First fly in moose hunt booked

[sako79]

Me and my hunting partner have booked our first fly in hunt. We are hunting the northwest corner of British Columbia the last week of September and beginning of October.

What tents do you guys all run during a fly in? What are some of the important gear that you guys can and not leave without?

[WetLeopard]

following as my friends and I are hoping to do something in future.

What's your weight limit per flight?

[sako79]

following as my friends and I are hoping to do something in future.

What's your weight limit per flight?

1200lb including you and your gear

[Arctic Lake]

May I ask how much it cost you ?
Thanks
Arctic Lake

Me and my hunting partner have booked our first fly in hunt. We are hunting the northwest corner of British Columbia the last week of September and beginning of October.

What tents do you guys all run during a fly in? What are some of the important gear that you guys can and not leave without?

[TARCHER]

Having flown into the northwest of Dease lake area a few times all being 2-3 weeks earlier than when you are going I would definately want a means of communication as there are no cell sites in moist areas. (at least back in the eighties and early 90's). That way if you get some cold weather and your lake ices you can organise yourselves. There is a good chance you will see some snow at some point in your trip. I used a moss 3 man tent for the two of us but any Quality tent. Most lakes up there have good fishing, a small rod and some spinners/ lures.

[The Hermit]

Check out Polar Bear Equipment for a lightweight wall tent and frame. (an 8x10 or 10x12)

Pack alarm x2 to surround your meat plus 3 to surround the tent. Cheap security enough to alert you to robber-griz.

Sat phone

[sako79]

Check out Polar Bear Equipment for a lightweight wall tent and frame. (an 8x10 or 10x12)

Pack alarm x2 to surround your meat plus 3 to surround the tent. Cheap security enough to alert you to robber-griz.

Sat phone

Thanks I already have a 10 x 12 wall tent also a Kodiak canvas tent as well as seek outside Cimarron tent. Just trying to see what everybody's using

[boxhitch]

Chest waders, inflatable with oars and a patch kit x2 or x3

[Blockcaver]

InReach..that is what the pilots and flight service are using for communications and prefer in my experience the past few years. A decent size charge pack to keep the phone and inReach charged up. A propane heater for that time of year unless you have a wood stove. Our Coleman 17,000 btu radiant heater will heat the tent or vestibule very quickly, and yet can be turned down as necessary. Good luck!

[The Hermit]

Thanks I already have a 10 x 12 wall tent also a Kodiak canvas tent as well as seek outside Cimarron tent. Just trying to see what everybody's using

Cool, I'm talking breathable nylon wall tents that weigh about 12 pounds and pack like a sleeping bag and 20 pounds for poles.

[Blockcaver]

As per a tent I’ve used an 8-man Cabelas Alaskan Guide geodesic dome with vestibule and the optional aluminum poles (tougher and lighter than the fiberglass). Overkill for 2 people but withstands wind, rain and snow well. Also take a two man backpack tent but you don’t want to pack a moose too far if you have any sense!!!

[Drillbit]

Chest waders, inflatable with oars and a patch kit x2 or x3

MB, might want to add a snorkel to that! wink!

Good advice tho, I'd rather float a moose than carry one. I'd throw a life jacket in too, they don't weight much

[harbinger]

I'd be inclined to run a tipi tent. That time fo year bugs shouldn't be an issue. You want heat, so I reckon with weight restrictions this would be the way to go. Then you guys can hang out, it suck if you get bad weather and your both stuck in your tents. I would also bring a big F-Off tarp to string up. it'll be wet weather that time of year, if you have a common area to keep stuff dry and a wood stove so you can dry your gear out each night you guys will be styling.

[sako79]

MB, might want to add a snorkel to that! wink!

Good advice tho, I'd rather float a moose than carry one. I'd throw a life jacket in too, they don't weight much


I wonder if that truck is still on the road LOL

[bard]

Are you planning on shooting 2 moose and paying for a meat run flight? or are you planning to just have the one flight out with your camp and hopefully 1 boned out moose? if its option 1 and weight going in is not an issue i would be packing differently than if i was keeping weight to a minimum. going light i would want a large tipi tent. but i would get an oversized stove for that time of year. the titanium stove i run in mine burns out in an hour. a larger heavier stove would be nice that time of year. if your going with the intention of a meat flight i would be bringing a outfitter tent and heavy stove. big coolers with steaks, beer, comfy chairs, gas lanterns. For either plan i would be including a boat of some type. packraft, canoe, or at least a crappy inflatable kayak. handy to shuttle meat, cross the lake, or even allow you to fish around the lake while looking for bullwinkle.

