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

9 Cup Pot
Double Stuffed Down Jacket
Scandi Knife
Metal Match
Match Safe...with Compass
Tarp
Parachute Cord
Signal Mirror
Axe and/or Shovel if I want luxury.

The Kit allows me to
1) Make a fire
2) Make a Shelter
3) Stay Warm
4) Signal For Help
5) The pot allows for hydration

You know - considering all the different conditions we hunt in, either individually or as a group - sharing such lists is kinda silly( unless we get a new idea from someone!), since each list is only specific to that particular region, hunt, and season. My winter kit differs a little from the summer kit even in the same area/circumstances. Much depends on what wild resources are or are not available, and convenient, even on a seasonal basis in the same area. for example, I don't need bug dope in the winter, but it's in there in the summer!

My winter survival kit running with the snow machine in the Arctic contained matches, useful only for starting the one-burner I usually carried on the sled for making tea or hot Jello. Since there was no fuel, it sure wouldn't start a fire. If I could get it, I'd have a 6 inch square piece of muktuk -(whale skin with about an inch of blubber attached). Unless you got wet, this chunk of muktuk will keep your inner furnace stoked for 3 or 4 days, especially if holed up in a snow cave, or between sled and machine, with the tarp thrown over.. What I did carry as part of my Arctic survival kit on the sled, was a complete change of dry clothes, sleeping bag, and closed-cell pad in a water-proof case in case I put 'er through an over-flow (once), or otherwise got wet.


Sometimes....looking back, I can't believe the chit I got away with.....

I carry a setup based on the "Equipped to Survive" sites kits.

Doug Ritter has a sort of sliding scale for his kits. Take more as the risks increase.

It takes a little reading to understand the concepts but most of it makes sense.

He is of course making some of his living from the stuff he sells and it is easy to substitute for like items.

Priorities: Shelter, then fire , then water and finally food.

It varies a lot with the season and the locale I carry enough to overnight for deer hunting and enough to stay out 72 hours if I hunt off road in snow for elk.

It helped me immensely in reducing the amount of stuff I pack and still have what I need.

http://www.equipped.org/home.htm

I guess all I need then is one of those Metalic Matches when I'm moose hunting. Spruce woods is full of shelter and fuel. Walk a half mile in any direction and you'll find a lake - or at least a swamp - so much for water. Right now I'm carrying about 15 pounds of spare tire- that otta be good for 2 weeks.

Belgium is not very large but still very populated.

You can't hunt small games and birds without passing close to houses, roads and farms (and lots of people who think and claim game territories should be taken away from the hunters and exclusively allocated to sunday dog walks, biking and motor sports).

Big game territories are quite more wild (especially in the Bulge) but there is always a road or a buddy nearby and cell phones are functional in the most places.

There are actually no real risks ... Snakes bites ( ... I live in adder territory since i was a baby and never saw one but in the zoo sure they are there according to environment authorities but you simply never see them), accidental shooting (very very seldom ... barley never, and it is not the kind of risk I need), wounded boars (If you are not stupid enough to attempt to kill the strongest ones with your knife, a rifle shot will quickly solve the problem) and before winter breeze some angry hornets (I don't laugh with them ... they killed a friend's father two years ago ... but they are just insects).

You simply will nerver be bitten by a rattle snake, eaten by a bear, freezed by the winter or lost without food or water in the middle of nowhere. Not enough wild for me, but I try to take the best of it: hunting is still interesting ... small games and birds with a pointing dog, boars, roe deers and red stags in the forests, varmints in plains... I love it all. I can hunt all year long only a few minutes away from home. That's not deep wilderness, but that's cool anyhow.

I have seen North American wilderness once, spending some time far North Quebec. I will never forget and do my best to perform a hunt on such a territory at least once in my life. Central europe and eastern mountains sound good to me too. The only key is some money.

At the moment, it's good to read your adventures.

