Favorite Equipment?

[paulvallandigham]

Shucks! More than 50 years ago I taught myself how to follow my own footprints back to where I started, and NOW they come up with an electronic gadget to get you there! How about that! :bow: :surrender: :thumbsup: :blah:

 

[fw707]

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

You got that right!!
They're a heckuva lot of fun to hunt, but when you kill one the fun's over! :haha:

 

[JiminTexas]

I've got three younger brothers that I take with me to do all the guttin' and packin'. They haven't realized yet that they are working for about ifteen pounds of venison sausage each for a weeks hard labor. I also send my older sister a few pounds to keep her quiet on the subject (she's a bit smarter than they are), but all in all it works out pretty well for me.

 

[longcruise]

Rounball, that's a great idea. A vest, with pockets and a built in fanny pack to boot.

 

[roundball]

Rounball, that's a great idea. A vest, with pockets and a built in fanny pack to boot.

Get strong good quality vests (Remington's or Cabela's logo seem to be)...and I also replace the velcro pocket closures with a couple large black or brown snaps at an auto upholstery place to eliminate that velcro noise.

In this day and age of instant commercialism, it is such a sensible convenient way to carry gear and works so well that I'm shocked some company hasn't capitalized on the idea by now and marketed them under the name "Equipment Vest" or something...it could be used for hunting, hiking, etc.

Allthey'd have to do is take the existing upland game vests and make the couple of minor design modification I mentioned, and I'm convinced a whole additional set of people would step forward to buy them...an item that is really just an upland game vest and has been around for decades.

Go make yourself one !!
:thumbsup:

 

[Idaho Ron]

A friend of mine uses a bird vest and I liked the idea. Ron

 

[Dave K]

I don't "need" the GPS, but since it is now available, I can hunt game more instead of checking my position or tracking myself instead of game. It is a choice that you can make on your own. Their are many ways to spend your time in the field and some may argue that even a compass is too high tech.

 

[MFP308]

Wow! Go away for a few days and what happens? Lots of great info gets passed along! This is what I like about this board, the idea sharing. I am making my kit list and am using this thread to help. I have been wondering about more convenient ways to carry the variouse things you need to shoot BP and had considered a fanny pack with more pockets but the shooting vest seems to answer the need quite nicely. I'm going to look into that.

Thanks again for all the help. Also for helping those who have read your ideas and have learned a few things.


Mike

 

[paulvallandigham]

Dave: I don't mind all the modern equipment. What I do object to is those people who consider such toys as a substitute for using their own eyes and brains. Toys break, and run down batteries. Murphy's Law is with us always. I found that the easiest way to put lots of miles on my shoes in the woods, and see no game, is to move fast. By looking for game tracks, and learning how to age sign, I am able to locate the game I am hunting, and force myself to move slowly enough that I don't alert game and every other animal in the woods that i am coming. When I leave a trail, its not hard to leave a scuff mark on the ground to tell me which way I came, if I happen to have to return that way after dark. I don't get lost. I may have been powerfully confused for a time or two,( to steal a line from Brian Keith in The Mountain men) but I don't get lost.

 

[Dave K]

Paul, no problem. I didn't say to rely on it. But use common sense. I have been hunting more than a few years also and dropped off in places with out a map 1000 miles from home and got by just fine. That was before I even had a GPS. But, I use all the tools that are available to me. Like the location of the sun, moon, Orion,lake, river, etc. But, even these will fail us on a snowy day, cloudy day or night. I am not saying you have to use a GPS anymore than you have to use a compass or break a twig/leave a scuff mark. Some are more apt in the outdoors and some can get lost in thier bedroom. But use what it takes to make you comfortable. The whole idea is to have a safe and good hunt or outdoor experience. I don't NEED these tools, I though am able to appreciate and use them.Kind of like a computer.The question was asked what to take afield and there are some that should take this afield. :surrender:

 

[paulvallandigham]

Dave: And there are some people who should never be let out of their homes without a leash attached to them. Call it arrested development, I guess. If you knew how many people died of thirst and hunger and from the cold when they had fully loaded rifles and extra ammo in their packs, because they got lost, and gave up- even in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, it would make you sick. I am happy that we have GPS, for all those folks. The fewer bodies we have littering the woods, so that Urban newspapers and radio and TV newscasters can tell everyone how dangerous it is to travel out doors, the better. I just wish people would take the time to learn up from down. My God, I meet young people every day who don't know North from South, or East from West, can't read a map, don't know where the sun rises, and couldn't find the North star on a clear night if their lives depended on it. But they know every top ten record playing on the box, and can sing all the jingles to the commercials on TV. And they can tell you what kind of underwear Brittany Spears is, or isn't wearing today.

No, I don't want these people out in the woods or wilderness, even with a GPS system and a compass. They won't know how to use either, and will still be a threat to their own safety, and to the safety of people sent in to find them.

 

[shmrck1]

Mike,
The one suggestion I would offer is get your
legs in reasonably good shape. You don't mention
your age,and it really don't matter,weather
you are 20 or 60 on an Elk hunt you will need your
legs.Any golfer will tell you that the legs are
the first to go. Lungs and breathing are next.
Improve the leg function and the other two will
follow.IMO
snake-eyes :hmm:

 

[Dave K]

Boy, isn't that the truth. I'll never forget leaving Ohio with it's 940 ft. above sea level to where I hunted in Colo. which was almost 10,000 ft. above sea level. There is a HUGE difference in getting your wind. I actually worked out, walking at least 2 miles about every day, in hunting boots, for about 6+months before the hunt and it really helped me. You should have seen the guys who did nothing to prepare. It still took me about 3 days to adjust to the elevation.

 

[MFP308]

Just turned 52. Fortunately I have a big dog, 140lb bloodhound germanshepard mix, that likes to run in the desert. I walk with him across country, or run depending on his choice to chase coyotes that day. It's harder to do these days with the heat but that adds to the work out also. I live in Oro Valley, just north of Tucson, at an elevation of 2750 feet. Not real high but it's better than when I lived in the San Francisco bay area. Getting in shape is a huge part of hunting. Right now I'm 6 foot and 200 pounds and that is down from 225. 15 pounds more and I'll be at my baseball weight! Unfortunately the muscles wont be in the same place.


Mike