What not to take hunting

[JCooperfan1911]

Don’t take habanero sauce. Learned that the hard way one year.

The stand is the last place you want a bad case of the mud butt.

 

[earlthegoat2]

More or less this is what I always have with me when I’m hunting or even just trekking around. I carried something similar when I worked in forestry years ago.

I am well aware that this is very much personal preference and not all encompassing but it works for my southeastern hunting areas of which there are very few truly wild or remote areas.

It all fits in a very small shoulder strap assisted butt pack.

It in no way would work for week long backcountry hunts and it wasn’t designed for that. However, with a few exceptions, I have used everything in here and cannot remember wanting anything more. There is a first aid kit in there too which includes a compression bandage and more basic first aid paraphernalia.

Not pictured is a second hunting knife and a second and third light source which includes a headlamp. A headlamp is a practical necessity for all my hunting endeavors.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Head lamp and a Surefire flashlight is a must.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Loin cloth and a sharpened stick… Everything else is a luxury item. Except for small pebbles to suck on after day three to quench your thirst. The only problem is small pebble storage with only a loin cloth on. You’ve got to be creative.

 

[Armored farmer]

I'm not just a hunter. I volunteer with a Search and Rescue team and spend a lot of time hiking year round. Some of my gear is used a lot and I need a better pack than I can get for $10. My biggest issue with the ultra cheap ones is they are designed for 10 year old kids and don't really fit an adult male.

I use this. I wouldn't buy it just for hunting a few days each year. But this gets used year round and I often need to carry a fair amount. You don't have to fill it up just because you have the room.

MYSTERY RANCH Scree 32 Pack - Men's | REI Co-op

A trick I picked up in my SAR training is to carry a couple of lashing straps instead of paracord. Not the ones with hooks or a ratchet strap, just these simple ones. They can be used for a lot of things. It is a lot easier to rig one of these up to drag a deer out than trying to use paracord.

Keeper 8 ft. x 1 in. x 200 lbs. Over-Center Lashing Straps (2-Pack)-85243 - The Home Depot

Instead of TP a few napkins "absconded" from a fast food restaurant kept in the pack seems to work better for me. Small packs of baby wipes are always in the pack. They also are great for cleaning up after gutting game.

Equate Everyday Clean Aloe Baby Wipes, 1 Flip-Top Pack (80 Total Wipes) - Walmart.com



Been there. I could write a book on my experiences poop'in in the woods. Used gloves, socks, you name it.

I always carry compact binoculars. I can kill a deer without them, but enjoy having them.

There are a lot of very usable knives that won't break the bank. I don't have any true high end knives, but I enjoy having a decent knife. My money, my choice. And two is one, one is none.

I never go into the woods without a compass and GPS, and usually a paper map too. I've found the compass useful several times even without a map. If the road I'm parked on runs north/south and I walk into the woods on the east side of the road all I have to really know is to walk west to get back to the road. And in flat woods on a cloudy day it is easy to get direction confused without a compass.

I've never needed my GPS to find my way home. But it is the most essential tool I use in SAR. Taking it with me in the woods is just 2nd nature. Using it while hunting is good practice. I also like to save my tracks and download them onto Google Earth after I get home as well as keep up with the distance I've walked during the day.

^^ all good

 

[Lnf Crzr]

You really need just a Wknd with friends to learn “Hunting”. Only a Knife is required- all else is Unnecessary .

 

[AK Hunter]

You really need just a Wknd with friends to learn “Hunting”. Only a Knife is required- all else is Unnecessary . View attachment 1037888

What's that strapped to his back if a knife is all that's required??
You got to laugh at Hollywood every now & then. LOL

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Ya ya- ok a firearm “Could” help I guess…. lol. Amazing how easy it is to “Hunt” and do so many things in Hollywood with a small piece of steel.