When I was a kid, my older Brother got lost and spent a night in the Maine woods. He waited until morning and fired a shot every ten minutes until someone fired back and he could follow the shots out. A few hunters "go missing" up there every year, and I'm glad he wasn't one of them. I always take enough gear to get through a night in the woods whenever I go out. I started hunting in the Low Country in NC when I was 18 years old and the farmer we hunted with told us all not to go looking around in the woods. He said people go looking for their deer and get lost. There are a lot of wet places you can't get out from. That's why my gear travels with me too. I have a German canteen cup with a space blanket, poncho, survival matches, extra compass, flint & steel, knife... It goes with my field dressing zip lock full of stuff in whatever pack I bring out. You have to realize that your greatest risk is that you might fall and hurt yourself and not be able to get yourself out. Then the weather might get you. The ability to keep yourself warm and a tin cup to boil water is about all you need here.

One thing not touched on much, but if you've ever been seriously injured far off the beaten path (fractures, severe sprain, torn ligaments, etc), you will never go out and about without it again, is some sort of pain reliever(s).

At a minimum, Tylenol AND ibuprofen. Preferably something stronger, a strong narcotic or a powerful NSAID such as Toradol. This can turn an excruciating experience into just a major inconvenience. If you have to walk/crawl over several miles with a broken leg or similar, to avoid freezing to death, it can make the difference over life and death.

Rob p: Yes! That flint and steel is something I forgot about and do carry. It will always work, but one needs to train up a bit well before it's needed. Same thing if one is counting on a bow and drill to start a fire. We've all likely seen it done, but how many have really tried.

In my book the ability to think and act well before urgency sets in is paramount. I've not had to night out yet, but my buddies have been late to retreive me on some Hells Canyon boat outings and wondered why I had an expediency camp completely set up when they arrived well after dark. If it's possible one is going to overnight, start on affairs well before dark. It's much easier to come up with needed shelter makings, wood, water, and whatever when one can see the potentials in the surrounding landscape.

Knife in my pocket, space blanket, vet wrap, and matches in a heavy-duty garbage bag in my vest.

I won't be comfortable but I won't be dead either.

Good point about dealing with broken legs, etc. I started carrying an ACE bandage last year for use with a splint.
Kutenay made a point once that a bivy sack is much more practical in one way than a tent. If injured, you may not be able to erect a tent. But you probably could crawl into a bivy sack. Another point is that you may not be able to build a fire readily. But you could get into a bivy sack.
I also make it a habit to have at least one trekking pole along. E

As with others, my kit varies depending on where I am hunting and the time of year.

I very often don't have a separate survival kit as such but rather carry items in my hunting clothes, bumbag or daysack as requried.

I will generally have at least the following on me:

Waterproof clothing to suit the season.
Firelighting kit
Small first aid kit with a more extensive one in the vehicle.
1 watt LED Torch (small)
4 LED Headlamp
Double sided stainless steel signal mirror with hole in centre
Whistle
Map, Compass & GPS
2 Knives, (1 fixed blade & one folder) & small sharpening stone
Puritabs or similar
Cell phone and/or two way radio
Selection of small plastic bags
A couple of mars bars and perhaps some oxo cubes...

In more remote country I would add a plastic bivy bag and a strobe light and a steel cup or mess tin to brew up in....In my vehicle I'd have extra clothes and a sleeping bag plus other kit like a stove ect..

Below is a pic of the small first aid kit I made up..



Its covers most minor first aid needs that I've come across..

Half my pack is survival gear.

So far I've never needed much but I've never had to spend the night away from camp, either.

One elk hunt we were camped at 9000 feet, 1000 feet below the summit. A guy from a neighboring camp went out scouting the evening before opening day. Weather was nice and he wasn't going far so he took a light coat and went walking. A blizzard came up before he could get back to camp and he spent a miserable night under a tree. Next morning he comes out and goes to the hospital with frostbite.

Another time my buddy and I were turkey hunting in the mountains. It was getting on toward dark and we were driving back home when we picked up a hunter that was hitchhiking his way back to his truck. Good thing we picked him up because there wasn�t any traffic for miles and he was 3 miles from his truck and heading the wrong direction. Seems he had decided turkey hunting would be fun so he bought himself a shotgun. The shotgun and some shells were all he had with him when we picked him up � no coat, compass, maps, firestarter, water, nothing.

As long as he had one shell left he could have saved himself a long cold night.

