Favorite Equipment?

[MFP308]

Ok as some of you may have read I have two hunts coming up this season. At the end of October is a deer hunt in southern Arizona and in November I have been drawn for elk. Now I am still new enough to all this that I am putting together a wish and aquistion list together. For the deer hunt we will be working from a drive up base camp. For elk we will be hiking in about three or four miles to camp. Taking this into consideration what is your favorite piece of camping or hunting equpment that you wouldn't leave home without? Anything that makes your life easier that isn't in the usual camping or hunting kit?

Thanks for the help.

Mike

 

[roundball]

Ok as some of you may have read I have two hunts coming up this season. At the end of October is a deer hunt in southern Arizona and in November I have been drawn for elk. Now I am still new enough to all this that I am putting together a wish and aquistion list together. For the deer hunt we will be working from a drive up base camp. For elk we will be hiking in about three or four miles to camp. Taking this into consideration what is your favorite piece of camping or hunting equpment that you wouldn't leave home without? Anything that makes your life easier that isn't in the usual camping or hunting kit?
Thanks for the help.
Mike

Mike, I think the question is way too open ended.

My compass to ensure I won't 'stay' lost?

My magnum size Therm-a-rest mattress because I'd be miserable without a halfway decent night's sleep?

A bottle of eye-wash in the first aid kit to salvage a potentially otherwise ruined trip if I got a piece of grit blown in an eye?

A spare Flintlock assembly?

A good knife?

You see what I mean...I think you need to focus your question, otherwise a thousand things "could" be listed...

 

[MFP308]

Hi Roundball,

I thought it might be a bit broud but then my knowlegde is limited and I thought maybe by the use of a shotgun style question maybe I could pare down the topic. So far your suggestions are good. I might narrow the scope by asking about the hunting kit side more but please don't feel limited to that.

Thanks for the help.


Mike

 

[roundball]

Mike, you might be surprised at the ton of things you'd pull up by searching Google for camping checklists, hiking checklists, hunting checklists, etc...for example:
[url] http://www.muleymadness.com/other/checklist.php[/url]

 

[roundball]

Here's another one...scores on them on the Internet...
[url] http://www.wildgoose.com/layman2.htm[/url]

 

[MFP308]

Thanks Roundball I'm suprised I didn't do that a while ago, I havea tenency to Google everything else....

Thanks!

Mike

 

[longcruise]

In my daypack for an elk hunt (not overnight gear):

Chunka rope, pref parachute cord or similar size

Compass

Matches

Zip Lock bags for small game

two small double pulleys (in case of need to make a block and tackle style lift with the rope)

A stake as in tent stake used to rope and stake the legs on one side of the elk in an up position while you field dress just in case there is no handy tree to tie em up on(not fun to be kicked in the head by a dead elk)

Some kinda rain slicker or poncho

Game calls

Roll of TP

Lotsa water (twice as much as you think you need)

Small bottle of unscented clorox for water purification (in case you need four times as much water as you thought you needed)

A small (very small) flashlight

A warm sweater

Extra socks

Knife sharpener

Knives (I carry in the pack instead of on the belt)

Chapstick

Some basic first aid stuff (no need to be to complicated cause if your alone and get hurt bad, your gonna die anyway so why carry all that stuff :haha: )

High quality game bags (at least four)

Salt (in case it's so far back to camp that you gotta eat it where you killed it)

Food

A pen (to fill out your tag or to write your last will and testament on the TP in case of the serious injury mentioned above)

Fishline, hooks and sinkers (use government pole)

A map

A cell phone (turned off so it doesn't ring just as your sighting on the elk--ignore if you are not married or if your girlfriend is dating your best friend while you are out hunting)

A walkie talkie if your hunting buddy(s) have one (also turned off but with preplanned times to make contact to be sure you are still alive)

A slingshot and some .350 round balls

I probably forgot a few things just like when I'm actually loading the pack.

One last thing; Your day pack should not be large or heavy but should have a waist and chest strap.

 

[Headhunter]

"Don't Forget Nothing"

Robert Rogers Rangers Standing orders 1756

Headhunter

 

[Dave K]

You are right about the pack having a chest strap. Without one, the darn shoulder straps are ALWAYS creeping off of the side and I mean ALWAYS! I too, like my pack to rest lower on my back just above my butt. It doesn't make me unbalanced climbing up hills. I always carry enough to spend the night in the woods, if I am in large wilderness area. I don't carry all this stuff when I am hunting at the local farm.I carry several types of fire starters, health things like Ace wraps, asprin, toliet paper, a space blanket and always a compass and a spare compass, 2 knives,parachute cord, spare wool socks and an extra warm hat and gloves, spare non-cotton under garments (cotton kills in cold weather, holds sweat,stays wet-hypothermia)and some snack food like jerky, peanut butter sandwiches, trail mix and of course water!! and ways to boil a cup of water.I even have a small survival book I carry. It can tell me what to do, be used to start a fire and give me something to read, while I wait for help.

 

[MFP308]

Gentelmen thank you for the help. I will do my best to come back alive and with elk steaks. Interesting that more of you haven't mentioned gps. Is that because of the more traditional use of the compass or distrust of electronics? As a coastal sailor I got very used to the things.

