5 Tips for Easterner’s Hunting the West

     I can boil down all the reason I moved to Montana after high school to one thing: I wanted a deeper hunting experience.  Out West I definitely found it.  I didn’t have success right away, but I kept trying. I had to unlearn Eastern methods and enjoy the experience of merely getting close to animals in beautiful places.  After time, and error, success slowly came.  Here are five tips about hunting the West that I’ve learned the hard way.  
 
1.) Become a Rifleman
 
      Hunting out West means taking marksmanship seriously.  The average shot in western landscapes is much longer than those in the east, and your skills need to match.  A good goal to strive for is a 1 inch group at 100 yards.  Consistently shooting tight groups at this relatively short distance  means A.) you’re practicing on a regular basis B.) Your rifle is tuned-in, and C.) You’ve developed sound mechanics.  Once you’re hitting this goal start practicing at 200 yards, then further.  Know your capabilities and how far you can realistically shoot. Never take a shot in the field at a further distance than you have consistently shot tight groups in practice.  Set a max effective distance for yourself before heading afield, and stick to it, no matter how big the trophy out of range seems.  Pretend as if you’re hunting with a bow, and develop the skill of getting closer to game.  If a bow-hunter can get within 40 yard to make a clean kill, you can certainly get within 200.       
      Many of the common firearms used in the East such as lever-actions, semi-automatics, and slug shotguns simply cannot attain this high level of precision.  The only firearm you should be hunting with is a bolt-action rifle paired with a 3-8x40 scope or better.  Good calibers are the .270 Winchester, .308, .30-06, and .300 Winchester Magnum.  Many other calibers will do a great job as well, but these four can be found at any sporting goods store across the country by quality manufacturers and they all have a proven track-record for taking big-game animals.  When it comes to choosing a caliber, a .270 is easier to shoot than a .300 Win Mag, and a well placed .270 round makes more meat than a poorly placed .300 Win Mag.  But more power is better only if you can shoot it well.  Whatever you shoot, spend ample time practicing with it so that when you head out West you’ll feel confident in your abilities.  
 
2.) Feet, Socks, and Boots Really Matter
     
      Your feet are to your body what wheels are to a car.  You might have the best engine under the hood, but if it has a flat, that fancy car isn’t going anywhere.  The same applies to your feet when hunting the difficult terrain of the West.  
      Feet, like boots, need a break-in period.  As you break-in your boots, you also break-in your feet.  Before bringing a new pair of boots out West, put a bare-minimum of 50 miles on them, over the steepest terrain available to you, wearing a 45 lbs (or heavier) pack.    
      Use only merino wool, or a merino-polyester blend socks.  Never use cotton socks, or cotton clothes for that matter.  Socks should be mid-to-heavy weight hikers that offer cushioning and absorb chaffing that causes blisters.  In my experience, sock-liners eliminate almost all blister issues, but they have a tendency to bunch up.  If you don’t have the time, or terrain to properly harden your feet, sock-liners may save your feet and your hunt.  
      Boots need to be stable enough for rocky terrain, waterproof, and depending on the area, time of year, and elevation, insulated.  They are going to be expensive, around $300-$500 dollars.  I know that’s a lot, but you don’t want your once in a lifetime adventure to be ruined because of sub-par boots.  I wear Kenetrek’s Mountain Extreme for almost every hunt.  They’re perfect for high elevation, mountainous terrain where temperatures may soar during the day, but freeze at night.  I also wear them in high-desert hunts for mule deer and elk, and have worn them hunting whitetails in Michigan during November and December.  
      For foot care in the field, bring mole-skin, new-skin, athletic tape, Gold Bond foot powder, and extra socks and liners.   Gaiters also help keep your feet dry.  Keep calluses flat and smooth by using a foot-file regularly. 
 
3.) Plan Out Your Meat Care
     
      Out West, your meat will most likely come out on your back.  Making sure it stays cool is extremely important, especially during September and early October hunts.  A bull elk will take a single person around four trips to pack-out, and you need to keep your meat cool in the field and at the truck while you pack each load.  Skin your animal immediately and hang the meat in breathable game bags.  Position them in the shade at the bottom of a drainage with running water or on north-facing slopes if possible.  Pack a high quality cooler with ice and have it ready at the truck.  Make sure its large enough to handle a big-game animal.  Only open the cooler to add meat, and once its all in don’t open it until your ready to process.  The meat will make the cooler very heavy, so load it where it will travel.
      If you’re not processing the meat yourself, find a reputable butcher who processes wild-game, and make arrangements prior to your hunt.  Meat processors can only handle so much volume, and if they are full when you arrive, you’ll be SOL.  
 
4.) Get Comfortable With a Map and Compass
 
      Hunters die each year from hypothermia because they get turned around in the back-country.  This happens in the East and the West, but the West simply has bigger sections of land to get lost in.  You should have a capable GPS system and know how to use and read a map and compass.  I’m not talking about the pin-on compass you have on your deer-hunting jacket either.  You need an orienteering compass.  I use a Silva.   Having wilderness navigation skills will make you a much more confident outdoors-man, wherever you’re hunting.  Read The Ultimate Guide to Wilderness Navigation by Scottie Barnes, Cliff Jacobson, and James Churchill.  Spend time navigating the woods close to home with a map and compass, as well as your GPS, for practice.  Get detailed maps of your hunting area and study them.  This will help with scouting and familiarity in case things don’t go according to plan.
 
5.) Invest In a Tripod
 
      You probably already know that a pair of binoculars and a spotting scope are essential for western hunting, but you may not have thought much about what its like to sit behind them for hours.  The small movements your body makes when you try and stabilize them on your knees, or worse, free-hand, will give you a serious headache.  You’ll also miss game because you wont be able to focus on one spot.  If you’re investing in optics, do yourself a favor and buy a tri-pod too.  I prefer the Primos Trigger-Stick. It’s affordable and doubles as a shooting rest. Other good yet affordable options are Vanguard and Vortex tri-pods.  When coupled with quick connects, you can easily change between binoculars, spotting scope, camera, and shooting rest on any setup.