How many days to do a hunt justice?

I think 5 days is enough to HUNT

And you can easily drive the 15 hours in one day, but you are NOT going to wake up the next day and start hunting. You will need a FULL day to backpack in and, as others have said the elevation will destroy you. It would be better to plan for 2 day's to hike in/rest before the season then hunt 5 days and have 1-2 days to hike out (what if you kill an elk on your last day there?)
with all the effort you are going through you will kick yourself for not leaving enough time to relax and actually hunt.
 
Rick Richard said:
Yep, which is what New Mexico only allows for NR hunts.
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He said Montana! But the correct answer In my humble opinion is...If I traveled ( which I have) for 31 hours (each direction) and I was fortunate enough to make my kill the first day....was it worth it...Hell YEAH....would it have been equally as special the Fifth day...more so... because I would have been getting more desperate! BUT...it's called hunting...not killing for a reason...just like life there are no GUARANTEES..at least not in my life! It's all about the adventure 🙂
.
 
brandon lamp said:
A friend invited me to go with them on a backpack hunt in SW Montana in 2022. They have done this hunt a few times in the past and usually set aside 10 days away from home. I would love to go, but between my job and young kids there's no way that I could be gone that long.

We have a 15 hour drive to get to the area we would be hunting. My thoughts are that since we are young and dumb, my brother and I could drive through the night to save a couple days on either side of the trip. Would it still be worth making the trip if we only had 5 full hunting days to try and kill an elk?

Thanks for any input and advice!
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Yes go for it !! You have plenty of time to prep and plan . Scouer all the maps of the area you can find . North facing slopes . Deep dark draws . Water source's . Bedding hallows . Get the new boots broken in . Work out , work out , work out . Hunting elk in high can destroy your mind , body and soul . But it can be the best time of your life .
 
skipglo said:
He said Montana! But the correct answer In my humble opinion is...If I traveled ( which I have) for 31 hours (each direction) and I was fortunate enough to make my kill the first day....was it worth it...Hell YEAH....would it have been equally as special the Fifth day...more so... because I would have been getting more desperate! BUT...it's called hunting...not killing for a reason...just like life there are no GUARANTEES..at least not in my life! It's all about the adventure 🙂
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I know he said Montana. .New Mexico was only being used as an example to show where success can be achieved even with fewer days than 10 days to hunt.

The bull in my avatar was killed the first afternoon of day one.
 
X2 on the altitude sickness. Drink lots of water. Don't push yourself too hard. I know that is hard when you're young. Coffee and alcohol exacerbate high altitude sickness. Read Ray Jardin's book " Beyond Backpacking" about ultralite backpacking. I have camped in February in a Golite Tarp Tent called a "Lair" that weighs 13 oz. If done right, it is all you need. An ultralight Bivy bag over my bag, and a good pad under me, and I'm good. A friend backpacked the Grand Canyon with a 10 lb pack (not counting food and water). Kifaru makes a backpacking tent with a wood stove inside. That entire outfit weighs 11 lbs. When we hunted in 6 inches of snow, everyone was in my tent to warm up and dry off. I highly recommend Sawyer water filters (available at Walmart). We use MSR Pocket Rocket Stoves and an MSR titanium kettle as a cup/pot. The best thing I've found for getting in shape is walking with a 45 lb. pack. It will make your hunt much more enjoyable. Buy a can of Endurox R4. It is magic. They claim a 10% increase in endurance, and my experiece confirms that. I start taking it a couple of weeks before the hunt and during the hunt. I mix a pint and drink it with my lunch when I'm hunting. It is like a burst of energy. Plus the pint of water helps hydrate you. Most of our hunts here in NM are only 5 days. I went on a 9 day CO elk hunt a few years ago, and was exhausted after about 7 days. I also have a Browning Mountain Titanium Rifle that weighs 6.5 lbs with scope and sling. Usually, you'll find the hunting better when backpacking because you are away from the crowds. Read up on boning out an animal. There is no point in packing out bones. Good luck.
 
