Camping during first week of Rifle for deer

so first year for us actually camping out for 3-6 days ... 3 doe tags and 1 buck only tag this year.

Plan is to set up a hot tent, heat it with buddy heater I use for ice fishing, with a large propane tank outside the tent.

Im still scouting for the perfect spot to set up camp. how far from my hunting spot do I want to be ?

I wonder what everyone else does during November first week of Rifle for deer ? hot tent ? cold tent ? sleep in car ?

Any other tips is appreciated, I will have more questions in coming days/weeks as we set up and get ready. I have camped in Summer and winter, but never in between.

Yeh don't get killed with Carbon monoxide.

"my heater buddy" whatever its called supposed to not have CO Issues. I do have 2 battery operated CO detectors as well.
I slept in the ice hut in winter a couple times. drank too much to ride back lol but never detected too much CO ...

Good quality clothing and the appropriate layers are the real key to being comfortable outside. There is a heated cabin at the deer camp I go to and I choose to sleep outside in my hammock. It's got a built in bug net and fits a sleeping pad in it no problem. Stretch a ground sheet over top in case of rain and make sure you have an appropriate layered sleeping bag system. Don't forget to strip down fully before getting into your bag for the night.

Avoid getting wet at all costs. Have appropriate rain gear, don't bring anything cotton and, avoid getting sweaty. However many pairs of socks you are currently planning on bringing double it and change you socks at least once a day.

I am assuming of course you are far from amenities and planning on not leaving the bust for the entire time.

Bring extra water. Then bring a little more and some stuff to treat water just in case. Then throw an extra case of water in the truck.

I've never hunted rifle season, but usually when I camp later in the fall in the cap on my truck I use my buddy heater just before bed and once I'm awake in the morning to take the chill off. Usually a -20 sleeping bag keeps me warm all night with no trouble. I'm too chicken to fall asleep with the heater on even with a detector.

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Originally Posted by Ata83

so first year for us actually camping out for 3-6 days ... 3 doe tags and 1 buck only tag this year.

Plan is to set up a hot tent, heat it with buddy heater I use for ice fishing, with a large propane tank outside the tent.

Im still scouting for the perfect spot to set up camp. how far from my hunting spot do I want to be ?

I wonder what everyone else does during November first week of Rifle for deer ? hot tent ? cold tent ? sleep in car ?

Any other tips is appreciated, I will have more questions in coming days/weeks as we set up and get ready. I have camped in Summer and winter, but never in between.

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How big is your hot tent? May I presume there's four of you and you'll be using the hot tent for meals and lounging? If so,obviously your hot tent should be at least 12X20' wall type. Forget the buddy heater,they're too dangerous to use in an enclosed area. Besides,you can pee more heat than you'll get out of one those,especially,if you need to dry clothes (can't stress the necessity of this enough).
Get your hands on one of these https://www.cabelas.ca/product/34900...rrel-stove-kit. It's multi-functional for cooking and most importantly,heat. A lot of the time,you can find them used for sale on Kijiji. Rigging a pipe hole in your tent isn't too difficult. There's YouTube videos to show you how. Good luck.

We used to hunt November moose hunt. Prospector tents with wood stoves in them. We built a kitchen area out of tarps and plastic. We put a tent on each end of the cooking area, with doorways to each. Worked like a charm….can’t beat wood stove heat to dry out wet gear…

your tag numbers indicate that you have 3-4 hunters? I hope this "hot tent" is big enough to accommodate that many plus all your gear? Sleeping is one thing, but you'll need space for cooking and drying gear, not to mention, lounging around telling lies to each other in the evening.
Get busy on youtube and look for ideas on a good set-up. Hot tents and buddy heaters aren't going to cut it?

Like others have mentioned you may want to consider other means of heat. The wood stove trimmer mentioned would be a better option.
Still sounds like fun so I hope things go well for you and your hunting partners.

