If you shoot a lot of coyotes, field skinning works between calls. It’s also a great way to get rid of carcass. Dragging the damn thing through deep snow any distance is a lot of work. This does not work when it’s too cold but I’ve quit shooting at -30. It’s hard enough dragging my ass back in deep snow, a skin in a black bag is a plus.
x-country skis vs snowshoes for hunting
- Thread starter rhino519
- Start date
well, pulled out the snowshoes and went for a walk, thank God for the skidoos and all you riders there, it made the whole walk much easier but it seems yotes have moved to better hunting grounds (or is it too much human traffic that pushed them out)
fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I found this:
https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=5999
Looks like the Karhu.XCD Guide skis are ok.
https://www.telemarktalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=5999
Looks like the Karhu.XCD Guide skis are ok.
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Once the trial is set by a single skier, and confirmed by a second skier, cross county skis are a very fast and efficient way to cover ground very quickly. A platoon of skiers taking turns setting trail so the trail setter does not get exhausted can be very efficient. There is a reason skis rather than snowshoes were used by the Finns and Norwegians in their respective winter battles
fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
In the long article I posted they show modern Canadian soldiers wearing badly worn out bangity boards lol!
A couple of years ago Fiskars had a special products section of their Finland website. At that time they were selling traditional looking backcountry skis. This section of their website is now gone. There must be other makers out there.
Karhu skis is a footnote in history!
https://skinbased.ca/
K2 Sports bought Kahru skis in 2006. The guide model was rebranded under the Madshus line.
https://madshus.com/en-ca
The thing with these skis is that the bindings and boots are proprietary. Ideally your skis and bindings should work with your plain old mukluks or hunting boots - right?
Someone in the modern world 'gets' the problem.
Interesting non commercial approach to the quandary.
It is ironic the dude found downhill skis with some modifications to fit his real world requirements.
https://projectupland.com/bird-hunting-gear/the-perfect-backcountry-ski-setup-for-upland-hunting/
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fat tony
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
A general guide for picking the correct backwoods xc ski for hunting, etc.
https://oberson.com/en/blogs/cross-country-skiing/how-choose-backcountry-cross-country-skis
It appears the ideal back country xc ski has a lot of overlap with alpine down hill skis.
Also, the ideal backcountry xc ski has less camber than your average skate skis, and are far wider.
https://oberson.com/en/blogs/cross-country-skiing/how-choose-backcountry-cross-country-skis
It appears the ideal back country xc ski has a lot of overlap with alpine down hill skis.
Also, the ideal backcountry xc ski has less camber than your average skate skis, and are far wider.
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The linked article is spot on.
The cool thing is if you look for used gear you can get older scarpa telemark boots or alpine touring tech boots that are too soft for resort skiing by modern standards and perfect for backcountry hunting where your probably not on slopes over 30 degrees and dropping cornices into steep couloirs....
Same with the older skis that come with tele or tech bindings... the skis might not be what your looking for but you can poach the bindings.
- Location
- The Conservative part of Ontario
I tried various skis years ago. They were fine in fairly open country, so long as the snow was not really loose, and absolutely horrible in the thick stuff.
. What I use today are several sets of snow shoes. One set of the old metal military type I use most. But when the snow is deep and loose I have a set of 60" Algonquins. I made up a set of 'spring' snowshoes that I use for sap collecting, when the snow is sticky, and builds up on most types. I absolutely hate it when it piles up under your heel every few steps. For those I took the centre webbing out of a metal set and replaced that with a few heavy wires, and much larger gaps for the snow to fall through. Works excellent for spring. Useless any other time. I also have a set with plastic centres that work for sticky snow that is not spring snow. They work well, but snow can still get under your heel.
. What I use today are several sets of snow shoes. One set of the old metal military type I use most. But when the snow is deep and loose I have a set of 60" Algonquins. I made up a set of 'spring' snowshoes that I use for sap collecting, when the snow is sticky, and builds up on most types. I absolutely hate it when it piles up under your heel every few steps. For those I took the centre webbing out of a metal set and replaced that with a few heavy wires, and much larger gaps for the snow to fall through. Works excellent for spring. Useless any other time. I also have a set with plastic centres that work for sticky snow that is not spring snow. They work well, but snow can still get under your heel.
I have tried hunting on skis, surprisingly noisy, especially near the mountains where we get a freeze/thaw cycle that puts an icy crust on the snow. It's a great workout, I am an avid XC skier but getting close to big came is very hard. Nice way to shoot Grouse though.
BigUglyMan
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- New Scotland
Threads like this are the reason that people have been coming back to CGN for 20+ years!
Undergrowth, dreadfall, and thick bush are deal breakers for xcountry skis. If you have a trail or cutline you can sure cover some distance on the skis, fas8ter and with less effort than snowshoes or walking.
I don't hunt on skis usually but I have used them to get to where I will hunt.
I don't hunt on skis usually but I have used them to get to where I will hunt.
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