Planning a hunting trip for bear and boar next year. Need advice.

Broken case extractors are inexpensive and light. You sure do not want to go all that way into the sticks and be sidelined because of a case seperation.

Some of the Sportsmans Guide stuff is fine you have to watch everything.

Water disinfectant tabs are an easy fix for on the go water. I always have half a dozen in a small piece of foil in my pants pocken when I am hunting.

There are plenty of videos on youtube to watch for doing things right. wilderness outfitters is one good place to start bushcraft bartons has some good ideas along with some failures.

Another good source of info would be your grandfathers Boy Scout Handbook.
 
If it was me, and I really thought I was going to shoot a pig, I'd pack a utility knife full of blades, and maybe a small stone.

When Boy Scouts train for Philmont they have mandatory training hikes. About three, hiking with gear. Not a bad idea.

I don't know where you are going but if there is a waterway in, buy a canoe.

No matter how light you pack you WILL decide to leave stuff in the car. Do not leave the first aid kit.

Back before all the tech stuff we boiled the water and flavored it with Kool-Aid.

It sounds like a hoot - and I'd surely bet on the pigs. In the day I took a .22 pistol for squirrels and bunnies. I never took a rifle. No pigs.

Out of the box. Bring just one rifle for pigs, a .22 for the other guy so you actually eat. I'm just telling you heavy does not get you to 10 miles, up hill both ways.
 
I figure each man can carry at least 3 gallons of water and enough dried food, MRE's to make it a few days in their packs. I am trying to keep the load out down to 70 pounds per man.
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70# up and downhill is quite a load; even if that also includes the weight of any boar/bear. You and your friends better be in Navy Seals condition. Prepare for the worst and hope for the best. The sat phone giving out GPS mentioned above is something that should be a given.
 
A personnel filtration straw can be had for less than $20.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/EARTHEASY-LIFESTRAW-WATER-FILTER/1675088.uts?productVariantId=3620121&srccode=cii_17588969&cpncode=43-31266188-2&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleProductAds&WT.z_mc_id1=03752738&rid=20
Or one can carry a small bottle containing bleach and an eyedropper. 48 drops will disinfect even the cloudiest 3 gallons of water. If you are boiling water for MRE's you already have a way of purifying your water. If you are healthy adults, you can go three days(the length of your trip) without additional water if you are hydrated to start with.

Personally, I would rethink your initial plans. I would not be as concerned about getting 20 miles in as I would about having success while hunting. Taking a day to hike in and a day to hike out, does not leave much time for scouting, hunting and processing any game if you are successful. You'd be better off to hike in 1 mile and hunt for three full days. I also would be more concerned with having the correct first aid/survival supplies if me and two friends were hiking 20 miles deep into the wilderness than what knife or mess kit I had on me. I'd also be more concerned about the actual location of the game animals within an area than getting in "deep". Many times, I have found good spots on public land that was relatively close to a road or trail, that did not require I hike 20 miles and still gave me relatively good success. It also made it easier to get the animal out after it was harvested. Many times when I see folks going in "really deep" in big woods, while they are a great distance from their point of entry, they are actually close to another point of entry. IOWs, they've gone so deep, they're coming out the other side........


I suggest you tone down the extremes of your trip. If you really want hike deep and camp primitively, while repelling and rock climbing, over a three day period, leave the hunting out of it. If hunting bear and hogs for only three days in an area you know nuttin' about is your priority, spend more time scouting an area that takes a shorter time to get to and spend more time hunting than hiking. Especially if the two friends you are planning to take along are inexperienced in either or both. Have you and your friends hunted bear and hogs before?
 
Especially if the two friends you are planning to take along are inexperienced
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And even more critical if YOU get hurt badly enough and then they have to figure things out or perform some serious first-aid. That would not be a good time for them to try and learn orienteering and basic first-aid.
 
If you intend to hunt bear at close range, I highly suggest a .45-70, a single shot to keep it light too. A new NEF is around $300, used for $200. For less than 100 yards don't bother with a scope either. I went hunting in Boone County for bear around a coal with some family and friends. We were able to get trucks where we camped and slept in tents. We hunted around the campsite, probably within 5 or 6 miles. We didn't get a bear but it was an adventure and with plenty of stories to tell. I suggest you do something like that. Hiking 10-20 miles in a place you've never been is a sure way to die or give up on it. Why not camp wherever your truck won't go any further? Rock climbing? More power to you, if you survive make sure to post it all on here.
 
