Going to try set up a tent camping hunt for deer in the next couple of years here in PA. Wondering what anyone's experience is, what is your equipment, and food lists, etc. Would love to hear from anyone who has done this, thanks!

I tried it last fall. Made it one night cuz it rained. I know it sounds wimpy but I need a shower before bed. That's why I plan to build a cabin up north. Be near the big woods with a decent place to stay. I wouldn't rule a camping hunt out tho, I'm sure it would be fun with the right circumstances.

I've only driven through PA, but here is my one man 11 day camp at 9200' in Colorado. And yes that's my tent camping rig, a lifted Subaru that'll go any ware, haul my gear, and fit a quartered cow for the trip home, and I walk from there. Stuff to take a Good tent and ground tarp. I use 3 16x20 tarps and lots of rope. The tent is only for changing close and sleeping. Food wise I pre-make meals and freeze them in single serve portions with food saver bags. They stack great and you don't need as many ice blocks. Good quality coolers, I do use Yeti, and Pelican. They are worth the money and you only buy them once in your life. If you are using horses/mules then its a whole different game. I'm sure that you will get a ton of good advice, weed through it and find what works for you and your budget.

Cowboy

I have done it for many years in Potter county state forest.We have a military artic tent and cots,coleman stoves and lanterns and used heavy duty styrofoam cooler with dry ice for pre packed dinners like stew and meats.Instant oatmeal and granola bars before heading out in the morning,P and J sandwiches,cans of soup and thing like that for lunch.We drove old logging roads for access.You did not mention if you are driving in or back packing,if driving it opens up alot of options,Like a big cast iron dutch oven,you can cook great dinners in one of them.Also big plastic water containers to bring in water with you.This should get you started with some info and these where some of the best hunting trips with buddies you will ever have.Good luck

Ours is pretty similar to Cowboys. Good wall or dome tent. A fly is imperative in case of rain or snow, so the tarps work wonderfully. I want AT LEAST as much room under a tarp outside the tent as I have inside. Lots of things don't need to go inside so it leaves more room. A good, safe heat source. We can the majority of our food at home and take it with us. Either that or vacuum seal it. Sleeping is a personal thing. Since you are going to be hauling the camp in a vehicle most likely, you can take a heavy duty cot if you want.

A shower is pretty simple. We've used everything from a 5 gallon bucket with a hose in it to a manufactures camping shower. One works as well as the other.

Not sure what your weather is going to be like or whether you have to pack it in or just drive to your spot, but a quality wall tent is awful hard to beat for a camp. Ours has a small woodstove that will keep it as warm as you want it to be even in very cold temps. Supplemented with a buddy heater and other propane gadgets like lanterns and cook tops, the sky is the limit as far as comfort and food choices. Throw in some camp chairs and cots and it's home away from home.

Mike.

I usually get out a few times a year.

If you are going to drive to your spot then there is a world of options. DCNR maintains a number of primitive campsites that are free, but you need to get a permit. I usually call and they e-mail me one, and I print it out. Most are very secluded and some even have a picnic table and fire ring. They are nice for a week of hunting especially considering they are entirely within state forest.

For this type of camping any decent larger tent will do. The weather in archery is normally cool but not bitter cold. Frosty in the morning often but no big deal.

I use an old A frame tent I bought way back when my wife and I were dating. the extra room is nice, it gets old dressing and undressing lying down(more on that later) being able to stand up in your tent is a comfort.

sleeping pad and a good bag rated to 0 fits my needs. Food is everything and anything simply because weight isn't an issue. Also a ground tarp under your tent SMALLER! than your tent floor dimensions.

If your looking to backpack hunt..that's a whole different matter. Kelty, north face, ascend all make half decent packs. I like internal frame packs unless your really packing meat. Cabelas makes a good pack.

I have a small backpacking tent, super light, but only big enough for one person to sleep in, with very little room for gear. Sitting up in it isn't an option. let me tell you a week of hunting and sleeping in that tent makes you appreciate your bed.

I cover my gear with a lightweight tarp, and also have one to cover the tent in bad weather. I use a sleeping pad and again a bag rated to around zero, rolled up clothes for a pillow. When its cold I usually sleep in sweat pants and shirt.

