Best hunting pants for mid-OCT Colorado Elk Hunt

[H&Hhunter]

Wearing cotton in the mountains in the fall is begging to get yourself killed by hypothermia. Jeans are cotton.

Now If the weather is going to be warm you can get away with jeans but be sure and bring a pair of wool pants under which you will have a good base layer. Not frigging cotton. Flannel is cotton don't use it. Believe me when you wake up in the morning and the perfect weather forecast was wrong and it's snowing and blowing and 15 degrees outside your jeans are going to be worse than useless and might well get you into deep trouble. With decent wool you simply put it on and go hunting.

I have two pair of Swiss army surplus wool ski pants I bought them for like $11.00 from Cabelas on sale. I have a light wool sweater and a light Woolrich shirt over a good base layer if it gets to hot strip to your base layer. I've also started using Cabelas Woolsteron shirts and have been happy with them. Over the shirt and or sweater I have a surplus Army goretex parka.

 

[OYE]

Yes, and the M1951 (green) light wool pants are still available (new) for less than 20.00
and they are a good option as well.

 

[OYE]

By the way, have you ever backpacked for elk before ?

 

[xmanpike]

Never. I just ordered a pair of those military wool pants. Thats the price I was looking for. Some of the browning ones I saw were over $200!!!! I have a pair of Sitka Gear pants as well that I think will work good and then a pair of waterproof fleec pants and jacket

 

[H&Hhunter]

By the way, have you ever backpacked for elk before ?

Many many times both as a hunter and a guide.

Xman,

When you get those pants in some of them have little hooks down in the bottom of the hem. Those are for hooking military style gators to the pants. I take a sharp knife and cut them out. I simply tuck the pants into my boots and wear gators over the top of them.

 

[OYE]

I used to backpack hunt many years ago before I started using horses. I packed out a few elk and it's a tough business. Here are the tactics that I found to work. The object first is to get an elk. There may be elk where you're going within walking distance from the road or trailhead without even backpacking. When backpacking stay in the same drainage where the road or trailhead is ( you sometimes end up hunting back saddles, but don't drop down into another drainage). It's generally better to camp near the top of a ridge near a spring ( I have carried water when there was no spring handy, but it's a real pain.) Have also dug out small seeps at times. Another option is to use backcountry airstrips. Try to keep the meatpacking downhill as much as possible. With boned out meat 4 packs for the smaller sizes, 5 and 6 for the big and bigger sizes. You need some sort of game bags ( bought or made ). For backpacking stick with pretty light material. Here in Idaho , bears (and coyotes, wolves, are always active) are still active up till about mid - Oct ( we have seen them in lower elevations 1st week in Nov.. So you need to get it off the ground and out of reach well away from the gut pile. The gut pile is a big "free lunch" sign to every critter and word travels fast. So you need rope as well. For field butchering I just use a sharp hatchet and a "Buck" knife ( and a cheap fine diamond stone for honing ). I generally only have to touch up a "Buck" knife once or twice when skinning ( there may be other knives as hard, don't know, don't care). A plastic tarp 6 x 8 or 8 x 10 is nice to work on. The tarp can also double as a lean- to. Build a fire near the front edge and you
can stay quite warm and dry (it's a must have).
For a week hunt you must be able to make a round trip in one day. For a 2 week hunt
you can do one day each way ( if solo, you're best to keep it a round trip in one day).
Most elk hunters are unsuccessful. So you can learn by observing what they are doing.
What not to do. Most leave camp too late and go back much too early and drink too much. Leave the bottle at home. Hunt as long as it's leagle shooting light ( and observe until it's dark ). It's always best to stay above the elk if at all possible. Hunting timber can be productive if you know something is there. If it's thick, you are often better off to wait them out. A chattering squirrel has given more than one elk away. With horses I can travel several miles on ridges in a day, with a backpack you can't, you have to hunt pretty
close to camp. So make sure there is elk around. It's not a bad idea to take a day and scout
it out on foot before you pack. That isn't always possible. Elk urine can be useful at times, as well as a cow call, and bugle ( but not always, the situation dictates ). If you have any other equipment questions don't hesitate to ask Guess the number one thing is keep your feet up ( wash them every night). Poly-pro socks and Desenex are a must, and trim your toenails into the quick. Intermission time . Don't forget the popcorn in the lobby.

