Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Who carries a survival kit?

Anyone take survival kits hunting? You know, mirror, whistle, fishing line, whatever.

What's in yours?

I do, pretty much year round given the terrain around these parts.

here is a thread in the backpacking forum with my list and pics.

lots of others piped up too.

Mylar blanket, compass, lighter and matches, parachute cord, candle, mirror, sewing kit, knife. Maybe a few other gadgets. Light and compact. I also carry a water filter in my pack.

added after reading others: I do carry a GPS but basically consider it a convenience since when Murphy strikes the batteries will be dead. LED headlight, once I discovered these I don't know how I survived, I try to have all my gadgets use one size battery. I actually carry several pairs of gloves and at least one pair of mittens. Fleece don't weigh much but cold hands won't be able to work that lighter. Waterproof outerlayer is a must. I think I could survive with my warm mittens and waterproof layer without a fire (don't want to try though). I generally don't carry fishing line or hooks. I may have a surgical stapler along.

Sounds like you guys have this down pat.

Oh, yes. Pretty much the same stuff as everybody else: basic first-aid kit, and stuff to keep me warm, dry, hydrated and reasonably well-fed for at least 2-3 days. Very important here in Montana is some way of EASILY starting a fire when your hands might be half-frozen. I generally carry at least two different methods.

Of course, one of the other basics is to tell somebody where you're going, so they can find you in 2-3 days if something goes really wrong.

If I step out of camp with my rifle I have sufficient gear to last 2-3 days under the expected conditions Im at. The gear will be altered slightly if it is a July scouting trip at 100 degrees or if it's late October and Im expecting snow.

Making fire, staying dry and being able to communicate/signal are the basics of my kit. I keep a kit most of it in a small pouch in my cargo pocket of my pants but some extra stuff in the pack. I figure as long as my left leg is still attached I can survive. If my leg is missing having a signal mirror or extra lighter probably will not help a whole lot...

Pretty much Supercrewd's list with GPS also and fire-starter, and a whistle which is very much louder than a shout. I have also decided that on any true wilderness trips from now on I will have a sat phone along.

Gdv

Just champaign for my buddies in case I would collect a big trophy

Mine stuff is in a small stuff bag that I can switch between packs even if I am taking a small pack for a evening hunt it always there it won't do you any good if you don't have it.

One folding knife, a leatherman, matches, rope, a little water, rain gear, Minnie Mag LED flashlight, and some snack type stuff to overnight if truly needed. A compass and gps if in a true wilderness situation where fog or snow might hinder navigation.

I don't panic much about bandages, fishing gear, or great quantities of water. I can cut/tear up t-shirts or game bags as emergency bandages. If water means life or death, I'll drink what ever I find and fight the bugs with medication in a couple of weeks. With 45 seasons of hunting behind me, I've never really needed any of that in an emergency situation, but I am cautious out there.

I don't bother with whistles as I can fabricate one from a cartridge, and my 30-378 makes a fair bit of noise too.

As to communication, one of the reasons I'm out is to escape being in touch. A partner will know what drainage or ridge system I'm working, and I leave the wife with GPS coordinates for camp. She nor anyone else outside of my immediate party will hear a word from me for 2 to 3 weeks if that's the duration of the trip. No one worries until one of us is 24 hours overdue.

Bottle of 100 proof hootch and a hand gernade.....

I take alot of stuff that is dual purpose. The small piece of 5/16th inch ensolite pad I carry to sit on, can be used to sleep on as well. I always have some sort of water proof shell. I always have at least two sets of tear open, 7 hr., chemical hand warmers. Matches and a lighter. Lights, two. One photon light and one headlamp. Extra food, like Power Bars. Extra water or the means to get more.
I sometimes camp using just minimum gear when I want to be on the move alot. Wrap myself in a tarp/bivy sack and dress with all my clothing. Use the chemical hand warmers for warmth. Good practice for the real thing. Vital that you have confidence in your ability to spend an unexpected night out.
I never go so much as 50 yds. from my vehicle w/o the minimum. E

My kit is minimal. It fits in pants pocket and is with me at all times. Flint steel tinder matches. iodine pills for water. knife in pocket, snare wire suture kit. tin foil blanket which fits in a small dry mustard tin that has been with me for forty years. Compass in pocket. Leave location and game plan at home so if I am late returning help will be sent if 24 hours late.

At work now and kit is in pocket. When I say always I mean always.knife is stored in checked in luggage but flint and steel not considered incindiery.

Randy

I carry some basic survival stuff too, whenever I go hiking. It's just enough to survive (not necessarily be comfortable) an unplanned night or two out in the mountains. My stuff includes the following:

First Aid Kit - very basic but enough to treat one major wound and several minor injuries and minor inconveniences

Fire Starter Kit - includes waterproof matches, butane lighter, fire starter sticks - all in a waterproof container. Enough to get a fire going in the rain using wet wood.

