This is somebody who chooses that hunting style because he likes it!
He likes his own company more than a crowd!
He likes to do his own thing in his own way!
He’s very focused and feels that others slow him down or get in the way!
He’s very organized in his mind and actions and sees both the big picture and its details!
He chooses weapons and equipment that fit the adventure and its potential challenges!
He may sometimes choose a partner who will not become his leader or boss, but someone who complements his style.
Obviously, any challenges will mostly come directly from what he’s hunting and where.
That will determine his firearm and related equipment.
I’ve done enough solo hunts under challenging conditions to understand what is involved.
While the media tends to conform to political thinking about the sexes, I use “he” throughout this context, because “solo hunting”, as understood and practiced under all conditions, makes both very high physical conditioning and essential experience in rough and ready environments mandatory. Such physical demands and other unexpected conditions imposes serious threats to the safety and well being of the unwary and ill-experienced. Even a very experienced woodsman-rifleman cannot relax from taking his own safety/security as of first importance, as stressed at the outset of this piece! In P2, I’ll get more into the specifics of that question. One of the main points of possible contention is: How much gear? Should a backup rifle/shotgun/handgun be taken? If so, what? Will it handle any unknown situation?
There’s a place for a short, handy and powerful weapon, and multiple quick shots! This one fires the 12ga CHALLENGER slugs (492gr Brenneke type) at 1550 fps. It’s my backup for a wounded bear in thick bush!
Depending on the “what” and “where”, the first item that tops any list is personal security. It’s rather obvious that a rifle chambered in .22-caliber (LR or centerfire) would be the choice of a fool in a moose or bear hunt where both ranges and animal size and temperment are uncertain. NO, you don’t choose the poorest available firearm (to prove some nonsensical point), but rather the best suited to a vast range of potential scenarios! While on a moose, elk, deer, bear or bird hunt, what backup firearm (bow?) would be suitable if uncertain danger confronts you? In a western deer hunt where grizzly roam, and you or I were confronted by such – what firearm would be suitable and in hand at the time – not encased back at camp?
This is a scene from a vast unspoiled wilderness area of Haliburton Highlands Crown Land. I knew it well. That was my CZ 550 in .458 Winchester Magnum. I was hunting as signaled by the orange vest over my jacket and the orange head gear. There was both a light 1″ nylon sling and a light weight Burris fixed 4x scope with a long 5.5″ eye relief. The load was a 350gr Barnes TSX at 2750 fps/5877 ft-lbs. I typically had several tickets for game, but I was primarily on a scouting mission. There was a light skiff of snow and bare bushes that signaled mid to late fall. And the velocity of the 350gr at 2750 fps allowed an effective range to 400 – 450 yds for bullet expansion purposes. This was a solo hunt. At a later date I did shoot a bear in that area using that load but I also did have company.
That’s why I’ve described in some detail the man who by temperament and intelligence often chooses to hunt solo. His choice of weapon (rifle, handgun, shotgun or bow) will be extraordinarily capable for the task envisioned.
In the case of this theses, that would be a powerful centerfire rifle.
In a bull moose hunt in the “Far North” or Ontario, for instance, as in my personal hunts “up there”, I always had a partner. But, had I ventured alone some obvious additions and changes would have been required for security reasons alone!
As mentioned in previous accounts of some of those adventures, we did run into a solo hunter on two successive years. And he had changed his rifle to a more powerful one on the second year – from a .270 Wby to a .300 Wby. He was found on each occasion seated on one side of a medium lake, near its end, looking across to the far side waiting for a bull to show up. Range was approximately 400 – 500 yds. Did he move up to higher power due to a failure of the .270 Wby? Perhaps, but he wouldn’t tell us when asked. The .300 Wby fires a 200gr at the same MV as the .270 Wby fires a 150gr: 3200 fps which amounts to 33% more energy and with a 17% greater SD and 8% greater cross-sectional-area that, all together amounts to 3410 ft-lbs vs 4547 ft-lbs and 57 TE for the .270 vs 101 TE for the .300 at the muzzle. That’s a huge difference though many moose hunting novices might think there’s little real distinction in effect on moose in their natural environments. The .300 Wby Magnum has established a remarkable reputation on large and dangerous game. The .270 Wby has yet to do so, and really never will because a 150gr .277- cal isn’t equal to a .308-cal 200gr when pushed at the same MV.
So, not only for security reasons, but to reduce wasted second guessing over effective ballistics. We must know the best rifle cartridge and rifle to be chosen if we know the “what” and “where” of this solo adventure. . . and any excuses after the fact reveals inadequate preparation! Prior assumptions may well be the culprit that robs us not only of security but success as well!
Only choosing “adequately” might be for assumed best case scenarios, but that may leave us with a too thin margin in a real case of the unknowables.
In our three trips to Northern Ontario for moose, and my four trips to the “Far North” of Northern Ontario, many assumptions were made based on available information without every having previously been there. We made adjustments on subsequent treks, but not every trek was exactly the same, there was always something new to discover. And then the moose have their own ideas on the meaning of life! If you don’t get there “on time” – their time, you might never sight even one of them! Or if you do, it might be the wrong sex or age. . . or a half-mile distant on their own travelling mission! “Oh! I think I brought the wrong rifle!” Was that the case of the “mystery man” by the side of the lake who brought a more powerful rifle the next time? We didn’t see him on our third visit!
Frankly, in that part of God’s earth, no rifle is “too powerful” if a mature bull moose is crossing a clear cut at 600 yards. . . . Or even a cow that can go 1100 lbs! Yes, and that was happening according to evidence – but we were somewhere else! Assumptions!
< The same rifle, sling and scope as above – this time 1000 miles/1600 kms from home! And, yes, the same load on that moose hunt. There were clear cuts for over 1 km. And I had a mature partner who took the photo. Yet, we were mostly hunting solo – separated by 1/2 to over a mile apart! He on his ATV and I on my two feet! I covered areas that he couldn’t, and saw details he didn’t – but also visa-versa!
The successful solo hunter doesn’t presume! But he’s always prepared, regardless!
When I had my .340 Wby created, it was for just such a scenario! On my first trek to the “Far North” I spent some hours watching for a bull moose at long distances and found a rut pit much closer – about 350 yds from camp. Before going the next year my .340 was made for any distance a legal bull might expose itself. Would I have had confidence in taking a bull at 600 yds, if it were the only likely chance in a week of hunting? For sure, I’d take the shot with full confidence in the rifle and load, but I’d also impose certain sane rules on myself: A range finder, a solid rest and a near broadside presentation. And especially all equipment necessary for retrival of meat – as a solo hunter – that goes for group hunting as well. But that task is near impossible for the single hunter without essential equipment to break the animal down into smaller pieces for transport from field to camp, and from there to a butcher and home base!
In all, I hunted the exact same area in the far north of Northern Ontario four times over the ensuing decade: I shot the bull on the second trip with my .340 Wby, and son Phil was my partner.
<Son Phil and his Rem 700 in .338 Win Mag – a great choice for a moose hunt. If he had not been there, we would not have been homebound near midnight of the next day! A solo hunt for a bull moose isn’t highly recommended, especially at 1000 miles from home – too many things could go wrong, even bad things that could threaten personal security! While I’ve done solo hunts for bear, deer and smaller game, an adult moose can weigh over 1/2 ton as in the pic above! PHIL’S FIRST COMMENT WAS LIKE: “WHAT NOW?”
There were also big black bears in the area from the evidence – scat piles – so I also had a bear tag.
Till the next – P2
Shalom
BOB MITCHELL
Lovin' The Big Bang 