We stay in a cabin that a friend built on his property not far from ours. Good size area for eating and relaxing. It has two bedrooms off of the main room with 6 bunk beds in each room. Wood stove for heat, outhouse and generator power for hydro. We have stayed in more modern cabins but I love this one.....a true hunt camp to me

Prospector tent or garage shelter with a wood stove.
I used to sleep in a Woods 3 star sleeping bag so never really got cold even in a tent in winter. Nice to have a warm shelter to dry clothes and do chores and story telling. Good luck.

The thing about propane is the condensation on the walls of the tent. For many years, I used to camp out for moose. Essentially, we built a small cabin and used vapour barrier, poly tarps, and plywood for walls and roofs. Minimal lumber used. Heated it with a homemade barrel stove. Those were the days!
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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

The thing about propane is the condensation on the walls of the tent. For many years, I used to camp out for moose. Essentially, we built a small cabin and used vapour barrier, poly tarps, and plywood for walls and roofs. Minimal lumber used. Heated it with a homemade barrel stove. Those were the days!
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I love that setup, low cost luxury.

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Originally Posted by dean.f

I love that setup, low cost luxury.

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That was 35 years ago, I’m the kid sitting down facing the camera. Bare ground floor and all, I felt like I was staying at the Ritz! Lots of moose and great memories!

Your buddy heater is going to add so much humidity that you will never be able to dry out wet gear. If you don’t get anything wet you might be ok but every year I’m amazed at all the gear hanging on everything at my cabin trying to dry out around the wood stove

Great tips , appreciate it.

always been my fascination to camp out in the cold/ winter, but never got around doing it actually. [dont think others in the group have such fantasies, hence why asking how to heat the tent lol ]

We are not going far up north, our tags are for WMU 60 .. 30 min drive to Bancroft ... so we can take off anytime basically and head to town .. or even for a hot dinner close by. Plan is to do this close to home / Town, to practice and learn more, and eventually try it up north for moose in coming years.

ill check again if I can find a cabin in the area, and sleep outside it .. for added safety and back up, or even a motel or something in town and drive to the spot in the morning.. but much rather be close so I dont have to Haul the ATV and other stuff daily.

I dont think We are allowed to make a wall tent like Sam's on crown around here, but thats a very cool Idea also, can set it up and take it down fast it apears.

Wall tent + wood stove sounds like a good idea as well, ill check if I can find anything on kijiji. id probably have to head there a couple days earlier to collect firewood though for that.

Edit:
I never even thought about wet gear !! thats a great point as well. I do sweat alot, specially if walking with the climber ... I guess have to also check the weather closer to it, if alot of rain then sitting around fire at night wont make much sense neither.

I tented for hunting in protector tent with wood fire place and in ice hut with propane for heat.
While hunting, I much prefer propane heating. With fire place, the smell of smoke quickly gets into all your closes and skin and everything you brought, no scent control. Then there is weight and space of bringing wood, or wasting hunting time and sweating to cut wood.
There is also the ups and downs of heat control with wood. The Fire Chief always seams to sleep closest or farthest from fire place and make temp comfortable for them. Also space fireplace setup takes at a corner vs space for a propane set up.
Propane is easy and clean. I find even with my heater on minimum, it gets turned on and off during night because it gets to hot (this was in minus 4).
With drafts of a tent, carbon dioxide and monoxide are not an issue but do bring a battery operated detector.
With propane, moisture is an issue. after a few days, your pillow, blanket and clothes will be damp. I use a battery operated fan to run constantly.

Tips and advice: did you think about flooring? I use rubber utility mats, the ones full of drain holes. Some use pieces of plywood, foam mats or buy a bail of straw and toss evenly on the floor. The 3'x3' utility mats from Rona with the holes are perfect. About $34 regular price and may get lucky getting on sale during the year if you had started shopping earlier.

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Originally Posted by Big Tuna

I tented for hunting in protector tent with wood fire place and in ice hut with propane for heat.
While hunting, I much prefer propane heating. With fire place, the smell of smoke quickly gets into all your closes and skin and everything you brought, no scent control. Then there is weight and space of bringing wood, or wasting hunting time and sweating to cut wood.
There is also the ups and downs of heat control with wood. The Fire Chief always seams to sleep closest or farthest from fire place and make temp comfortable for them. Also space fireplace setup takes at a corner vs space for a propane set up.
Propane is easy and clean. I find even with my heater on minimum, it gets turned on and off during night because it gets to hot (this was in minus 4).
With drafts of a tent, carbon dioxide and monoxide are not an issue but do bring a battery operated detector.
With propane, moisture is an issue. after a few days, your pillow, blanket and clothes will be damp. I use a battery operated fan to run constantly.