I should mention ventilation. Condensation is your worst enemy when tent camping especially fall and winter. I almost never shut the tent up completely when sleeping, even when its cold at night, your breath makes a lot of moisture. Speaking of moisture.....Camping by a stream seems pleasant, and it is nice in the summer, but in colder weather your better off being up away from it.

Backpack camping requires lightweight food...Ramen noodles, dried soup mixes, instant mashed potatoes in freezer bags, pancake mix in freezer bags..oatmeal, powdered eggs, powdered milk, dried fruit...ect.ect I've never tried the pre packaged stuff like mountain house. Also a water purification system.

lighter and reliable magnesium fire starter..small one burner stove.

ONE thing to consider is....camping near your vehicle allows you more mobility, and the option to hunt from a treestand because that's all your carrying on your back when you head out to hunt.

Backpack hunting really requires you to hunt from the ground if your going to be carrying your camp with you.

I'd plan your hunt Mike...You'll make a few memory's.

Even the bad camping trips, the torrential rain...the snow that had your tent sagging when you woke up,all become memory's. just like how tired you get... the smell of woodsmoke that lingers in your gear. The sounds of the mountain coming to life in the morning, the frosty air...The food you eat huddled by fireside. The still pitch black of night....and the stars...MAN Those stars! And hopefully the satisfaction of hanging a buck at camp and frying tenderloin over the fire.

My camp for a week in S. TX on Javelina hunts!

Get a good tent, one where the rain fly goes all the way to the ground. Get a good sleep pad and bag. Go camping many times before deer season. If you are only going to be camping with your vehicle, weight is not important. If you plan to use this gear packing in, you need to spend a lot more on your gear to get the light gear.

Been doing it for years now. I stay in my 10x10 alaknak for two weeks from the end of November into December. Just have to have the right gear to make yourself comfortable and warm.

Like I said, comfortable and warm. I sleep better here than at home.

Some of my favorite hunts have been in a tent. I have a Cabela's XWT now and it needs to go out again. Haven't used it as much since I got a small 5th wheel.

Kool pics .

Thanks for the advice everyone! Greatly appreciated! I have thought about doing both, I have an external frame backpack and a mountain hardware 3 season tent. It has a footprint and a rain fly. I was going to make a rocket stove to use for cooking. I think I'm going to go a couple of practice camping this summer, love the pictures and the feedback! Thanks again!

A couple shakedown trips are a good way to learn the basics and/or get the cobwebs out if you haven't camped in awhile. I camped for 7 nights/eight days in Nov 2012 and had to basically relearn everything I thought I had down pat. Took a few days to really get it together into a comfortable daily routine. Years of rust. lol

This was my home in Colorado at 11,000' last September...and it too is a Mountain HardWear 3-season tent with fly and 'front porch.'

Of course I had a second home at the Last Dollar Saloon in Telluride, but only because I needed the Internet connection so I could post to the 'Wall--no, really.

Instead of packing in a camp shower I have used unscented baby wipes for cleaning up. After a few days I heat up a bucket of water and wash up.

We were caught in a heavy wet snow our last night near Jarbidge Wilderness last year. My Springbar held up, but many other tents up there collapsed. I used a weedsprayer for my twice daily showers. At my age sleeping on the ground is hard-I like to stand up to get dressed-just me.

Stickbow21, I've been looking at that tent for a bit now, I'm assuming you like it. Here's my sleeping quarters.

Cowboy

Cowboy, I use to stay in a GP Hex Army tent. It was great but became to difficult to put up with only two people. I downsized to the Alaknak. I stay by myself in it and have plenty of room. Its been through every weather event without any problems. I stay warm and dry. It is well worth the money!

There are so many variations to tent camping when deer hunting.

My first was a 5 x 7 canvas pup tent and we ate buried beans (beans buried in a hole with stones and hot coals) and turnip greens with ham hocks. We did pretty good. Now that would be equal to a small back pack tent, which many find enough for a simple shelter.

Now I go camping several times a year and we have many large Eureka tents, cook with both a dutch oven and a propane stove, and get by pretty good now too. All our gear takes up one end of a large outbuilding and a small Wells Cargo "mini wagon" trailer to get us there.

The best rig for hunting I have used was a large canvas wall tent with wood stove for winter hunting in Arkansas. You can cook and sleep in the same space, so a tent with a stove has some advantages.

