Elk hunt gear?

[-JR-]

Welcome to Alberta when you get here .This is where I live and hunt . Where are you hunting in Alberta, and what month ? What i pack for boots and clothing is for hot and cold weather days. in the morning it can get cold so I will wear some insulated rubber boots that are good to -80. I have gone away from most lace up boots and gone with mucks . Bad thing is you can sweat in them . So bring a lot of socks. In sept it can rain or snow or it can be very hot in the afternoon .So bring winter gloves and a warm hat etc. Hunting elk in Alberta is very difficult as they mostly only come out after midnight in well hunted areas unless you hunt in the mountains or private land. Do you know the zone number you will be hunting in ? Will you be using quads or Horses ?

 

[Mountaineer]

Asolo boots and the lightest 3000 inches 3 pack you can find. My experience with elk have been to cover a lot of territory until you find them.

 

[Mtn_Infantry]

I personally use Meindl boots, with a Mystery Ranch Frame & Pack. If I don't need something as rugged of a boot, I'll use a well broken in pair of Merrell Sawtooths, or Salomons that I wore overseas. I've got a couple of different packs I use on the Mystery Ranch frame depending on the type of hunt I'm doing. I've used it in Idaho Wilderness Areas, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico hunting, plus a fly-in fishing trip in Alaska. That load shelf is a life saver on a pack out.

Case wise I'll either use an SKB case if I'm taking my bow or gun & bow. If I'm just taking just a gun then it's a Pelican with cutout for Rifle, Scope, Ammo, Binos, Bino Harness, etc. Sometimes if I need extra room for clothes I'll take my double SKB.

I drew a pretty good tag this fall and will be running the Sawtooths, with my Mystery Ranch Pack, and a Seek Outside Teepee. I'll have the Meindl's in the truck with a back-up rifle as well.

 

[BRICKBURN]

Hey all, havent posted in a while but looking for some advice.

A friend and i recently sent deposits on an elk hunt for 2023 and were looking for reccomendations on boots, packs etc for the hunt. It is a fully guided hunt based out of wall tents, late september in Alberta. We will be flying out then taking either ATVs or boat into camp. So whats everyones best boot they can reccommend??

Thanks!

Anything from tennis shoes/t-shirts to heavy duty hiking boots and down jackets.
That covers late September.

Flying and Boats and or quads to get to camp? That leaves me (us) wondering where you are hunting.
Drop a WMU on us and you'll get better weather and gear forecasts.

 

[Whitworth375]

Thanks for the insight so far everyone. We are flying to grande prairie and hunting the kakwa river area, not sure if we will be taking atv or jet boat into spike camp

 

[Robmill70]

Boots - Lowa, Kenetrek, Crispi, Irish Setter Elk Tracker…all depends on what your environment is.

I’ll recommend Darn Tough socks with whatever boots you pick.

Edit: I forgot to mention Meindl boots.

I love my Irish Setters, such a comfortable boot!

 

[Nevada Mike]

All my elk hunting has been horseback. If you plan on riding get boots that are compatible with stirrups - easy to get in and out of the stirrups, Also, do not depend on your outfitter to provide a good scabbard for your rifle - buy one or have one made to fit. If you have pack animals, you do not need a large frame type pack - the horses will pack your quarters. If not using pack animals then get a frame pack and get in shape to carry 100 - 125 lb. quarters. I am too frickin' old to do that and it was never fun when I was younger.

If there is a chance you will be hunting in snow or very muddy conditions, bring a pair of insulated, lace up pacs with air-bob soles and liners or heavy socks. Leather boots are really bad when hunting snowy conditions for days on end.

For early season hunting I like Limmer Lightweights, Danner Elk Hunters, AKU and Keen hiking boots. Get some that fit and wear them a lot before the hunt.

Have a good time.

 

[John Camp]

Recommendations depend on many factors. Will you be packing your elk out? Do you just need a day pack to carry extra clothing, water, etc? Will you be hunting in the mountains? You have to have the right gear to deal with varied weather, but I argue a Hunter should never make compromises when purchasing either boots or a pack.

if you just need a day pack you can go cheap, but if you don’t have to then check out Mystery Ranch. Their Popup packs and guidelite frame packs will do the daypack job and you will have a meat hauling pack for future hunts. If you plan to pack an animal out, then Mystery Ranch, Exo Mnt, and Kifaru are my suggestions. Ask you guide his recommendation as far as pack size, brand, and model. If you really want to go all in check out the Frontier Gear of Alaska external frame packs at Barney’s Sports Chalet. These are pretty much the only packs Alaska Moose guides carry. They can be unwieldy when moving through timber, but no other pack compares when packing out a heavy load of meat.

I am a Crispi fan. I know other brands offer quality boots as well. If you will be hunting mountains and hills then make sure your boot is a mountain boot. Currently I have the Crispi Guide GTX. For mountain hunting I have not found anything better.

 

[grand veneur]

First of all you need a good pair of boots !

My current boots are from Danner. I also used Kaufman boots in the past, not Sorel, when I sometimes hunted in Greenland or the NWT of Canada, and later in north Asia. These kind of boots are hardly known in Europe, but I was always satisfied with them, especially in a mixed terrain of rocks and swamps as is often the case in the north of our continents. You can also use it on horseback.

 

[willbaforce]

i hunt elk in one pair of pants up to ten days normally and never bring extra pair of clothes other than one pai of socks. All you need is a base layer mid layer puffy layer and rain gear. That combo will get you through pretty much any season.