[sako79]

Are you planning on shooting 2 moose and paying for a meat run flight? or are you planning to just have the one flight out with your camp and hopefully 1 boned out moose? if its option 1 and weight going in is not an issue i would be packing differently than if i was keeping weight to a minimum. going light i would want a large tipi tent. but i would get an oversized stove for that time of year. the titanium stove i run in mine burns out in an hour. a larger heavier stove would be nice that time of year. if your going with the intention of a meat flight i would be bringing a outfitter tent and heavy stove. big coolers with steaks, beer, comfy chairs, gas lanterns. For either plan i would be including a boat of some type. packraft, canoe, or at least a crappy inflatable kayak. handy to shuttle meat, cross the lake, or even allow you to fish around the lake while looking for bullwinkle.

Yes we're planning for two moose and two Caribou LOL. We are planning to pick up an inflatable raft and take 3.5hp outboard.

[Trekker]

For two guys I take an 8 man tipi and stove, mostly backpacking camp gear with a few luxuries to make camp a bit more comfortable. And a 10 foot zodiac with a 2.5hp outboard. This gives you room for a moose and caribou with one flight out.
I would pack your seekoutside tipi and a light camp, that way if you don't get two moose you don't need to pay the extra expense of a second flight. Also bring in a bunch of firewood so you don't have to cut as much at camp.

[tigrr]

A set of scales to weigh all the stuff you want to take!!
And weigh it don't go by what it says on the box.
2 moose and 2 cariboo = 1 flight in and 3 out?
Sounds like a great adventure.

[srupp]

Hmm heavy wall tent..too heavy
Inflatable boat with oars life jackets..and gas must hAve
2.5 reliable motor..
Give contact to flight company..have their contact..so first moose they can do a meat run while out dropping others off.cuts costs.
Beaver can not bring out 2 large moose boat, motor gear and 2 guys..1200 pounds on the scale.
Call we can discuss if you wish.
Good lake choice..
Cheers
Steven

[CheesyLimper]

For fly ins I have a home made 18 ft tipi and a lite outdoors stove. I find with the optional baffle in the stove I can get about 4ish hours of burn. I save up a bunch of wine boxes throughout the year, fill them with 2x4 cut offs a little birch bark in each one and tape them together into one big box. A box or so spread out each day gets the fire going hot enough to burn the wet local wood.
I bring a little 3 man zodiac but no motor (yet) and I find the boat takes up the most room in the plane. On that note, I find space to be the more limiting factor than weight on the inbound flight anyway.
For luxuries I bring a small cot; to me better sleep means better hunting and I pack all my dried meals and a few perishable treats in a large cooler (the second biggest thing in the plane). The cooler can fit quite a lot of meat for the return flight.

[Ron.C]

Very intersteing thread sako79, some great information being presented for anyone looking at a fly in hunt (like myself). I am basically looking at replicating what I carry on a backpack hunt, to reduce weight and space on the plane with a couple luxury items of course.

Can anyone tell me if the planes can still fly with a canoe secured to the exterior?

[Onesock]

Used to fly a 185 with 12ft boats or 16ft canoe or once even a propane fridge strapped to the pontoons.

[264mag]

Is there anyone in Dease Lake that will hang meat? As far as I know that’s not the case and you will be keeping your meat at camp til extraction day. Highly recommend you bring some citric acid powder and a spray bottle as well as high quality game bags, and lots of them.

[Downtown]

On Fly in hunts weight is everything.
The further you need to Fly, the higher the Lake/River you need to take off from and obstacle to clear on takeoff, adverse or no wind or to warm the less the Machine can lift. Not to mention Air temperature and Wind ect. Lifting 1200 lbs. on a Beaver (if one is available) is no problem in northern Manitoba but often wishful thinking in BC Alpine country.

Hunters used to drag in big Trailers with everything including the Kitchen Sink should sit down and really think things over. On Fly in its not what you want but what you really need. Forget that "spare" Rifle. If your regular shooting Iron does not have open sights in case the Scope fails, leave that useless piece at home.
Going in, is usually the easy part with a adequate Lake to get onto step to take off from. Coming out with all that Gear including a wet Wall Tent or two and perhaps a Moose (what you did not bone that Beast out) can cost you another extra trip or two.

What if that Beaver you went in with is for whatever reason no longer available. Is there another Company having a Beaver you can hire or are you now forced to haul all that Gear and stuff out with a 185.

Cheers

[sako79]

Anybody ever thought of using an ice fishing Hut as your tent on a fly-in. I don't have any experiences but they are quite lightweight and don't take up much room and I would think they would hold up to more extreme weather.

