getting packed for elk hunting is no fun

I might be weird but I always enjoyed getting packed up for a hunt or even just a weekend out at the hunting property that's only a short drive from home. I guess I am a bit of a gear junkie so I love a chance to pack it all up and take it out and use it and test it.

I have an Elk hunt in about three weeks. So far I have barely even thought of it. However all my hunting stuff lives together and is not intermingled with other stuff so it isn't too hard to get it packed up. About two weeks before I just make a list and as I go along I check things off.

I don’t hunt anymore, but when I did, the vast majority of my gear was pretty much packed and ready to go as soon as it was cleaned and functional from the last hunt. Guess that was a result of being on a ready mobilization position for much of my career.

Personally, I didn’t really overthink it, but I had dedicated gear for deer/elk/moose, and it stayed in one place.

Only thing I ever worried about before a hunt was clothes, batteries, and food. Everything else was already packed to go.

I just find having certain stuff ready to go makes it a LOT less stressful, even if it is a bit more expensive having redundant gear.

Guess I'm another weird one who enjoys the preparation. Leaving in just over 2 weeks but I've been gathering and packing since last spring! My son on the other hand will start putting things together the night before we leave so I've had to account for that as well when it comes to things we don't necessarily have.

Anticipation is a good thing and getting ready ahead of time is a smart thing.

(And I wish I had an elk hunt to pack for...)

I like to keep a list of items from year to year.
Mark off the unnecessary items, add in things you need.
It keeps things manageable.
Not necessarily just for hunting trips either. I have a list for the two day rifle competition that I go to every March.
Its good to dig the list out a few weeks prior for review.

Just got back from my second trip to the rifle range today, putting the final touches on a load for an upcoming mule deer trip. The rifle is dialed in, gear is being laid out in the garage to be accounted for, food, water, stove, tent, etc, the window for gear acquisition is closed because my trip is now so close there's no time for delivery of goods.

Next I load the truck for a pair of tweve-hour driving days, then it's bouncing back and forth between the Grand Tetons and the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness. Should be a good week of camping and hiking. With any luck, a mule deer will be taking a road trip to TN with me next week. Even if I have no luck in tagging one, I'll return home in two weeks, tired and with memories of adventure.

mcb said:

I might be weird but I always enjoyed getting packed up for a hunt or even just a weekend out at the hunting property that's only a short drive from home. I guess I am a bit of a gear junkie so I love a chance to pack it all up and take it out and use it and test it.

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Me too!

I have an Excel SS with my packing lists broken down by game/activity to include packed location, by bag/container and even pocket.

It's a holdover from my service days when we spent quite a bit of time doing PCIs (Pre-Combat-Inspections) prior to movement. I print the appropriate sheet and check off items as they're inspected and packed. The sheet travels with me on a clipboard so I can annotate as I go.

I keep a backpack ready for hunts (usually deer, but same during turkey season) that happen by chance. Should a meeting get cancelled or something, creating an opening in the schedule, I check with my wife and hit the road after running home long enough to grab that backpack and whatever “manner of taking” is legal at the time. I generally keep a stash of clothes and other necessities away from the backpack but together and organized for when it isn’t deer but it’s deer season. When that happens I grab what I can quickly and save time since it’s in one place. Usually this is for bears (sometimes squirrels). I’ve never killed a bear (darn it), so maybe that system isn’t working well.

I’m elk hunting as I type this. Lower sw Utah. I packed too much, then reduced, and still packed too much!,
Snowed 11-18” last night. Went back to LasVegas and dropped more unnecessary gear!

Anybody know what the elk do in this area (Panguich area) after a snow fall of 12”?
We had located some in Sidney creek area but don’t know if they’ll stay?

Any suggestions?

I have never found getting ready for an enjoyable get away to be aggravating, putting stuff back up, when it’s over, is less fun for sure.

Oh yeah, getting ready is half the fun. Just came back from a hunt a couple weeks ago, so left some things packed that I didn't need, like warm clothes.

