Somebody (protecting the innocent) forgot to put the pins / screws in the game cart. That hold it together so you can carry game (ya don't need them when it's folded and stored).

WTH!!! I Jerry rigged it with ropes - what a pain.

What do you "find out" you forgot.

the bullets. very, very important. Was quite a ways from the nearest store too, even farther from home.

I've never brought bullets hunting. I always bring ammunition though.


Binoculars are the worse thing for me to forget, so I make sure I don't.

If I have a pack/knife/binoculars/rifle/ammo/me, I'm good.

my first trip to Wyo, in 1982, i got about 300 miles from home, and figured out i had left my licences back at home. I turned around, drove back and got them. ever since then, i put them in my rifle case, when they arrived

Me and a friend of mine hiked an hour up a mountain before he realized he forgot his rifle in the truck

Binocs on my African trip. Sure could have used them looking through the brush at Gold Medal animals. So I was told. lol

On a quick mid week hunt with my boy and my buddy's son, I was concerned that they had everything they needed, I forgot my clothes bag on the kitchen table.

I had hunting clothes but not stuff to change into at night. I had to run to walmart and buy undies, socks, sweat pants and a few t-shirts.

Rifle. Only 3 miles from home. Another time the rifle bolt 13 miles - sitting in moose stand when I went to chamber a round. Still on cleaning bench... Partner took over my stand. I got back just in time to finish off "my" moose for him..... Grrrr!

All kinds of incidentals time to time - coffee, utensils, cord, etc. never TP tho !

I've long since typed out and laminated a list divided into categories ( some items duplicated), then using the list I lay out everything on the floor that I'm taking on that trip. Never the whole list - depends on the trip.

I cross items off that I'm not taking or have already laid out with a dry erase marker so I can reuse the list.

Tripper Lab (gone now) used to "help" me by adding or subtracting to the floor stuff- until I learned to lay out his pack first thing. Then he was content to watch.

Ammo, sort of...not my fault! My son and I were going to sit together, then he wanted to split off and sit by himself, then he wanted my bolt action so I took his single shot to my stand....after getting in the stand I discovered I had ONE round of 30-30. Talk about having to make every shot count!

I used to remove the bolts from my rifles when stored. Bad news when you realize you brought a rifle to hunt with no bolt in it.

Me: key to trigger lock on a duck hunt. I just did the calling that day.

Took my son to PA for post thanksgiving hunt, about 4 hours from his house he pointed out he forgot his boots. Bit to cold and snowy for sneakers so he got a new pair of boots.

Long ago I realized that my memory was getting to be far from perfect. I sat down and made a list of all the things I take on a hunt, as each item is put into the pack/duffel it is checked off the list. I run thru the the check list a second time as gear is loaded into the truck, a list with all items checked off is pretty good assurance that I've taken the essentials. The list is also handy when leaving camp to make sure everything makes the trip home.

Forgot the new insulated boots I had just purchased. This was for a Montana hunt traveling from WA state, so most inconvenient. Not a good thing to forget, ended up buying warm footwear in town. Thankfully I haven't repeated that trick. I also forgot stove pipe for the wall tent on a different trip, also not a good idea. Another unplanned trip to town, and earned some good natured ribbing for a while.

Boots.

I was about 5 min. from the house and realized how comfortable my feet were.

I usually don't need much. Rifle, ammo, nocs and knife.....and TP. I didn't have TP when necessary one time and vowed to not rip up another t-shirt in a sleet storm.

Gee Stealhead, aren't "bullets" included in your ammunition?

Brought the wrong Weatherby bolt (257 and should have been the 30-378)which I discovered after a 600 mile drive. Had a backup 45-70 along so I was still in business. Being the first of the party to arrive, a 45 mile drive into town and a phone call got the proper equipment on it's way. Still get gigged in camp over that one.

Forgot life jackets on a week long white water trip once. Discovered after the shuttle driver had departed. Had to hitch hike into town and buy/rent replacements. That put an early morning start back into mid-afternoon.

Not me, but a partner was assigned the kitchen and eating utensils for another float trip. No silverware. Insisted we had hidden the packup only to find it on the hood of his rig when we got home.

A friend of my dads went hunting every year for 1 week with the "Guys" Wife always packed his clothes for him. One year he discovered she had forgot to pack him any socks so he wore the same pair everyday, got home and biched to the wife about not having any socks......She says with a big smile "there wasn't any room in your duffle bag so I put them in your gun case......."

Forgot my license/tag once. Drove all the way back home to get it, then all the way back to hunt. Never happened again though!