Keep in mind that MREs intended use is one per day, so you save a lot of weight vs cans. MRE and gorp. That's the ticket. Damn near any water you encounter will be fresh water, so just be prepared to sterilize. Each man will have a canteen, drop tabs or bleach. Since y'all have so much time between now and then, check around for first aid/self aid/buddy care classes.

Just a little spit balling from me.
 
I don't think you truly can appreciate the ruggedness of the terrain in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Dogs if they are legal would be a definite plus. I think hiring a guide might also be worth the money at least the first time at bat in that area.

I think you are setting yourself up for just a long hike carrying guns.

I don't know where you are from, but maybe you should consider a fishing and hiking outing into the area you hope to hunt looking for animal sign and learning the terrrain a bit. It really is uncomfortably steep on the mountain sides for the most part.

I would also look into the fishing regulations. I suspect you are thinking trout.
 
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The workers in national forest headquarters are very helpful...
MAKE SURE ITS HEADQUARTERS, not the places in the forest entrances, those are usually ran by contractors.... Forest headquarters are usually located in a city...

Stop in before your trip.... I discovered that they can point out restricted areas, areas that you can hunt, shoot, harvest forest materials.

Also they have detailed topographic maps for donation. 5-10$
 
Talk About Optimism

Wow. BIG plans. A lot of good advice going out to you, read it all... :) Don't try shooting a boar with anything less than a 270 win if you want it to go down with one shot. Only Rambo types go out with less (I'm not one of them). Doesn't sound like any of your guys are marksmen (get LOTS of practice on a range). I go boar hunting about twice a month in heavily wooded areas (Germany), I take a .308 or 30.06. A shotgun with slugs will work but you'd better be accurate (and quick). With the gear you're planning to take, don't carry more than 2 canteens of water, anymore than that will start to weigh you down. Travel as light as possible. Find your water (you're roughing it aren't you). Use a map, have a compass with you, scout the area, have a REAL plan (sorry but some of things you're saying sound a bit naive). And take a handgun if possible (large caliber). A boar can pop out of nowhere and may charge you. At 20 yards and closing fast, nothing else will be of good use to you except a handgun (or your legs). I know of guys who were gored...not a pretty sight. You want to enjoy this trip, not just survive it. ;)

Old School
Big Red One/Pathfinder
'Be All You Can Be'

P.S. Never been bear hunting :rolleyes: (don't eat it, don't wear it) so I can't help you there!
 
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I am literally laughing my rear end off at the minute thinking about someone trying to make 3 MPH in the woods lugging a Mosin around hitting it on every tree limb within 10 foot of him. It gives me the mental image of the old Daniel Boone TV shows where he was lugging around the Kentucky long rifle.
Seriously, on a lot of that terrain a mile in 3 hours (not 3 mph) would be much more realistic.
 
:D That's a good one Old Stony but if you were ever on a drive hunt in a thick forest, you'd know what I mean. Jokes aside though, it's not the German 'Jungle' that we're gearing up for' it's those mean critters in the mountains of N.C. You don't exaggerate danger, it's just there (everyday). Inexperience and lack of preparation are our worse enemies...
A good hunt is the one where everyone involved has a good time, receives no serious injuries, and has the T-Shirt to prove it... :)

P.S. I do know wild boar; they're what I hunt most. Have also hunted them in the Czech Republic and Hungary.
 
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I've seen those wild boar in Germany, they are quite impressive.... They are In their natural habitat... Athletic beasts.

I was stationed in Germany for several years, forests are challenging as well... I never hunted there, but, the impression that I got from encounters from boar there is that they don't wanna be messed with... They are effective at communicating their wishes as well
 
If you are healthy adults, you can go three days(the length of your trip) without additional water if you are hydrated to start with.
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Hauling a heavy load in rough terrain (or attempting to do so), 1 day without water will have you feeling like crap, 2 will degrade your performance, and 3 might well incapacitate you. You'll die after that, unless you get medical attention.