My hunting tent.

I was driving around in PA last weekend. Don't know all the rules in PA. Have been checking in some other states. Have to be out of public land in the night, only green sock on the left leg, arrow this way and not that way in the quiver and a lot of other strange rules. How are that in PA? I see some very nice remote places that look nice for some days with a little tent and a back pack.

We talking backpack tent camping, or car tent camping? Huge difference.

When I started out deer hunting, we didn't know any other way than tent camping. Our small hunting property was 3 hrs. from where we lived, and my dad, brother and me slept in a tiny 3- man pup tent, sleeping bags right on the ground - no pads or pillows. LOL It's all we knew. Some damn uncomfortable nights but somehow we survived and actually had fun.

Backpack camping - to me - is one of the most enjoyable things I do now, esp. since I invested a few hundred dollars into the right gear several years ago. A 50 lb. pack is all I need for a week, Less if there is a good water source nearby. Given a good water source, I could probably get by on 35 lbs. plus my bow/rifle.

Unfortunately here in Texas - as big as it is - there are very, very, very few places you can backpack hunt on public land. It's actually ridiculous how few places there are in a state this large.

I wish you luck. It's always worth the effort.

One piece of advise, because it's a new thing, set everything up before hand. Figure out what you like and what you don't. How does everything fit, is your heat source too close to anything, can you move around with all your gear inside? And don't keep your food inside, preferrably not even close. Hang it in a tree away from camp. Bottom line: prepare before attempting. Good luck and have fun!!

Its not letting my post pictures.

I have a 11x9 tarp that I use as a tent. The nice thing about it is its very cheap ($12 Harbor Frieght) and I can keep a side open near the fire for heat, company and cooking.

I keep the food very simple. I'm hunting, not camping. Beans, Rice, dry peas, fat back, burrito tortillas, bread, PBJ, and various snacks.

For rules and regulations....they are as attainable as your ability to type them into your search engine address bar. Here is a link to DCNR State Forest Camping information page.

http://www.dcnr.state.pa.us/forestry/recreation/camping/index.htm

Hey Michael, it would likely raise some curiosity if you went packing up 220 with a couple mules in tow, laden with camping gear and archery stuff. 8^).

True George! Lol

Thanks for all the feedback! Please keep it coming!

My home away from home. 12x12 just right for 2 guys and gear.

Kwickstix what model tent is that if you don't mind me asking?

That is a Cabelas Outback Lodge I believe.

Watch Fred Bear's "the Oldest Game". That will get you pumped up..

Used to do it with 2 of my boys a few years ago. Keeping yourself warm and dry makes for the best experience. Heat source, rain fly, plenty of food/water are all good things to think about. I also highly recommend a cot to get up off the ground to sleep better. Regards

Last November in NY. Early 70's colman canvas tent.

Turkey camp few weeks back. This will be the new set up for deer camp.

Thanks George, didn't see you on my trip around PA. Was looking for that blue hat, but no blue hat anywhere ;)

Homey88, it is indeed a Cabelas Outback Lodge. Older model, theyre making them with a peak roof over the door now

My set up is something like this.

Magilla, Great Reliable yeollwstone tent you have there. I have the same one for over 15 years. I have been using a Colorado cylinder stove that keeps me warm and comfortable no matter how cold it gets. TLM

This little 2-3 lbs tent are fine. Keep bugs, rain, wind and snakes on the outside. All I need.

A nice brisk 17 degree morning.

JusPassin - nice set up. How large of a tarp is that?

Tweed, do you use that setup on rainy, snowy, or windy periods as well as the sunny day you are having there? Overnight for several days/nights to? Just curious. If you do, you are a tougher soag than me. :)

Must not be many skunks around that tarp tent. LOL

I believe the tarp was about 12 x16.

Love my Whelen! Been through all kinds of foul weather and stayed dry and comfy. The Whelen is very versatile in different conditions by adjusting the height of the ridge pole and spreading or closing up the wings.

Moleman that is awesome!

Moleman, I was hoping you'd come along with that Whelen. One of my favorite tents.

Havent used a tent for years.But did a few week long Adirondack deer hunts in the old umbrella tents and lots of weekend camping trips back in my BSA days.Now and then I think about buying a tent for summer fishing trips and early season deer hunts.

