Day Hunt: How much hiking is to much hiking?

So I've always been curious, and finally remembered about it while cooking dinner.

Q: How many miles is to many miles covered in a day hunt?

According to my Montana 600, I would do anywhere between 20-27 miles a day trying to find something. This is in a span of 10-12 hours. Could my GPS be off, or do you guys average this kind of miles while hunting with your bow?

Is this to much walking, and not enough glassing? Still very new to hunting, and want to continue learning as much as I can.

Thanks.

Seems like a hell of a lot to me in that sort of terrain, but someone with more experience will be along. I sure as hell wouldn't want to pack an animal out for 20-30 miles.

That sounds like your GPS is off unless you never stop walking. That would be averaging 2.5 miles an hour all day long. I've never done nearly that many miles and I've walked all day long before except to stop to eat, rest, and glass. 10-12 miles in the mountains is about all I want to do most days.

MJE2083 said:

Seems like a hell of a lot to me in that sort of terrain, but someone with more experience will be along. I sure as hell wouldn't want to pack an animal out for 20-30 miles.

Click to expand...

It surely does. My initial walk in is pretty much straight back, then it's either left or right as far as I can go before I know it's time to turn around and head back. There is one place I really want to try and push back as far as I can because I think I can get someplace on the mountain that over looks everything and everywhere. But last year I was not near in enough shape to handle that task and start the trek back while I'll still had light out. I would not want to walk that in the dark and only a headlight. I have saved a couple possible camp spots, and plan to put in more effort then I did last November.

Are you hunting or running a marathon? You much be in amazing shape and I bet if you stopped every so often you would see more game. Not trying to be a wise guy, but that is some serious hiking. I usually hike from 1-4 miles before daylight and hunt a couple miles from throughout the entire day and hike out in the dark. 25 miles on horseback would be tough in some areas I hunt. I wish I had half your energy

Way too much. I do that much in the summer and that's at a pretty good clip on trail. You're walking past game. Find habitat, hunt it.

The reality is, in a great many places, if you walked that many miles in a general cardinal direction, you be walking right out of an area, and across some roads! Here in Colorado, just check out a DeLorme Gazeeter and see how far it is from one road to another. There's a lot of rough country out there, but rough or not, distance is distance. If you're putting on that many miles/day I have to wonder why, and how much you might be missing? Give us a clue where you're hunting, and perhaps it will make more sense?

Thanks everyone. I know there were times where I get stuck on getting to a certain point by a certain time, and to be honest the only thing I'm seeing is white butts running away ha ha. I know from google earth and measuring it out, as a crow flys some places are 2 miles in and others are 4 miles in. But that's a straight line. Side hilling, walking sideways, gaining and losing I think all adds to the count. Then there was another spot where the old abandoned dirt road was 4 miles till it ended, then that's when I would start the climb up.

I am sincerely trying to learn, and not making anything up, or make myself out to be someone I'm not. Trust me last November, my first time hunting ever in my life was a real eye opener. In hindsight I was neither mentally or physically prepared. I told myself I will not be like that again this year. The distance covered I get is straight from my GPS, and ive always been curious about it. I do clear it every time I start because it really does seem like a lot.

I remember this one time I decided to take a lower route and work my way up, instead of walking in and start the hateful process of gaining elevation. Well when I came up I heard some noise in the brush ahead of me, and it was moving along the hill top pretty good. Not thinking I thought it was another hunter, so I stopped. Then realizing there is no way another hunter is back here, and that I was the only truck, it hit me hard. It definitely was a muley, and it went straight down a sheer sand/dirt hillside as I looked over and saw the freshly disturbed ground.

Like I mentioned I am really new to hunting. My approach and thoughts about it are all new to me, and very well could be ass backwards. I never knew someone who hunted when growing up. I will be 34 in May and last November was my first time ever hunting. I spent 11 days out of the 20 days of the season in the mountains, and enjoyed it all. Never saw a bull elk in real life till one of those days. Was able to put a stock on him that would make a perfect what not to do video lol. Anything I think I know about this is only gained from reading, asking questions here, watching a lot of YouTube.

You are on right track, LandDriver. Learn, ask questions, and get out for experience, you will be successful and you will love it.

Landdiver im an adult onset hunter and my strategy has also been to hike my butt off, I have been decently successful so not sure if it's a good or bad strategy... as to your original question I know for a fact because of trail mileages that the place I hunt turkeys is 5 miles in then I run around for at least a mile or two so probably 12 miles total and typically I can be back to the truck by 12am so I wouldn't say that it's impossible for you to be doing 20+ miles hiking all day long with few stops. That said I have gotten erratic results trying to track my mileage with gps in the mountains, I'm not sure what kind of algorithms they use to reconcile ecludian distance with their digital elevation model. Given that experience I bet when your gps says 27 you really did 18 miles, but that's only a guess.

