Basic Tips for Backcountry Hunting

As the title implies, these are quick and simple tips for backpack hunting. They’re not meant to be gospel, but they are things that have worked for me over the last 10 years. Every little thing you can do to create confidence or be more efficient in the woods will not only lead to more success, but also to having a better time.

Keep your isobutane canisters warm. How well an isobutane canister works is completely dependent on its temperature. If it's warm, the gas sprays out with no issue, and your stove works perfectly. If it’s cold, you may start to hear it spit and sputter and never sound like it's running at full clip. The way to combat that is by keeping the canister somewhere in a well-insulated part of your pack when you’re not using it and keeping it up off the cold ground when you are using it. It can also help to wrap your hands around the can while it is in use.

Sleep with your clothes on. It might seem weird not to take off the clothes you’ve been wearing all day, especially if you’ve been wet and sweating all day. However, if you’re in the backcountry, you're not trying to impress anyone with your scent, and it doesn’t really matter how dirty you are. If you keep all your clothes on, you’ll cook your whole system dry while you’re sleeping and be able to get in an extra cup of coffee while you wait for your buddy to uncomfortably put on all his freezing cold clothes.

Carry a spare headlamp. This won’t be used by you very much, but it feels like every other time I am in the woods, someone either forgets their headlamp or theirs is completely dead. It’s best to keep something like a Petzl E+Lite in a bino harness pocket. No one is above leaving a headlamp hanging from a tree branch while quickly packing up camp to chase the morning's first bugle; it’s best to pack a backup.

Carry a pee bottle. Gross, right? No. Extremely practical. The most annoying thing in the world is having to fumble around your tent looking for some kind of footwear, while also losing all the precious body heat you worked so hard for. Take the crunched-up water bottle from the back seat of your vehicle and stick it somewhere near your sleeping bag. You’ll save yourself a few hours of sleep over the next couple of years. Make sure you give it a couple of practice runs first. Good aim is key.

Starting to sweat? Take a layer off. Everyone who hunts in the West has found themselves in a situation where they’re starting to sweat, but it feels like it’ll be a pain in the ass to take a layer off. Almost always, the best course of action is to shed the layer. It usually only takes about 45 seconds from unclipping one side of your bino harness to clipping your hip belt back up. You never want to get in a situation where you’re caught waiting for an animal to stand up on a windswept ridge with a soaking wet mid-layer.

Find a routine and stay organized. If every time you wake up and go to bed, it's chaos, you’re probably losing valuable sleep or spending energy that you don’t need to. Using the vestibules of your tent or having designated areas where you put certain pieces of gear can make you much more efficient at night and in the mornings. Getting into a routine while on the mountain keeps you focused on the task at hand. If you’re constantly changing things up, it leads to less time figuring out the critters, and it can even make you a poor hunting partner.