Thanks for all the replies everyone! Greatly appreciated!

I tip my hat to Keystone bows for the most honest reply EVER on leatherwall.

I use a Kodiak canvas 10X14 for truck camping. Backpacking I have a Big Agnes fly creek. Get a good pad/cot, and a good sleeping bag. You'll be set.

Good luck, Ben

Bath County ,Va

I used to do all that camping. I found the deer I killed were no bigger than the the deer I killed in my nice warm cabin

Moleman 1....Your setup brings back memorys.

When my 3 boys were growing up I would take them on a pack it in primitive camping trip every summer. Usually did some native trout fishing ect.

One year we went in the fall on a weekend trip, I think maybe OCT? anyway went to Sullivan county PA saw turkey, deer a really nice bear with a perfect white V on his chest.

We had a setup similar to yours with a tarp...started raining at night when we crawled into our bags, wind kicked up. I got awake around 3:00AM and we were covered with snow! LOL I sat up and grabbed a flashlight and shined around...LOL heck it looked like winter. Boys were sound asleep.

When we woke up at daylight there was a couple inches of snow, And everything was pretty well covered including a nice dusting on us! ..We still talk about that.

Along with my last post....I have tried open front lean to type camping numerous times. What I usually found is our winds here in PA are to fickle. In the mts They are constantly changing set your tent up according to the wind and it swirls around and blows straight in your tent.

Iv'e since pretty much abandoned open front tarp type Baker and lean to tents. Although I like them, bugs and weather are a issue usually.

Great feedback! Thanks everyone!

Fire in front of the big tarp is great when truck camping with family. Like a Whelen but huge in comaprison. Everyone can hang by the fire under the tarp. But when it is really cold a woodstove inside a yurt really can't be beat.

Same as Ben, I used the Kodiak 10x14. Awesome tent for car camping...even better once I added a stovejack and 3 dog stove! Lots of room, nice ventilation, waterproof, heavy duty floor, and NO ROPES to trip over.

I need my memory foam mattress. Getting old! Does this count?

I need my memory foam mattress. Getting old! Does this count?

Yes it counts . LOL here is mine.

Elk hunt a few years back.

My good investment in a shower tent.

And the most important comfort of all.

My tent is the close one, the Cabelas EWT. It has weathered a lot of storms and never leaked. The tri color tent in the middle is a Walmart tent the owner of told me the first day how little he paid for it and it would do the same thing mine would. The second night we had a heck of a storm and the following morning they were drying out their bedding while we were elk hunting.

Too beat up and long in the tooth for them tents my own self now back in the day slept wth just a fire and bag many nights tho !!!

Hillbilly, Some of my favorite hunts were sleeping next to a fire in the wide open, looking at the stars and dusting the ashes off my bag in the morning. Today I use my old, short 5th wheel whenever possible, but the tent with a cot, pad and cooler when I can't. Getting old isn't for sissies!

My tent is diesel : )

Nice mountain man! Lol

I'm too old for a tent anymore also

gone to this

little and low maintenance and just enough, also easy to hook up and go with out knowing its back there until needed

Yes I have to concede, with 4 back surgeries and arthritis I can't do tents anymore. and every time New Year's comes around ! I look and see that my self is a year older !

This is our new tent !

Cowboy, I did that with my Croc Dundee 2000 Green n Gold Subaru, hauled out two big bulls no problem in Washington no Problem. That thing went anywhere. Got some funny looks driving through town with bull heads on the roof rack - wouldn't fit inside. Tent/vehicle camp hunting is a blast, and needs no explanation, just some quality planning. Just make sure you keep track of the weather forecasts, you could get snowbound up there anytime after Nov. 1, although probably not so much on PA.

2nocks, you flooded me with memories with the pic of your early 70's Coleman Canvas tent. I loved that model. Super easy to set up. I still love canvas tents to this date and like Ben Nicholson, I use a Kodiak Canvas tent when truck camping. When necessity dictates going in very light, I use a Seek Outside teepee.

Black powder hunted in the U.P. for years out of an Apache pop-up camper and a buddy heater. That would be the first weekend of December. Froze my arse off every year and loved it. Too bad the wolves ran all the deer out of the east end of the U.P.

