I currently roll around in an 06 Subaru forester. I'm thinking that I might need to buy a truck for my trips out west. Does anyone else think that I need a vehicle with more ground clearance?
Depends on where you intend to go and what the ground conditions are at the time.
On my first big game hunt, elk in 1982, we drove though creeks and axle-deep mud getting to the spot where we parked the 4x4 truck.
My second hunt, the next year, was for deer. I could have driven my Malibu station wagon over the frozen ground to the parking spot. Coming back out that night was a totally different situation - the ground had thawed and truck traffic had chewed up the only road out, leaving axle deep ruts. My friend's International 4x4 Scout had slightly less ground clearance than the Ford/Chevy/Dodge trucks and got high-centered on the differentials. No problem, he had chains for all four tires and had used them before. He also had new and slightly larger tires and we found it impossible to put the chains on in the mud - we could get them around the tires and fasten the back sides but they were a link or two too short to connect in on the outside. We spent the night on the hillside and two jeeps in tandem pulled us out i the morning.
Since them I've used a high-clearance (full size Bronco, Suburban, F250 and now F150) 4x4 and have chains for all four, with two rubber tensioners for each wheel (and spares) and a chain repair kit which hasn't been needed since I upgraded to high-quality chains (but saved my bacon and that of others several times before the upgrade).
That said, there are places you can hunt near a paved road and even more by well-maintained county roads. There is a 1/4 sq mile patch of public land where I've taken 3 elk and could have taken more. There is a knoll about 100 yards from the pavement from which I've taken one, a ridge 50 yards from the pavement from which I've taken another and another knoll in the back from which I took yet another. Another time I took one 45 lasered yards from a gravel road.and passed on yet another. That same trip I filled my second tag while sitting 25 yards from a different gravel road.
Elk are where you find them. Getting to them (and back) can be easy or hard. I've pulled one 4x4 truck back onto a road and took a pair of hunters to town because their truck was irretrievably stuck until they could get a tow truck to winch it up and out.
If all I had was a Subaru, I'd take it. Hunting is better than not. (But I'd prefer a 4x4 truck with chains.)
Years ago my hunting vehicle was a Honda Accord hatchback. I hauled a bulk elk quartered in it. Also hauled deer as well. If it’s all you got use it. Just be smart and safe.
About 35 years ago was hunting with some friends near Bozeman, Montana during Thanksgiving week. Ended up having to drive into town for something one day, and parked in front of a local store was one of the original, squarish Subaru 4WD station wagons with a gutted but otherwise whole Shiras bull moose on top of the roof. It wasn't a very big bull but still weighed more than the roof could hold without developing a decided hollow, but that probably helped the bull stay put, since it was tied down with what appeared to be clothesline.
Dunno what this has to do with the question at hand, other than obviously somebody killed and retrieved a big, antlered animal when hunting out of a 4WD Subaru wagon.
Years ago my hunting vehicle was a Honda Accord hatchback. I hauled a bulk elk quartered in it. Also hauled deer as well. If it’s all you got use it. Just be smart and safe.
Springcove; Good morning to you sir, I hope this finds you well and that this last weekend in June will be a good one for you.
Although it's been put up here many times, when I read your post I was reminded of this photo of my neighbor and a buddy hunting moose when they were younger and had not one but both of their pickups apart in the shop.
He did say that the doors didn't work quite the same afterwards, but where there's a will - well most likely a BC redneck will find a way!
Well we used to be built in that fashion years ago and I hope there's still enough of that "good stuff" left in our next shift of hunters.
Seriously though as you've noted, boning and even quartering out animals gives one all sorts of options. I myself brought home a Columbia Blacktail from a Gulf Island hunt in the trunk of an '82 Nissan 200SX and the trunk in that fine auto wasn't spacious whatsoever.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to trot down a pleasant memory lane this morning sir. All the best to you as you head into your Fourth of July celebrations.
I took a camaro on an elk/deer hunt because that was what I had available at the time. The camaro had the fold down rear seat so I was able to bring home a deer on the rear deck.
When my second daughter was born, we traded our 1964-1/2 Mustang for a 1968 Ford station wagon. It went on many deer hunts and family camping trips, off pavement, throughout eastern and central Texas. With some aggressive "snow treads" on the back wheels, It also made it through three back country mule deer hunts in Colorado. It got through some nasty stuff in which some 2-wheel drive pickups were mired.
I am still somewhat surprised at the number of Subaru wagons that I see during deer and elk seasons, both here in New Mexico and in the Colorado mountains. Many, if not most, have out of state plates. If that was all that I had, I wouldn't hesitate to go hunting.