Ammo , coat, underwear, lot of stuff

I was in Wells, Nv. enroute to Stanley,Id to hunt wolves the 1st year they were delisted when I realized I had left my new binos and spotting scope at home. My wife was still laughing when I stopped in Twin Falls and bought new Yosemites. A lot of that country was so thick that they worked out fine.

Ever since every time we go on a trip she asks me if I have my optics and snickers. Women never forget.


mike r

Earlier this year I went duck hunting and grabbed my shotgun right before I left the house. It wasn't until the end of a ~4 hour drive that I discovered I had grabbed my varmint rifle, not my shotgun.

I was with my BIL and he gave me lots of grief about that.

Long ago an old friend of mine had to take a crap in the woods while out elk hunting but didn't have any TP. So he just grabbed some leafy plants nearby and used them instead. He didn't notice that they were poison oak, and he was a botanist by training and profession. We never let him live THAT one down.

I forgot my list at home and subsequently left all my chit at camp!

A raft. Turns out an inflatable bed is a poor substitute

I found a new to me, primo looking, bowhunting spot on public land. I was really excited to hunt it and had a perfect tree picked out that would not even require a stand.

Opening morning came and I drove to the location and hiked out to the tree in the dark and climbed up. When it started to turn gray in the east, I went to nock an arrow and discovered my quiver was home on the bench.

I grabbed the wrong gun once too.
I was going on a last minute goose hunt and quickly threw all my gear in the truck. When I got there (250 miles)I opened my case and realized I had grabbed the wrong case. I had my 20 gauge grouse gun. My blind bag was full of 3 1/2" BB and BBB shells. I hauled azz to the nearest outdoor store 20 miles away and bought a new 3 1/2" BPS. That was a expensive trip. I ended up giving the gun and case to my son for Christmas.
I no longer have any cases that look like any other.

I forgot my bow bullets once too

Didn't forget it but I once had a flat while Chuckar hunting in No. NV....when I went change it I found that my spare had fallen out.
Fortunately a couple of young guys came by and...believe it or not....had the same brand of truck I had so they loaned me their spare so I could get home.....

I went out and bought a new spare and a bracket to mount it in the bed where I could see the dam thing....

It wasn't very funny at the time but now I laugh when I think back about sticking that rod in the hole in the bumper and cranked it....the only thing that dropped down was the chain.... Ha

Don't think I ever forgot anything, if I did I can't remember it. Ran out of rope for the sky hook once.

On a week long moose and caribou hunt in Alaska, we had a bush pilot drop us off on a small lake. As we set up camp we quickly realized we had forgot the insect repellent. We were saved the second day when a float plane with a couple of fisherman landed. One of the guys that I swear was Ed Zern, complete with split bamboo fly rods, gave us a bottle of repellant. It was like nectar from heaven to us. Also worked better than the stuff we normally used, though I still don't know what brand it was cause it was an unmarked bottle.

Ha But, then again, still can't shoot the animal without a bullet. Okay, I forgot the ammo

I forgot my hunting license one time too. Turned around and drove back home that night to get the license and then drove back. That was a long night, especially when you're pissed at yourself.

I took a .25-06 for an antelope hunt. The .270 cartridges I brought along did not work in it.

I haven't forgotten too much over the years. I did forget a spare pair of shoes on an Alaska fishing trip, which left me in my Rockies for two straight weeks. I figured I came about as close as a guy can come to trench foot on that deal.

Same trip in the Anchorage airport I had a bad plate of nachos with jalapeños and a flat MGD. I spent the whole plane ride home prone on the thankfully empty back row of the plane running to and from the can, trench foot and all.

Friday before opening day as a 16 year old kid I was down to my last .30-06 cartridge while sighting in. I stopped at a little country store at dark and somehow managed to sweet talk the proprietor into selling me a box of cartridges without having my baby face carded. I still have the box and half the cartridges as a memento of the experience.

I have never done anything as epic as bringing only .22-250 cartridges paired with a a .30 caliber rifle on an out of town elk hunt.

Yep. I used to use mine all the time at home. Twice I forget to put them in the pack before leaving. Pissed me off tremendously to not have them. Finally just got a pair to leave at the house so my hunting ones stay with my favorite pack.

In 1960 I was an auto mechanic in Rifle, Colorado. Lots of hunters from "down south" towed Jeeps out there and most had free wheeling hubs up front and would remove the rear driveshaft. Usually worked good but one day a couple of hunters from Missouri came in hunting for a rear drive shaft for their Jeep. It had been removed and left in the garage back home.

BIL was archery hunting for deer, got one and then discovered that he left his knife at home so he dressed his deer with a broadhead.

