Basecamp/Truck Camp For Elk!
Elk
OK, who here does not bivy.spike camp for elk?
We hunt from a basecamp ourselves (my son & I) we enjoy the fact we can come back to some of the comforts of home!(grin) Hard to beat a great bed roll & heat! As I get older I like the idea even more but certainly not opposed to spiking out if need be. At this time its been a basecamp & we score on elk on a regular basis so haven't seen the need to fix something that isn't broke! (grin)
We travel on foot between 5 & 12 miles everyday in our running & gunning style, it's just a part of our hunting style & really don't give it much thought otherwise. We do not walk out of camp & hunt! We can do this for a couple weeks straight & pack out a couple bulls in this time frame. I'd venture a guess & say a normal time it takes to pack out an elk for us is aprox 4-5 hours one way from the kill site on our backs & to the rig.
So, who else has a primary basecamp they hunt from daily? Photos of your camp would be great too!
ElkNut1
that's a lot of miles....I can do 5 without much problem but 12 is not something I would like to do anytime soon.
I do like a basecamp...one that let's me stay mobile.
motels or pop ups or tents for base camp depending on which unit we are hunting. hike in before daylight and back out at night. i have the stuff to bivy but have never had to yet.
We haven't tried a car camp yet. We fly to elk country so we wouldn't have any more luxuries at a car camp except food and beverages maybe. Last year we hunted an area that had barely any parking with the amount of road camps, but we didn't see a hunter the entire 10 days. We only packed in 3 miles to get into elk everyday. I like to be into elk within a mile from camp. Our pack outs are only about an hour and a half
I bivy, spike, and truck camp but this is my favorite style. I'll hike 6 miles one way to have the comforts of a pickup bed
I'm a Newby at elk hunting but once had a tent base camp and the other stayed in this solar/ propane ran cabin that belongs to a friend. The cabin is nice but makes for an hour drive in and out if we chose to not hunt close.
Here's tent camp. The trailer hauled my iron horse then at camp is the kitchen, just shut the gate to keep bears out.
Where we hunt, there is no camping. You can't even bivy (legally) as far as I know, as it's state land NM.
For us, It's jacked-up pop-up campers to get them up the mountain to base camp. Wall tents/tarps make up the kitchen and pantry. There are showers off of some of the pop-ups. Then, 10 mile-4 wheeler rides (one-way)to elk country, get out and walk to your spot.
Sometimes these rides back to camp in the dark/rain/ lightening can be adventuresome!
Love coming back to a warm fire though and cooked dinner every night. Sometimes we even do Ribeye's and crablegs! Bivy days are done for me!
Octwill, I've camped like that a few times for sure, actually it wasn't bad at all, it beat sleeping in the cab of the truck as I've done that as well a few dozen times when I was younger!
Straight-arrow, actually as a runner & gunner many of us in these parts cover that kind of ground daily. I'm sure the more common distance a day is in the 7-8 mile range, that's all together it's not one direction! I couldn't even imagine walking in a couple miles & staying the night, it just seems too close? This works for us & we don't mind it at all.
Unit 9er, you & I would get along great! (grin) I love coming back to camp for the very same reasons, I think I'm getting spoiled! (grin)
I like seeing others setups though & how they hunt, very cool! Thanks guys!
ElkNut1
I just use whatever it takes to get on the critters..drew a mulie tag and remembered the quality animals I had seen while bivy hunting for elk in earlier hunts...stayed in this homemade tipi archery season that year..stayed after one buck up at 11,500 till the season waned down...canteen freezing...the buck won...
Come down every week to the truck, replenish food, charge cell and camera...pop out my Tentcot and tarp...then throw it back in the truck to keep the range cattle from tearing it up...used my wall tent in the 4 Corners area...get up at 3:30 and hoof it to my spot...set up below the elk traffic while thermals were rising...
Like some here, we move a lot in a day when elk hunting. Average is about 4-8 miles, all depends on what we're seeing on the ground at the time. While my elk hunting partner and I haven't actually bivied (yet), we do everything from spike camp all the way up to 5th wheel.
5th wheel is most common but truck tent is still a method we don't shy from and bivy is going to be something we do soon enough. What we found in these years of hunting is we trend to hunt harder camping in the 5th wheel because no matter how crappy or tiring the day, we know we can get a hot & awesome meal at the end of the day. We don't shy from getting done what needs done though and why tent on the ground doesn't bother us either if that's what's needed.
I also have a Jeep top camper that I use when running alone. Makes drive up camping so convenient. Off the ground, level, super fast to employ and deploy.
Andy
We have truck camped multiple years while bowhunting elk in NW Colorado. We have two canvas outfitter tents, two screen rooms for cooking/butchering and a shower stall with a five gallon bucket/garden shower head. We even got tired of cots and built our own with 3/4-inch plywood with foam...sleep like babies!
We have backpacked also but for two weeks in the wild it is hard to beat a nice truck camp. I tired embedding multiple photos in this post but couldn't make it work so more photos in subsequent posts.
Dwayne
Nice foam bunk and a good book. Hurt my back on last trip and spent three days like this!
Screen rooms for cooking and butchering elk.
