Bivy Hunt

J

JohnFitzgerald

New member
Mar 31, 2014
1,108
As not to hijack one of Ticks threads, who here bivy hunts for elk? Who here would like to bivy hunt for elk but just doesn\'t have a spot?
 
I would like to. The area we hunt now it would not work. I have been talking a little about maybe doing a horseback hunt in a couple of years with a fellow BTO member.
 
Ok, just checking to be sure!

I have done it, and want to again.
In fact, I have a pack hanging in a tree that has a tent, a MRE, water and alcohol stove, just waiting for me to go use it.
In the middle of one of the best spots I have.
 
I have hunted that way. The way I understand it...when you bivy you sleep where you end the day....when you spike you return to camp somewhere every night.
 
\"Scot320\" said:
I have hunted that way. The way I understand it...when you bivy you sleep where you end the day....when you spike you return to camp somewhere every night.
Click to expand...

Ah, that makes sense. I will be mostly bivy hunting.
 
I do a combination of the two and would like to do more of a bivy style this fall. I dont like the idea of setting up camp where I end up for a few reasons. Mostly because of being too tired and setting up in the dark. Walking back to your tent and sleep quarters set up is a nice feeling. I am looking at doing a \"circuit\" where I expect to find vocal elk. Some new areas and some familiar. By being able to cover ground like this you are more likely to find elk, IMO. Once I find them I can spike from that point on. Distance from the truck can become a factor when hunting alone. Trying to find out if I can get a hunting partner to come with me is something to think about with a plan like this. Are they willing/capable of this style of hunting? I would say the are I hunt is perfect for a hunt like this. Sometimes it is more work than going back to a base camp near your truck, but I just cant pull myself away from the adventure of it. Main reason I love this style of hunting.
 
I have done it and yes bivy you pack your whole camp all day with you, spike camp you make a big load hike in set up camp and hunt out from there. I have done both but feel I\'m far more effective spike camping. Mostly because I don\'t/can\'t afford the high dollar light weight stuff. I move better with just a daypack on. I have found that by doing more scouting I don\'t need to be as mobile while hunting I can usually hike in day before season and set up a camp and be in elk in the morning If the elk seem to vacate that area I can again load up the big pack and move but in say the last ten years I\'ve only had to do that once. Most of the time I scout out know where the elk are and their habits.
 
\"Scot320\" said:
I have hunted that way. The way I understand it...when you bivy you sleep where you end the day....when you spike you return to camp somewhere every night.
Click to expand...

That\'s correct. I have always bivy hunted and I would like to start doing a lot less of it. I think for a lot of guys bivy hunting elk is part of the vision of a real elk hunt and as a result, a lot more guys are doing it. In many areas, Wilderness areas in particular, at least the ones I have been to, 5 miles in is where you start running into other guys. Still it can be very rewarding. You will never work harder for a meal. And if you pick nasty enough terrain you can still find your own piece of real estate. With that said no one should feel any less successful because they shot an elk close to a road.
 
Bivy hunting is hardcore...especially in the Rockies where cold weather/ bad storms can be on you in a heartbeat. You have to have enough gear to comfortably survive...and I\'m too old to try to sleep in a one-man super ultralight \"burrito\".

Also, I like to be able to shoot with all my gear on...with a full bivy pack that could be challenging.

I\'ve been known to go in a couple miles and set up a spike camp. I can handle that ;)
 
Jeff, if you come my way this year can you swing by my camp and make sure Swede doesn\'t burn my log chair? Poke him in the eye with your thumb if need be! :upthumb: I think he\'ll stir up trouble while my son and I are 3 miles in! :)
 
\"Scot320\" said:
I have hunted that way. The way I understand it...when you bivy you sleep where you end the day....when you spike you return to camp somewhere every night.
Click to expand...

Thanks. I wondered what the difference was, too. I like the idea of bivy hunting and the associated freedom, but doubt I would enjoy hunting as much if camp was on my back all day, every day. Spike camp for me.
 
I only truly bivy hunted once?at the time I didn?t have the latest and greatest in light weight equipment so it became a very grueling hunt physically. I think even with the light weight equipment it?s a young person?s game.

Now that I have fairly light equipment I don?t mind doing a combination of bivy/spike camp hunting if the situation or area calls for it. Because I would rather wake up and start hunting more or less, I go into an area and hunt and if I?m not into elk or I bump them out of the area, I can pick up and follow or move to a different area.

At my age I still have to stay within a reasonable distance from my truck/base camp because if I put one on the ground there is the pack-out to deal with. Every location will be situational so I try to have the gear along to adapt and go with the flow.
 
Three attempts to hunt my chosen area has led me to plan my first bivy hunt for this Fall...and, to be totally honest, I\'m a bit anxious...Eastern hunters have NO idea how intimidating the Rocky Mountains can be - three previous partners have flatly refused to drop the two miles straight down into my honey hole. So this year, I\'m taking my new son-n-law on his first elk hunt...he has no clue! (and no choice!!)

Getting into elk in this area isn\'t really all that difficult - but the daily hike in and out will simply kill your enthusiasm after about three trips - therefore, the bivy camp solution.

Our \"secret weapon\" will be single wheel game carts - two of them - to enable us to take what I feel is needed to be comfortable for several days.

From a fairly elaborate base camp we could still use an overnight spike camp should the need arise.

I\'m not hard-core...like some of you guys...but I DO want to show my new son a good time...once he hears that first elk bugle...game on!
 
Have you ever noticed that there is always some character that speaks up and has the audacity to say you are all wrong? Have you ever noticed it is the same knucklehead much of the time?

Bivy or bivouac does not mean you need to carry it with you all day. To bivouac speaks to the simple temporary nature of the camp. You may carry your camp all day, or place it somewhere and return to it. A spike camp will be a place you go to, and likely resupply, from your base and continue to hunt out of.

\"JohnFitzgerald\" said:
Jeff, if you come my way this year can you swing by my camp and make sure Swede doesn\'t burn my log chair?
Click to expand...

John, I would recommend you stay close to camp this year and keep an eye on it. If I get an elk I will know where to find you and you can go with me secure in the knowledge that I am not messing with your log. Or am I? :?
 
I guess we stand corrected, Swede! :oops:

So is there a term for hunting with camp on your back each day? Backpacking hunting? Beastmode? The young and the restless?
 
\"ABQ_Chica\" said:
So is there a term for hunting with camp on your back each day? Backpacking hunting? Beastmode? The young and the restless?
Click to expand...

I do not know if it is a standard term, but I have heard it referred to as coyote or coyoting.
 
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