Yes, I always do. Mine is mainly about as so many here. Something for shelter, fire, canteen and metal cup, a bit of food (usually a sandwich and candy bar), a couple of tea bags and sugar packs, First Aid, whistle, Mini Mag flashlights (2), compass (2) and map of area, Paper towels (instead of T.P.), 25 feet of 550 parachute cord and 25 feet of nylon carpenter's twine. I carry a lightweight rain suit. (Had to use that too often to leave it in camp!)

A 4" fixed blade hunting knife and my two old pocket knives: one a Camillus Stockman and the other a Camillus "Boy Scout" type knife. Pencil and paper in a ZipLok and some bright orange flagging tape.

Other than my firearm and clothing, that's about it for my "survival kit" in my daypack.. I've had to use it twice in the high country to overnight. California's high Sierra and Utah, deer hunting. Both times it was lightly snowing off and on. Wasn't any fun but I had no problems.

I am a very firm believer in Mr. Murphy.

FWIW.

L.W.

I do. Deer hunting, here in the temperate rain forest, it's pretty simple. Mostly a way to start fire and a space blanket. Elk hunting, where the climate is much more severe, it's some medical supplies- bandage, ibuprofen, aspirin, etc... a fire starting kit... a space blanket... a little spare compass... some braided salmon-fishing line (amazing stuff, and you can wrap a LOT of it around a twig).... a Snickers bar, because they are packed with peanuts and really satisfy <g>... and a radio and usually my cell phone too because it's also a camera.

I think this year I will add one of those very light yet tough and grommeted backpacking tarps.

I should add that my clothing itself is very much oriented around surviving. No cotton! Quality clothing and wicking layers are HUGE assets.

It's REALLY easy to go overboard. On the other hand, if you ever do have to spend the night out there, or cut yourself badly, or start getting severe chest pains, or whatever... you'll be glad you packed it around for the last 10 years in order to have it now! :-)

-jeff

So, anybody ever take any TRAINING on how to use that stuff in the kit?

I went here:

http://www.oregonfirearmsacademy.com/courses/Wilderness.htm

The instructor was amazing, as was the course.

BMT

For years I taught wilderness first aid and also survival techniques in the northern part of Ontario. Most classes were taught on reserves to native Canadians. I always included elders from the communities to teach the youth they had knowledgable resources in their back yard. I also got to learn a lot on every course.

Practicing bush skills before needing them is the best way to keep your wits when all falls apart in the bush. I have eaten some interesting stuff over the years so that I know what is edible and what is not.

Randy

Quote

BMT - "So, anybody ever take any TRAINING on how to use that stuff in the kit?"

Lots of Boy Scout training (Eagle Scout). Some U.S. Army "survival" training. Plus just bustin' around out in the boonies for 50 years.

I'm trying to think of some piece of gear in my daypack I have NOT used at one time or the other, in my outdoor trips... and I can't think of any.

I'm certainly no expert at "outdoor survival," but do think I can manage to get through the night and next day until I can get back out to "civilization" (whatever that is ). I have done it before.

L.W.

I think the biggest thing is to make good decisions from the start and not make mistakes that will cost you. Besides the parachute cord is to hang yourself if it gets too rough.

I do carry a bit with me.

First aid kit. Includes first aid book, the usual 1st aid items, heavy drugs for pain, and "Quick Clot" blood coagulant powder. Nice to have a pack of that around the guns and sharp knives, and can save a life.

Fire Kit. Lighter, matches, steel wool, magnesium starter, candle.

Space blankets x 2.

40' of 550 cord.

Bit of duct tape.

LED headlamp, spare lithium batts.

Leatherman multi-tool.

"Extractor" snake and sting kit.

Water purification tablets. And I try to take plenty of water.

And finally, I just caved in and picked this up:



I hunt a remote part of AZ a lot, often alone, or with my son. It is a 50 mile and 3 hour drive on bad roads to get out to the nearest help, and forget about cell phones. Snakes are a big concern. If you get bit, you're on your own. Ran into several of the bastids last year. Main reason I bought this thing. That, and the thought that though I've prepared my son the best I can, and think he can handle himself, I fear something happening to me and him being caught alone out there. This will prevent that. Plus, it also gives me the option of daily check ins when I'm outside of cell phone coverage areas, which is often. For $150 (and $100 annual monitoring fee), it's relatively cheap peace of mind...considering what sat phones cost.