Ammo, the Rifle, and Boots are the three most common ones I saw when I lived back in MN....always by others in our hunting parties, so they were scrounging from everyone else...

It wasn't a problem for me... I'm the type that has everything packed up a month in advance.... and then bring enough to be stranded out there for 6 months...

here in Oregon and when I was back east hunting in my youth... it was never very far from the house, or grandparents.... so forgetting something wasn't overly far to go get it...

I remember one hunt, years ago. It was just a day hunt, but I brought .30-06 bullets, and not the 7x57 bullets.
Hunted anyway, but with no bullets. The woods were too pretty to just leave.

All my handloaded ammo minus three cartridges. I did shoot a bull that year but I was sweating it.

Sling, what a PITA!

Boots. Hunting in Crocs is not ideal.

Dad used to routinely forget his ammo for his .300 Savage. We had about a dozen boxes of .300 Savage with one round fired out of them.

I've had two notables. I forgot my heavy coat one time. The worst was the year I forgot the bolt for my rifle. I was hunting with my son. No problem-I was sitting with him anyways. Big problem-his scope fogged. Never trust a Trashco. Drove back to the cabin to get the backup gun. Driving into the resort, jumped about a half dozen deer, one all most standing on our porch. Driving back to the happy hunting grounds, had a nice spiker running right down the middle of the road. Actually had to slow down so he could get out of the way. Saw several more deer during the 20 minute ride. Of course, never saw another deer that day.

Oh come on Scott, a real hunter carries his rifle with the bolt in his back and takes brass, primers, powder, and bullets and loads accordingly to the shot.

Can't remember which, but I know guy that brought two boots but were not the same brand or fit or he forgot the boots period..He got on a local phone and had Cabelas ship them UPS to the outfitter's restaurant.Betcha forgot about that one.

Removing the bolt makes no sence to me

Life jacket.

My 12" Saw and Scabbard that carried a nice big Meat knife and a file.

Anybody ever hear quartered an Elk (including sawing through the pelvis) with a Victorinox Swiss Officer's Model ?

GTC

yep!

I forgot the right barrel, once. I had four good shots at the same buck, and could NOT understand how this deer was bulletproof! Until I realized. I had been firing 12ga sabots through a field barrel. What happened to the slugs, i can only guess, since it left lead traces on the choke, and no where else. I even reloaded! Finally caught the fact, i had no usable ammo for the gun I had in hand, I packed up and went home.

Mosberg 500. With interchangeable barrels.

How long did it take the blister on your Right index finger to heal ?

I did a float trip down the middle fork of the Salmon river in Idaho.

Upon arrival at our launch site at 6am in the morning after driving all night I was given a dry bag and told all my gear had to fit in that one bag.

Well sorting through my gear in the dark, I figured I had everything I needed. This was in early June with snow on the ground at our launch site.

We wore wet suits the first day of floating. In camp that night I unpacked my bag and realized I forgot to pack pants!

We were already 20 miles into the float in the River of no return wilderness and I had no pants!

Luckily I had a pair of shorts and as we dropped altitude and the weather warmed up and the shorts were perfect.

The tent. Was coyote hunting out near Fort Rock. Late December. Brought the fly, poles, stakes. No tent. Snow on the ground. Close to 0. Tarps and a big fire. Was kinda nice actually.

I forgot my orange butt-out tool (otherwise known as the Obama tool).

Drove 600 miles back home to get it.

I've forgotten my rifle sling a couple of times and had to improvise.

But the most important thing never to forget is toilet paper.

KC

Yeah. Needless to say I no longer do that.

On an elk trip I forgot Butler Creek scope caps a couple years ago. Was almost $2,500 before we got outta the local gun shop. Hunting buddy now makes sure one of us "forgets" something on the trip so we can go back to the same gun shop. I didn't forget anything this year and STILL walked out 2 guns heavy and $1100 lighter.

I store my bolts seperately in a seperate safe and room. Hopefully if someone ever steals my rifles, they will get caught trying to replace the bolts. You do have to have a good system to be sure you get the right bolt back to the correct rifle.

Almost 35 years ago, I was in the Navy and came home to elk hunt. My brothers and dad had already gone on a week long hunt the season before. I had a limited amount of time so dad decided to do a quick, lightweight spike camp with with me in a Wilderness area at timberline. There was no established trail up the drainage so we decided to lead one pack horse and hike up.

Day before season started we arrived at timberline after a three hour hike. While unloading stuff dad realized he forgot the pots and pans.

We cooked Dinty Moore Stew in the cans over the fire the first night.