Mike

 

Shooting sticks. The kind that can be used to steady a rifle, use as a tool to part branches in heavy cover, use as a hiking stick to help keep your ballance.

 

[Osprey]

In mine it's a Thermacell unit and refill packs, but I doubt you'll hit many 100 per minute mosquito areas where you'll be hunting! :v

 

[longcruise]

asprin,

There's one I forgot. Usually carry Ibuprofen since it will reduce swelling if needed (BUT, also dehydrates :shocked2: )

I carry. It can tell me what to do, be used to start a fire and give me something to read, while I wait for help.

There's another good idea. I would probably end up starting my fire with my map :redface: Just kidding, the areas I hunt have a lot of natural tinder that stays dry under the boughs of large spruce trees. Even in the wettest weather it's dry under there and makes a good shelter too.

Interesting that more of you haven't mentioned gps

Thought of that while doing my list. I think most hunters who go into the back country these days carry a gps. I don't have one and it's not a high priority for me. When you hunt mountain country, a compass and a map along with the visibility of landmarks makes navigating pretty easy. I have a friend who got lost repeatedly with his compass and map so he got a gps. He still gets lost! :haha:

I have my own equipment lists that I've developed over the years. One for the day pack, one for the possibles bag, One for camp gear, etc. Helps me remember the things I need or want. At my age I need all the help I can get!

Just looked at my day pack list and came up with a couple more items that are always with me.

A bungee cord

Spare batteries

Game saw (I use a small common hack saw)

A portable hammock that rolls up in a ball and weighs about eight ounces.

 

[longcruise]

Here's some of the stuff that goes into my hunting bag. I don't always carry all of this stuff. For example, if I was using speed loaders there would be no loading block and, when using the loading block or speed loaders, there's no need for the patch knife. I just use the list to pick and choose.

Short Starter
Caps
Capper
Powder
Powder Horn
Nipple Wrench
Spare Nipple
Lost Patch retriever
Solvent
Speed Loaders
Balls
Loading Block
Lubed Patches
Patch Lube
Cleaning Patches
Patch Knife
Spare Jag
Powder Measure
Unlubed Patches

 

[Greenmtnboy]

On elk, I have found that a high quality very sharp belt ax( mines a Gransforth Brunk)
For cleaving the sternum, pelvic bone, and If you not going to bone it out in the field, for cutting leg bone is way better and quicker than a WY bone saw.
:thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

The ax is an interesting idea :thumbsup: However, I'm always on foot and the lightest of ax would be more added weight than I'd want to carry (already carry enough extra around the middle :redface: ) As a guide you probably have horses to do some of the work?

Never cared for the Wy bone saws or any of the saws with the larger teeth. If you get a close look at a butchers hand saw it is just a large hack saw. That's what gave me the idea of the hack saw.

 

[Idaho Ron]

The one thing for me is optics. If I forgot my bino's and my spotting scope I would turn around and go back and get them. I can't hunt without them. Ron

 

[roundball]

Something I've found very convenient to carry the basics is to use a good quality "upland game vest".....as an "equipment vest". It distributes the load & weight all around and everything is accessible without taking it off. They have ample pockets, and in particular, the "front loading" slots that give access all the way around to the rear, become two more large convenient pockets after a couple big stitches at a shoe shop.

I buy a very large size vest to go over cold weather clothes, take it to a shoe shop and have a heavy seam sewn on each side, starting right under the armpit and running straight down, which then separates the front loading slots from the rear game bag. I also have a strong seam run across the top of the rear game bag "back flap" which usually has a zipper across the top to give it strength and not rely on the zipper.

The large rear game bag area holds all sorts of bulky things like raingear, toe muffs, hand muffs, water bottles / thermos, etc. The side seams segragate the rear game bag from the two front loading slots so that they then become another set of very convenient front access pockets too...they are my most used favorite pockets as there's no flaps to open and close all the time...I organize everything so the items I use the most are in those pockets, etc.

Have a 3XL in brown & blaze for deer hunting, and a 3XL in camo for dove hunting, crows, varmints, etc...and except for dropping in a couple fresh water bottles each day I go hunting, the equipment vest stays filled and ready with all the items I like to have with me...set it and my rifle in the truck and off I go...AND...unless the sky falls in, will be doing just that a week from tomorrow when dove season opens !!
:thumbsup:

 

[Headhunter]

If you nail an Elk 3 or 4 miles from camp, I would suggest one of the two courses of action.

Get yourself some pack mules

OR

Take a Fork, Knife and Skillet.

Bout the easies way to pack them out.

Headhunter

 

[Dave K]

You are right, I did forget to mention GPS. When this Ohio boy went to Colorado to hunt elk, I bought one and loved it. I did take a compass reading in case the GPS failed for some reason, but with the GPS I no longer worried about returning to "home". I could also "mark" downed game and easily return to it.My GPS and mini-mag flash light use the same size batteries. I do carry compact binoc's. I have tried the larger versions, but for me the small 8x24 or so. They weigh less, can easily fit in a pocket and have worked for me to "pick" the terrain appart looking for game. On the GPS, the first model I had, you had to move about 50yds, before the unit would locate you and tell you which way was home. I quickly took that back and spent more for one that would locate me where I sat and point the way. All I need is a unit that will permit me to drag myself 50yds., in the wrong direction, with a broken leg.