Averaging 3 MPH with even a moderate load is optimistic even on a paved road, especially if you have not worked up to it/"hardened your feet". Having made a few foot marches in the .mil, I know a (very) little about this, but it's enough to know that you won't make ten-fifteen miles/day in rough country with a pack on.

My advice? Avoid the steep learning curve mentioned above: do some short day hikes, first locally and then working up to where you are thinking of going, both mentally and physically. Start with a day pack and a 3lb walking stick ...... work up to whaterver you'll be packing and a 10 lb. rifle substitute (folks sometimes get panicky when somebody is toting a long gun around the local parks). You should also do some local camping to check out your gear before you drag it out to the boonies. The human body is wonderfully adaptable ..... it just needs stimulus and time.

I think it's great that you are wanting to do this. I think it would be greater if you followed through and actually did it. It would be absolutely epic if you all did the whole thing and brought back game, though just getting in good enough shape to get 10 miles off the beaten track and camp for 3 days would be a story worthy journey in itself.

Anybody can daydream. It takes work to make your dreams reality. Drive On!
 
Hauling a heavy load in rough terrain (or attempting to do so), 1 day without water will have you feeling like crap, 2 will degrade your performance, and 3 might well incapacitate you. You'll die after that, unless you get medical attention.
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We aren't talkin' trudging across Death Valley in mid-summer, but North Carolina during bear season. Odds of them dying of thirst in three days is less likely than them getting lost or hurt and having to spend more than three days in the woods. Kinda why I gave them the link to the filtration straw and suggested the bleach.:rolleyes:

The OP has set some high goals for someone with little experience in wilderness camping, orienteering the mountains and hunting bear. Add to that he will be guiding others with even less experience. I still suggest he rethink his original plans.
 
We aren't talkin' trudging across Death Valley in mid-summer, but North Carolina during bear season.
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It does not have to be hot to get you dehydrated. You need water for other things than sweat production. Digestion, particularly if you are eating MRE type food, will go to hell in a bucket if you don't drink sufficient water....... constipation on a 3 day foot march will not help efficiency, for sure. It'll kill your appetite, too. If you are expending energy (even flat ground with a full ruck will do that pretty well, and the Appalchians are not flat) you will need water, just to take the waste products of metabolism away, especially if you are burning fat, which happens when you are burning energy faster than you are taking it in ..... we had more cases of guys getting dehydrated in winter Grafs than summer, precisely because it was not hot- they did not drink to cool down- and it was inconvenient to fill canteens, which often froze if you grounded your gear at the gun position ...... you were still working, but the last thing you wanted was an ice cold swig of water ..... guys would crave hot drinks, which usually meant coffee ..... which was a bad idea- caffeine makes you pee, compounding the problem ..... if you ever led troopies in the field, there were 3 things you always had to ensure your guys were doing: drinking water, taking care of their feet, and using the woodline (not kidding- some guys would not/could not wrap their head around making like a bear and do their business in the woods .... "Chief, my belly hurts!" .....) .
 
.... this thread has got me thinking just how detached most of us have become from the outdoors- how reliant we have become on gadgets, and just how difficult the basics of eating, drinking and sleeping really are when you are "roughing it"..... It also helped me appreciate just how much I learned in my stint working for Uncle Sam many years ago ..... and what really amazing things the units I was in pulled off, on a daily basis, in all kinds of weather, for weeks, sometimes months at a time..... stuff that seemed pretty hum-drum and boring at the time, but really was pretty impressive considering what we had to work with, many times.

Water, food, shelter, security are all pretty much taken for granted these days .....
 
Amen Jimbob86. During my time 'in' I received survival training in forests (summer/winter), in jungles, and in deserts. I didn't have GPS, a compass was my 'gadget' and I was happy to have one (and a map if I were lucky). One important lesson I learned the hard way was don't under estimate 'Mother Nature', respect her. I spent 4 days in an infirmary suffering from the results of hypothermia after NOT taking the gear I was advised to take with me on a mission in the mountains... :(

I now say like the Boyscouts, "Be Prepared"! :D
 
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