What's that strapped to his back if a knife is all that's required??
You got to laugh at Hollywood every now & then. LOL

 

[buck460XVR]

Part of gaining experience in hunting is learning what works for you. What is truly necessary for the guy hunting while backpacking the mountains out west, is different than the guy that drives his 4-wheeler to his blind on his 80 acres. The needs of the guy that can see the truck or house from his stand, is different than the guy that walks in a half mile carrying his portable tree stand and is going to sit all day. what's in my pack when the grandkids are sitting in the blind with me is different than when I sit alone. Regardless, I prioritize to keep weight and volume down. One thing I always have with me is my "field kit" I'ts just a gallon zip-lock bag with those things I need whatever and wherever I am hunting. Rubber gloves, Paper towels(works for TP, don't need both), antiseptic wet wipes, a few band-aids, a fire starter, and a drag rope. Still have a few cable ties in there from when we needed them for tagging, they work well for other emergency repairs. That never leaves the backpack unless it is to be refilled. Everything else is thrown in before I leave and this reflects what is planned for the day. Bottled drinks work for the blind at the cabin. For all day still hunting in the big woods, I use a survival straw to drink from available water sources. Where I go, there are plenty. Much lighter and compact than water bottles. If I do carry something else to drink, it is a small compact thermos with coffee. A compass sometimes, but even the big woods has clues to directions if you know how to read 'em. Snacks and sammies can make for a more enjoyable hunt, but for the most part, I ain't gonna die of I have to go 8 hours til I eat.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

One tool I bring that’s very helpful…. A 7x Range finder I bought and took to Africa years ago , for when the Binoculars are to bulky. I take the Range finder slipped in pocket as a monocular. Short range for bow or long range rifle , it works excellent. Also to see hidden game .

 

[Jack Ryan]

RIGHT! I took a buddy of mine hunting one time.(he said he was going to be hunting a lease but then asked if he could hunt with me) I had my tree stand up in the tree already so we took his climbing stand in & locked it on a tree about 50yds away the day before. That morning we met about an hour before first light at the walk in to the woods. He had his new AR hunting rifle, a Walmart sized bag of snacks. I walked in with him to the stands & had to show him where his stand was. I climbed my stand & got ready to hunt, I could hear him clanging his stand climbing the tree. It was still dark & I hear his gun go off.
I called to him "are you OK" he said "Yea I'm just trying to load my gun". (hunting rules state you are not to have a round in the chamber until first light)
The sun comes up & I can't quite see him in his stand but I could see the climbing stand about 4' up the tree. Sunrise that day was like 6:30am by 7:15 I see him wandering through the woods. I climbed down from my stand to see what was wrong. He said he had to relive his self & couldn't find his stand.
I took him back to his stand & found he didn't know how to work the stand so he was using it at 4' up because that was as high as he could climb into from the ground.
On top of that his gun was loaded with safety off pointed at my stand, laying on the bottom of his stand.
My hunt was over at that point, so I packed up & left.

As far as a knife is concerned I carry at least two. You never know something my happen to the first one.

Yeah, I think I know that guy.

I got to a point in life where most of my hunting buddies had passed on, got remarried or moved and I was hunting by myself a few years. Really missing my brother... and I'd been posting on this same gun board a few years. Every year this same "city guy" was always looking for people to let him come hunt with them, hunt their property, bla bla the same old story. I felt sorry for him, told him all he needed was a "state map" to have THOUSANDS of free hunting grounds. That isn't good enough for him, public ground is too dangerous.

Next year I really screwed up, offer to take his hand and show him a piece of public ground, with deer on it. Two days before we are to go there, he asks, "Can I camp at your place the night before?" Welllllllllll, I guess so. Then he calls back, "I can't come that day, can I send my buddy down there to go?" YEah, no, never mind. I'm busy that day to any way.

I ONLY WISH IT HAD ALL ENDED RIGHT THERE. It ONLY GETS WORSE, It NEVER gets better, until it always ends in hard feelings all the way around.

If someone has NO PLACE to hunt, it is because all their family, all their friends, and any one closer to them than you ALL ALREADY KNOW THEM.

 

[Jack Ryan]

You don't need a telephone. Leave your stupid phone at HOME.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

You don't need a telephone. Leave your stupid phone at HOME.

When I got lost with my Son at a State park…. (Tho Rare, It can happen) I was far away from the road, It was getting dark. Only had enough battery to make a call or two. Lucky no emergency happened like a injury.
I used the Phone to call a hunting friend and Brother in the park to “Find Us”

I was very happy to have my phone with me-and enough reception to make the call.

