High Buck Gear

Well it’s that time of year again, and the high buck hunt here in Washington State is right around the corner. In 2018, we tried this hunt as a team for the first time and since then have looked forward to it every year. With our success and growing number of followers, we have noticed a big increase in interest and have received a ton of messages inquiring about the high buck hunt and how to go about it. So I figured I would give a breakdown of all the gear that I use on this hunt, and hopefully some of you can put this information to use, resulting in a heavy pack out and notched tag.

Let’s start out with shelter and sleep system. Last year Patrick and I slept seven nights in the Seek Outside Cimarron. During our time packed into the high country we experienced pretty much every weather situation you can think of. Wind, rain, snow and sunshine. The Cimarron performed flawlessly and we now have the confidence to take that shelter in to battle every time. I would say this is a three person shelter without a stove and a two person with a stove. The complete weight of this shelter is 3 lb 7 oz. That includes the canopy, stakes and carbon pole. Split between two guys it is very lightweight. The first year, I used a zero degree quilt and found that I am not a fan of using quilts. So I switched to the Hyke & Byke Eolus zero degree goose down sleeping bag. It has kept me comfortable, warm and dry so I have no plans in changing anytime soon. My pad on the first year was a Thermarest Basecamp and I loved everything about it except for its size. It was very bulky so I ended up strapping it to the outside of my pack. I decided to try something a little more compact and went with the Exped Downmat UL Winter LW. The ultra-high R value keeps you warm and comfortable. I actually did end up getting a hole from sleeping on jagged rocks, but luckily it comes with a patch kit and it worked out great. I also use an Exped inflatable pillow. Since then I bought a Tyvek ground sheet from Luxe hiking gear to protect my pad and it has been really nice to have. Just run it through the washing machine before you use it because it is very loud.

Alright let’s get into my clothing system. During September, most people might still be wearing shorts and a tee shirt while thinking about spending a day at the beach. September for us, is the total opposite. Freezing temperatures at night, days of continuous snow and sideways rain have become all too familiar for us up where the deer like to be. I would recommend bringing more than enough clothes than not enough. You will want warm base layers, mid layers and outer layers. Along with rain gear, warm gloves and a beanie. I will also bring an extra pair of underwear, socks and tee shirt and rotate them every three days or so. I am running all First Lite gear except for my main pant will be the Prana stretch zion and they have worked great for me. I would also highly recommend Sitka or Kuiu because the other guys use it and love their gear. For boots, the first year I wore Keen Targhee II’s and nearly broke my ankles trying to pack 140 lbs back to the truck. The following year I wore Zamberlan 960 guides. They have a ton of support and are waterproof. Highly recommend. Here is a clothing list that I plan on bringing this year on our high hunt.

•First Lite Furnace long john 350 merino

•First Lite Furnace quarter zip 350 merino

•Prana stretch zion pant

•First Lite Halstead tech fleece

•First Lite Vapor Stormlight rain jacket

•First Lite Boundary Stormtight pant

•First Lite Uncompahgre puffy pant

•First Lite Chamberlin down jacket

•First Lite Talus and Grizzly gloves

•First Lite Tag Cuff merino beanie

•Zamberlan 960 guide gtx boots

•Tee shirt/wool socks/underwear X2

•PNWild Hat

For my pack, I am running the Exo Mountain Gear K3 6400. The first year I had the Exo K2 5500 and it was great, but for me it is nice having the extra room with the 6400. All three of us will be shooting Tikka rifles topped with Vortex scopes. The Tikka Veil Wideland T3X chambered in 7mm Rem Mag to be exact. My scope is the Vortex Viper PST Gen II 3-15X44 FFP. We all carry the Marsupial Gear bino harness to house our Vortex binoculars and rangefinder. For bino’s, I am carrying the Vortex UHD 10X42’s and the Vortex 1800 rangefinder. I also like to carry a pistol, which is a Taurus PT1911 chambered in .45 ACP. Here is a list of miscellaneous items that you will find in my pack.

•Slik CF-634 tripod

•Jetboil/fuel

•Spork

•Fire starters/lighter

•Tyto/Argali knives

•Argali game bags

•Katadyn Hiker pro water filter

•Electrical tape/Zip ties

•Headlamp/Extra batteries

•Wind checker

•Nikon D750/camera gear

•Baby wipes

•Food

•2 48 oz nalgenes

•First aid kit

•Vortex Razor HD 27-60X85 spotter

•Hunting license/Deer tag

•Coffee cup

•Phone charger

•Ammo

•Toiletries 

Now I would like to dive into what kind of food I will be bringing with on our hunt. I like to ration my food and separate it by putting a day’s worth of food in a one gallon zip lock freezer bag. We will be hunting for nine days, so I will be bringing nine bags filled with a full day’s worth of food. Not every day is the same but here is a sample of what a day’s worth of food will look like.

• Peak Refuel Beef Pasta Marinara – 1040 calories

•Peak Refuel Strawberry Granola – 530 calories

•Greenbelly meal bar – 665 calories

•Homemade trail mix – 693 calories

•Honey Stinger waffle – 160 calories

•Honey Stinger energy chews – 160 calories

•Dark timber ascent pack coffee – 1 calorie

 That is basically everything that I will be bringing into the backcountry this year on our high buck hunt. I would also like to recommend downloading the onX Hunt app on your phone. You can download a map of your hunt area and view it without having any cell service. It’s a very important tool that we all use. It’s a great way to e scout the area and drop waypoints like where water is, camp, hunt locations etc. Just a reminder, the high buck season runs from September 15-25 and is open in certain wilderness areas within Washington State. You can find all of the information on the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife website. Hopefully some of you find this information beneficial and are able to use it during your high buck hunt this season. Good luck to everyone and stay safe!