Except for one bull I killed on a fly in Alaskan hunt, I think the last 6 elk I have killed were packed out to a main, graveled road that a Prius could easily drive down and park on the side of, or at a trailhead.
Even before that, I can think of only one elk I have ever killed that I had to drive down a road that I needed 4wd and decent clearance to get to, to save me from packing it another mile or so. Higher clearance and chains may come in handy if you're hunting late season, snowed in areas I guess.
If you're hunting private ranches or have a hard draw desert kind of tag where rutted up two tracks are common then a high clearance rig could be useful, but for normal general season elk hunts in the mountains I just have not seen the need for pickups, jeeps or ATVs/UTVs other than having bed space for bloody critters. There are always exceptions (and I know some), but in many forest service areas the only roads you're allowed to drive are the main, maintained roads. Some areas have trails restricted to 50" wide or smaller ATVs where normal vehicles are not allowed, so a pickup wouldn't help you there anyway.
Maybe things are different in other states or how others hunt, but in MT, ID and WY this has been my experience.
Years ago my hunting vehicle was a Honda Accord hatchback. I hauled a bulk elk quartered in it. Also hauled deer as well. If it’s all you got use it. Just be smart and safe.
Springcove; Good morning to you sir, I hope this finds you well and that this last weekend in June will be a good one for you.
Although it's been put up here many times, when I read your post I was reminded of this photo of my neighbor and a buddy hunting moose when they were younger and had not one but both of their pickups apart in the shop.
He did say that the doors didn't work quite the same afterwards, but where there's a will - well most likely a BC redneck will find a way!
Well we used to be built in that fashion years ago and I hope there's still enough of that "good stuff" left in our next shift of hunters.
Seriously though as you've noted, boning and even quartering out animals gives one all sorts of options. I myself brought home a Columbia Blacktail from a Gulf Island hunt in the trunk of an '82 Nissan 200SX and the trunk in that fine auto wasn't spacious whatsoever.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to trot down a pleasant memory lane this morning sir. All the best to you as you head into your Fourth of July celebrations.
Dwayne
This picture is too awesome to suffer that photofückit stamp.
I've successfully hunted antelope with a Honda CR-X and deer with a Toyota Corolla lift back but a Subaru for elk? Ground clearance and weight capacity.... buy a truck. My little Tacoma has done well with two elk and my hunting partner with all our gear, in late season snow!
They have 8.7" of clearance, about the same as a stock Jeep Wrangler. They can and will do a bit of off roading. They are not a big 4WD truck however. Good tires and a winch manual etc you should be OK for anything that is sane.
About 5 years ago made a trip to Budget meats in Belgrade to get my elk burger ground and a guy and his wife showed up with a nice, and whole 6x bull stuffed in the rear of a 90s Suby. His wife was slightly bigger than the elk though.
I've owned F 250 pickup trucks since 1972. Hauled at least a couple dozen elk home in them. I bought my first Subaru Outback in 1985 and would often use it for day hunting trips from home. In 1992 I shot a cow elk in the North Bridger Mountains. With snow on the ground, I was able to drag her whole almost all the way down to my Suby, but the last couple of hundred yards was uphill so I had to quarter her to get her up to my car. Then I just piled the quarters into the back of my Suby and drove home.
I also used that "85 Suby on several eastern Montana antelope hunts. One time I got permission on a Block Management ranch the evening before the season opened. I camped in the back of my Suby that night on the side of a county road next to the ranch, and the next morning I walked a little way into the ranch, and had my buck back to my Suby by 7:30 on opening morning.
Another time two other hunters and I took my "85 Suby pulling a 1/4 ton trailer into some BLM land in north eastern Montana on an antelope hunt. I drove over a bunch of 4WD two track roads into where we camped and hunted, and back out with the trailer loaded with 3 bucks.
I am only asking this because I spent a few weeks hunting elk in Colorado last October and some of the roads were so muddy due to snowfall that I am not sure if I would have gotten out had I been driving my Subaru.
There have been more than a few times that we had to wait a while after dark to allow the temp to drop and freeze the mud in order to get back to the county road. Ice and snow can usually be navigated with good tires and chains, but some of that mud is another deal. Happy Trails
Haven't hunted with a Suby for a number of years now, but when I owned them it was all I had. Like buffybr they were older ones. My last was an '84 with the 2 speed "transfer case". Went a lot of places in that thing. Never lucky enough to have scored an elk when I owned it, but since I could get 1/3 of a cord of wood in the back (Measured space with seat down) I figured if I had there'd have been plenty of room, especially quartered or boned out. A bulls rack? Well, there was a roof rack for that.
