Hunting in your Rivian

[boneil1]

I can't wait to post my hunting stories. I'm hopeful for the 2022 fall deer seasons, pretty sure the spring turkey season isn't gonna happen. I hunt a lot. Minimum 3 days per week starting in September and until the end in January. I hunt mostly public lands in MD, deer turkey and waterfowl.

Fortunately for me, most hunting locations are less than 60 miles away from home, so I have plenty of range. And the campsites I go to have electricity.

This truck is going to be great for scouting and locating turkeys from the road. Quietness is so important.

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[hola29]

I think like long distance trips, planning is going to play in to where you can actually hunt in an EV. There may be spots too remote until EV infrastructure catches up. I still find myself using mom and pop single pump gas stations next to the town grocery store in remote locations. Hopefully in the years to come those convert to EV chargers

Starting this thread for folks who plan to use their Rivian as a hunting rig. Once we actually get our trucks, we can post pics and stories of our successes. Until then, what plans do you have for hunting with your Rivian?

For me, I am mostly a western big game hunter. Elk, mule deer and antelope are my focus, but I will also get some predator tags (bear, wolf, coyote, mountain lion) if they are abundant in the areas I will be hunting. I hunt exclusively on public lands, mostly in UT, MT and WY. This coming season I have bull and cow elk tags in UT, cow elk and doe tags in MT and bull and cow elk, buck deer and buck antelope in WY. It’s going to be a busy fall! I also occasionally do an upland bird hunt somewhere in the upper Midwest with a group of guys I know. My big game hunting is usually solo or with my son. I love the time outdoors all by myself.

Getting to the places I hunt is usually a combination of highway driving, maintained gravel roads, unmaintained forest service and fire roads and a lot of hiking. This is new territory for EV’s. I feel confident in the Rivian’s offroad capabilities, but charging is the part that concerns me. It’ll be interesting to see the range impacts once the truck leaves the pavement. Feel free to leave your thoughts and experiences about that in this thread, or start another one for that topic since it will be applicable to more than just hunters.

I was hoping to get my truck (R1T LE 9/2019 preorder) during season this year, but that’s now looking highly unlikely. So I will look forward to some great fun in it next season! Good luck and safe hunting to all the hunters out there this season!

 

[bowhunter]

I generally hunt solo mostly focusing on chasing elk and deer with my bow in the Oregon coastal mountains (jungle), but also carry predator tags. I have also spent time hunting in Montana and hope to spend more time there as well as Idaho.

For my kids that want to hunt, I play guide for them during rifle seasons.

Since I won't have my R1T in time for this year's season, I am looking forward to getting out and scouting new areas for next season when it is delivered.

 

[SteveInBend]

Every time I see this thread title the first questions that come to mind are:

1. How did the critters get inside your Rivian, and
2. Doesn't hunting in your vehicle mess up the interior?

 

[abadmuffin]

I have been hunting in California out of my Tesla Model 3 for the past 2 years. A couple thoughts:

First, I don't often have trouble with range getting to a spot, but having adequate charge while you're there can be an issue, especially in extreme weather. Fast chargers are often more than an hour or more away from huntable public land, so you're arriving with a semi-depleted battery (I often get to my spots with around 65% SOC). If you're doing any road hunting/scouting then you'll be putting on miles and eating up battery. Additionally, thermal management of the battery in 100 degree plus temps has sapped a lot of my range while I'm out hunting.

Some sort of trickle solar charging solution would be huge, but its expensive and bulky to haul, so I haven't invested in that yet. I'm not expecting to be topped off by solar, but just to maintain SOC so that passive draw doesn't leave me SOL.

I'm really looking forward to my R1T to help me out on more mountain roads that the model 3 really isn't build for.

 

[Zoidz]

In my area, "Hunting in a Rivian" is vague - odds are about even that you'll bag one with your front bumper vs. a rifle!

 

[Dark-Fx]

Planning on replacing that vegan leather with some real hide?

 

[Gshenderson]

The Tesla just isn’t cutting it…. ?