Hard to beat a warm shower. There are two buckets. Top one has a garden sprinkler head in bottom with a shutoff valve. The second bucket has no bottom and protects the sprinkler head.
We have stopped our western hunts so if someone could use the shower setup let me know with a PM. I am in MN and if we can meet somewhere you can have it.
Dwayne
Ahhhhhh...a comfy camp for a cold beer and telling lies!
Hey where's the campfire? Beer & no fire is a "camping foul" (grin)
ElkNut1
We are fortunate to hunt from a base camp, but always have the ability to bivy if needed. We occasionally get into elk within a 1/2 mile of camp but the 'honey holes' are a couple of miles from camp. It is nice to have a place to get stuff dried out and sleep good.
The unfortunate thing is it's a limited draw area and we can't draw every year.
Most hunts have been done from a base camp. It used to be the Alakanak 12X20 with a shower stall till I bought a camp trailer. I found out this year how much it limits me during archery season. I will go back to the tent for archery and use the camper during my later rifle hunts. I too have spiked out off my back and I will do the same next year. It took me about 1000 miles driving around the state looking at new areas to hunt and found two good ones. ( OTC units ) Both can be hunted from a base camp but both (based on my hunting tour) would be better to maybe just put the gear on my back and stay a couple of miles in. Cuts the amount of other hunters by imo 80% and gives the extra time to be where the elk are before they get pressured. We will see next archery season. But I am very excited to do it. Gonna go in and hang game cams early.
Dan, Montana is way more comfortable!!! Bunks downstairs are the best I had in a couple weeks.
Shoot me an email, want to know how Iowa went.
Most times we hunt out of our cabin. The unit we hunt doesn't have more than 2-3 miles hike in any direction without hitting a road so there's no need to "pack-in" anywhere. The downside is sometimes we hunt one hour or more away from home meaning we get home late and have to get up early. The upside is we sleep great, eat great, and can wash our hunting clothes and shower as much as needed. Easier to stay scent free.
My Tacoma is my homa! Carries everything I need, goes where I need it to and nobody knows my name:)
Camping varies on where and how we are hunting. Horse camp is rather sparse.
NW Colorado 8500' in September 2006
Closer to access roads we can use the camper trailer at Power Nap Blvd.
SW Washington
Other times it's tents with screens to hold off the yellowjackets.
This is in Oregon.
BigDan,
I went archery deer in Arizona Unit 7W last year...your photo like exactly like my camp spot there??
Joe
I've spike camped in, and I've done sparse camps at the truck. I prefer to camp at the truck.
Wish I had a 16-18 foot toy hauler. I want to haul my Ranger, have a bed, and I'd LOVE to have a shower and toilet :)
About the only luxury I miss while camping is a shower and a toilet seat
Bake
I drag my little 8 1/2 foot popup nearly anywhere !!!
Holy crap, Pete.....what a wonderful pic!
That is an awesome pic Pete!
While elk hunting this fall, I set up camp at 12K. I came out of my tent and turned the headlamp off. The sky was very similar. I just stood there in awe.
Here's another camp in NE OR. When feasible it's nice to have some comfort items.
Nice C3!! Looking at the Milky Way in all it's glory is one of the awe inspiring enjoyments of our trips.
This was our 2015 Colorado end of road elk basecamp. We also did a two nite spike camp.
I truck or spike camp depending upon the unit drawn, weather, and where the elk are. It's always nice to stay mobile!
Base Camp when I can fit it in somewhere
Wow Pete... I'm saving that photo. Awesome!
Here's my basecamp and I love it. It was free and worth all the work it took to get her up and running, especially when you are soaking wet and want to dry out over night, want to play cards and have a beer in the evening or take a mid-day nap. She does well to about 10 degrees, but lower than that I think I would just sleep in the truck cab with the heat running.
Elknut1 What would you say your elevation gain is on average??
IF I ever happen to draw another elk tag in my home State that I've been a resident of for the last 39 years I think I'm going to leave the camper at home and roll out one of those Kodiak Canvas tents. I've had my eye on those for awhile and I like what I see.
c3, that is probably one of the best pictures I have ever seen. Thanks for sharing.
Shaft:
Several of us here in Arizona use Kodiak tents for base camp during September elk hunts (I've used mine into December as well). You won't be disappointed!
Always park my cmaper in the same spot for the length of season. 19foot road runner. Old but warm and dry.
I will drive 40 miles from my base camp wasy to hunt but never and hike miles but no place to really back pack hunt etc.
Good to hear on the kodiak tents
Ditto on the Kodiak....mine's been bullet proof so far.
Kodiak tents are great, combine with a Buddy heater, 20 gal propane tank and a carbon monoxide monitor although mine has never shown any detectable.
Depends where I hunt. CO OTC I hunt from a truck camp and stay mobile. If a lot of pressure, my truck keeps me very mobile. If hunting the Gila I will pack in.
luckyleo, the elevation change will vary from day to day as we hunt so many different spots on any given day. On average I'd say 1000' to 1500' -- We hunt a lot of up & down country & rarely use any trails.
ElkNut1
Here is one of mine from 2015