Tips and advice: did you think about flooring? I use rubber utility mats, the ones full of drain holes. Some use pieces of plywood, foam mats or buy a bail of straw and toss evenly on the floor. The 3'x3' utility mats from Rona with the holes are perfect. About $34 regular price and may get lucky getting on sale during the year if you had started shopping earlier.

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Cool info, thanks, exactly what I was thinking just now about wood and wood burners.

I do have good quality fans for ice fishing set up, always run them with propane heater.
what tent did you use though ? regular 4 season ? or ice hut type ?

I have those Foam tiles, 2x2 which they use for kids to play on ... locks into one another. was planning on using those to insulate the floor.
I also have good quality sleeping bags, and got portable bed, to raise me off the cold ground.

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Originally Posted by Big Tuna

I tented for hunting in protector tent with wood fire place and in ice hut with propane for heat.
While hunting, I much prefer propane heating. With fire place, the smell of smoke quickly gets into all your closes and skin and everything you brought, no scent control. Then there is weight and space of bringing wood, or wasting hunting time and sweating to cut wood.
There is also the ups and downs of heat control with wood. The Fire Chief always seams to sleep closest or farthest from fire place and make temp comfortable for them. Also space fireplace setup takes at a corner vs space for a propane set up.
Propane is easy and clean. I find even with my heater on minimum, it gets turned on and off during night because it gets to hot (this was in minus 4).
With drafts of a tent, carbon dioxide and monoxide are not an issue but do bring a battery operated detector.
With propane, moisture is an issue. after a few days, your pillow, blanket and clothes will be damp. I use a battery operated fan to run constantly.

Tips and advice: did you think about flooring? I use rubber utility mats, the ones full of drain holes. Some use pieces of plywood, foam mats or buy a bail of straw and toss evenly on the floor. The 3'x3' utility mats from Rona with the holes are perfect. About $34 regular price and may get lucky getting on sale during the year if you had started shopping earlier.

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One of those blue tarps work good in the floor. Stops a lot of moisture coming up from the wet ground….

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

The thing about propane is the condensation on the walls of the tent. For many years, I used to camp out for moose. Essentially, we built a small cabin and used vapour barrier, poly tarps, and plywood for walls and roofs. Minimal lumber used. Heated it with a homemade barrel stove. Those were the days!
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Great set up and pics. I used up many pairs of Vikings in my days also.
We had a similar set up for Moose but would build it against a small camper trailer we used for sleeping. Nice Moose :thumbup:

[QUOTE=Ata83;1174742]
I dont think We are allowed to make a wall tent like Sam's on crown around here, but thats a very cool Idea also, can set it up and take it down fast it appears.

Yes, you are allowed to build it as its considered to be a camping unit which you can leave on Crown land for 21 days,

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Originally Posted by alfoldivandor

The best would be a mini van heating with the engine in the morning 1 h and heating in the evening 1 h

At night a good -30 c sleeping bag good hat , and a sound sleep all night .

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Does not sound very environmentally friendly.

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Originally Posted by alfoldivandor

The best would be a mini van heating with the engine in the morning 1 h and heating in the evening 1 h

At night a good -30 c sleeping bag good hat , and a sound sleep all night .

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The van might be ok for sleeping, but where do you socialize, cook, and eat after the hunt. You need living space to stretch out and relax.

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Originally Posted by alfoldivandor

I guess you never heated your car before ...?

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Not for an hour in the morning and evening. Mind you I, am Scottish.