All good comments but will add the old reliable on licenses. If you bone out completely you could stumble on the legal requirement of meat tagging in CO.
CO COMMON VIOLATIONS:
"Since this is a first time hunt, this doesn't get talked about enough but can bite you really bad. If successful there are some legally required steps you have to take or else subject to fines. CPW is adamant on these requirements and rarely any slack is given:
  • Sign your tag when you buy it but they will show you where when you buy OTC. If in mail, sign it immediately upon receipt.
  • Do not detach your fishing license from the tag at all. Otherwise the fishing license is no longer valid.
  • Sign kill tag upon kill with dates etc filled out.
  • Hunter safety card has to be carried with you at all times unless you have it validated by a CPW office in person and recorded in their system unless it is verified and your license is marked with a "V" at the bottom of it. I carried mine the first year I had it validated to be sure in case it didn't show up in the CO search of the database. This can be confusing since you purchased the license online and entered the Hunter Safety info BUT it does not eliminate the need to carry the card until it is actually validated in person at a CPW office. This law is a real PITA and causes a lot of grief to hunters ASSUMING the wrong interpretation of this requirement.
  • HUNTER ORANGE & PINK- Hunters must wear at least 500 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink material and a fluorescent orange or pink hat, visible from all directions, while hunting deer, elk, pronghorn, moose or bear with any firearm. Note that camouflage orange or pink does not qualify.
  • You are required to bring the meat out FIRST plus evidence of sex of the animal must be attached to the meat.
  • The kill tag MUST stay with the meat and NOT on the antlers.
  • Head etc. must come out LAST. This is something they will not tolerate if you bring the head out first or no evidence of sex. On my last hunt, camp next to us brought head out first and he got whacked hard by CO since not first timer I think.
  • It is illegal to have or transport a big-game carcass without evidence of sex naturally attached. It is illegal to have only detached evidence of sex accompany the carcass. If you submit a deer or elk head for CWD testing, leave evidence of sex on the carcass.
  • Evidence of sex is:
    • BUCK/BULL: Head with antlers or horns attached to carcass; or testicle, scrotum or penis attached to carcass.
    • DOE/COW: Head, udder (mammary) or vulva attached to carcass.
    • Heads detached from carcass are not adequate evidence of sex.
    • If a carcass is cut in pieces or deboned, evidence of sex needs to be attached to a quarter or another major part of carcass. All portions must be trans-ported together.
 
Doubt you will get altitude sickness in Montana. As far as days, hunt as many as you can until you fill your tag or the season closes. 406muley
 
One thing you better consider backpacking in Montana is the snow and cold.
About 15 years ago I shot a bull on opening day in the Selway Wilderness nice sunny 45 deg day, 2 days later -10 and snowing.
 
Trying to cut corners, in my experience, has never worked out well for me with anything. Allow yourself as much time as you can get. A hunt cut short on time will leave you with regret if you are unsuccessful.
 
If you have 5 days for hunting, remember you have to account for recovery time. So if you kill something someplace you need a full day to complete recovery perhaps you only have 3-4 days.

I've hunted wilderness areas in Montana 5 times and taken 3 bulls. Two were on the first day, one was on the third and last day we were going to hunt. In all three successful hunts there were reasons we were stressed to complete recovery, be it temp or my hunting partner being a complete basketcase and losing his mind at the first physical challenge...but that's another story. Moral of the story is to factor in ample recovery time if you are successful. Humping an elk out is a heck of a lot harder than hunting one.
 
A few things i go by when hunting, but to each their own.
1. If you would shoot it on the last day, shoot it on the first day
2. Each day hunting is not a day at work. :)
3. Plan as much time as you can, plan to spend the time you plan. I you get 3 days, HUNT 3 days, not 2 or 2 1/2.
4. If you get something down the last day, you can always call in "sick" to have a day to pack out.
5. Go in with a plan and stick with it.

that being said, plan the pack out ahead of time. Are you hiring a service? Are you DIY? Develop the plan and carry out the plan.

On item 5, I am still guilty and remind myself to this day. Stick to the plan. I don't do this but learned my lesson last year. I was impatient and got up to move too much. I knew and was told ahead of going in, stay in this spot. I didn't. I saw game day 1, day 2 and nothing day 3. I started moving. By day 5 or 6, I would have filled earlier had I stayed in one spot. I realize this isn't every hunt, but next hunt I will stick to my plan and scouting and trust it more than going by feel. I decided on day 5 or 6 sit still. It paid off. Had I sat, I know for a fact I would have filled 1-2 days earlier based on other hunters filling tags in the same place.

sorry for the rambling
 

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