How long for a hunt?
 

If you're headed out on a big game hunt, other than your normal annual hunts, what amount of time would you prefer to hunt, and what amount of time have you been out on hunts like these in the past?

I spent a week goat hunting, but 10 days would of probably been better, especially if the other 3 were earlier! Moose hunts that we go on are usually less than a week, but it's generally a one moose in camp and we're done kind of thing.
With elk this coming year, we are planning a full 2 weeks of hunting, +/- 1 or 2 for travel.

I wish I could spend at least 10 days on virtually every hunt, but I think more than about 14 is getting a little too long unless your after mixed bags.

What are your thoughts?

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

It varies with me. Sometimes a 10 day trip can be too long, even more so if you fly out. Especially if your game bags are full and your permit is filled. Boredem can sit in quick if you have to wait 5 days or so at the air strip for your taxi. I'd say 7-10 days is more than adiquate for most hunts.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

Most of the time I will spend 7 to 10 days on out of the area hunt. However when I go to Arizona for Javalina and deer (archery), I may spend up to 3 weeks. Depends upon how the hunt is going.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

i dont have any experience with planes. but our elk hunts used to be a 2 week thing. we had 4 people in camp and if you got your elk first then you either got drunk for awhile or you went out and pushed some brush. we stayed in camp just in case we had to help another pack out meat.only 1 year out of 10 did we all get our elk the first week.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

I used to spend 3 weeks in the back-country by myself on combination muledeer & elk hunts. I couldn't find anybody else that would/could hunt like that so I had to solo it.
The outfit I work for now can't spare me for three weeks at a time and I'm in no condition at this point in my life to do that anymore. Now I go for a maximum of 10-12 days.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

Depends on terrain, species and how much time off I have.
Half a day to 10 days maximum.
Most common for me is a weekend (two days.)

SOUTHERN MAN.
"GO HARD OR STAY HOME"

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

Due to high school, I could only spend the weekends for deer hunting the last 4 years. This spring I am going to make an exception, and will be going to Montana for about 6-8 days of hunting with a friend for black bear.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

My regular hunts are 2 weeks. We only get a 2 week rifle season (deer), and the camp is a 3hr drive so I go for the entire time.
This may change if I take up bowhunting, but for now I'm not gonna miss a single day of doing my favorite activity when there's such a short window of opportunity.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

Depending on what I am hunting, I take the full season and the day before and the day after. We are now in our regular deer and elk down to 7 days to actually hunt. So that calls for 9 days out setting up , hunting and packing for home.

My longest out was for 22 days. Tags were filled in the middle of this so went to town to drop off the game, and went back up for small game, grouse, yotes and just enjoy being in the mountains.

I usually have people in and out of camp, but on my solo hunts, there are usually other camps around. They know I am on my own, so people will stop in and check that every thing is kewl. Actually, I think I have more good friends up there then I do at home.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

Due to my work schedule I could never get more than a week off at a time .Since I retired I hunt as long as my tags will last .

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

I'M HOPING FOR AT LEAST A TWO WEEK LONG BEAR HUNT IN AUGUST, FINGERS CROSSED EVERYTHING WORKS OUT RIGHT

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

A lot depends on your transportation. With fly in hunts, as long as the pick-up day was preset, we've never had trouble finding things to do even after we got our game. But, if your ride doesn't show up on the appointed day, then you gotta hang around camp every day after that so you don't miss them ( and worry about what happened to the plane, and hope it's just bad weather over the mountain). Seems like a week isn't long enough; 10 days or longer is almost always nice. At least with fly-in hunts, longer than a couple of weeks and you get into logistical problems: getting food and supplies, getting the bills paid at hom,etc. Nothing that a whole bunch of money can't cure, though, I guess!!

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

I like 8-10 days...but being a teacher I can't get off for more than a long weekend during the fall. I go bear hunting each August, and go for about 10 days.

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

EACH YEAR WE TAKE 11 OR 12 DAYS FOR A COMBINED MULE DEER AND ELK HUNT. 1 DAY TRAVEL, 1 DAY TO SET UP CAMP, 2 DAYS TO SCOUT AREA, FIVE HUNTING DAYS, 1 DAY TO TAKE CAMP DOWN, AND ANOTHER DAY TO TRAVEL HOME. AND IT'S NEVER ENOUGH.

CERTIFIED GUN NUT--

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

10-14 DAYS TO HOPEFULLY GET A FULL WEEK OF ACTUAL HUNTING.
ABM- 10 DAYS WOULD HAVE BEEN GREAT FOR THE GOAT HUNT BUT WE NEEDED IT WITHOUT SNOW, REALLY ONLY HAD 2- 2-1/2 DAYS OF HUNTING. THE SNOW 2 WEEKS EARLIER THAN USUAL DID US IN. IF WE HAD BEEN 3 DAYS EARLIER IT WOULD HAVE BEEN NICE. JUST THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE HAD DRY COTTON LONGER BUT IT COULD HAVE BEEN WET COTTON LONGER TO. <img src=icon_smile_shy.gif border=0 align=middle><img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

RE: How long for a hunt?
 

When my wife & I fly in it's only for a week as they have other people booked after us. When I go with the guys we used to for for a little over a week but found that sometimes you had a lot of rain. Now we go for 2 weeks and when it's raining hard we sleep in. We usually have a moose by the end of the first week and then we fish and hunt birds till we get homesick or the weather gets too warm to keep the moose. I went for 3weeks once at the end of the season but found it to be too long to be couped up in a camper with 5 other guys. Great hunt tho as they track the moose to push them out or about 30% of the time the tracker gets the shot.