Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Bowhunting Carrrying your bow into the backcountry

How do folks best do it with a compound bow.
I've got two pack choices, a KU 5200 with a grab it


or a Dana Design Terraplane or Astralplane.


Thinking of walking in and having it on my pack in the dark or pre hunting, when hunting, hope to have it in my hands the whole time.

I bought one of these, http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabel...%3Dbow%2Bsling

but not sure if it's the best way to carry it in.

Thanks for any help or tips for my first archery backpack hunt

I like to carry my bow , I hunt in woods and brush and if I carry it it doesn't get hung upon branches and such.

Going in - the bow is in a scabbard on the saddle on horseback, or on the pack while on foot if it's a known area.

Your link does not work for me, but I'm assuming that's the neoprene sleeve that covers the cams and string/cables with the shoulder strap - I have used one, a lot, for the past three years.

Especially hiking, it keeps crap out of the cam between the string and the groove, but I can get the bow out of it in a couple seconds, and it doesn't get in my way.

I wear a small day pack, binos on the chest, and the bow sling over a shoulder.

While I'd like to have the bow in hand all of the time, it adds to overall arm fatigue through the day, keeps one hand tied up if I need to cross difficult terrain, and I don't like worrying debris in my string track.

If I am walking, I carry mine in hand.

Never had luck with a bow scabbard on horses, I've always done best with an old primos bow sling over my shoulder. That way you can move it or shift it out of the way. I've seen horses drag scabbards through some nasty stuff and put their weight on it good.

Once out of the saddle it's in hand all the way.

Don't have one (yet) but friend of mine has the ALPS outdoorZ https://goo.gl/SFh2AK Good quality, find it very useful when walking on rough terrain, steep slopes, etc. Nice to have 2 hands available. Thinking to get one as well .

We use bow scabbard when packing in on horses and sling for the hiking trips.

I use one like what AH64guy described, made by Primos. In the dark walks, in and out of the hunting area, it's that cat's meow.

Eberlestock Butt Bucket - works great.

out west west son and i use a bow sling in the mountains,if we hunt deer just carry it by the handle unless its a long ways then again a bow sling

I've used a Primos bow sling and liked it but it went with the previous bow.

This year I used a nylon web strap that comes with a duffel bag, plastic snaps trimmed for easy on and off of the cams.

I like hands free to drag Bambi out of the woods.

I only bow hunt for Mountain goats (I generally use a rifle, but registration goat hunting is bow only) and I got a goat this past weekend. And I had a really hard time carrying my bow on the pack. So when I saw this thread I instantly perked up - and there is nothing here! Carry your bow in hand - REALLY! If I had done that I'd have died in a serious fall for sure. I was climbing down ice falls and beating through thick brush. I had to have ski poles and hands free - and with a goat on board I can't imagine not using hiking poles.

Anyway, I wrapped the sights etc in a puff jacket and 'goat camo' (a white painter's suit) and put the top lid of the pack over it all to hold it on. I put the bow as vertical as possible to create a thinner profile. I was really careful not to have anything rubbing on the bow string. But on the way home with goat on board I did bang the cams on rocks. So there must be a better way. (and my cams seem to be OK). What do people do when they carry their bow into the serious backcountry? I know they don't carry it in hand or with a sling. Are there special packs for carrying bows?

Patrick