What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle season?

[Litehiker]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

EXTREMES IN SHELTERS

OK, we have "Mad Mt'n Mike's" very basic floorless single wall tent to "mnhunter's" heavy dome tent with a vestibule. That's EXTREMES in weight and protection.

ME? I land much more toward MM Mike's weight with my ->->->
->->TARPTENT MOMENT DW with ripstop inner tent option.
It's a double wall one person tent with two vestibules and two doors. Weight is 32 oz W/O crossing pole and 36 oz with it. I use the optional X-ing pole if I expect heavy snow or high winds. This tent will keep out spindrift snow and be tall enough to easily sit in. You can cook inside this tent's vestibule in a storm (max ventilation recommended).


I totally agree with "mnoland", we all need to become LIGHTWEIGHT backpackers. Why?? Because, unlike the usual backpacker we are also carrying a scoped rifle, ammo, and field dressing gear (and likely heavier warm clothing).

STOVE: Trail Designs titanium sheet Caldera Cone Sidewinder with either ESBIT fuel tabs or the wood-burning Inferno insert or both. By using wood with this stove I only have to carry some Vaseline soaked cotton balls for tinder and get my fuel from Ma Nature. Finger sized twigs are the size of fuel needed. The Inferno woodburning insert makes it a gassifier stove which means it burns most gasses from the wood and thus is very hot.
My pot is a matching size (required for Caldera Cone stoves) 3 cup aluminum pot & lid. Inside the pot nests a cut down Ziploc 'fridge bowl and plastic measuring/drinking cup.
A long handled Lexan backpacking spoon is my only utensil other than a tiny Gerber lockblade knife.

SLEEP SYSTEM: Western Mountaineering Megalite down bag (factory "overstuffed" to 20 F.) plus I wear synthetic insulated (Thermolite Micro) jacket and pants over heavy weight polyester long johns. This system and a balaclava on my head easily keeps me warm to 0 F. I also can take a down "topper" that Velcros attatches and covers the entire top of my bag. This lowers the temp range to -15 F.
GTX hunting parka, zipped up, goes over the foot of the bag to keep it dry when it touches a damp tent wall.

My mattress is a Thermarest Trail Pro with my hunting pants under it on the tent floor.
Never been cold with that mattress setup even in -5 F. temps.
UPDATE: I now use an REI FLASH Insulated air mattress that weighs only 15 oz. It has a 3.7 R rating (the Trail pro has 4 R) so it's OK to at least 0 F.
IMHO insulated air mattresses are the way to go. The FLASH also comes in a "winter" version with a 5.3 R rating. Plenty warm enough for very cold weather camping.

PACK: Here I confess I carry a heavy (7.5 lbs) Dana Designs Terraplane because I haven't bought a lighter large winter pack. But when I do I'll order a custom designed ZIMMERBUILT pack or a GRANITE GEAR pack at around 4 lbs. max.

Those are my "BIG 4", tent, stove/cookset, sleep system and pack

My rifle is a stainless steel Browning A-Bolt W/ BOSS muzzle brake system and a 30 mm tubed Burrris Black Diamond 4-12 X scope.

UPDATE:
->My new winter bag is an LL Bean -20 F. down bag, size Long (to store water & other stuff at the foot). The down is treated with a good water repellant (Down Tek).

->My new mountain rifle (deer sized game) is a 6.5 Creedmoor Browning X-Bolt Pro and SWFA SS 3 - 15 x 42 scope. I use 143 grain Hornady ELD-X factory rounds (soon to be hand loaded)

Eric B.

 

[mnoland30]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

I liked your post. It sounds like you hunt in way colder weather than I do. When it is really cold, I like the wood stove in the tipi tent. We have wet snow here, and once you're wet, there's nothing like a wood stove in a tent to dry off.

I started by lightening my rife. I have a mountain Ti Browning A-Bolt in 7mm WSM. It weighs 5.5 lbs without scope, and with a Leupold Compact 2x7, it only weighs 6 lbs. That cut 3 lbs. off my Remington 7 Mag. without giving up any performance. All it took was a stack of cash. Prior to that I used a TC Contender in 7-30 Waters. It weighed 5 lbs w/o scope. It was perfect for Barbary sheep out to about 230 yards with Barnes 120 gr. TTSX bullets. Sweet to carry and to shoot, but not as accurate as my Browning or Remington.

I played around a lot last summer with wood stoves for backpacking. I designed one that worked great here in town at 5000 feet. When I tried it at 12,000 feet, I was sorely disappointed. It just didn't get enough air. I'm curious at what elevation you're using yours.

 

[Litehiker]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

MN,

I'm using my Caldera Cone Sidewinder stove at 9,000 and 10,000 ft. for winter camping here in Las Vegas' Spring Mountains. In the Ruby Mountains where I hunt I'm at 8,000 ft. give or take.

