outback as a hunting vehicle?

44630 Views 59 Replies 31 Participants Last post by BadAV, Oct 25, 2014

mediocrity

Discussion Starter · Dec 21, 2012

4 a gallon gas forced me into an outback as opposed to a full-sized truck.

But can I use the Outback as a "hunting truck" too? Maybe attach a small trailer for hauling out the carcass?

Has anyone done this? How did the Outback perform?

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Ahowe125

· #2 · Dec 21, 2012

5

Which year/type of Outback did you get? I have a 2001 Outback with the 5 speed, and I have used it for hunting the last few years. It does great 2 tracking as long as the ruts are not crazy on the trail.

I have hauled out deer a few different ways, I have strapped it to the top, and used a hitch mounted deer hauler. I don't like using the top because it gets the car dirty from the blood and other things. (my car is white, lol)

This year I borrowed my Grandpa's Hitch mounted hauler, and used an adapter from the small 1 1/4" up to the 2" for the hauler. It easily fits one deer, but with some work it could fit 2 deer safely. I just used some ratchet straps to secure it and drove out of the woods, and later on the highway to the processor.

I do miss my Tahoe from time to time, but the Outback has been a great replacement. I have yet to get stuck even in some nasty sand, and with the seats folded down it fits all my gear as well as a buddies.

Here are a few pictures

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idosubaru

· #3 · Dec 21, 2012

I hunt a lot and have only used Subarus. If you have really nasty stuff to go through then having a come along is convenient and easy to pull you out. I've had 5 deer in the back of my Subaru XT6. LOL. pic attached.

You generally can avoid the ruts, drive around, or gas it through some short/deep stuff. Just depends what you're driving through. How bad are the places you go? Just drive a little smarter and pay a little bit more attention.

Took my Subaru XT6 to Colorado, 4,000 mile road trip. climbed mountain passes to 10,000 feet to set up camp for elk hunt. had a trailer and packed elk meet back to WV. i posted pictures on one of the Subaru forums.

I line the trunk area with plastic, carpet, etc, and put the deer inside, that's what i do if i use the newer/nicer subarus like my outback. If I had a carrier I would strap plastic tubs to it for gear and still put the deer inside so exhaust gas, road debris, nasty road water, isn't flinging on it.

My Subaru XT6's i've ripped the carpetting out of the trunk, drilled holes in the bottom so i can simply hose it out and let the blood drain.

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sixfifty

· #4 · Dec 21, 2012

a buddy of mine has jammed deer in the trunk of his cavalier, so i'm pretty sure slipping one into the boot would be no big deal.

get some visqueen.

subiesailor

· #5 · Dec 22, 2012

mediocrity said:
4 a gallon gas forced me into an outback as opposed to a full-sized truck.

But can I use the Outback as a "hunting truck" too? Maybe attach a small trailer for hauling out the carcass?

Has anyone done this? How did the Outback perform?

My hard core hunting family members who spend months at a time up in Montana at the cabin have gone from big heavy trucks hauling horses in the 70's and late 80's to short bed light weight 4x4 trucks hunting on foot from the farthest possible point the truck would get them - to not kidding - hauling a mid sized ATV behind a Saturn Wagon given to them for several years. Now he has a very nice Toyota full size pickup top of the line with a light weight basic camper - that has a bunk, insulation, single burner for coffee, and a heater more or less a fancy shell over the bed - and he hauls the ATV or ATV's pending who is making the trek from CA to Montana with him.

The 2.5 OB has the towing capacity to haul a very nice ATV for proper hunting on a nice trailer. So yes I would think the OB would make a fine hunting vehicle and haul the family the rest of the year. He was very close to getting the OB but the idea of having a simple bunk and basic comforts via his simple and cozy camper shell that still hauls any gear which he might need to toss in the back.

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idosubaru

· #6 · Dec 22, 2012

subiesailor said:
but the idea of having a simple bunk and basic comforts via his simple and cozy camper shell

HA HA. my "tent" has a woodstove in it.

the hee-haws stare at your subaru going up the mountain passes. where i've gone in Colorado is nothing but trucks, we definitely stand out like sore thumbs and no doubt get laughed at.

Sammy63

· #7 · Dec 22, 2012

Funny seeing this thread today, as I got back a few hours ago from my duck club, driving in my 2011 outback. When I was looking for a new vehicle about 18 months ago, I wanted a rig that would be a "do anything vehicle." I was on this site ad naseum researching (ask my wife and kids!). I went with the Outback, primarily for the gas mileage and awd capability. I looked hard at the Honda Ridgeline, but the mileage is lousy. I dont hunt big game, but do hunt waterfowl, pheasants, doves, and other small game. My plan is to get a small enclosed utility trailer to haul my gear. Summertime is fishing, camping, abalone diving at Fort Bragg.

Today, during a major winter storm here in Northern Ca, the need for the trailer was clear.... All my wet gear piled into the back of the car, and I don't want to trash the interior. But, again today, had I been in my 2wd Chev Silverado, I may have gotten stuck in the wet and mud at the club. Had I needed my decoy cart, I would have had to take my truck.

