Well, here we are in the middle of some of the most wild country anywhere. Hundreds of miles from civilization; wolves, grizzlies, weather, the whole nine. Might be the perfect setting to talk a little about hunting the backcountry, which as you know, is my favored method of hunting the rugged mountains of the West and the primary focus of my book, Backcountry Bowhunting, A Guide to the Wild Side.

What is the biggest difference between Coyoting Out in your day and bivy hunting now?

Mike Eastman: The major thing is guys now have better and lighter gear, higher quality food and much improved clothing. Back then five days worth of gear and food would weigh about 55-60 lbs. With today’s gear it weighs around 35-40 lbs.

Can it still be effective?

Mike Eastman: In my opinion, bivy hunting the backcountry is the most effective way to kill any animal. Sheep, mule deer, elk, whatever, Coyoting Out is the #1 way to take a trophy.

Why don’t more guys do it then?

Mike Eastman: Most guys don’t realize how effective it is but more so, there are quite a few hunters who are just too lazy. Backcountry bivy hunting takes discipline and patience and bottom line a lot of hunters just don’t want to put out the effort. They want the results but don’t want to work for it.

The major media shows guys being successful other ways. The big name magazines are more interested in publicizing hunting the easy way because they know this is what is going to appeal to the masses. In my opinion another problem with today’s hunter is that too many focus solely on the size of the trophy and not the way the animal was harvested.

To me there is no comparison between a guy who goes on his own in the high country and kills a 175 mule deer as opposed to someone who kills a 195 buck on farm land that can be accessed by vehicle. Some guys might not agree or may not understand why I say there is a difference between the two. To them all I will say is, ‘If I have to explain it to you, you wouldn’t understand anyway.’

Guys who hunt the high country on their own can appreciate and recognize that there is something very special about successfully hunting in the mountains. But, to answer your original question, ‘Why don’t more guys do it?’ Plain and simple, this type of hunting is physically and mentally very hard. It is more of a hunt than they want and more than their ready for. As you are well aware Cam, because of the things I’ve talked about, the commitment and so on, this type of hunting is very rewarding and effective for hunters that are ready, willing and able to take on the backcountry.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 9th, 2007 at 10:53 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.