles (not ramen)...couple of bear creek soups.
We've always been blessed with sheep or goat meat to round out the week.

A quick list of some weight savers we use:

Aquamira squeeze bottles--no pumps.
Pocket rocket stove with igniter and two small gas bottles (always more than enough)...no liquid gas or hoses ever. (!)
8X32 HD bincs...large objective glass is a waste up there. One exception--I pack/wear geovid hds that we all use for the rangefinder technology.
Spotter: Leica apo 62mm angled televid with zoom. 3lbs tops. Pedco 3 ounce tripod.
Piranta havalon knives.

Rab summit mountain tent 3lbs 14 ounces...breathable 'event' and bomber all the way.
Integral designs Siltarps (ounces) for meat/gear protection and as umbrella for 'airing' meat...

I'm sure there is more, but it's fun seeing how we all get to similar places with the lightweight gear.
Experience can be a tough teacher!

Yeah I threw out 1.5 pounds as a safe bet...usually I have found I need between 1-1.25 pounds per day per person works for my wife and I. 10 pounds of food for 3 people for a week comes to less than a half pound of food per person per person per day. What are you using to get your cal/oz ratio so high?

Even at 1 pound of food per person per day, which I think is pretty light in my experience especially running the sheep mountains, thats 21 pounds just in food. Leaving 47 pounds worth for gear which is pretty good for 47 pounds which is pretty good for 3 people no doubt! Well done.

I usually figure 2lbs per day for food, and even at that I usually run out. Bars are what kill me weight-wise, but I hate stopping to cook something in the middle of the day.

I hear ya....I hate skimping on food weight. Its the one thing that keeps me going. But I think 1.25 is the sweet spot for me and my wife atleast. I realize its still a deficit and if you are burning 5-6K calories a day packing around in the mountains you can not eat enough to make up for that.

As side from downing straight olive oil I just don't see how three people can get by on 10 pounds of food for a week. But everyones body is different, just basing on what I found I need is all.

I go off at least 2# a day... I think anything less would kill me... But I'm a growing boy....grin

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