Outfitter Supplied "Drop Camp" Questions

aramarine6 · Oct 15, 2019

After successfully camping and hunting for Pronghorn in Wyoming. Myself, a buddy and his dad are looking at the possibility of doing a "drop camp" style hunt for elk in a few years. We haven't made anything official yet, but would like to get opinions on those that have done this style of hunting before. What appeals to us is the advertised remoteness of the camp areas. However our concern is most outfitters do not advertise whether these camps are on public land or private. Also was there any benefit to this style of hunt over completely DIY camp on public land? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

jwall3d11 · Oct 20, 2019

Some places require 4 hunters to do a drop camp, some don't. Most likely you will be hunting public land. No big deal if you are in deep enough. I've hunted 30 miles from the road/trailhead and still saw other hunters. Some benefits to a drop camp over DIY is that you can be in a remote camp, say 5-10 miles deep, and not have to pack all of your gear in on foot. You will most likely be in a canvas wall tent with a stove which can help dry clothes and sleeping on cots over staying in a 2-3 man tent you packed in yourself with a sleeping bag and sleeping on the ground. Food choices will be better with a drop camp over diy. Horses or mules packing out your meat versus doing it on your back, then turning around to go back after your spike camp. Unless you have time to scout or have hunted the area before, an outfitter can tell you places to hunt to improve your chances of success. If it is the first backcountry hunt for all involved I would recommend either a fully guided hunt or at least a drop camp before going DIY unless you do a lot of backcountry hiking and camping and really understand what you're getting into. Also, why wait a few years? Get after it.

IanCo · Oct 20, 2019

I would recommend at least a drop-camp as well. Being able to be close to where you need to hunt at and having a camp with a stove would make later hunts much more enjoyable.

aramarine6 · Oct 22, 2019

jwall3d11 said:
Some places require 4 hunters to do a drop camp, some don't. Most likely you will be hunting public land. No big deal if you are in deep enough. I've hunted 30 miles from the road/trailhead and still saw other hunters. Some benefits to a drop camp over DIY is that you can be in a remote camp, say 5-10 miles deep, and not have to pack all of your gear in on foot. You will most likely be in a canvas wall tent with a stove which can help dry clothes and sleeping on cots over staying in a 2-3 man tent you packed in yourself with a sleeping bag and sleeping on the ground. Food choices will be better with a drop camp over diy. Horses or mules packing out your meat versus doing it on your back, then turning around to go back after your spike camp. Unless you have time to scout or have hunted the area before, an outfitter can tell you places to hunt to improve your chances of success. If it is the first backcountry hunt for all involved I would recommend either a fully guided hunt or at least a drop camp before going DIY unless you do a lot of backcountry hiking and camping and really understand what you're getting into. Also, why wait a few years? Get after it.

You make some very good points. Especially about the time to scout the land. We would most likely be showing up blind to any area chosen as we live hundreds of miles away.

Outfitter Supplied "Drop Camp" Questions

aramarine6

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jwall3d11

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IanCo

Well-Known Member

aramarine6

Well-Known Member

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