 

[Bobrobheimer]

Anyone ever get out hunting with their R1T?

I am a pretty dedicated western big game hunter in CO and will be picking up my R1T in about a week. The only thing that’s been holding me back to going full electric family is that I do a fair bit of remote camping and hunting every year and wasn’t sure the infrastructure was there yet. But I think it’s just about there now here in CO - Fingers crossed this fall season goes well. (Other then not having a topper yet/way to sleep in truck bed when not backpacked in)

 

[opnwide]

I’ve been a member here since 2020 and this was one of the best threads going…I miss @Gshenderson , he was so fantastic back in the day in UT. Not sure what happened to him but he had a remote cabin in WY.

 

[opnwide]

Anyone ever get out hunting with their R1T?

I am a pretty dedicated western big game hunter in CO and will be picking up my R1T in about a week. The only thing that’s been holding me back to going full electric family is that I do a fair bit of remote camping and hunting every year and wasn’t sure the infrastructure was there yet. But I think it’s just about there now here in CO - Fingers crossed this fall season goes well. (Other then not having a topper yet/way to sleep in truck bed when not backpacked in)

You’ll be interested in this thread where @Gshenderson takes his R1T hunting…https://www.rivianforums.com/initial-winter-driving-on-snow-experience-in-r1t-on-20-at/

 

[opnwide]

Anyone ever get out hunting with their R1T?

I am a pretty dedicated western big game hunter in CO and will be picking up my R1T in about a week. The only thing that’s been holding me back to going full electric family is that I do a fair bit of remote camping and hunting every year and wasn’t sure the infrastructure was there yet. But I think it’s just about there now here in CO - Fingers crossed this fall season goes well. (Other then not having a topper yet/way to sleep in truck bed when not backpacked in)

https://www.rivianforums.com/forum/...w-experience-in-r1t-on-20-at.9528/post-227158

 

[Riviot]

Anyone ever get out hunting with their R1T?

Does mushroom hunting count? I've bagged pounds of oysters, puff balls, lobsters, coral, cauliflower, blewits and amethyst deceivers thanks to ?. My first trip across the pass with it was actually morel hunting spring 2022!

 

[Davethadog]

Just saw this now but I’ll share my experience from last years hunt in CO.

I hunt 17, 171 and parts of 18 so not a lot of chargers past granby. I charged to 100 percent and arrived at camp with like 65ish. I did everything I could to keep the truck from phantom draining faster than it does normally in the cold but after 7 days i had to leave it at the Rand yacht club over night on 120v to make it back to granby to charge faster.

I field quarter animals usually because of the terrain which is definitely advantageous with the bed being as small as it is and the tire compartment, I’m sure eventually someone is going to have the unpleasant task of washing the blood out of the weird nooks and crannies.

Wouldn’t do it again under those circumstances. I don’t really find the Rivian reliable enough to not take up mental space and that’s just not what I want to be thinking about. I have a 4th season tag this year and I’ll take my ram.

 

[Bobrobheimer]

Just saw this now but I’ll share my experience from last years hunt in CO.

I hunt 17, 171 and parts of 18 so not a lot of chargers past granby. I charged to 100 percent and arrived at camp with like 65ish. I did everything I could to keep the truck from phantom draining faster than it does normally in the cold but after 7 days i had to leave it at the Rand yacht club over night on 120v to make it back to granby to charge faster.

I field quarter animals usually because of the terrain which is definitely advantageous with the bed being as small as it is and the tire compartment, I’m sure eventually someone is going to have the unpleasant task of washing the blood out of the weird nooks and crannies.

Wouldn’t do it again under those circumstances. I don’t really find the Rivian reliable enough to not take up mental space and that’s just not what I want to be thinking about. I have a 4th season tag this year and I’ll take my ram.

Thanks for sharing. Yeah I am a little worried about exactly what you said - I don’t need the truck to be a distraction. I hunt 54 every year and we will stay fairly mobile until packing in makes sense and end up driving through town at least once normally. If Gunnison gets a fast charger that will help a lot.

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