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Originally Posted by alfoldivandor

I did in the past in December moose hunt from early morning till the dark hunting eating in the morning and in the evening
seeping in Pontiac grand am for two weeks in -22c was the best hunt in my life

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I used to know this Macedonian guy who camped in his van in his younger days, he told me he made a big fire every evening and heated a big old rock in the fire and after he got it real hot he managed to some how get it into the back of his van and claims that it kept him toasty warm all night. Might work for you and you would be saving the environment in the process.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

I used to know this Macedonian guy who camped in his van in his younger days, he told me he made a big fire every evening and heated a big old rock in the fire and after he got it real hot he managed to some how get it into the back of his van and claims that it kept him toasty warm all night. Might work for you and you would be saving the environment in the process.

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Is that how you heat your home, a hot rock? If not you might not be very environmentally conscious, lol.

Seriously though, why would you pick on someone for burning 3 liters of gas twice a day? Should you not be out screaming to the people in Toronto about all the concrete and asphalt they are treading on? Consider for a moment that for every 3 km of of single lane consumes 10K litres of fuel to make and place, do the math. What of our semi PM's flights around the world, have you chastised him for his fuel usage?

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Originally Posted by oaknut

Is that how you heat your home, a hot rock? If not you might not be very environmentally conscious, lol.

Seriously though, why would you pick on someone for burning 3 liters of gas twice a day? Should you not be out screaming to the people in Toronto about all the concrete and asphalt they are treading on? Consider for a moment that for every 3 km of of single lane consumes 10K litres of fuel to make and place, do the math. What of our semi PM's flights around the world, have you chastised him for his fuel usage?

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Well the story of the Macedonian guy is true but I don't think you managed to "get my sense of humor" so I was not picking on anybody. I have not said anything about Toronto or our beloved Prime Minister flying around the World on the nation's business no more than I have mentioned Erin O Toole, but we will not have to worry about Erin as nobody appears to want to invite him any where around the world.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

I used to know this Macedonian guy who camped in his van in his younger days, he told me he made a big fire every evening and heated a big old rock in the fire and after he got it real hot he managed to some how get it into the back of his van and claims that it kept him toasty warm all night. Might work for you and you would be saving the environment in the process.

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My dad trapped the area south of Algonquin park when he was young - late 1930s early 1940's. He lived out of a wall tent during the winter but sometimes if he was out on his trapline and wouldn't make it back to his camp, he would overnight on the trail. That was how he kept warm. Big fire on a rock, put the fire out and curl up in his hudson bay blanket on the hot rock. One night he didn't sweep it clean enough and set his blanket on fire.

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

My dad trapped the area south of Algonquin park when he was young - late 1930s early 1940's. He lived out of a wall tent during the winter but sometimes if he was out on his trapline and wouldn't make it back to his camp, he would overnight on the trail. That was how he kept warm. Big fire on a rock, put the fire out and curl up in his hudson bay blanket on the hot rock. One night he didn't sweep it clean enough and set his blanket on fire.

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There’s a scene in the movie called Jeremiah Johnson where Robert Redford and Will Greer bury hot coals in the ground and sleep over them. Redford wakes up in the middle of the night with his blanket on fire.

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Originally Posted by Gilroy

Well the story of the Macedonian guy is true but I don't think you managed to "get my sense of humor" so I was not picking on anybody. I have not said anything about Toronto or our beloved Prime Minister flying around the World on the nation's business no more than I have mentioned Erin O Toole, but we will not have to worry about Erin as nobody appears to want to invite him any where around the world.

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I feel like if you have to make people understand you're joking then it wasn't a very good joke.

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Originally Posted by werner.reiche

My dad trapped the area south of Algonquin park when he was young - late 1930s early 1940's. He lived out of a wall tent during the winter but sometimes if he was out on his trapline and wouldn't make it back to his camp, he would overnight on the trail. That was how he kept warm. Big fire on a rock, put the fire out and curl up in his hudson bay blanket on the hot rock. One night he didn't sweep it clean enough and set his blanket on fire.

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LOL ....

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

There’s a scene in the movie called Jeremiah Johnson where Robert Redford and Will Greer bury hot coals in the ground and sleep over them. Redford wakes up in the middle of the night with his blanket on fire.

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Ha beat me to it. First thing I thought of too.