[sako79]

I think we are going to try to build our own tipi tent out of a tarp and then bring an airtight stove and use at our base camp. We will take the Cimarron and titanium wood stove as a backup and if we go for a hike and spend the night up there away from base camp.

What the people say that will run out of space before we hit 1200lbs. Can somebody please enlighten me on the best ways to pack for a flying so we're not scrambling the data we depart

[Downtown]

First you need to do is deciding from where and too where with what and when you want to Fly in too. Then have fun finding the right Machine (if you can find one) fitting into your Budget. Talk to the Operator (Pilot) and take note of how many Pounds his Machine can lift on the specific Time and Day. Book your time slots or they may be gone by the time you finished diddling around.

Only after all that is settled start figuring out what you need, want and what is non essential.

Cheers

[Baconator]

Sounds like you guys have it pretty well figured out. The more fly in trips you do, the more refined your gear selection becomes. Could always figure out the experience of a group by the gear they had on the dock of the float plane base. When I think back about the gear we took on our first fly in trip in the mid 80's, I shake my head.

[sako79]

First you need to do is deciding from where and too where with what and when you want to Fly in too. Then have fun finding the right Machine (if you can find one) fitting into your Budget. Talk to the Operator (Pilot) and take note of how many Pounds his Machine can lift on the specific Time and Day. Book your time slots or they may be gone by the time you finished diddling around.

Only after all that is settled start figuring out what you need, want and what is non essential.

Cheers

Everything up to your last sentence is done. We are at your last sentence

[BRvalley]

Anybody ever thought of using an ice fishing Hut as your tent on a fly-in. I don't have any experiences but they are quite lightweight and don't take up much room and I would think they would hold up to more extreme weather.

no fly in hunt trips for me just yet, but I have used my pop up ice huts for camping many times, out of the box they are not waterproof at all....also no bug mesh on doors/windows (for future use, not an issue for your fly in)....also the feet of the legs are not designed for hard use, staking it down on rocky/sandy ground in some high winds will wear out the fabric in those areas pretty quickly (first season of use for me)

if you are interested in that concept, should check out the russian bear tents, some of their smaller tents are in the ballpark weight wise of the pop up ice huts...and will last longer and be more comfortable

[jaybe14]

no fly in hunt trips for me just yet, but I have used my pop up ice huts for camping many times, out of the box they are not waterproof at all....also no bug mesh on doors/windows (for future use, not an issue for your fly in)....also the feet of the legs are not designed for hard use, staking it down on rocky/sandy ground in some high winds will wear out the fabric in those areas pretty quickly (first season of use for me)

if you are interested in that concept, should check out the russian bear tents, some of their smaller tents are in the ballpark weight wise of the pop up ice huts...and will last longer and be more comfortable

Thanks BR - I am Sakos hunting partner and was looking at those.

We're considering building out own Tipi out of a heavy duty tarp, looks fairly easy. I have a liteoutdoors ti stove and might consider a bigger stove for it as well. it will be used along side a Seek outside lightweight tent to give us the option of staying away from base camp for the night.

We were looking at those ice huts but have decided against using, the Russian bear tents look awesome but too expensive as we got some other gear (namely looking at a small inflatable zodiac type boat with a small out board and a satellite communicator.

[BRvalley]

...and a satellite communicator.

check out the Zoleo if it's not on your radar yet, works well and is among the more affordable options

[REMINGTON JIM]

Anybody ever thought of using an ice fishing Hut as your tent on a fly-in. I don't have any experiences but they are quite lightweight and don't take up much room and I would think they would hold up to more extreme weather.

The Insulated Eskimo Brand look pretty Good ! RJ

[Downtown]

Everything up to your last sentence is done. We are at your last sentence

But, you have not told me if 400 Lbs. Uncle Henry plus his 100 Lbs. German Sheppard is planing to come along ?

Cheers

[Sitkaspruce]

We used 5 gallon plastic buckets to take stuff in. They have so many uses: water buckets, seats around a fire, they hold 35 beer (not 36), waterproof, semi bear proof and they stack nice and easy just to name a few uses.

We never used one, but saw more than once camp that used 6mil poly for walls between trees and a heavy duty tarp for a roof and a small wood stove and pipe. They said it was warm and comfortable.

We brought in a 20 lbs propane tank and a dual burner boat heater to heat up the tent, dry shit and take the chill off. It was weight we were happy to have. In the early season we didn't bring any heat, just the propane and heater and good quality sleeping bags.

