Do we carry too much stuff?

[bigbore442001]

I was thinking about this as I look at a photo from the 1930s of my grandfather and his friends after a successful deer hunt here in Massachusetts. They all used shotguns and it seems that they carried what was needed in their pockets.

I know muzzleloading is a tad different in that we have more shooting acoutriments, but do we burden ourselves? I carry a day pack with all kinds of stuff in it while in the past what could fit in your pockets would suffice.

So. Do we carry too much stuff?

 

[roundball]

Probably...I use a little 6x7 belt pouch for a few BP items, but I've been using 3XL upland game vests as equipment vests for years...they have a gazillion pockets for hunting items, TP, food & water, rain gear, drag strap, flashlight, gloves, facemask, etc, etc...IMO, better than a backpack because it distributes the load evenly all around and I can get to everything while still wearing it and walking along...get to where I'm going, slip it off and set it beside me.

Normally use a full camo color one for 99% of my hunting while wearing an orange cap...but if I go onto a Public Game Lands, I wear a full orange vest in addition to the cap.

 

[Halftail]

Too much stuff?I think the only way you could say you were carring too much stuff would be if the load was making you tired.I'm young and healthy so my backpack is usually filled with things I think I might need along with thing I know I will need.Balls,Powder,caps along with anything that is used often is carried in my coat pockets.Too much stuff?You can never have enough stuff. :v

 

[Pork Chop]

Go with a Ranger motto - travel light, freeze at night. I tend to overpack for just about everything, but not nearly as bad as my wife!!

 

[Plains99]

For a primitive hunting sidelock, I feel that you have to carry a powder measure, extra wiping patches, a nipple pick, caps, powder, balls and patches, a short starter, a nipple wrench, and a patch puller. That's taking it for granted that a ramrod jag is in place. A loading block is also nice Chances are you won't need the nipple wrench and patch puller jag but when you do and you're at least a mile from the truck, you'll kick yourself for not having them. Well, it all goes conventiently in a shooting bag so you might as well have the stuff as not. I'd hate to have to jam all of it in my pockets.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The only way we learn to carry only what we need is to carry what WE THINK WE NEED, and then, at the end of the day, take an inventory of all the stuff we didn't use! Re think what you want to haul around tommorrow, leave the other stuff in your car or truck, and try again. After a few trips into the woods or fields, you get a pretty good idea of what it is you need to take with you and what you DON'T NEED. There is no magic formula for all hunting, all locations, all weather conditions. Its always nice to listen to what others do without, only because it helps you make a mental inventory of what you take with you, and maybe decided, after years of taking something along, that you really don't need it in the field. For instance, I carry an 8 foot length of 1/2 inch nylon rope in my day pack. I used it to help get my first deer up the steep portion of a ravine she managed to get to the bottom of. I have not hunted that same kind of country for deer since, but I have carried it into the field every year I have hunted since then. It probably needs to be left in the truck, these years. But, It surely was the right tool to have when I needed it. I do keep a plastic rain suit in the bag, even though its worthless in thorn country. It works as a great wind breaker, when the temperature drops, and it save my life one Fall when the bottom the thermometer dropped out while I was a couple of miles from my car.I suppose it could find its way into one of my large game vest pockets, but the nice thing about carrying a day pack is that I can leave stuff like this in it all the time, and its ready to go by just slinging the pack over my shoulders. My survival gear, my compass, several ways to make fire, an extra knife, a short honing stone, maps, they are all in that day pack, ready to go. Now, when I am field hunting for birds, everything goes in my pockets. At most, I may have to drag along a seat to use when hunting dove.

 

[musketman]

So. Do we carry too much stuff?

You only have what you take with you with the exception of flint... (you can find that in nature)

 

[Alberta Black]

like Roundball I use an upland vest and put all the stuff I need for a days hunt, including lunch,into the pockets.

Richard

 

Depends on where one is hunting. When I lived in Wyoming what I carried when hunting the tall and uncut, 100 or more miles from and two to three thousand feet above the house, is a heck of a lot different from what I carry now, hunting 1/2 mile from the house at essentially the same elevation. In Massachessets I could probably live out of my pockets for a few weeks.

Vic

 

[biliff]

We are a gadget oriented society. Taken a look at a Cabella's catalog lately?? Gotta have a scent lock suit so the deer can't smell ya. Gotta have a set of binocs to see the deer. Gotta have a range finder to know how far away it is.... and the list goes on.

 

[flintlockmdj]

I carry a small horne or the baby remington powder flask. Holds about 2 oz of powder which is enough for an afternoon's hunt if you are deer hunting or squirrel hunting. A loading block to match the rifle and caps or an extra flint.