Like I said- We could have been out there All Night Long.

Ps-This was years ago before “Smart Phones”. It was a “ Not Smart “Flip phone- yet Saved us.
If not a phone, have some way to communicate with others besides prayer and smoke signals. Emergencies and injuries can happen.

 

[Boattale]

The most expensive toilet I've ever used was in the middle of eastern Lapland, approximately 40 miles north of the Arctic Circle. Forgot TP, didn't even have hand towels, it was late season so leaves on the ground were all slick and mushy, but I had my wallet with me.

That emergency dump cost me a €5 bill.

Every "full growed" man ought to have a hanky in his hip pocket.

I have a pair of hunting pants I need to do some sowing on.… Yet I know never to put anything in that left side pocket. The Soft inside pocket was needed one day. Now I remember Tp every hunt.

The first time my kid ever went mushroom hunting with me (morel for some folks) he was astonished that I went into the woods wearing a t-shirt, but came out sleeveless.

I have a friend who used to tag along with me, hunting whatever I was hunting. Full pack, extra socks, extra shirt, TP, flashlight, waterproof matches, foldable seat, hand warmers etc...
We're going squirrel hunting. 2 miles from the house. If you get lost, yell really loud and your wife will probably hear you. Ok?

The first time my kid ever went mushroom hunting with me (morel for some folks) he was astonished that I went into the woods wearing a t-shirt, but came out sleeveless.

I have a friend who used to tag along with me, hunting whatever I was hunting. Full pack, extra socks, extra shirt, TP, flashlight, waterproof matches, foldable seat, hand warmers etc...
We're going squirrel hunting. 2 miles from the house. If you get lost, yell really loud and your wife will probably hear you. Ok?

I've learned to take an imodium or two before I go to the deer woods. There's always paper towels in the pack for use after field dressing a deer. They have been pressed into other duty though.

 

[Ranger99]

I've learned to take an imodium or two before I go to the deer woods.

I don't take it beforehand, but I've learned
to bring it for sure. I spent a pretty rough
night and early morning by myself sick
and weary from whatever bug I had.
Some imodium goes with me everywhere
in all my FAK's and my personal FAK on
my person when out in the sticks

If I hadn't had some stomach meds, my
hunting buddy would have been in bad
straights. He got some kind of something
from a used water container he'd got
somewhere. That was another lesson I
learned too. Only new and unused
canteens etc.

 

[AK Hunter]

You don't need a telephone. Leave your stupid phone at HOME.

Where I hunt phones don't work anyway. The GPS maps is the only reason I take mine.

 

[.308 Norma]

I don't want to get into the whole, long embarrassing story. I’ll just say that the very second I closed the locked door on our grandson Aaron’s truck on opening day this year, I started wishing I was carrying a spare set of keys.
Yep! About 2:00 in the afternoon that day, I locked Aaron’s keys, as well as his rifle, in his truck. We tried for a while to get into it, but finally ended up just driving back to town in my truck (about 45 minutes each way) to fetch Aaron’s spare keys.
At any rate, as far as what we carry while hunting goes, my wife always carries spare truck keys even though I usually do all of the driving. On opening day of deer season this year, our grandson, Aaron was hunting with us, but driving his own truck. It would have been nice if either my wife or I would have been carrying a spare set of keys to it. Even one of those magnetic “Hide-A-Key” boxes somewhere on Aaron's truck might have saved us some grief.

 

[Boattale]

I've locked myself out of my old Jeep Cherokee too many times to count. I finally clipped a spare key to the gas cap lanyard. And it's been used too. My new truck is smart enough to not lock if the key fob is inside the vehicle. And that feature has saved me a bunch of times too.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

In the receiver hitch, hideakey, squeezed in there…. With a rubber emblem cover over exterior

works well

my truck has emergency kit, tp and other items…
I’m usually hunting not to terribly far from it.

I take what I need, put it back when done.

There is just something about “Take Only what you need to survive”

leave the hairdryer
Spaceballs

 

[hq]

Thinking about the topic for a change, what I've omitted over the years from my hunting kit...

