Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting subaru forester for elk hunting vehicle

Can't say I agree with that, at all. The bedspace of a pickup is way more useful for hunting purposes than the clearance or 4WD it may provide.

I couldn't live without 4WD, but not necessarily because I need it to go hunting.

Well to be honest I didn’t originally say that but let’s put it this way.
A serious hunter would seek to purchase a 4x4 if he was wanting to get to more remote places.

Wonder how many hundreds of tons of game have been hauled in the back of our local outfitters' Suburbans. Guess they aren't serious hunters, because they aren't using pickups.

I run an 04 Subaru Forester for a hunting and trapping rig. It messes with people. They think I'm a yuppie or a bird watcher LOL. What I would do is take a look at Anderson Design and Fabrication and put their 2" lift kit. A set of King Springs on the rear .I went with the standard height but they increase your load capacity 30 to 50% over stock. Go to 215/70/R16 tires and gain a significate amount of ground clearance between the lift and the tires. A good skid plate under it and go were ever you want. I run mine all over Arizona and have yet to get stuck and go a lot of places I probably shouldn't. I am constantly amazed at were and how far I can go. I put a roof rack and my spare tire on top. The larger size will no longer fit in the spare tire hole. My fuel mileage went from 27 to 24 but Its a lot easier than driving my 2000 Toyota Tundra. My long trapline for Jan. Feb. is 270 miles a day and the fuel mileage difference makes a big difference on my costs. Hope this helps.

don't think the one ply sidewalls will hold up well in elk country

maybe bird huntin in Kansas

Deep snow will defeat most vehicles, then it's time for snowshoes or skis. I am probably not a serious hunter but my experience is that areas not accessible by vehicle are more productive and less crowded. Road hunters are a different topic


mike r

I've used everything from Subys to various 1/2 and 3/4 ton 4x4 American trucks to my current ride, a high clearance 4x4 Tacoma with locking diffs, extended brake lines, reversed shackles, etc. The Suby did 99% of what I needed it to do. And outside a 4 wheel park, I've never needed the current off road abilities I currently have--when the going gets real bad I start worrying I'm going to lose a sidewall, even if my clearance and suspension will handle it. Sharp chit usually goes hand in hand with very rough terrain. In muddy loose chit, or snowy muddy loose chit, the Suby with decent all terrain tires beat the non-locking diff 3/4 ton American truck very easily, except that it's back end dragged when it was loaded down with full coolers.

The issue really is ground clearance and how well your dirt roads are maintained. If you've got a rock crawl, the Suby is not the choice, but probably this is not most areas of the country.

I will likely go back to a 1/2 ton full sized truck for my next vehicle but there are other issues driving that choice.

I have killed some elk. Those reading, do you have any idea the size of even a cow elk hind quarter? Back Strap on a single side can weigh 50 lbs and be what seems like 5' long!

Guys that drive a Roo on an elk hunt probably carry a Leatherman to skin them with and shoot a Rem 742 in Remington .30-06 Sprg. 55 Grain PSP Accelerator in a 20 Rround magazine.

Seriously, Real world, you usually have a hunting partner, what if both of you kill an elk?

Been there, done that!

I understand about the snow, ground clearance. How about getting the elk in the [bleep] vehicle? Even boned out or quartered up, dam....you are going to need three or 8 large ice chests! Base of skull to shoulder = 75lbs of pure fantastic meat.

Bottom line, you going on an elk imaginary hunt ride or a elk harvest hunt?

I love the Roo's....application specific! Roo's are full to the brim with just your hunting gear! If you do drive a roo into the back woods for elk, for dam sure pull a trailer and hope your transmission is rated for a shore nuff load!

Please don't put a Suburban in the same class as a Roo...they are just not the same.

So, you kill a decent 4 year old bull. Now you have 5' of antlers, and hundreds of pounds of meat/bone, what the [bleep] are you going to do? You can't UPS the [bleep] home!

I was going to zip tie the antlers to the roof rack.

A friend of mine used a Saab hatchback on at least three successful bull elk hunts and maybe more in Idaho back in the 80s. It was all he had so did what he needed to do. I know the third elk he shot he got pretty lucky. It was up-slope and he backed the Saab up to the toe of the slope, opened up the hatch and muscled the elk down-slope and right into the back of the Saab. These were not massive bulls, but certainly respectable. He just was careful where he drove.

The other thing that I remember is he used 150gr round nose Herter's bullets handloaded in his 30/06. That was when I realized you didn't need a 180gr Nosler partition (but I would rather have). He generally hunted in wooded areas so the range was not great. Neither of us had any money in those days and he had those Herter's bullets, so that's what he used - not sure what company actually made those.

In most parts of New Mexico you're gonna be pretty okay with that Subaru unless it gets wet.

Curious about axle strength in the Subaru & CRV.

Breaking an axle off-road can stretch into a number of bad non-hunting days. Being careful is good advice but it's Mr Murphy I had trouble with...

Smitty, a lot of those Herter's bullets were made by Norma.

Better put a TRUMP 2020 sticker on it lest you be misidentified as a Bernie voter headed to a local Pride Parade. Around here, any Subie with more than 1 decal or anything pink on it automatically puts the occupant in the liberal pinko commie [bleep] category. LOL!

All BS aside, I think I would go with something a little beefier for elk country. Jmo

Ground clearance for the F150 crew 4x4 is 9.3"

The Dodge 1500 crew 4x4 is 8.1"

The Subaru Forester is 8.7"

Any or all of these can be lifted and equipped with off road tires and wheels

All can be equipped with a winch. The Subaru needs a bit less winch

Full skid pan set with oil change mod for the Subaru runs about 4.5 bills

Worth watching... Factory outback

this truck screams.take me elk huntin'

remember her ?

I would give your left nut for that pickup. That thing is bad ass.

Could you imagine all the fatties that I could haul around in that thing?

Tinman in bonerland.