Hunted the Big Boquillas ranch in N AZ a few times. Place on there , ranch house with corrals/cattle pens. One called the "bull pen". Road on the low side of was not a car friendly road. Came down it in the Sub wagon one trip, had to move a boulder or two to the side of the road, nothing major. Coupla guys meet me on their way up, near the bottom. Asked if I came down past the bull pen (as if there was another way??) , in THAT car? I said yep, no problema.
Someone mentioned the ground clearance on them. Bought my first Sub wagon in '77. Advertised as the same ground clearance as stock CJ-5 at the time. Not sure about the newer Forester models, but my brother owns one (2015?) and he runs around FS and ranch roads in N AZ taking pictures all the time.
Maybe try to plan for the earlier season hunts? When roads are likely to be drier. And avoid the Kaibab in the wet.
Like Valsdad posted "A bulls rack? Well, there was a roof rack for that."
It's not an elk rack, but it's as big or bigger than many of the racks of elk bulls that I've shot. When I went on my Quebec caribou hunt in 2017 I flew out of Denver. After I shot this bull, I thought he would qualify for the B&C record book, so I didn't split the skull and paid the extra air baggage to bring it back whole. The rack wouldn't fit inside my 2008 Suby along with all of my gear and my Golden, so I tied it on the roof rack for the drive from Denver back home in Montana. On the ride home I got a lot of looks, thumbs up, and folks snapping pictures of it.
Great thread. Where there's a will, there's a way.
When I was 17, I had a '70 Camaro RS with Cregers and L-60's on the back. The night before I went deer hunting for the second time, we had about 4" of snow. When I got to the farm, there was no way I'd drive it back into the field, so I parked on the side of the road and walked in. I ended up shooting my first deer (doe). I had to drag it about 1/2 mile, but with snow on the ground, it was a little easier. I loaded the deer in the trunk of the Camaro and off I went. When I got home, the trunk was full of blood and my old man went ape schit on me as if it was his car. Kinda knocked the wind out of my sails. I'll never forget it and I never let him forget it either. He did apologize eventually and then it became sort of a joke with us because I made him feel bad about it. That story got told many times at family functions.
My dad has a great old family movie of him and a buddy hunting in a Mercedes sedan. They got it stuck up to the chassis and then cut down some trees with an axe and levered the car out of the mud. Took their combined weight hanging off the tree trunk to unstick the car. Later there are cuts to them driving back with two deer tied to the Mercedes. A little Redneck ingenuity paid off.
If a Mercedes will work a Suburu should be even better. Take a Sawzall or other tools for braking the Elk down and you will be in good shape. I like those wheelless trailer extension that fit the trailer hitch, perfect for an ice chest, load of firewood or half an Elk.
I ran an old 98 forester with a 5spd as my alternate for a few years and have had a lot of deer and hogs in the back of it. And as far as capable- i never worried about stuff like what we got that minivan hung up in back in feb. it was a beast. My wife has a 2014 with 6 spud manual. Only issue is sometimes you gotta hit stuff harder than you want without a low range. But just grit your teeth and hammer down Bobby Big Rig!!!
Years ago my hunting vehicle was a Honda Accord hatchback. I hauled a bulk elk quartered in it. Also hauled deer as well. If it’s all you got use it. Just be smart and safe.
Springcove; Good morning to you sir, I hope this finds you well and that this last weekend in June will be a good one for you.
Although it's been put up here many times, when I read your post I was reminded of this photo of my neighbor and a buddy hunting moose when they were younger and had not one but both of their pickups apart in the shop.
He did say that the doors didn't work quite the same afterwards, but where there's a will - well most likely a BC redneck will find a way!
Well we used to be built in that fashion years ago and I hope there's still enough of that "good stuff" left in our next shift of hunters.
Seriously though as you've noted, boning and even quartering out animals gives one all sorts of options. I myself brought home a Columbia Blacktail from a Gulf Island hunt in the trunk of an '82 Nissan 200SX and the trunk in that fine auto wasn't spacious whatsoever.
Thanks for reading and allowing me to trot down a pleasant memory lane this morning sir. All the best to you as you head into your Fourth of July celebrations.