Mylar Blanket - reflective, fits into the palm of my hand.

USGS Map & Compass

Swiss Army Knife

Mini-Mag Lite - with lithium batteries and LED conversion.

Bandanna

Foam Pad - 1/4 of a full sleeping pad.

Sierra Cup - for melting snow into drinking water.

Water Bottle

Parka - waterproof & breathable.

Knitted Hat & Gloves

Daypack - can be used to keep my feet warm.

This looks like a long list but all this stuff actually weighs only about 3 pounds.

http://hometown.aol.com/keenkc/Survival.html

KC

I wish I would need such equipments in my bush ...

Grand Veneur:

I suppose that there's not much wilderness is Belgium.

KC

Come visit our bush, no wait, that'll get lost in translation Just come on over and have one of these fine gents show you some great country, literally from sea to sea.

I took a pic of mine for something to do tonight.

1-Two large trash bags- emergency poncho, shelter, waders, trash bags...
2-Leatherman
3-Matches and lighter
4-Shaving mirror- so I don't cut my own throat...
5-Knife sharpener- light and a buck and a half.
6-Headlamp- very light, came with Badlands pack, I actually do not keep this in the kit- batteries and all...
7-Candle- I think it is called a plumber's candle, been carrying this one for at least 10 years.
8-Compass and improvised case (old sewing kit)- I kept a few of the sewing items in case I need to do an in the field vasectomy or something.
9-Plastic rain poncho, never too dry.
10-Mylar blanket- NASA still swears by these things, don't they?
11-Whistle, and the rope to hang myself.
12-lightweight saw, this baby is sharp.
13-the infamous Glo-Mitts, they are actually in the pack.
14-Bag it all fits in easily-some old cosmetics bag if I remember right. Not mine! really! It all weighs 2 1/4 pounds.

No Parachute cord, now where did that go? I have a second one in the truck, must be in there.

Lots of very usefull thoughts and ideas posted.

Nice pictures Supercrewd.

I carry two different methods of fire starting in at least two, usually 3, sometimes 4 locations (fanny /and/or day pack, main pack, first-aid kit). (Hey, I LIKE fire!) And I don't TELL anyone where I'm going, what I'm doing, and when I'll be back.

I write it down! With options. Preferably with a marked map. There's been some confusion in the past (and my wife accuses ME of not listening!). I want the damned proof on the table when I get back!!!

What's so hard to understand about "I'll be home Sunday night unless I get a moose. If I do get one, I'll be packing meat Monday (Labor Day), - be home then".?

I guy I had hunted once with two years before, told the Trooper making the initial inspection of my vehicleshortly after noon Monday at the trailhead - " Forget it. He might be dead, but he ain't lost. If he is lost, he'll find his way out, and it's in a place you won't find him anyway." (I was packing moose - ran into Bill later that afternoon).. I must have impressessed old Bill....

Considering how lost Bill and I were for half a day on that previous hunt, I've always wondered whether it was confidence in me, or potential revenge..... When we figured out where we were, we were two miles south of where we thought we should be, and the map was wrong. Really. The lake we were next to (from that big hilltop we were on) had a big island in it. Not shown on the map - covered by place name writing... We cross referenced several other landmarks to figure that one out. And then we knew where we were and how to get out of there to where we were supposed to be.. All this in a driving rain storm. Thank god the other Bill had a bottle of brandy (now there's a survival item, under some circumstances!) when we got to the rondy. Bill 2 had come in another way with his wife and son, using my canoe. Bill 1 and I had taken a "shortcut".

My day-pack or fanny-pack has a filter bottle, fire-starter, TP, cord, knife, spare (or even two) compass (Both times I've really needed the GPS, it was belly up - and I've lost or busted compasses - tho it took 13 years of packing two before I ever needed the second one. That year, I had two go bad on me....), some snacks, "hand-warmers" (stick one in either pants pocket, next to the femoral artery - be surprised how much warmer it will keep you, if necessary) and often, my quart canteen bottle in nested aluminum cup, with a couple pkgs. of hot chocolate or spiced cider mix, maybe a box of Jello (again a hypothermia warding precaution). Band-aids, salve, soap, moleskin, remnant of stretch-wrap (Vet-wrap), remnant of electrical tape, 20 feet of bright neon flagging ribbon ( I prefer hot pink), aspirin or Motrin, usually a small pocket notebook and pencil stub in a zip-lock. Remnant of waterproof medical tape. Map, of course - in thick, moose country, or unfamiliar country, often with a pertinent google- photo laminated back to back with it.