The 2026 bird hunting season began with hunting Huns and Chukar in Wyoming in a new hunting rig. We often hunt far from lodging, and this provides an efficient, reasonably comfortable place to spend a few nights in the hunting area. Waking up in the country we want to hunt saves substantial time, gas, and lodging costs.
Here is my 2022 Ram 1500 Crew Cab GT 5.7 liter 4×4, with a SmartCap EVO Sport topper. My only complaint is the small 23-gallon gas tank. I bought this used, and I think it was a “city” truck because I had to add tow hooks and skid plates, and I don’t think it has a limited-slip differential, though I’m not sure how important that is.
This platform is 1.5″ of foam board insulation framed by 2x4s and topped with plywood and carpet. This eliminates the cold floor. Two shelves are installed in the bed railing; the one on the right is for the heater. The one on the left holds a personal-defense shotgun and is a place to set a wallet, phone, and knife for the night. The roof has rings to hang lights.
The sleeping arrangement is a pad under a robust sleeping bag. The bed is a few inches short, but lying a bit diagonally, I can stretch out. With the heater running to warm the area when going to sleep and in the morning, it is comfortable enough.
The Buddy Heater is awesome! It is a cost-effective way to heat the truck bed.
The Crew Cab has enough space to hold a large Ruff Land kennel. This keeps Henry warm and comfortable on cold nights, and I don’t have to deal with a kennel in the truck bed.
There is plenty of room for the cooler, groceries, and guns.
Good boy Henry will be 6 years old in December.
My hunting pal brought an Airstream trailer, a nice improvement over sleeping in the bed of the truck, if you can manage it.
Henry with a Chukar. The birds were very sparce.
Early on the morning we were to leave, it rained steadily for over three hours. The dirt was soaked and transformed into the slickest goo you can imagine. I doubt a lubrication scientist could produce something as slippery as this muck. Here is my bad-ass, 4-wheel-drive truck with BF Goodrich KO2 tires hopelessly stuck in an inch of mud. We had to wait about 27 hours for the mud to dry out before we could head home.
Setter Oak peeking out from his luxury accommodations.
The area we hunted is in an “extreme drought.” The bird numbers are way down. The cheatgrass was very short and thin. Not a good year. But the weather was wonderful, and we, along with the dogs, had a great time hiking the vast BLM land.
Landman HQ! Plenty of old oil-field detritus to see.
Thanks for visiting the Birdhunter!!