We would load and weight and reload and reweight until we knew how much our stuff weighted and it was all marked down on tape on the totes, buckets, bags and packs. We also planned to bring meat back and again the food safe plastic buckets were worth the weight in gold.

Don't pack fluff, if you think you MIGHT need it, it stays home, pack only what you need and have a plan for everything you bring.

I am in for another fly-in trip in two years and will be watching this post and doing some research on options that are out there.

Good Luck

Cheers

SS

[sako79]

check out the Zoleo if it's not on your radar yet, works well and is among the more affordable options

This was the one we will probably buy

[jaybe14]

What size game bags do people recommend we take? We were going to buy moose quarter bags from caribou game bags but on a second though think if we are de bone the meat and likely have to pack we might want deer quarter size bags to fit on our packs and have it sit better while carrying

[wallz]

Out of all the research I did for game bags the best ones for you guys might be the kuiu boned out game bags. Might be more than you want to spend, but probably the best option.
I have bought and yet to try out the regular laundry bags that I bought off amazon. The size is just right and they seem heavy enough as a material not to tear. Just didn't get a chance to transport 1/4's in there yet.

[sako79]

Just ordered one of these tents for Our trip

https://luxe-hiking-gear.com/collections/lightweight-camping-tents/products/megahorn-xl-tipi-8p-hot-tent-stove-jack?variant=27880993095763

[swampthing]

Just ordered one of these tents for Our trip

https://luxe-hiking-gear.com/collections/lightweight-camping-tents/products/megahorn-xl-tipi-8p-hot-tent-stove-jack?variant=27880993095763

Ley us know what this ends up costing after the costs all come in. I see they are about $500 US to start

[ElectricDyck]

We used 5 gallon plastic buckets to take stuff in. They have so many uses: water buckets, seats around a fire, they hold 35 beer (not 36), waterproof, semi bear proof and they stack nice and easy just to name a few uses.
SS

Not to mention buckets make amazing mice traps..we got 15 or so in one night, they were everywhere! Now a bucket is a necessity!

[sako79]

Ley us know what this ends up costing after the costs all come in. I see they are about $500 US to start

It was $748 CND Charge to my credit card Then you Who knows if I Get dinged duties

[264mag]

I believe luxe tents are made in China, if that’s the case you might be in for some heavy duties. I got killed on my stone glacier sky dome as it’s made in Taiwan.

[sako79]

I believe luxe tents are made in China, if that’s the case you might be in for some heavy duties. I got killed on my stone glacier sky dome as it’s made in Taiwan.

Yup probably But will still be cheaper than buying a 8-person tipi from seek outside

[264mag]

I would highly recommend the 3w stove they sell. I have tried a bunch and it’s the best all around. The glass door is awesome for keeping an eye on the fire.

[boxhitch]

"The glass door is awesome for keeping an eye on the fire." Caveman TV

[sako79]

I would highly recommend the 3w stove they sell. I have tried a bunch and it’s the best all around. The glass door is awesome for keeping an eye on the fire.

We already have the lite Outdoors stove

[sako79]

Thinking about getting one of those are tight Wood stoves from Home Hardware when they come in stock But I'm curious it comes with a 6-inch flue Can I go from a 6 inch down to a 4in Stove pipe and still have the stove function properly

[sako79]

I ended up buying the light Outdoors titanium XL stove can be a pain in the ass to set up but very impressed with the stove using the baffle. Three of the nights that we were using it we stoked it around midnight and at 7 a.m. it was still warm to the touch

[Baconator]

As mentioned earlier, 20 Litre buckets have many uses. We used to seal them real good and put all our dry food in them and if we were tight on room they went in the pontoons. Years ago when I went nearly every year on a fly in I got the measurements for the cargo space in the beaver and constructed a 3 sided storage fence to the near exact size and it was great for not only knowing what to take but in what order to load the plane for best utilization of space. Tried to pack as much as possible in duffle bags as they could be squeezed into voids and other small openings. And many, many years ago, in the days of the Otter never leave home without your Honda Generator and full sheets of plywood for the tent floor. If I recall the Otter was $2.25 a mile. I think we spent more boozing it up in Smithers on the way up than the plane costed. To be young again!

[alberta hunter]

Lots of ideas from previous trips from guys, we bought this tent for horse trips into back country, yes made in china, but most tents are in 2021, here is our kitchen tent, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000981159616.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4d7 PbAFF

[boxhitch]

Lots of ideas from previous trips from guys, we bought this tent for horse trips into back country, yes made in china, but most tents are in 2021, here is our kitchen tent, https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000981159616.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4d7 PbAFFHas it been tested? wondering how it will hold up