 

[OYE]

LED Headlamp. If you don't have one get one. You will use it constantly. Two I'm familiar with are Black Diamond " Icon " and Princeton Tec "Apex ". Both have worked flawlessly.
Spendy though. Since I use them year around constantly it's worth it. The Apex has a brighter "spot" beam, but the Icon has the edge on battery life ( and a rechargeable battery is available. Both make excellent " coonhunters" lights (range of beam about 50 yds). Easily shoot a raccoon out of the highest tree. I don't often use the high beam, but when you need it, you need it. These might be purchased with damaged packaging on the Ebay.

 

[xmanpike]

I have 2 really good headlamps, so I am set there. I have a contact number for a guy with horses near where I am hunting. If we just get one elk, we will backapck it out ourselves, if we would be lucky enough to get 2, we will get a horse. Thanks for all the help.

 

[sonier]

yea cotton can get wet quick, but ive worn jeans around the farm in blizzards many of times, i have found it always has been to cold for my jeans to get wet water snow just freezes and falls off, but if you find yourself in water you can be in big trouble.

 

[waffentomas]

My wife, God love her, bought me some "yuppie gear" a few years ago that I thought was way too expensive. It's Sitka gear and I promised I'd wear it. Well, last year while trying to get to a downed bull, I had to slide down a 10ft rock face. It was kind of slippery and I lost my footing. In order to slow my descent I hugged the rock face like it was Sarah Palin, and I'd been stranded on an island for three years. When I got to the bottom I was sure that my 90% pants and coat would be in ruins, torn and tattered - you said you wanted durable right? Not even a mark on them. I'm still in awe. I did manage to damage my pack, which I took in to be repaired. Sitka repairs all their gear for free and sends it back free as well. It's done near my home in Seattle in the basement of a building with an excellent, authentic Italian pizzeria above it.

Yes, it's not cheap gear, but I bought all Sitka gear for myself now (on sale), and don't ever need to buy hunting clothes again. I like the 90% stuff, it's just warm enough that with a base layer I can hunt in the cold Idaho mountains, but when I'm heating up, has lots of zippers in all the right places (crotch, armpits) that I can vent without stopping and shedding anything.

The company was started by a hunter, and it's great stuff. It's worth it, to me.

 

[Peakbagger46]

I like either BDU's or 511 tactical pants. Most importantly is the baby powder, wipes, and spandex underware to keep your "grundle" or "taint" from getting chaffed.

 

[Nico Testosteros]

the main thing is being in shape and allowing yourself enough time to get acclimated to the elevation

.

I'm with oneounce.
I backpack in NM and CO during the summer. Camping, not hunting and no guns. The altitude takes some getting used to and if one hasn't been running, climbing stairs, etc. it is miserable.
Not casting aspersions on your fitness, just saying it is as vital as any piece of gear.

 

[Dr T]

I have had good luck with the REI pants and Ex Officio pants as an outer layer. You can layer one, or two, or three pairs of poly underwear underneath. The fabric feels light, but it will turn the wind. Also, the teflon coating on the Ex Officio will keep them from getting bloodstained.

The REIs have a snap closure at the waist, and the Ex Officios use a button held on by webbing. I think that the Ex Officio is a more sturdy design.

I use these pants 12 months a year in Denver and in the mountains (with appropriate underwear).

As a suggestion, you should give the guys at REI (www.rei.com) a call and explain the temperature range and ask for their suggestions. It is a coop, and their help is very well informed.

Another bunch to talk to is http://www.backcountry.com/.

You didn't ask about jackets, but: For temperatures from 0 F to 65 F I have been using a Mountain Hardware Compressor (see http://www.backcountry.com/outdoorg...ressor-PL-Insulated-Jacket-Mens/MHW0227M.html). It is light as a feather, stuffs down to nothing, and keeps you warm. If it gets real cold, I put on a fleece vest under it. The primary drawback to the jacket is that the ripstop nylon will tend to get, well, ripped if it gets too close to anything resembling a sharp object. But it would be a great underlayer for a shell to keep handy.