 

[Nugget]

I carry a powder flask, measure, patches, balls, puller and worm in my bag. Rifle touches off good with FFFg in the pan, so pan primer is a range only thing. Add a capper if I'm deer hunting, my .50 is a caplock. Bore Butter for that rifle, too.

In a belt pouch I carry compass, riser cord, lighter, space blanket and cell phone.

Going far from home (more than a few miles from my vehicle) I carry more, to include first aid and "comfort" items for R.O.N. (Remain Over Night). An afternoon of chasing bunnies and tree rats doesn't have to be an expedition, but carrying more when you may need it is only smart.

 

[Slake]

If you don't get lost, yes
If you do get lost, no

 

Two lighters.Road flare and surplus fuel cells,good for starting an emergency fire.Small foldable rain poncho.Small peices of pine pitch.Small first aid kit(roll of bandage and pads)I hunt far from the road and in a deep canyon or on top of a mountain.And I bring my cousin who was a combat medic. :grin:

 

[hawk]

It's a 6 mile ride in a boat(no roads) to where I like to hunt moose I pack a bag with with food ,shelter, fire starter,and a small amont of libations(medicinal use)that bag gets tide in a tree for the day while I hunt .
If the weather is such that the lake is to rough to make it back that nite the bag of gear is real handy .
I carry only what I will use for that days hunt.

 

[shortjack]

Bigbore Itdepends oon where you hunt how far away from civilization you will be. Besides eveything you need to shoot and reload your muzzleloader the next important thing you need is a first aid kit. I was shot in hunting accident 24 years ago and it came in real handy. I am not saying it would happen to you but it should be something you carry in the woods whether you are hunting or not.

 

[TN.Frank]

Well, I can carry a few round balls and some pre-lubed patches in an old Altoids tin, I can make up a few pre-loads for powder out of Penny wrappers and I can stick a couple flints in my change pocket in my pants and that's about all I'd need for an afternoon of deer hunting. All of it will easily fit into the pockets of my pants or coat so in a word, YES, we generally do carry too much stuff when we go a field.
Really, who here thinks that they'll get more then one or two shots at a deer in a single days hunt? So you need what, enough "stuff" to shoot a couple times and you're "good to go" more or less.

 

[Robert Barnes]

I've been hunting big game with a muzzleloader for 40 and a smidgen years. When I first started out, I had a beautiful powder horn slung across my body, and a "possibles" bag with patches, balls, caps, and a bottle of cleaner/lubricant. I also had a cleaning jag and a ball puller that screwed onto my ramrod. I had enough stuff to go to war, or go on a "long hunt" clear across a couple three states. I had a couple incidents where I needed a second shot. Once I just lubricated a ball in my mouth and rammed it down without a patch. It worked for a finishing shot. A couple other times, I just couldn't get it together fast enough.
I started cutting my loading time down by discarding the horn and measure, and carrying pre-measured charges in pill bottles. later I made a wooden bar with holes just big enough to tightly hold a lubed, patched ball. Dump the charge in, start the ball with a starter ram it down, cap or prime and shoot. Then I went to cylinders with caps on both ends. Pop the powder end off, place the cylinder over the bore, start the ball, ram it down, cap or prime and fire.
Now I carry five or six pre-made charges in a pocket and a brass priming horn with a stiff wire vent cleaner on it's leather thong. I never timed myself, but I can reload and fire pretty quickly.
Most of my hunting is on the desert or transition zones. I always carry a canteen if I don't know where there's potable water. A few charges in my pocket, a priming horn, water and trail mix and/or jerky is plenty for all day. A cleaning jag and ball puller don't take up much room. I can skin and quarter an elk with a three-inch blade. Why carry more? If I go into a wilderness area, the horse can carry the rest. :hmm:

 

[pecos clay]

Well, I know I carry more than my dad did. I also cover alot more territory, go futher and stay longer. I have a harder hunt than he did. I believe hunter impact makes this so.

I do try to travel light and carry minimum equipment but it would be foolish on my part not to carry the essential gear for a sucessful and safe hunt. A times I am amazed at the amount of stuff. Each day of the hunt can be different weatherwise and I think this would be the bulk of my equipment weight.

I just can't hardly imagine stuffing a few cartridges and a candy bar in my pocket, grabbing my rifle and heading out like my old man did anymore.

 

[JackAubrey]

Well,I divide things as follows:My hunting load kit and my existance kit.I leave my existance kit at the vehicle or camp,save for a small survival pack and only carry my hunting kit while actually engaged in the hunt.Best regards,J.A.