Will be using different firearms on this hunt, so I have to get that straight. I'll just be hunting grouse and wild turkey, maybe a cougar if I saw an especially good one, or the big grey one I called in two years ago but didn't get a shot at. I'll be going with a friend and my son, who will be hunting elk, modern season. I have a ML elk tag...so won't be shooting one. (or trying) I'll either be packing a .22 rifle and my .45 Colt pistol, or a .22 pistol and a shotgun. Maybe my 1862 Colt instead of the .22 pistol on some days, depending on my "mood".

But right now I'm husting on a small pick-up camper that I I'm putting on a boat trailer for the next hunt. Will be driving up into some rough country and roads, and my big trailer camper would not be fun trying to haul it up there. But I don't really want to set up a tent camp either. So there's been a whole heaping helping of welding, fabrication and painting going on with this latest "project". Hope I get it done on time!!!

Dang. Snow wouldn't be good where I'm going. There be some steep places. Even my tiny hillbilly camper contraption would be a problem. !!! But for hunting it's good, not so much for driving on a mountain. I'm tasking the wife with store-goods and food. Good luck to you too.

Having a list to check off or add to each year is a lot easier to do than using one's memory.

I have piles of lists...............

I don't elk hunt, but it can't be too much
different than the deer hunting I do.
Firearm and ammo/ bow and arrows,
Clothing, food and water, camping/survival
basic gear ( 5 C's ) appropriate hunting
license/permits, place to go
That's it

True, and I wasn't kidding when I said that's half the fun. Then of course to sabotage myself I decide to put a truck camper on a boat trailer for this years modern elk hunt (I'm just going along to help when/if an elk is down, roam the woods, and shoot a grouse or two)...which I'm really hustling to finish in less than two weeks. Finished painting it at last, and got the jack welded on the tongue, got it all chained down, but still need to put a motorcycle carrier on it, wire the lights, new tires, battery tray, and try to do some road testing. !!! Plus make sure the truck ('73 Power Wagon) has all the fluids changed, topped off, U-joints lubed, etc. Oh woe is me! Somebody stop me.

I am off on a squirrel trip now (doubles as deer scouting) and I am in the camp that is a bit annoyed by the prep and cleanup.
It seems that for any hunting trip there is about double the time involved in prep and take down than I get to enjoy for hunting.
The hunting trip I regretted the most was one where I only had one deer tag and as I was making the initial walk to the blind happened on a trophy buck. That was three days of getting ready for seven minutes of hunting.
It was still a nice week of camping and I had fun as camp cook (the cook doesn’t wash dishes) but I was envious of the guys who got to keep hunting.
I did get to drink more whiskey than they did though.

My ML deer hunt a week or so ago was like that. Shot that bear on the second, maybe third day, and had to hustle home before the hide spoiled. But I had planned to stay up there seven days, and had packed and set-up accordingly.

Can understand the apprehension and concern of forgetting an item important to a pack in hunt. Like others have said best advise is clean all the gear, organize, and make replacements before putting stuff up for the season. Absolutely make a list, use stackable totes with locking lids, and label things clearly. Makes finding things when setting up camp a lot easier.

Have a great trip!

Atavar said:

. . . as I was making the initial walk to the blind happened on a trophy buck. That was three days of getting ready for seven minutes of hunting. . .

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Hah ! I would be proud to be able to do
that every time. I've done it myself a
couple of times, but not as often as I'd
like to. I do enjoy looking and listening
as long as I'll have less freezer space
come the last day of the season

Ugly Sauce said:

. . . Plus make sure the truck ('73 Power Wagon) has all the fluids changed, topped off, U-joints lubed, etc. Oh woe is me! Somebody stop me.

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JMHO- that really should be year round
SOP . I want to be able to jump in and
turn the key and go, flat out if need be.
You never know when that emergency
will rear up at you. Don't need to stop
and air up a low tire, check for low
fluids, etc. if you need to be heading
to the hospital, evacuating, leaving
ahead of a natural calamity, etc.
BTDT all of that