In the morning I went hunting while dad hung close by camp and kept an eye on a big opening in the basin. About mid-morning a couple hunters came up the trail into the basin. Dad recognized one and they began talking, and dad mentioned he had forgot pots and pans.

His friend said he had camped in this basin about 15 years ago and had stashed a couple pots under some rocks in the scree field 50 yards from our tent. I came strolling into camp just in time to see dad's friend lift up a rock to reveal two pots.

What are the chances at 11,500 ft in altitude in a Wilderness area?


Casey

My dad showed up to deer camp 15yrs ago with a then 30yr old Coleman lantern that he hadn't checked in 20yrs...............OR before leaving home. No surprise, the fuel cap gasket was shot, and it was to be our main light source in camp.

A four hour round-trip later we had a new cap, and a new second latern. When he's giving me a tough time about something, I remind him about his lantern.

beautiful thing. If der ain't no givin and takin be'tween the newcomers and the old timers ther'd be no camp.

I bet my old coleman leaks right now. I might fix it...or maybe not. Seem to remember my dad fiddling with the one I have a few moons back. Might be an experience for the lads to replace mantles, seals and whatnot as the sun goes down. course dad waited until the sun WAS down to find out something was broke.

Oh [bleep] I did forget about that one.

I had one pair of 9.5, and a size 10 same size same color.

Had worked overtime the week I packed and grabbed too right boots ... Not sure if that was my first or second elk camp...

Haven't done that again - I put yellow ties on one pair so it's harder to mix them up.

During late archery season a few years ago, I got up early, got my stuff together and drove an hour south to where I wanted to hunt. Pulled up to the gate to park in 4" of fresh snow thinking it was going to be a great day. Put on my pack, stocking cap and gloves and reached behind the seat to get my recurve. No bow. Looked in the front seat, no bow. Back of the truck, no bow. Sh#t! Drove an hour back home, walked into the house and found my bow right where I left it, on the kitchen table. Loaded it up and had a fun day hiking in the Coast Range in the snow. No critters were harmed in the making of this story.

At o'dark-thirty opening day of deer season a couple years ago I found a full box of .270Win cartridges scattered on the highway about a mile south of town. Someone's morning sucked.

Forgot the swizzle sticks, once. Decided to tough it out.

Forgot food one time, had to go to town

Saturday I tried to find my tree stand in the dark with my GPS. I did not turn it off the last time I used it, so the batteries were dead. I had to wait until light to find it. Spare batteries are in my pack now.
I always keep ammo in the truck, and a few rounds in my pack. I forgot the mag before, so single loads that day.

muzzle loading caps.

not hunting but fishing. ten of us drove 60 miles down the island to fish for 3 days. We got down there and set up camp and found out no one brought ice, everyone just assume someone else had got it.

After a 10 hour drive to deer camp, I realized I'd packed the previous year's license...

I found a near full box of .270 130 grn old school Winchester silvertips many years ago on the edge of an old gravel road.

In 2010 I shot a cow elk during archery season. I tagged it, then packed it out like normal.

I normally cut up my own meat, but due to having a moose tag that year and the warmer weather we had, I took the elk to a processor. A couple weeks later I got the elk back, with the tag attached to a package of steaks. Looking at it, I realized it was my 2009 elk tag, which went unpunched the year before.

So, not only did the wrong tag get past me, but the butcher shop too.

Pretty funny now that I think about it.

I sooner try to drain the ocean with a teaspoon than quarter an elk with a Swiss Army Knife. Just the thought of it raises blisters on my thumbs. Truly the embodiment of the saying "where there's a will there's a way".

Ok - I've remembered two more. One was the daypack with my jacket and rain gear in it. It was in the back of my truck with the rest of my gear, and my pilot friend (float plane moose hunt) helped me load the stuff. It was tucked into the front corner of the bed and out of sight from a quick glance, and he gave me an affirmative when I asked if everything was out of the truck. And I didn't't double check.

Got chilly after he left camp just before sundown and --no jacket. Did have a spare shirt tho - that helped. Borrowed a partner's cell phone (just after they first came out), and called the wife to call the pilot to bring my other pack in when he came out again in the morning.

"Where are you?" she asked.

"Moose Camp"

long pause....... "That's disgusting!"

After a 350 mile road trip, but prior to the 18 mile hike into our sheep mountain, I discover I'd left the Pyrodex for the wife's Seneca behind. She had to shoot that 30-yard, full curl with the scoped .270.

The remaining 6 rams conveniently ran a half-mile and thru a saddle where our hunting partner on that trip picked off the other full curl.

Not real sure just how Steve got to come along on our honeymoon........

