Sitka Gear Turkey Tool Belt

Probably not a full episode, but a question on travel

jakenbake

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From the looks of things, Big Fin usually drives to all of his hunts, save for the Alaskan hunts. What do those trips look like - when you're covering 1000+ miles, are you breaking the trip up and stopping over somewhere or are you rotating drivers and trying to catch some sleep when it's your turn? At what point do you consider flying, or does the camera equipment just make it a non-starter excepting Alaska? If you were not filming a tv show would the answer be different? The logistics of planning a western trip coming from the East Coast feel overwhelming at times to a n00b traveling hunter, but obviously guys have been doing it for decades on decades.
 
My situation is probably not a good depiction of the average hunter. For many reasons, some of which you explain. Another being that I cannot sleep in a moving vehicle, so I drive all the time we are on the road.

I spend a ton of time looking through a windshield and I have developed a strategy that works for me. An example is last week when I drove from the Mexican border to Montana, leaving at 9pm Wednesday night and getting home to Bozeman around 1pm on Friday. I prefer to get to my destination as soon as possible, but driving an off-road truck loaded to the gills is not a fast manner of travel. I did catch some sleep each night at a motel. I drove home and the the camera guys flew home. In many instances we have too much gear to fly. I usually have a cargo trailer. Those who have been with us see what a traveling circus we are. And often we are doing multiple hunts/events on one trip and we need to be loaded up for all those hunts/events when we leave.

If I was coming from the east coast, I would not hesitate to fly if I was going solo. We have flown to hunts when it is an easy hunt and only one hunt on that trip. Not as complicated as you think and given the time saved, the cost is not much different if you put value on your time. If I was traveling with some companions, driving would be an option, given how much more you can bring with you and bring home if successful.

I would look at each situation on its own and make a determination based on that. Antelope hunts are minimalist and flying is very easy. Elk are more equipment intensive and might cause you to look at it differently. Be flexible and make sure you place a value on your time and I suspect you will arrive at the solution that works best for you.
 
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