Take it from a 40-year, Rocky Mountain, backcountry hunter. You’ll find out one day, when you reach into that day pack and you don’t find the thing that you needed at that very moment. Seriously though, what you cram into your pack for a day’s hunting trip will be driven by your hunting style and locale. Mike, hunting from a stand in Arkansas may not need the same things that an early season bow hunter in Colorado may need in his pack.
So why worry about what’s in or not in your pack? Well, for many optimistic and bold day packers, hunts end up turning into day and night and night back to day pack trips. If you are a serious hunter, and you hunt the Rockies, you will find yourself in this situation – where you needed more in a pack. My recommendation is that you strongly consider a meat pack for your day pack, one that’s tailored for the long elk and deer pack outs you would expect in the rugged Rockies.
What I put in the day pack depends on the sunrise to sunset method. Sunrise means I pack for sustainment, like high energy snacks and water, and I also pack for sunset which means survival – food, shelter, warmth and water. I can survive a sunburn a lot longer than I can survive hypothermia, so I pack accordingly. If you are going sunrise to sunset on your hunts, you should be prepared to have the equipment you need so you can pack into deer camp at midnight or overnight and wait until morning to pack your quarry in.
Pack for the Situation
To continue on, illogically, for your early season high altitude, Rocky Mountain, archery elk hunts, you absolutely need rain gear, even a poncho can save your life. Pay a little extra for silent rain gear so you don’t sound like some 80’s guy swishing down the hall delivering that corduroy hiss to a passerby. This anomaly is true, I almost beat a hunting buddy of mine on a rainy year with his swish rain suits. He messed up my hunts. I still hate him for it, but I still hunt with him.
I’m a situational hunter and packer. I’ve drawn several early pronghorn tags on the southern plains of Colorado. This is waterhole hunting, out here on the prairies, where I can see 1,000 miles in every direction. You sit and wait. Sometimes less than hundreds of yards from your vehicle. You don’t need much. I’ve found a gallon of water; three beers and some hunting magazines were enough to pack in at 4:30 am. The first day I woke up at 7am only to see a prairie rattler slide under the stand. He got a dose of my .38 special birdshot loads that quickly turned him into a writhing and undulating band of yellow and brown rope. The pronghorn would have none of it. They bolted off and I just buried my head in my hands.
When I’m doing the 100-yard shuffle in the 2-foot drifts during the late deer plains archery season, everything is in a fanny pack. Mostly hot coffee and Chapstick. That early morning wind blowing across the prairie land and ripping through the cottonwoods will cut right through you. That rut hits right around Thanksgiving and both muley and whitetail bucks are cruising for does. I open my pack and out comes Tink’s buck bombs and I proceed to hang them from the brush that surrounds my 25-foot-high stand.
Water definitely! A way to make water drinkable. An investment in baby wipes, and more baby wipes. Your hunting tags. A hook needle and 2-pound test to stitch yourself (or a buddy up) after a hunting accident – yes, they do happen. LED headlamp, backup handheld GMRS radio (for another story), a fancy walkie talkie and weather radio. GPS unit. Hunters tape to mark your kill trail. Lastly, an extra can of favorite dip. I’m a Copenhagen man personally. Sunflower seeds will help pass the time, likewise.
Related Questions
As An Older Hunter, Do You Have Any Recommendations For Me?
Two things. Just a little upfront for the older reader, I’ve crossed the 50 threshold, and nothing bothers me more than my eyes. As a Colorado hunter, I’m spending some of my time hunting in the glare of snow. My old eyes hurt bad and I start getting irritable. I found some great glasses at Walmart that actually makes me feel better because I can see without squinting. You’ll have to research yourself what will work best for you; however, always have an extra pair in your pack. The second thing is simple, baby wipes – for that mountain squat. It makes all the difference in the world.
Can I Carry A Personal Protection Firearm In My Pack While Hunting?
You’ve got to check your local regulations on this one. But when I hunt, either smoke pole, bow and arrow or rifle, I always carry my personal protection firearm, which happens to be a 4-inch barrel stainless .357 Magnum. I usually keep it in my pack if I’m comfortable with my surroundings. Sometimes it ends up on my hip if I am in unfamiliar territory
What Are Two Additional Items You Carry Just In Case?
I always carry a flask of “Grandpas medicine”, just in case of “break glass” situations that vary from the “Oh shit” to “Why always me”. Nonetheless that warm feeling is welcome when you’re thanking your God for that sunrise and or cursing him for that bitter cold. It’s ok! Those hopped up bucks will be cruising soon, and you are ready?
If hunting has become an obsession or passion with you, always pack game bags, a good caping knife and bone saw. Unless you really, really suck at hunting, there is a chance that you’re going to harvest. Many of you have felt the “spiritual peace” of hunting and you know how to make the best of a blessing given to you by the Lord Almighty.