The main drawback?.... My hunting buddies making fun of me in my less than macho Subaru. Round trip from home to club is almost 200 miles. My truck gets 13 mpg on the freeway. My Outback gets around 30 mph. That part I LOVE!!!!

I feel safe and confident in the Subie. Muddy and slick roads on the club, feeling the awd system work. The car is nimble. Last spring I was scouting turkey hunting areas in the foothills of the Sierras. I was going up fire trails that were sometimes muddy. I wished I had filmed it for this site.

Anyway, I plan on getting a small trailer, primarily to keep the interior of the car nice, and add room for bulkier items (decoy cart, decoy bag, fishing gear, wetsuit). I also plan on pulling my 14 ft aluminum fishing boat with the Outback (btw....Subiesailor, I read your posts frequently about your trips pulling your sailboat when I was researching).

I have complete confidence in the car and it's capabilities. Someday I may be brave enough to sell my pickup!

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Bulldog0156

· #8 · Dec 23, 2012

Keep a big folded up tarp in the back for dead/muddy things. I can put 1 side down in the back and wrap a deer in the tarp and it fits great. This fall I had a couple whole deer in the back of my outback and a quartered out bull elk, not all at the same time but I have no doubt I could have done it. The only thing stopping me from getting to all the places a full size truck go are ground clearance sometimes, the fact that I don't have 10 ply tires, and I really don't want to beat up my subaru. No blood stains or muddy carpet anywhere yet...

rockhopjohn

· #9 · Dec 25, 2012

I've carried, deer, elk and a bear out of the woods in my Outback. I normally don't have to drive far to hunt, so typically I have dressed and quartered the animal and hauled it home inside the Outback on a tarp.

Haven't done much hunting in the past few years, but I can recommend NOT using the A-pillar as a rest while shooting, lest the muzzle blast make a huge crack in your windshield (ask me how I know).

vito

· #10 · Dec 26, 2012

I much prefer a rifle for hunting. Using my Outback would likely damage the front end when I hit the animal.

Reactions: 1

wrx-snowdrift

· #11 · Dec 26, 2012

vito said:
I much prefer a rifle for hunting. Using my Outback would likely damage the front end when I hit the animal.

HAHAHA, you should tell that to some of the idiots around me.

jesseP

· #12 · Dec 26, 2012

If you ask around your trailer park you could probably find a lot of good advice from the other hunting trash.

HawkWagon

· #13 · Dec 26, 2012

jesseP said:
If you ask around your trailer park you could probably find a lot of good advice from the other hunting trash.

Hostile much? If you don't approve of hunting, that's fine. No one is going to force you, but common sense would suggest you stay out of a hunting thread, and common courtesy would suggest you keep your prejudices to yourself. (Forum rules probably suggest--at a minimum--that you be civil as well.)

Have a nice day.

jesseP

· #14 · Dec 26, 2012

If hunters want to hunt then feel free to all get together and kill each other. Unwilling participents aren't the best hunting buddies. But I guess killing an innocent animal makes you feel like a man. Funny thing is that they never say much when I confront any of them.

rockhopjohn

· #15 · Dec 26, 2012

If you continue to post inciting remarks in a hunting thread JesseP, I am not going to close the thread, I am going to ban you. If you don't like the topic of discussion, then don't post here, and if you still feel the need to, then be civil. You've started crap elsewhere in relation to hunting/animal rights, and I am not going to to allow you, as very vocal minority, turn an otherwise civil discussion into a flame war.

nipper

· #16 · Dec 26, 2012

i agree with Rockhopjohn

mike612

· #17 · Dec 29, 2012

vito said:
I much prefer a rifle for hunting. Using my Outback would likely damage the front end when I hit the animal.

I also preferred to use a bullet to hit the animal, much smaller and faster than trying to either poke that skunk or swinging the rifle to get those silver greys out of a tree.

Much easier on the weapon as well!

2013OB

· #18 · Dec 29, 2012

I was a big hunter when I was young (grew up in South Dakota--deer, antelope, pheasants, ducks, quail, grouse--- hunted it all) and think the Outback would be a great vehicle for it. I used my 77 Vette for hunting....Chevette that is for game birds.

mediocrity

Discussion Starter · #19 · Dec 29, 2012

Thanks a lot for everyone who participated. I think I'm going to get a bit creative here during turkey season, see how it goes then branch out.

Jesse,

Read more books. Just generally.

I like the taste of meat and that is why I hunt. Factory farming is abhorrent and I won't support it, even "organic raised" meat has too many loopholes allowing for animal suffering. I hunt because I like animals. The animals I eat live a great life, take a quick shot and are dead in 5 seconds. Virtually no pain.

But I know a limited intellectual capacity coupled with a need to fit in your invariably infantile peer group of squeamish man-children doesn't allow for such nuance.

rktheac

· #20 · Dec 31, 2012

My 2c.

If you eat meat, then you have to recognize that whether your meat comes nicely packaged in a container or you hunt for your meat, the animal in question has to die. The difference is that one requires someone else to kill the animal for you, the other, you kill the animal yourself. There's no need to judge on which method is more humane, all you have to do is be thankful that you can 1) buy the cut of meat you want, or 2) you have the ability to hunt and get the cut of meat (and many more).

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