Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game How you carry hunting accessories

I use one of these, carries ammo, flashlight, knife, range finder, rain jacket (inner pocket) and sandwich, if it doesn't fit in here, it doesn't go...https://www.kuiu.com/products/stalker-500-pro-valo-camouflage?variant=41245746790558

I carry a handgun no matter what I’m doing, so it’s there irregardless.

One year I was hunting S Texas for hogs on a Ranch that was frequently used by the Wets for crossing.
Probably used by Cartel Mules, too, most likely.
I hunted with my 16” AR Carbine. Had a couple of spare 30 round mags in my Fanny pack, too. 😬

I've hunted deep south Texas a number of times, even dipping my toes in the Rio Grande and yes , I can assure you we were properly armed,plus pistols with dreaded Hi-Cap magazines!

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Add dryer lint in a ziplok bag. Weighs zip and an easy light.

I just wonder if you have to shoot a wetback or a mule do you call 911 and hire a lawyer or do you just dig a hole? 🤔

Old canvas shoulder bag holds my rain gear, ammo, water bottle, and a fire kit. Might stuff in a Snickers bar if needed.

I enjoy this kind of thread. I keep several fire starters and mostly what others have mentioned. The weather varies so much since I started actively hunting in the state of Misery about 1972. I lived a mile away from a state park on some rough land. It can be 60° or 70° and on down to 0°.Thanks guys for the information. From a flyover state. RZ.

I don't carry much while stillhunting in the NE. A few extra rounds in a shell wallet, a knife or two, deer drag, some TP, small Silky Saw, a grunt call and bleat can...maybe some jerky, a candy bar or an apple.
Back in the '80s, when Cabelas was still quality, I bought two of their Guide series orange vests. With more than enough pockets, inside and out, for all that, plus way more. Forty years on, and they still look like the day they were delivered.

For western hunts, depending on weather, I'll use either a MR Pop Up 28 or a Sawtooth 45. I'll carry the same gear as above plus a couple of litres of water, a thin packable jacket, tripod, spotter and 10.5X44 binos, shooting sticks, game bags, 5'x7' sheet of Tyvek and first aid kit.

I carry a light soft, quiet daypack with too much stuff...but I'm 79 yrs old and hunting inside wilderness boundary by myself, so if I break a leg or destroy a knee or ankle, I got enough to get by for a night if necessary. A miserable night to be sure, but do-able.
IMO, to cut down on weight and volume.... you might consider substituting your various fire starters for bread croutons saturated in bacon grease, it'll start a fire but just a half a sandwich bag is about 1,500 calories. For pure calorie per ounce, plain old Fritos beat the hell out of most 'energy' bars which all have a lot of sugar. 2 lath sticks split from pitch pine can double as splints or dry enough wet wood to get a nice blaze going in the worst weather.
Without water, my whole 'pack' weighs about 4.7 pounds...I don't expect to break a leg every hunt, but the one time that I do...I'll be ok.

Years ago my buddy killed a blacktail that we called the fanny pack deer so I can see where a fanny pack might work.

I think it depends on where and how you hunt. If you're just driving around and glassing then an igloo in the pickup bed works. If you're out for the entire day, 5 miles in and kill something at the end of the day then you may want a bit more than a water bottle and cell phone in your back pocket.

If I'm just hiking or scouting then it could be a little Badlands Diablo pack or even Camelbak Mule. If I'm hunting then it's a Stone Glacier solo. The pack has minimal stuff in it but the load shelf makes packing out an animal doable.

Daypack

Down coat for sitting
Gloves or glomitts
Beanie
A few rounds of ammo
Paracord
Small roll electrical tape
A couple Firestarters
Game bags
A plastic sheet
5 or 6 zip ties
2 fixed blade knives
Tourniquet and a few other emergency items
Binocs and a few other round of ammo in harness
Butt wipes
Snacks
Water
Sometimes a portable power pack
Sometimes a headlamp
Sometimes trekking poles

It sounds like a lot, but it's small volume. SG 5900 pack, so I can get a lot of meat out first load.

A day pack that contains what I need to field dress my game and spend a night out. Carry it anytime I leave the truck.

It's called " Shoot and Release"...

fanny pack most always on any hike. I'm not hunting with just that much. Day pack and/or frame pack off-road. I don't start moose hunting nearer than a mile off-road, usually over-nighting back in.

Can't do that with just pockets. Game bags are a half frame pack full all alone. Tent, sleeping bag, pad. etc...

In the Arctic, caribou hunting, better have survival gear along, ATV, boat, or snow machine That takes space, even on a day hunt.

In Iowa, hunting the 40 acres out the back door, gun and knife, maybe some cord, may be sufficient. A pocket will do.

Compass may be be handy if you get lost in a corn field......

When I was doing walk in hunts in the National Forest I used various day packs and a bino harness. I only had one that was capable of hauling meat out. I carried everything either in or on it I might need for the day. The most weight in it was probably my lunch and water. I usually had my heavy coat or jacket strapped to the pack.

Now that I only do stand hunting for Eastern Whitetail I have a lumbar pack with removable shoulder straps I keep in the SxS. I wear my Marsupial bino harness to the tree. I keep my iphone, a few spare rounds of ammo, binos, lens cloth and wind checker in the harness.

I typically dont carry my LRF to the tree except for the first time just to range a few trees , a ridge or the furthest point I might possibly shoot. One exception is if I am in a tree that is on a large clear cut. Then I carry it in a separate pouch. I wouldn't shoot over 250-300 yards so not sure I really need a LRF but I like to range if possible.

I use a fanny pack when I'm deer hunting around home. One of the things I carry that I haven't seen mentioned is a small ziplock with a few aspirin, Advil and some bandaids. Out west I carry a day pack with rain gear spare socks lunch etc.

They work really good for compressing and carrying a few pairs of surgical gloves too. I don't always use gloves, but generally speaking I do on brown bears and bears period for that matter. Saw the pill bottle trick this spring.

Unfortunately. Or probably fortunately at 60 neither wife or I take any RX pills so will have to ask others. I just realized how many pills some of our friends just a bit younger than us are taking and this world seems pill mad and to believe doctors and the push for meds. But I digress there.

Mostly all of my stuff is carried in a big backpack. Even TX hunting I have an large but old internal frame pack and carry it to either a stand or whatever tree we are going to sit under. I carry enough stuff so the dog and I are comfortable regardless the weather. Every now and then I carry a rifle and pair of binocs and nothing else to sit under a tree. 4 rounds in the mag. Of course always have a pistol on me too.

In Alaska I have to carry a lot of stuff for myself and the clients safety so a big pack is the only way to go.

Hunting here in southwestern part of Virginia our deer season is usually of moderate temperatures. A typical day starts somewhere around 30deg to 40deg and warms to the high 40's to low 50's by mid day. I hunt from a stand mostly and just carry a coat to the stand that has a lot of pockets and I put all I will need during the day in those pockets.

Later in the season, when the temperatures drop, I add a daypack with extra gloves, puffy, stocking cap and/or a balaclava and possibly a thermos of coffee.

daypack, if I'm going to be out for a while.