My first blog

Hi and welcome to my first blog on Hunting the West. This will be a very informal site where I plan to post tips on hunting big game in the northwest U.S., to include elk, deer (both white tail and mulies, but predominately mulies), antelope, mountain goats and in the future, if I ever get drawn I'll write about my experience with a Rocky Mountain Goat hunt, but....could be some years out. I'll provide tips regarding camo, calibers, camping, clothing, boots and physical conditioning. You can ask me about anything hunting related, if I don't know the answer, I'll say so, but may do some research in order to answer the question for both of us. I've been on a number of guided elk hunts in Montana, New Mexico and Utah and will discuss the pros and cons in future posts. I grew up on the Oregon coast hunting black tail and mule deer, and both Roosevelt and Rocky Mountain Elk. I've hunted in Alaska back in the 80s while I was stationed there in the USAF and guided myself to a 423pt Barren Ground B&C Caribou. I'm certainly not the best hunter out there, but have enough experience to pass some info on to "would be," "first time," "out west," hunters from the mid-western, eastern and southern states.:

As an example: My older brother came out from Oregon to join me for an elk hunt. I live in some great hunting country, located approximately 50 miles from Yellowstone National Park. We hiked up in the mountains near Ted Turner's Ranch, covered quite a few miles and returned exhausted many hours later. My brother shed out of his outer jacket, got into the truck and off we went. After approximately 10 minutes I noticed huge waves of steam rising off of his upper body. He was soaked to the skin, but was not uncomfortable and suffered no affects of the cold since we had been moving most of the time and the weather was clear and cold, but with no wind. I asked him what type layers he had on underneath his button up chamois cotton shirt and he told me a thick thermal long sleeve and a thinner long sleave under that, ALL of it was COTTON!. His outer coat was a heavy insulated jacket with cotton outer shell, inner synthetic fill and nylon liner...folks,..he could not have worn much more that could have quite literally killed him if conditions had been different.
Know this right now, as far as I'm concerned, cotton, especially Cotton combined with nylon...can kill you. Now, don't get me wrong, I know many of us are quite skilled at starting fires, getting out of the wind and weather and drying our gear out. But, as I also know from experience, when shit goes wrong, it goes wrong fast and with little to no warning. If you hunt the northwest, and especially if you hunt the Rocky Mountain northwest, at altitudes from 5000 to 11,000 feet. You are definitely going to sweat and the weather can go from blue bird skies to "white out" conditions within minutes. Buy the best gear you can afford, but realize you can use inexpensive layering that won't cost you an arm and a leg. Micro fleeces for under layering works great and when you get right down to it any micro fleece will work fine and a wool sweater over the top works great. The good thing about wool in wet weather is that the wetter you get, the warmer it seems to get. It's just a great insulator and should not be overlooked for both top and pants.
Use anywhere from one to four layers under your outer shell depending on the coldness, and remove layers according to the physical exertion you expect to use when you start out. Realize that what may be too cold as you are standing outside the truck or tent while you get your gear ready may well be much to hot within 300 yards of walking up a 60 degree slope with snow up to your knees. And when it comes to outer shells in the mountain cold it's critical that you wear some type of windproof shell that breaths and breaths well. When it comes to waterproofing stay AWAY from those garments that say "waterproof" but nothing about "breathable."
Many, many years ago I purchased a "waterproof" camo outer shell. It had a brushed nylon outer shell and a nylon mesh inner lining. I guess that nylon mesh was meant for "breathability," but after 20 minutes I was in high, cold winds and my fleece undergarments were soaked. I eventually got so cold that I knew my hunt was done and headed back to the truck before I got myself in trouble. No one knows you,...better than you. Use your head to the best of your ability and play it smart or you could be playing in a life and death situation..
Hope I helped..more later
Montana Ron