If all you are seeing is game running away, remember those spots and slow down a mile before you get there. Getting away from people doesn't always mean distance. Good luck and keep up the good work

LandDiver said:

Thanks everyone. I know there were times where I get stuck on getting to a certain point by a certain time, and to be honest the only thing I'm seeing is white butts running away ha ha.

Click to expand...

If you are really walking that far you're just walking and not hunting. How can you possibly see any animals when you are always moving?
That's why you only see white butts running away from you.

3 is about average for me, much more and I'll be in a different spot.

I think you should try to get to a good vantage spot and glass. Let your eyes search for game , this will save energy and after glassing you can come up with a plan, how to got closer to any animals you see, how to get to another place to glass. I found as I got older I walked less and glassed more.

No better way to learn than just getting out there and doing it. If you have your heart set on hunting a particular area and you're planning to start at the truck and end at the truck each day it may not be do-able unless you want to spend your entire day hiking. To me, it's not worth hiking for 4-5 hours to arrive at a destination and only being able to hunt for 1hr before having to turn around and hike back out. You have to find a balance between travel time and hunting time. You may need to pack into the area you want to hunt and plan on spending a night or two in the backcountry.

Thank you everyone. There is no question I have to learn a lot still. I really need to learn how to read a topo map in conjunction to messing around with Google Earth. I see all these beautiful places when I watch YouTube, but when I show up at a place I think looks good it's definitely not lol. Steep and ugly. I wish I could find what people call a "honey hole," but I understand that comes with years of time and effort put into a place. I hope to learn as much as I can every place we are sent to (hopefully there is good hunting), and one day when we don't have to move anymore I hope I have enough experience and knowledge to put together something for many years of adventurous, exciting, and hopefully successful hunting.

I do read a lot, google search a lot, and watch a lot of YouTube. Just hoping for somebody to drop a name ha ha!

This year, even now I will put all these helpful suggestions to work. I do have a one man tent I picked up used last year. Just haven't setup up yet at home to take it out and give it a go. I will though! I've been out one looking for a bear. Just scouting though. I want to see what's up with my eye before I pick up my bow and draw on a bear. Just not 100% with my eye acting funny. Hopefully it's just some slight vision loss. I'll find out Monday.

Truly thank you everyone. Any more help or suggestions to better myself as a hunter I will gladly listen.

Learn to use your binoculars at least as much as your feet.

LandDiver said:

Thank you everyone. There is no question I have to learn a lot still. I really need to learn how to read a topo map in conjunction to messing around with Google Earth. I see all these beautiful places when I watch YouTube, but when I show up at a place I think looks good it's definitely not lol. Steep and ugly. I wish I could find what people call a "honey hole," but I understand that comes with years of time and effort put into a place. I hope to learn as much as I can every place we are sent to (hopefully there is good hunting), and one day when we don't have to move anymore I hope I have enough experience and knowledge to put together something for many years of adventurous, exciting, and hopefully successful hunting.

I do read a lot, google search a lot, and watch a lot of YouTube. Just hoping for somebody to drop a name ha ha!

This year, even now I will put all these helpful suggestions to work. I do have a one man tent I picked up used last year. Just haven't setup up yet at home to take it out and give it a go. I will though! I've been out one looking for a bear. Just scouting though. I want to see what's up with my eye before I pick up my bow and draw on a bear. Just not 100% with my eye acting funny. Hopefully it's just some slight vision loss. I'll find out Monday.

Truly thank you everyone. Any more help or suggestions to better myself as a hunter I will gladly listen.

Click to expand...

We are ALL still learning, all the time. If I ever have it totally figured out I would probably quit hahaha

20 miles or more is a huge day. Not saying you are bullshitting, just saying that 99% of folks won't put on that kind of mileage on a day hunt. Try using Google Earth to draw your route and compare it to GPS data from the same route to determine if you are getting accurate results.

As for strategy, I agree with others that you need to Glass more or find good looking habitat and slow WAY down moving through there. I have killed a few elk and many deer (rifle and bow) by finding good habitat and then creeping 100 yards or less then stopping for 10-20 minutes before moving another small increment, then I stop again. It feels like you are wasting the day at first but it flat out works. Animals notice movement remarkably well and are surprisingly bad at noticing an unmoving person even at very close range. Hope this helps. Keep it up, we are all learning as we go.

According to my Montana 600, I would do anywhere between 20-27 miles a day trying to find something.

Click to expand...

'Not sure what kind of terrain you would be hunting to hike those distances, but as someone who has hiked Montana my whole life (exceeding seven decades), traveling over twenty miles a day would leave little time for hunting and likely just a quick sit for lunch. Likely if you're hustling up the trail covering twenty miles you are passing game of which you are unaware along the way.