I do not tend to camp much when I hunt. We often just go for the day. When we do camp for a few days, I always end up carrying half the groceries back home. Ain't nobody ever gone hungry in my camp!

Often I will sleep in the truck seat one night before season opener and hunt opening day. I did that with my Dad about twenty years ago. Sitting around the campfire that evening, I decided to check my 30-06 reloads for function in my rifle.

Yeah, now is a hell of a time.

Out of 100 rounds in the truck, none would chamber. They were all seated long.

I managed to drive the bullets deeper on a half dozen rounds and was set for the next day.

It had been a year... and we just could NOT find all the 338-06 ammo, had stashed it good in AK the past September.....

But I NEVER have a gun without rounds in the mag.... those 4 would have had to hold me over, until we found the ammo at the last second... I bet we NEVER forget where we leave it ever again. LOL.

Binocs...ain't worth going hunting without em...

BIL crawled up in his bow stand once..... and then back down and walked back to camp to get his quiver of arrows.

Don't leave without a roll though... ever.....

A good family friend, that was like a parent to us, shot a whitetail one year, had the ranch hands clean it, it was supposed to be a book BC deer, while it missed it just a hair, it was a good deer. He gave his license to the hands.

Called me on the way home. Bringing it over to cape it out for him. Told me he got pulled over a couple of times on the way home by wardens, the news had traveled, they wanted to see the buck. NICE buck.

I got hold of it that evening and caped it. Then when recording the tag data in my book, realized it was tagged with an antlerless only tag. At least 2 if not 3 wardens had missed that....

Thats why you don't use crap like trigger locks. LOL

If I ever forgot something on a hunting trip I can't remember what.

Last year a coworker asked if I wanted to hunt the next day and that I could ride with him.

Told him I would meet him there as all my stuff was in my truck already.

Imagine my shock when all the stuff was not behind my seat, I had taken it out the previous Sunday PM.
I came up with required orange and some pieces of sorta cold weather gear.
15 degrees and about 10-15 mph wind that morning and I was chilled out pretty quickly.
Deer came by . . . I just wasn't ready. Pretty close to the coldest I have ever been.
This time of year pack stays packed.

I just have to make sure ammo and gun go together.

Had one of those "can field dress 3 elk and 4 grizzly before resharpening" knives.

Went dull as a butterknife 5 minutes into field dressing an elk. Of course, there was no pocket sharpener available either.

Bought a WorkSharp when I got home and went over EVERY knife I own. I also ALWAYS carry a sharpener, and when hunting elk, an extra knife!

My mother put a contractor bag of dirty laundry in the back of the truck when we went in to Tok flying in with Charlie Warbelow and Leif Wilson. We found out that we took the dirty laundry instead of the dehydrated MH. I had enough back up MH that my father who was diabetic and had to have regular food was taken care off. I ate blueberries and powdered milk for seven days until we killed our rams. I freaking check the food before we go out.

Sincerely,
Thomas

I made it all the way (5 hours) to go grouse hunting in late September in Northern Colorado and forgot my sleeping bag. I had long, cold night, half by the fire and the other half wrapped up in a blanket with boot warmers. Short trip. Headed home the next evening.

Instead of things I forgot,

How about things I'd like to take with me?


I'd love to go out in the field and a rough weather environment for a couple of days and nights with Paddler and R. Gin-T-her....

Can you imagine how entertaining that would be???

with their K Mart Sleeping Bag, cheapo tent, poor choice of footwear and outerwear...

that after having to send out Search & Rescue to find their lost asses... if a bear or coyote wasn't caught snacking on their carcasses...

I take cartridges, most times

I can't imagine sleeping w/o a sleeping bag

I would be de-boneing.

A sharp knife has easily had me going commando a few times.

I've forgot lots of hunting stuff, but fishing one time I left my full tackle box on the river bank, when driving 15 miles to my next stop. Of course it was gone when I got back, several $hundred's worth. I bought $10.00 worth of jig heads and twister tails and went fishing at dark. Caught my limit of very nice walleyes in an hour. The rest of the story, A cool old guy found my tackle box and I got it back a month or so later.

Having not read the entire thread, long story short... I once forgot my rifle..



g

TP

Not much sleeping... But I did get a couple of grouse before I headed home.

I took apart my last 2 moose with a Havalon piranta, what are those? 2.5 inch blades maybe.....when you know how, you learn a big knife is generally more of a PITA than a small one...

Used to clean about 300 deer a year on a ranch we guided on, mostly with a 2 inch blade...

I used a Rem. 760 single shot one day. No big deal, it still held more rounds than I needed.