2024
September Elk Hunt Gear List
Chasing elk in the intermountain west can provide a challenging spectrum of temps, weather patterns, and topography. Add in a downed bull elk, miles away from the nearest tailgate, and it’s easy to see the need for a dialed gear list.
Forest's Full September Elk Gear List
A few quick mentions about the full gear list provided here:
- I’ve used all of the items on this gear list during prior mountain adventures and I have complete confidence in their performance because of this.
- I try to mitigate weight where I can, but it’s not uncommon for myself to operate remotely for extended periods of time, either alone or with a buddy. My wife and children mean the world to me, and although I truly love mountain hunting, I intentionally prepare for both mission and contingencies to ensure that I make it back to the homestead.
- Lastly, this gear list includes some grizzly-specific items that can easily be excluded when hunting in other elk regions. I will do my best to explain my thought processes here though for the grizzly-specific gear that I do bring, all of which are based on my prior life experiences and training.
Forest's Gear List
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Honoring The Threat
When hunting remotely in regions that hold a grizzly population, I’ve found that accepting some additional weight is necessary to both honor and mitigate the threat responsibly. Sure, there are various techniques that I use to traverse the landscape responsibly (none of which include the use of a dinner bell secured to my backpack or the endless rant of “Hey, Bear!”), but having certain gear with you can help too. Here, I will briefly touch upon my selection of a floorless tipi, high-power headlamps, and the Gunfighters Inc. Kenai Chest Holster.
Escape & Evade - Seek Outside Cimarron Tipi
I’m not keen to sleep within a floored and zippered shelter here because of the chance that I’m approached while asleep. The tipi provides some lateral offset because of its larger footprint, and more importantly, it provides me with the ability to escape and evade 360-degrees of my sleeping system.
Seeing at Distance - Petzl Swift RL Headlamp
It’s inevitable that I will need to traverse the landscape at night during an elk hunt. Here, I want the ability to quickly illuminate the landscape to the fullest extent possible. The 900 lumen or higher rating of the Petzl Swift RL has served me well in this regard. It also helps that the Reactive Lighting (RL) allows me to conserve energy when looking downward and automatically gains when looking upward. I can’t encourage this product enough.
Oil & Water Don’t Mix - Gunfighters Inc. Kenai Chest Holster
I’ve spent years in the Marine Corps as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) and I’m no stranger to overseas. It’s my strong opinion that a defensive firearm doesn’t belong secured to one’s bino harness. There’s times throughout a multi-day backcountry experience where you’re just going to want to remove your bino harness, such as for enjoying a meal or other. With the Gunfighters Inc. Kenai Chest Holster, your defensive firearm remains where it should…right where you need it to be for a reliable and repeatable draw cycle.
Is a spotting scope required?
For the elk hunting adventures I partake in with a bow in-hand, I don’t include a spotting scope with my gear list. However, I do appreciate when I have a hunting partner along with me and their thought process there differs. My reasoning is that I’m far from a trophy hunter. So long as I can identify a solid bull by my unaided eye or through my Vortex Razor UHD 10x42 Binoculars, I’m “cleared hot” to advance and engage.
Balancing the Hot & Cold
When it comes to my layering system to support elk hunting the intermountain west in September, I like to prepare by including features and materials that balance the hot and cold effectively. I believe a layering system needs to be tailor-made to a specific user, but here’s a rundown of what works for me.
High-Quality Merino Base Layers - Stone Glacier Chinook Series
These have proven to be a solid foundation for me, both in the ways of odor mitigation and the regulation of body temperature. I tend to “stink” noticeably more when wearing synthetic base layers during this time of year, so high-quality merino wool has become my go-to. Additionally, I’ve come to appreciate its “swamp cooler” effect once I make a high ridge after a long ascent in the hot daytime temperatures.
The Synthetic Switch - Stone Glacier Helio Pullover
When it comes to my choice of a midlayer, I often default to either the Stone Glacier Helio Pullover or the SITKA Heavyweight Hoodie (if I want a hood, generally for mid and later seasons). My reasoning is that I want both reliable warmth and repeatable drying capability.
Unbeatable Warmth-to-Weight Ratio - Stone Glacier Grumman Goose Down Jacket
This product speaks for itself because of the high-quality, treated down that it’s produced with. I often have a synthetic insulation piece with me at the truck so that I can swap accordingly at the trailhead based on weather forecasts, but I’d estimate that 90% of the time this is the insulation piece that adventures with me.
What I Would Do Differently
As previously mentioned, this gear list is truly dialed for me and based on proven field trials of my past. However, if I could do something differently in the future, it would be to include a lighter-weight tipi variant. That would be where the greatest weight savings could be had in the future for me. Now, if I could only locate the budget to support it!
Well, that’s about it for this one. Here’s to looking forward to the future backcountry experiences of us all. If we can’t rely on one another for the sharing of knowledge, then what kind of backcountry hunting community are we fostering. Fair winds!