Dwayne
Have a good friend in Bromont Canada his hunting party had a Dodge ram charger they used to get back into were they hunted. They got a nice bull and put it on the roof of the ram charger. First bump in the road it crushed the roof in and jammed the doors! lol
Some years ago, one very cold morning, close to 0, we left camp to head up a trail. At the trailhead was a Subaru sedan with the windows were all frosted up on the inside. As we got there, 2 big guys were prying themselves out of it. They'd got an elk a couple miles back shortly before dark. They'd packed out half of it and were heading back up for the other half. They'd gone hunting on a day trip so they had no camping gear and very little food. They'd spent the night crammed inside that mini-mobile freezing their tails off. The moral was that if you go hunting, you'd better plan for what you'll do if you actually get one. They didn't.
I've spent a night in my single cab pickip a few times, once during 4th rifle at 8,500ft. The reason those guys in the Subaru froze their tails of is because they weren't smart enough to wake up from time to time and run the heater. Had all my gear but needed to go back in in the am for 1 more load. Didn't see any reason to set up a wall tent and cut and split firewood for one night. Back on topic, I wouldn't dare go in any place I've hunted the last 20yrs with an ooppty oopp, but there are plenty of places it could be managed, barring the occasional freak 2ft overnight snowstorm we get here from time to time.
I sleep in the front seat of my pickup throughout hunting season. No need to set up a fancy camp when I have no idea where I will be the next night, plus I am too damn tired when I get back to the vehicle to cook or do camp chores.
A bud of mine owned a Triumph Convertible TR 4 Spitfire, we took it deer hunting in PA. Good thing we didn't kill a deer, it hardly held the guns and beer!
I had a good one and hunted with it, including sleeping in it. They are superb in mud and all traction situations, until ground clearance is an issue. For my hunting, I need more ground clearance. However, I could get it done in the Forester. They are great vehicles.
What tires do you recommend i get. Bear in mind that i need to drive 1800 miles to get to most parts of wyoming where i am hunting. While there i may need to handle snow mud and even dry conditions.
I am on my second Forester. The first was a 2009 with manual transmission. I had a dedicated set of winter tires on that car, cheap Firestone Winterforce snows without studs. They were great in snow, but noisy. However, who cares about noise when you really need traction?
Last summer, I traded that car in on a 2018 Forester with CVT. I have 18,000 miles on the new car, and am getting 30 mpg overall. The old car got 27 overall due to the low final drive ratio.
At 50 mph the old car turned 2,000 rpm in fifth gear. The new one does 70 mph at 2,000 rpm. My only complaint with the Forester is small size. However, at 73 I don't need all that much room. If I were younger and went hunting and camping, it could be a problem.
In that case I think a full-size 4x4 pickup truck would be in order.
What tires do you recommend i get. Bear in mind that i need to drive 1800 miles to get to most parts of wyoming where i am hunting. While there i may need to handle snow mud and even dry conditions.
I ran my street tires, but have seen with Goodyear ATs and the like.
I think the OP might be overthinking this but wondering if he's looked into renting a vehicle for this excursion. I rented a Chevy Tahoe for the whole week last week and paid 700 bucks with unlimited mileage. Might be an option.
A small trailer would be a big help although the Forester's towing capacity is quite low, about 1500 to 2000lb I think. Some of the really light trailers only have 8" wheels. Those things are really spinning at highway speeds and for rough roads, they have no clearance at all. I recommend 12" or larger wheels just to be easier on the bearings.
I’ve hunted in California, Oregon, Nevada and Idaho so what’s your point. If a subaru is all you have take it and be safe. When it’s no longer safe get out and walk. By the way I have a 4WD truck but know many who don’t and they would laugh in your face that they’re not serious hunters.
Like I said to each there own. But to say someone isn’t a serious hunter because they don’t own a 4WD truck is incredibly ignorant.
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.
Like I said to each there own. But to say someone isn’t a serious hunter because they don’t own a 4WD truck is incredibly ignorant.
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.
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
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!
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.
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
I used a Ford Escort one year because I didn’t want my T-bird to get trashed. The next year I had a pickup. Everyone in Wisconsin thinks they need a 4x4 for hunting. I have a couple but also a 2wd Yukon 2500, I prefer that to my truck for hunting. Good tires go a long way and suspension travel/articulation not just ground clearance. All of that does no good though on wet grass on a 17% grade. That same grade a mid 80s Subaru climbed out of on wet grass no problem.
Back in 79 with gas running $4+ a gallon my 100+ daily trip to work was costing me more than my mortgage so I traded in my beloved Chevy 4x4 truck on a front wheel drive Chevy Citation. With good winter tires all around I used that little hatch back to hunt, haul fire wood; I even crossed a few small streams to get to my favorite hunting spots all while getting 40+ mpg.
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