My buddy and I arrived in the mountains of Wyoming two days before the rest of the group- the ones with the tent and camping gear. Our choice was to sleep in my Ford Expedition or lose two hunting days waiting for the main camp. Personally, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to sleep in a van or SUV and since the Ford was long enough for sleeping and gear storage, it made a great first-night option… almost. Here’s what I learned.
This works well for opening day. I wanted to sleep in my elk hunting area so that I could hear elk bugle during the night and know where to start in the morning. This would be a good deer hunting strategy for opening day since you’ll save a lot of travel time and you won’t spook game getting into the woods.
Find a level spot. Unless you’re camping with your honey, you don’t want to be rolling down hill at night and getting too cozy.
Think ahead. When you return to your vehicle in the dark you don’t want to have to make noise or have to find the gear you need to build a fire or get ready for the night. Store your hunting gear in the front seats and have your sleeping bags in place. PADDING is IMPORTANT. I “slept” on a single moving pad for comfort and ached the entire night. Use an air mattress or commercial camping pad.
Ventilation is critical. Never use a charcoal grill in any closed space. Although temperatures dropped to freezing, leaving the hatch open was comfortable and assured we didn’t have condensation in the vehicle. If you want a quick hot meal or coffee in the morning, consider a Can Cooker Muli-Fuel burner that’s easy to light and very compact.
Finally, have your gear ready to go the next morning and set the alarm earlier than you think necessary. Since you can’t stand up in the car, you’ll need to round up last minute gear in the dark. Stealth is important for a great hunting start and it’s fun to wake up in game country.
In summary, I found this method to be very helpful. Unfortunately, the rut fizzled while I was hunting, yet we heard one bull sound off 200 yards from our rig. This is much easier than pitching a tent, warmer, and better in bad weather.
