Course Details

Learn how to optimize your backcountry hunting setup with ultralight gear and proven strategies for remote, self-supported hunts. This course covers lightweight packing systems, mobility-focused tactics, and gear selection to increase efficiency, endurance, and success in the field. Designed for serious hunters navigating rugged terrain.

together with:
Exo Mtn Gear
Exo Mtn Gear

Exo Mtn Gear crafts ultralight yet ultratough backcountry hunting pack systems, combining the comfort of internal frames with the strength of external frames—all designed, tested, and built in Boise, Idaho. Made in the USA since 2014, they deliver direct-to-consumer quality and service, backed by a lifetime guarantee.

See it at Exo Mtn Gear

Sponsorship Information: Backpacking Light provides trusted education to highly-engaged user communities of backcountry enthusiasts, industry professionals, land management agency staff, trail advocacy groups, and more. If you are interested in sponsoring this online education and gaining access to these communities to increase your brand awareness or reach please complete our partnership intake form.

Objectives

  • Differentiate Between Backpacking and Backcountry Hunting – Understand how gear, strategy, and mindset shift when transitioning from recreational backpacking to purposeful backcountry hunting.
  • Classify Types of Backcountry Hunting and Their Unique Demands – Identify various hunting styles such as bivy-style, spike-camp-based, and basecamp-supported, and the logistical and environmental demands of each.
  • Design and Optimize Lightweight Pack Systems for Extended Hunts – Evaluate pack frame types, load-hauling capabilities, and weight distribution strategies for performance and comfort in the field.
  • Select and Integrate Ultralight Hunting Gear and Clothing – Apply lightweight backpacking principles to gear selection while addressing the specialized needs of backcountry hunters.
  • Evaluate Modern Firearms, Ballistics, and Optics for Backcountry Use – Choose appropriate firearms, cartridges, and sighting systems based on terrain, species, and shot distance while managing system weight and shootability.
  • Plan and Execute Game Meat Care and Field Processing in Remote Conditions – Demonstrate best practices for field dressing, cooling, storage, and transport of game meat with attention to efficiency, safety, and nutritional preservation.
  • Apply Ethical Principles to Decision-Making in Backcountry Hunting – Explore the ethical frameworks that govern hunter behavior, including respect for wildlife, land, other users, and the responsibilities of taking a life in remote settings.

Course Curriculum

Module 1

Module 1 – Introduction & Ethics

Module 2

Module 2 – Types of Backcountry Hunting

Module 3

Module 3 – Fitness and Training

Module 4

Module 4 – Backcountry Hunting Gear (Unique Considerations)

Module 5

Module 5 – Firearms, Ballistics, and Optics

Module 6

Module 6 – Pack Systems for Backcountry Hunting

Module 7

Module 7 – Game Processing in the Field