In our case, it just wouldn' t be elk camp without some appropriate libation -- but its got to be controlled and kept within reason and it depends on your crowd, your set up, and the " pace" of your hunt!

CROWD: I avoid inviting people who I know their personality changes when they drink -- getting either crazy or mean or debilitated -- elk hunting is too special of a time to have to put up with any of those. We have a couple of Mormon guys in our camp and they are true to their beliefs - it is a " live and let live" arrangement and no one goes out of their way to " rub their face in it" by getting loud, rowdy, or obnoxous, so I' d say everyone stays pretty well behaved or I don' t think they' d keep coming back (Great hunters and hard workers).

SET UP: We " truck camp" right off the forest service road in a plosh wall tent camp set up (no RV' s) so we don' t have to handle packing way back in. This by its nature allows us a bit more latitude in terms of alcohol vs. weight, packing, and labor fatigue.

PACE: If you are an iron man elk hunter and everything is a " forced march" from arriving 2 days before the season and packing WAY back in to hunting hard morning noon and night for a week while fighting a losing battle to sleep deprivation, then there is hardly a place for alcohol beyond " medicinal use" . I imagine that would be like maybe a BJ hunt or someone who backpacks way back in and is essentially a " human horse" .

LIBATION - EKM Camp Style:

PRE-HUNT: We are in camp 12 days or so for a 5 day hunt (1-2 setup, 5 scout, 5 hunt) -- so alcohol' s role in our stay is a little more " liberal" . During the scouting days, we don' t get out of camp before 900am after a big and leisurely breakfast. We get back in camp by 400pm prepare a gourmet meal and enjoy our stock of liquor and cigars which culminates on Wednesday (before the Saturday hunt) with banquet night for those groups (many out of state) that keep coming back to the same area year after year. We throw a big feed and catch up on the last year -- THEN THAT' S IT -- usually in bed by 1100PM. Thursday and Friday are low key and the camp is dark by 8:00PM Friday for a 130AM to 200AM wake up call Saturday.

HUNT: Maybe one beer each before bed AFTER one' s chores are done -- two beers would be damn near terminal, some substitute hot chocolate and schnapps. Our Morman guys go for hot herb tea -- no problem.

POST HUNT: As we start killing elk our group splits in two: those that got elk and now are on the " packing and butchering" side and then there are those who are still on the hunting side. For those still hunting, alcohol use is nil because as the days roll on they are fighting sleep deprivation and fatigue.

BUTCHERING: We usually spend one to two and a half days butchering our elk in camp depending on our luck. We break into teams of three, elevate a table, break out the knives and the beer and the coffee and cut elk all day. Everyone stays in limits and it is one of my favorite parts of the whole elk hunt process -- libation, good friends, great country, " war stories" and the fruit of our harvest -- that wonderful elk meat being crafted into gourmet elk cuts. No one has gotten " really" cut yet -- nicked yes, CUT no.

So that is what works for us.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

Maybe I will have a beer at camp after a day of hunting, but not very often. I do not hunt effectivly hung-over. After I have killed my animal, that is the time I celebrate with roasted tenderloin, heart, liver and onions, a nice beverage, good friends, and a fine cigar. Good hunting!!

Even though we all drink some, our group has decided that hunting and alcohol don' t mix. We don' t allow alcohol at any time in hunting camp, even in the evening. Anybody that would consider taking it on a pack-in hunt must NEED it pretty bad.

Alchohol in camp? You bet. Drunks in camp? Hell no.
We' re there to have a good time and hunt hard, we do just that.
There ain' t nothing better sitting around a campfire going over old times and having a cocktail with close friends, also discussing that days experiences, plus a few good jokes every now and then. I can see it now, man I can' t wait.

elknut1

I used to smoke ceegars reglar, allays had one in my teeth when on the trail. Now I don' t smoke ' xcept after a kill. I got 4 cubans waitin' for this year' s hunt. Allays sprinkle the end tobaccy next to the critter' s snout to say thanks like my grandaddy tort me. Keeps ' em happy an' comin' my way year after year. If the doctor tells me I cain' t even smoke then, I reckin' I' ll find another doctor!

Txhunter, I hope I never come across your camp, it sounds real boreing, do you guys have a curfew that your suppose to be in bed by too?
Elknut, right on, thats what hunting is all about, its not just the kill but savoring a special moment with friends sitting around a fire and exchangeing stories. This is one of the things that most of us look forward to, at the end of a hard day kicking back enjoying a nice fire and a beer or two and then do it again the next morning.
Bobby

When we go to Colorado, we rent a horse and throw most of our gear on the pack horse. Just never bothered bring any alcohol as I' m there to hunt and want to be totally focused on the hunt. I have packed into the Boundary Waters in Northern Minnesota and since there was a restriction on taking anything but plastic, we bought Smirnoff travel bottles and cherry coolaid mix which was pretty damn good and didn' t take up the space or weight that beer would' ve. Kind of lost my taste for alcohol after a bad car accident that I was a passenger in. Not against it but I just enjoy a clear mind too much at this point.

12... : Interesting that you felt the need to poo-poo on the fact that we don' t do things the way you do. Doest thou protest too much? I guarantee you that we have every bit as much enjoyment in the woods as you do. I don' t presume to judge or tell others they shouldn' t drink, just that we don' t. As far as my comment about packing in alcohol, maybe you considered that judging. If so, I apologize. My philosophy on a pack in hunt is that I am only going to take the essentials. Alcohol is not essential. If one chooses to pack in alcohol, I would think that he NEEDS the EFFECTS of alcohol to have a good time. I don' t.

Signed,

Boring and loving every minute of it.

For many years I hunted in a cloud because of the amount of alcohol I consumed each night of hunting season at camp. Always had a good time (I think?), but wouldn' t bring home the bacon until the second week when I hunted solo in a different area. I quit doing the " camp" thing about 10 years ago, and have been hunting solo for the past 5 years, except for the occasional outing with a friend or family member. And as far as alcohol goes, I had to give it up a few years ago because of health reasons, and I' m starting to realize how nice it is to hunt when I' m feeling good!

I did not mean to hit a nerve txhunter , but since you have a rule in your club in not allowing alcohol in your camp, How would you react to me poppping a beer at dinner at the end of a hard hunt, or is that a sin in your camp and I would never be asked to come back again? It has nothing to do with needing it, I wonder who of those who enjoy a fine cigar at the end of the day actually needs it. If and when it becomes a problem in camp, then by all means the situation needs to be addressed, but to treat everyone like a bunch of juveniles and say NO, is kinda saying, " my way or the highway."
I am sure that you enjoy the woods the same as I and we both have hunting in common, but I personally don' t see anything wrong with a beer or two at the end of the day if its available, and if its not, its not a big deal. I am 49 yrs old and if I choose that I want a beer at then end of the day, then I am big enough to do it and its not like I use a mule loaded up with cases of beer and go in the bush hunting. Never meant any disrespect. Bobby