This will be my first year of extended backcountry hunts and I am starting thread so I can ask questions along with any questions others have. The two questions I have right now are: What's better - bivy or a tent? What pack weight should I be aiming for when it comes to a 5 day hunt? Do you carry a handgun in bear country? If so, what? (Not bear-anoid, but I have a hard time trusting that a small can of spray will keep me alive if I do have a run in)
I carried my pistol the 1st day of my hunt and left it at camp the rest of the time. Just added weight. Granted I was in an area where there weren't tons of bears but I did see lots of fairly fresh scat. Are you going to be returning to the same camp nightly or do you plan on packing up and moving every day? That would probably determine whether a bivy or tent would serve you better. I found out on my trip that you wamt to pack as light as possible but still have everything you need. There are lots of streams in the mountains so I didn't have to carry tons of water. I just carried a small filter and filled my supply at every stream I came up to.
What do you weigh? Supposedly, people can only carry half their body weight. I'd have a tent (make sure you take it up and down in the yard a lot, better to have a problem there than miles in the woods) I'd have a hand gun if I felt it was close to needed, especially when it comes to bears. Good luck
I'll be hunting Montana and other spots with Grizzly, so I just want to be prepared if I do stumble upon a Grizz that doesn't care about the spray. Being that it'll be my first time out, I really don't know for sure. I like the idea of being light and mobile, just don't know how much better a bivy is compared to a tent.
I'll be around 170 by the time I leave. I know I can pack out more than that but I won't be lugging 85 pounds around in the mountains.
5 days isn't too long. You shouldn't have a huge problem with weight should you decide bivy or tent. If I was in grizzly country I would personally want a gun. I was in Idaho last year where grizzly weren't prevalent and only carried bear spray. Saw plenty of bear sign. I would still want a gun for grizzly. Even though the research I did said otherwise. Studies showed that bear spray is more effective. I researched it a lot. If a bear charges you it is hard to shoot and hit a vital. Even a big caliber gun can skip off a bears skull. Making the bear madder. Spray has a better chance of deterring the bear since it has a better chance of getting on the face, nose or eyes. Just make sure to keep your camp clean and food away from tent/bivy. We hung our food or anything else that smelled around 80 yards from our base camp in the middle of the mountains. Our campsite had bear marks on trees. Nothing fresh though.
I've always used a tent in the past, but I think in August if I go on a sheep/goat hint I'm going to purchase a bivy. It would be nicer than a tent since it doesn't weigh as much and doesn't take up nearly as much room as a tent would. However a tent is definitely nicer to have, especially when you get into wet mountain weather. It's nice to have a spot to put your gear, etc. nothing worse then being out in the middle of nowhere on a mountain for days at a time and having all your stuff soaked up with water from rain.
There are tons of articles on back country elk hunts that will be helpful. From experience I can tell you carrying much over 40 lbs will be too much. There are some awesome tents for that type of hunting depending on how much you want to spend but finding a 2-3 lb tent with a rain fly shouldn't be difficult. You'll just have to decide if a handgun is worth the extra weight; bear spray works. Here is an article to get you started. Field Notes - Tips for Surviving and Thriving in the Backcountry