T4

I also used to hunt out of an Apache Pop Up. Pretty neat design. Has anyone else used the Cabellas Outback Lodge? Heard condensation was a problem

i have two Egyptian sail canvas tents, besides my canoe tripping tent. My wife is telling me that we are going set up the wall tent someplace where we can walk from the ten to where are going to hunt. Not as easy a thing to do in Iowa as one may think. In the first week of November. Many camp grounds with good hunting nearby are closed by then.

I did a week, sometimes longer, backpack deer hunting from where I'm originally from in the Adirondacks, every year for a long time. The time spent on those trips are some of my very best memories and I wouldn't trade them for anything. My back and knees eventually got to the point that carrying a heavy pack, along with a bunch of other things, up one mountain and down the next started taking too much of the fun out of it for me. I still hunt up there, but now I do it a little closer to the road.

I'll locate one of my master lists and post it for you ASAP.

Awesome pictures, thank you!!

My bro's & mine camp for a month mid Oct to mid Nov.

Hi Andy man. what type of camping trailer is that. I like the looks of it.

"SNUFFER"

moleman 1, nice lean to. I have a Whelen that's like new, that I rarely use. I've been thinking about offering it in the swap and trade for a lighter poundage bow, but since seeing your picture maybe I'll keep it. Nice setup.

sent you a PM Snuffer

The camping thread is still alive!

Big fan of the Kodiak Canvas tent. Hated the factory awning.

Fixed that with a 10x14' vinyl tarp, some PVC for the ridgepole, and a Kelty aluminum expandable pole.

Now, I stake the factory awning out a couple feet from the tent, and the tarp awning overlaps that seem about a foot.

Now,rain sheds off instead of pooling up in the awning. Not only that,but I get better UV protection for my canvas, and though it's not needed, better weather protection. If only they put in a stove hole.

When I was in Grad school, my father-in-law bought us a StarCraft tent camper and my young family would often go camping with a camping club patronized by some of my agriculture professors. What a nice camper for early fall season deer hunting.

However, not for any poor weather. My best friend and I were landlocked in deep snow with it in the Ozarks in NW Arkansas in the mid-seventies. Took three hours to go five miles to Rogers, AR with just the car. My friend, who was a truck driver, handled the car to keep it from getting stuck while I sometimes walked along side to keep it from going off those steep ridges. Had to leave the camper behind and go back a month later to get it. Did visit the Russell knife store that trip, but just lost syliva, not any money. A story like that here in Westport, NY is just a way of life since many of my friends here talk about walking back home when being stuck or in a ditch. Sure liked that camper though.

I love the romance of a tent deer camp, but its hard to leave my little 16' tin camper behind and not use it if I can. Queen bed, warm shower, furnace, stove top for coffee and the sort.

I hunted Wyoming's central Bighorns for years. We could drive to our camp site, about 40 miles off pavement, and walked from there.

This was mid October, so the weather at 8600' can run from 70º+ and sunshine, to sub-zero and snow...have experienced both ends of that spectrum.

We cut poles to build a frame over and around our tents...big enough for a "front porch"...and cover with heavy duty plastic tarps. This has held up under every condition. The "porch" covers a camp table, stove, coolers, what have you.

It's absolutely mandatory to get off the ground for sleeping! Mother earth will freeze yer @$$ off...lol.

This was the way I use to camp. A 9X9 umbrella tent, sleeping bag, Coleman lantern and a Coleman stove. Things were simple back then.

Forgot to say this camp was in 1958

Great picture Ron!

Nice picture Ron!

Things can be simple now too. ;)

Our 2013 Sept, DIY Colorado elk/deer bowhunting camp.

Our 2015 camp

I'm thinking about downsizing my yurt from 16' to 12', specifically to start camping in it. All the kids have trailers now, tent camp is thing of the past. :/ We are one affluent country for sure.

Some of my favorite hunting camps over the last couple of years have revolved around my Davis wall tent, four dog stove and a couple of good hunting buddies.

Season is just around the corner now!

what my wife and i used at the spring fling. haven't hunted from it yet but plan on it. easy to pull and sets up in about 30 seconds. great little camper!

Been doing it many years in Missouri

Man I would love to do a week tent hunting trip. Fred. Ears oldest game movie is so fun to watch. We do have a cabin but would so love to do a true back country camp/hunt someday.

If you have already registered, please

sign in now

For new registrations

Click Here