Excessive amounts of ammo. This tends to weigh a lot and rarely if ever would I need more than a handful of rounds to do the job.
CDG handgun. It's easier to load a few reduced/subsonic loads for your rifle than carry a handgun just to finish off a game animal.
Most food, snacs etc. When you carry 8 chocolate bars back and forth, it all adds up.
Second water bottle. A liter is plenty in most climates.
Whetstone. Do I really have to explain this?
Bipod for the rifle. I can't even remember when I last used it.

This has been replaced by a power bank for the phone and GPS, in addition to a compass and maps which have been there all along.
Walkie talkies. Walmart specials weigh next to nothing and can be VERY handy.
A pair of spare 18650 batteries for the flashlight and headlight.
No less than three windproof lighters and some fire starter blocks.
A spare knife; locking flip blade with a skinning hook.
Decent binoculars. I used to use rifle scope for observation, but it isn't really a good idea. Some quality glass on a chest harness is.

This is not by far a comprehensive list. Just things I've realized I can do without and what will most likely be needed instead. I quit smoking in August so I can now happily omit cigars, but unfortunately they didn't weigh much in the first place. Every now and then I can smell my buddies smoking theirs in the next treestand a hundred yards from me and I can't wait for the very occasional craving to stop. They say it never will but this time it's over for good.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

Smoking a cigar while hunting?

I used to bring 1 beverage and that was relaxing until I needed to piss. Yet the Smell of a cigar should only be at hunting camp…. On the porch.

 

[hq]

Smoking a cigar while hunting?

Yep. I've shot most of my "trophy" kills while, quite literally, smoking a cigar. Including a 300lb+ 10pt whitetail buck, a 18pt moose and quite a few others. The smell doesn't seem to bother them at all. Then again, wear Dove, Axe or something like that and there won't be a game animal in sight.

 

[Lnf Crzr]

I do enjoy my cigars- I just can’t “Enjoy” it in my hunting clothes

 

[Seedy Character]

I don't want to get into the whole, long embarrassing story. I’ll just say that the very second I closed the locked door on our grandson Aaron’s truck on opening day this year, I started wishing I was carrying a spare set of keys.
Yep! About 2:00 in the afternoon that day, I locked Aaron’s keys, as well as his rifle, in his truck. We tried for a while to get into it, but finally ended up just driving back to town in my truck (about 45 minutes each way) to fetch Aaron’s spare keys.
At any rate, as far as what we carry while hunting goes, my wife always carries spare truck keys even though I usually do all of the driving. On opening day of deer season this year, our grandson, Aaron was hunting with us, but driving his own truck. It would have been nice if either my wife or I would have been carrying a spare set of keys to it. Even one of those magnetic “Hide-A-Key” boxes somewhere on Aaron's truck might have saved us some grief.

1983, 3 us went to Colorado for deer and elk season.

Before leaving, a 6 spare sets of keys made.
All 3 of had a set of keys on us
All3 had a set of keys on our gun cases in camp
Truck had a set of keys on the trailer hitch.

We also carried 5 spare tires. We used 3. It was 90 miles to the closest town.




Do not use a scope to glass an area!

While in Colorado, in am sitting a tree, over looking a valley. I am wearing a Blaze orange hat and Walls coveralls.

Across the valley, I catch a glint off of glass.
I look that way, with my BINOCULARS and see a numbskull, standing against a tree, looking at me through his scope.
I flip him off. He doesn't move
I move behind a log and replace binocs with rifle. Numbskull doesn't move.
I make an exaggerated movement of moving safety to FIRE. Numbskull turns and runs


5 days later, we are in town and stop it LGS.
Numbskull is loudly telling everyone of him watching, as some psycho loaded his rifle, took off safety and aimed at him.

My hunting buddy says, " with the dumbass stunt you pulled, I would have shot you. " at which time, THE REST OF THE STORY was told. (minus my identity)
Numbskull was severely chastised by those in the store and he sulked off.

 

[FL-NC]

Here's my list of what NOT to take:
Books or magazines (if you are going to read, use a tablet)
"loud" food or drinks (chips, things in krinkly bags, anything that makes noise opening/closing)
anything with velcro, if you need to pull the velcro apart in the stand, anyway.
silence your phone