Works very well due to its good ventilation and wood gas re-burning "gassifier" system. It's similar to the Canadian BushBuddy stove but lighter and far more compact to store as it rolls up into a Tyvek sleeve.

And yes, it can get cold in Nevada's Rubies at the higher elevations.

BTW, I think my one man Tarptent Moment DW tent is warmer than average because I only have to heat up a small tent. Plenty of room for me, my clothes and my rifle.

Speaking of rifles, I was unaware that Browning had a Ti offering in rifles. What part(s) ae titanium?

 

[mnoland30]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Just the receiver is titanium. The bolt shroud is plastic, the trigger guard is plastic. It is a dream to handle. I showed mine to my hunting buddy and he went out and bought one at gunbroker.com

For a description, the link is A-Bolt Mountain Ti, , Browning Firearms Product

By the way, a 10 lb. pack is comfortable. My buddy hiked out of the Grand Canyon with a 10 lb. base pack. That is without food and water. We usually carry 6 lbs. of water out, but a 16 lb. pack is still pretty comfortable.

When I bivouac overnight on a hunt, I only carry about 6 lbs. extra. 2-1/2 lb. quilt bag, 13 oz. tent, 1/3" 1/2 length foam pad 5 oz. (camp on duff), alcohol stove/fuel/cup 6 oz. and a Steripen for water treatment (If there's water available, which is spotty in NM).

 

[Litehiker]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Thanks for the link MN. I'm looking really hard at that rifle. As far as I know it's the only mountain rifle with a titanium action.

And I love that A-Bolt 3 lug bolt for fast operation.

 

[WildRose]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

My answer has always been the best quality tent I could afford.

We did a lot of backpacking back in the seventies and it was always North Face, or Camp 7 gear.

Just a note. Even the best tents can collapse on you in the right conditions. You can also for many reasons get stuck out away from camp in a storm so it pays to plan on emergency warmth and shelter.

A simple GI Poncho and Poncho liner(s) will keep you alive in even severe conditions so tossing the same in your daypack is light weight and cheap life insurance.

 

[Litehiker]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Wild Rose,

For winter conditions no company makes better tents that the Swedish company Hilleberg. But beside being 'spensive, even the solo tents like their Akto are a bit heavier than I like, mainly because they use more poles.
Surprisingly my TT Moment DW has the optional crossing pole that makes it suitable for a snow load, unlike the similar Hilleberg Akto.

Still, Hilleberg tents are lighter than other winter tents and more storm-worthy than most.

So W.R., if you like the best tents you can afford look at Hilleberg. Nobody has better quality and their designs are expedition proven worldwide.

 

[fmajor]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Wild Rose,

For winter conditions no company makes better tents that the Swedish company Hilleberg. But beside being 'spensive, even the solo tents like their Akto are a bit heavier than I like, mainly because they use more poles.
Surprisingly my TT Moment DW has the optional crossing pole that makes it suitable for a snow load, unlike the similar Hilleberg Akto.

Still, Hilleberg tents are lighter than other winter tents and more storm-worthy than most.

So W.R., if you like the best tents you can afford look at Hilleberg. Nobody has better quality and their designs are expedition proven worldwide.

Maybe you haven't had a tent from Integral Designs, Bibler or from some of the other top-shelf companies. Hilleberg's are nice, but the "best" is merely conditions adjusted and for winter conditions, there are other equal or better choices.

 

[WildRose]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Wild Rose,

For winter conditions no company makes better tents that the Swedish company Hilleberg. But beside being 'spensive, even the solo tents like their Akto are a bit heavier than I like, mainly because they use more poles.
Surprisingly my TT Moment DW has the optional crossing pole that makes it suitable for a snow load, unlike the similar Hilleberg Akto.

Still, Hilleberg tents are lighter than other winter tents and more storm-worthy than most.

So W.R., if you like the best tents you can afford look at Hilleberg. Nobody has better quality and their designs are expedition proven worldwide.

Thanks.

 

[Wyodog]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Just ordered an Easton Kilo 1 man tent. Trying to lighten my load to help out the knees a bit. At 1lb 14oz it definitely fits into the light weight category.

 

[davkrat]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Tarp Tent with out floor. Luckily here in California rifle season seems to still be in what most would consider late summer weather.

 

[bowtechboss177]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

A tent is most effective because usually rifle hunts are colder so there nice and warm.

 

[Emine]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

Kifaru shelters. Add the backpackable wood stove and living life!

 

[gareyg]

Re: What type of shelter do you use most often for backpack hunting during rifle seas

For base camp we use a 9x14 canvas wall tent

When hunting and hiking overnight we use Hennessy Hammocks, Asym model. I've used it in 100 degree weather in Texas, and 18 degree weather with 3 feet of snow in N. Central Idaho. Best sleep I ever had in the woods. You have to know how to set it up correctly, with good insulation coverage, etc.