Plan B area's

[AmericanBwana]

After reading mtnmutt's post on OTC hunter pressure, I was wondering how many people have a plan b (or C) area.

And if so, is it a completely different unit, or the same?

Why is the Plan B area, well, Plan B?

Any lessons learned? For example, what kind of gear or setup allows you to move? How much time does it take to get set back up? What are the decision factors used to determine when to move (or when to stay)?

I for one have fallen victim to only having a Plan A. Our camp setup (Wall tent), kind of hampered our ability to pack up and move (It took a long time to pack up that wall tent camp). We have since decided to move to a camper to facilitate quicker bug outs.

Be well.

AB

[cnelk]

AB

Everyone must have more than one plan at any given time.

My base camp is 3 wall tents and gear. Not an easy thing to relocate once set up.

So....
I have found that it is better time effective to drive to other areas instead of relocating camp.
In 2011, I put on over 800 miles in 10 days of hunting.
Needless to say, there were many plans that were adjusted.

Got to be flexable

[kevin_t]

I pack in or else day hunt. I have plan A to about F. About 2 weeks before rifle season I start to adjust mostly dependent on weather.

[Moose-head]

My plan B is where I used to hunt before moving to where I am now. It is a long drive, but I may be looking at fire danger closures and know that area pretty well as well as still having friends in the area who won't mind having me 'camp' at their place.

[>>>---WW---->]

I'm one of the lucky ones I suppose. I hunt from my house 99% of the time. So I put several miles on the old pickup every year. It's kinda hard to move a house! LOL!

A few years ago I drew a special limited entry permit that was about 250 miles from home. But I did the same thing there. once camp was set up, I traveled to several different (Plan B) spots. If one dried up, I was off to another the next day.

Moving a big camp is a genuine pain in the poop chute. Plan on driving a few miles if the need arises.

[bnsafe]

ive got a plan b an c, but not sure they are any better than a. im gonna focus solely on plan a for the first 3 days of season, then my cousin is coming out from mo and will decide what we want to do then, rather stick with a depending on what I am seeing or move to b/c. should be fun.

[Indian Summer]

Every good plan has a backup plan. Sometimes it's a plan to drop in elevation depending on when and where I am & the weather. First off I try to have a plan B that just requires more work to go another direction & further from the same camp. I might move because of the presence of other hunters but I find that's it's usually easier just to hunt harder and longer to outhunt them. Plan A in that situation is usually to just ask "which way are you guys heading" & go the other way. When asked the same I'll name so many keypoints as a part of my milk run that they think I'm the old man from Jeremiah Johnson. Then they leave.

But like moosehead said... if I relocate camp it's usually back to where I came from before that spot.

[Fryman]

A couple of years ago I was invited to hunt with a buddy deep in the wilderness at a horse back camp. Pretty much a full day affair getting in and out. Well, apparently everyone got the word that it was a hot area the year before because the place was packed. Every meadow had two or three camps in it. As you might expect, there were no elk to be found. Just lots of footsteps everywhere I hiked.

It was a big camp and I burned a day and a half packing it up and moving. But I think it was worth it. Went to an entirely different area that is vehicle accessible and camped out of camper. Got into the elk there and had a good hunt for the remaining days. You always need a back up and sometimes it's worth loosing a couple of days to move. That's my take, anyways!

[Trophyhill]

instead of worrying about how many other hunters are in the woods I worry about what I need to do to find the elk. if pressure is pushing elk out then i'm not going to stay put. my plan B is to go find them. Pressured elk in unpressured areas. there really is no plan c d e f etc after that.

[elkmtngear]

Plan B will be influenced by hunting pressure.

I know a drainage where the elk will go under pressure, but it is seriously steep compared to our "normal" areas. We started down in there a couple Seasons ago on our last day of hunting...and there were multiple bulls bugling down in the bottom. We (mostly my hunting partner) decided to pull out and not go down in there.

New hunting partner this Season, he has the right stuff and will not be afraid to take the plunge.

My biggest concern will be finding water without going all the way down into the creek. And finding a flat spot to spike out.