Home Forums Birds & Dogs Turkey Hunting I hate my vest! so...

I bought an alps grand slam kick stand vest last year and tried it this spring.

Its probably great for a hardcore Run & Gun guy but I'm patient and sit for a while before moving on. It got uncomfortable for this middle aged guy and puts all the load on one point of my azz.

Plus the pockets are a bit small and too many. Just give me a couple bigger ones like my upland vest.

So I'm back to a low height folding chair and a small duffel / brief case / messenger bag. I use my BWCA food barrel back pack if I'm bring decoys and blind.

So what's your non-vest set up?
Can I salvage my vest with a modification?

I really like the Gobble Lounger chair and use a belt type vest from Cabelas for warm weather

I’ve used a blind hog pack and a bino harness for a couple of seasons, and like it....it hauls the gobble lounger great, either by itself, with two chairs, or with a blind, and 2-3 decoys if I’m taking kids/newbies. It’s bulky, but not too heavy or unwieldy. Run and gun is just the bino harness and a breedlove’s inner tube cushion. I have 3-4 vests, and keep trying them from time to time, but they just piss me off in general. Between arthritic joints, broken tailbone, and two plates on my spine, I haven’t found any vest cushion that’s much for comfort. Chair or inner tube are my go to.

I bring my ground blind chair and a shotgun and a couple calls. If I’m not comfortable I can’t stay still. I have a Millenium blind chair and it’s only 6 pounds so it’s not bad to lug around and it’s oh so comfortable. Best of luck!

A folding seat with a storage pouch works well for me.
I never felt the need for a vest.

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I bought an ALPS OutdoorZ Super Elite 4.0 . Very nice, lots of pockets, BUT the dang thing binds my shoulders at the top. I did the shoulder bag and seat thing for a couple of years and was constantly fishing around inside for stuff in the one pocket. I also fitted a nice folding stool with backpack straps, but it’s too tall for turkey hunting. On the other hand, getting up from a ground seat is kind of a process now. Hope nobody’s watching!

Alps stuff is of very good quality.

I used Tenzing Tp14 for many years, great for run and gun. Last year I started experimenting with my Eberlestock Mini Me and bino harness. This year I scrapped the bino harness. The Mni Me with the scabbard attached allows me to carry hand free everything i need. Cliq folding chair, half blind( the kind with folding ground stakes attached) hydration bladder, RF, calls, leafy suit, headlamp,shotgun. I can set up and takedown in under 3 minutes, or if things progress quickly I can be set up in 30 seconds by forgoing the chair and blind.

I really liked the Tenzing but until someone comes up with a truly comfortable butt pad, I need a chair. The Cliq is great because it weighs nothing, packs up small and I can sit for hours comfortably. I have more comfortable chairs but they weigh 3 times as much and are x3 or x4 the size.

I've had a Cabela's turkey vest for probably 20 years. I think I bought it at the Sidney store bargain cave years ago, before they opened other stores. The fiberglass/plastic stiffeners for making it rigid for a back support chair have broken, so I might see if I can fix them during the off season. It has tons of pockets, maybe too many, but it's been a decent vest.

Just my thoughts. I’ve hunted mainly eastern and some Rios through west Tx and the southeast. I’m OCD enough about trying to ‘find a better way’, but I also put a higher priority on comfort and optics, than calls and such. I tried the millennium turkey chair, and it was louder and less stable and comfortable than the cheaper stuff. Stool type chairs put me too far from the ground. Packs or satchels only mean I have to hunt stuff, though a satchel is less trouble than having everything in the pack. A chest pack, coupled with a pack for all the bulky and extended stay needs....chair, blind, decoys, snacks/water, etc. is about as good as I’ve found. I can take it or leave it, before or during a hunt, and roll with a chest pack and an inner tube cushion. If I have a favorite mouth call and a scratch box, I’ve got enough. Add in my favorite slate/glass, and that’s all I need 90% of the time. I prefer those and some binos where I can get to them fast, and a thermacell (around here). After the chair, I really need nothing else, unless I’m working hennaed up birds or staying out all morning and beyond. I like having decoys in a pack, JIC I have a true need, and some water and clippers. EVERYONE has different preferences, so adjust for your desires.....don’t worry about how the next guy does it. You can get ideas. I’m even looking at modifying an old Rhodesian chest rig for my calls, etc. This season, finding birds is a far bigger problem than gear arrangement. LOL

I have one of those too many and mostly too small pockets on a vest too. I started using an old Filson strap vest I have with just two snap pockets and a game bag. It works well, is light, and comfortable.

The only downside to this setup is when you haul the turkey out (if there is one to haul) it has to be carried over your shoulder as it is generally too large to fit through the game bag opening.

Depending on how much you hunt... get the Dixon Vest if you can ever find one... I have used one exclusively for about ten years since they came out and could not be more happy.

Thanks guys. I'm going to look at your suggestions and modify as required.

I think I'll keep the vest for predator hunting because my sitting sessions are shorter than turkey.

Maybe even use turkey decoys for predator hunting!

A Dixon vest is a nice vest, but still a vest, and folks want thousands $ for them now. Anything in the back of a vest means I have to take it off to deal with it, so might as well have a no [bleep] pack, and something to hold what I need out front....at least that’s where I’m at. I have used several turkey vests for predator work, and end up going to the same backpack/chest pouch setup as turkey hunting....then again, I often haul more and stay out longer and take a chair. When I was under 45, I didn’t give two hoots, but gravity finally won, and I need something besides dirt under my ass and tree bark on my back these days.

I've finally come to realize that my western turkey hunting requires a strong and comfortable backpack to make lugging all the tools of the trade around the 5 or miles a day I have to cover. I've used a Cabelas turkey vest for years, but that leaves me with turkey lounger, low blind screens, decoys, and shotgun hanging from shoulders, in addition to all the vest stuff.

Just tried my Eberlystock mainframe pack, batwings, and large duffel with belt pouches to carry all the stuff. It worked quite well as far as carrying the heavy load comfortably. The belt pouches did not work quite as well as I'd hoped. I'll probably buy one of the Alps "vests" with the removable front chest pockets and move those pockets to the straps of the mainframe.

It's a work in progress!