"Didn't put enough dirt down, Saw it right off" lol

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Originally Posted by SongDog

Ha beat me to it. First thing I thought of too.


"Didn't put enough dirt down, Saw it right off" lol

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Well that pilgrim couldnt skun bear either!

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Originally Posted by SongDog

"Didn't put enough dirt down, Saw it right off" lol

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LOL I clearly remember that line and the look that Bear Claw gave when he said it.

How about:
Bear Claw Chris Lapp : You know how to skin griz?
Jeremiah Johnson : I can skin most anything.
Bear Claw Chris Lapp : You sure are cocky, for a starvin' pilgrim.

sleeping in car is great, I have a foam matres cut out that fits the back of the car perfectly, sleeps me and my gf comfy. I rarely turn the heater on all night, but have a couple times. with the recent gas prices, it would add up to a cabin though lol

We decided to take an easy way .. and booked a cabin close to crown land. im gonna set up my tents still and sleep outside, with an option to run back in lol

sleeping part is not really an Issue, but cooking, spending night time with friends and getting ready in morning to head to the stand will be much faster and easier with a cabin.

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Originally Posted by Sam Menard

There’s a scene in the movie called Jeremiah Johnson where Robert Redford and Will Greer bury hot coals in the ground and sleep over them. Redford wakes up in the middle of the night with his blanket on fire.

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I can't tell you how many times I watched that movie.....it's a classic

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Originally Posted by Ata83

sleeping in car is great, I have a foam matres cut out that fits the back of the car perfectly, sleeps me and my gf comfy. I rarely turn the heater on all night, but have a couple times. with the recent gas prices, it would add up to a cabin though lol

We decided to take an easy way .. and booked a cabin close to crown land. im gonna set up my tents still and sleep outside, with an option to run back in lol

sleeping part is not really an Issue, but cooking, spending night time with friends and getting ready in morning to head to the stand will be much faster and easier with a cabin.

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Good choice! You'll be much more comfortable and I'm sure the GF will appreciate it too.;)

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Originally Posted by Ata83

so first year for us actually camping out for 3-6 days ... 3 doe tags and 1 buck only tag this year.

Plan is to set up a hot tent, heat it with buddy heater I use for ice fishing, with a large propane tank outside the tent.

Im still scouting for the perfect spot to set up camp. how far from my hunting spot do I want to be ?

I wonder what everyone else does during November first week of Rifle for deer ? hot tent ? cold tent ? sleep in car ?

Any other tips is appreciated, I will have more questions in coming days/weeks as we set up and get ready. I have camped in Summer and winter, but never in between.

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Coming from someone with lots of hot tent experience and 4 seasons camping. Throw a normal tarp over a tent. The air layer between the tarp and tent insulates better than anything. It also gets rid of condensation. Buddy heater should be safe. It has a Low O2 sensor. Monoxide is made when CO2 is burned off. So it shouldn't even have a chance to make CO. I always use the buddy heater. Granted with this setup you might get a bit hot! So I wouldn't leave the buddy heater on overnight anyways haha. Attachment 42341
Attachment 42342

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Coming from someone with lots of hot tent experience and 4 seasons camping. Throw a normal tarp over a tent. The air layer between the tarp and tent insulates better than anything. It also gets rid of condensation.

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That's the principle of the Military Arctic Tents, they hang a nylon liner inside the tent shell. Absolutely amazing what that little bit of air space between the two surfaces can do. We used to heat in the inside of them with just a Coleman lantern.

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Originally Posted by MihajloSimsic

Coming from someone with lots of hot tent experience and 4 seasons camping. Throw a normal tarp over a tent. The air layer between the tarp and tent insulates better than anything. It also gets rid of condensation. Buddy heater should be safe. It has a Low O2 sensor. Monoxide is made when CO2 is burned off. So it shouldn't even have a chance to make CO. I always use the buddy heater. Granted with this setup you might get a bit hot! So I wouldn't leave the buddy heater on overnight anyways haha. Attachment 42341
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The inter-locking foam pads that you use in your tent are a great idea. I use them in my ice fishing shelter.