What Do You Carry in Your Deer pack?

h2u said:

Awesome for St Cree for getting into bowhunting/sad to Outrider for wife. Hope all will be good, sir!

Read the thread title and wondered if I'd posted. Yep. My stands are like 80yds from my back door - so I carry in very little. When I shoot a deer, I walk back out to get the deer cart and drop off my extra clothes (winter overalls, etc).
I may not shoot big bucks, but I like my little behind-the-house hunting gig

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Lol I’ve been bow hunting since 16 but kids caused a couple year break. Always did a once/twice a year hunt but finally get back to making it a more regular thing again.

I honestly like bird hunting better but i like eating deer more

Yep, minimalist here, but I don't hunt far from civilization either.
No pack, just pockets.

Weapon and ammo, slung
Knife, in sheath on belt
Flashlight in pocket

Hunt mornings until 10-10:30, evenings 2 until...
I need the break in the middle.
No monsters taken here, but that's not why I hunt and the freezer gets filled.

1. Water
2. Toilet paper
3. Bennie weenies
4. First aid kit
5. Plastic bag
6 Twine
7. Paracord
8. Arm Length Plastic gloves
9. Compass
10. Matches
11. A horse shoe for good luck

I am typically out in the woods from sun up to sun set

Harrys said:

1. Water
2. Toilet paper
3. Bennie weenies
4. First aid kit
5. Plastic bag
6 Twine
7. Paracord
8. Arm Length Plastic gloves
9. Compass
10. Matches
11. A horse shoe for good luck

I am typically out in the woods from sun up to sun set

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Sounds like it. Me too.

Harrys said:

1. Water
2. Toilet paper
3. Bennie weenies
4. First aid kit
5. Plastic bag
6 Twine
7. Paracord
8. Arm Length Plastic gloves
9. Compass
10. Matches
11. A horse shoe for good luck

I am typically out in the woods from sun up to sun set

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LoL on the horseshoe. A couple of years ago I took a shot on a dandy 6-pt. It stood there about 30 seconds and finally noticed me as I finished reloading my ML and ran off.

Found where it was standing (right next to a fallen tree rootball). Only thing I found was a...

Horseshoe sitting in among the deer prints in the dirt.

Shit you not. Kept that thing. Don’t take it hunting with me though. For a few seconds I wondered if that was really a deer I took a shot at...

PS I figured out later my bullet hit a small branch about 20 or so yds from the deer, must have deflected it enough to miss. Certainly didn’t deflect it in to a hit.

I want to see if my memory matches reality laying here in bed. I’ll check tomorrow.

Midway hunting pack
30ft paracord for use as a stand hoist
15ft paracord for whatever (usually tying a deer leg to a tree while I field dress it)
Gerber freeman folding knife with gut hook
Lighter
Small 2500ma USB charger and lighting and micro ISB cables
Ozark Trail headlamp (I forget the model, but it is THE brightest true red LED I’ve found for a light. Around 10lm when most red LED flashlights or head lamps are around 1-2lm. Makes a huge difference trail finding in the dark without bathing the area in a bunch of white light)
No name brand puck LED light for hanging on a tree for field dressing
Bushnell 8x32 binocs
Rangefinder if bow hunting
Shamagh
First aid kit with matches, a couple aqua tabs, hemostatic seal and some quikclot added in to it (and extra ibuprofen, got a bad back)
Butt-out
Camo hat
deer drag
TP in a ziplock
Two pre-filled tags just waiting for date and county, one blank tag in case a buddy needs a tag...or in case I get REAL lucky and then real busy
Two pairs of nitrile gloves in a zip lock bag (knife and used gloves go in the bag when done field dressing
About half a dozen 5” zip ties
Pair of camo leather gloves
Camo balaclava liner
Change of socks

Gun/ML season a blaze orange winter hat gets added in. Really from like early October on I throw it in there.

ML season gets a few plastic vials of Bh209 and a film canister with some primers in it along with a cotton ball so they don’t rattle around and a tube of bullets and sabots. I carry the same in my pockets. Also my ML cleaning kit goes in the backpack

Gun season gets a reload for my gun of choice. Usually what’s left of the box of Ammo, so long as it’s at least 5 rounds.

Archery I mentioned a rangefinder gets added.

In cooler weather generally add in heavier gloves on top of my regular ones to the bag, probably at least an extra top layer too and/or a fleece jacket. Really good weather a fleece balaclava also.

Generally I carry 1 or 2 1qt canteens on my pack. Food for the day. If I’ll be near my car I’ll generally just pack some snacks for the field and plan to hike out to my car to sit down to eat a sandwich or two and refill my canteen(s) for 10 minutes and then back at it. If I am going back in far I make sure it is 2 canteens for sure and lunch and afternoon snack gets packed in too.

I usually keep a couple fruit leathers and an energy bar in my pack as “emergency” food on top of what I am actually bringing so I’ve got a few calories on me if I forget to pack some stuff. Or get lost I’ll have at least 400-500 calories on me to keep my energy going a little longer.

Really cold weather I’ll pack coffee in a thermos for the morning sit and usually some soup in a thermos back in my car for lunch instead of just packing a couple PB&J sandwiches as lunch. Trail mix and jerky is my pack snack food.

I’ll see how well I did in the morning.

Oh, I’d hunting at home, usually I’ve left half my stuff and/or my pack inside and end up having to take at least 2 if not three trips back in to hunt and later field dress the deer. At least the first deer of every season. This year though I did good. I only left my FING knife inside and had to have one of my kids go and get it once we found her. Left it on a shelf at the end of last season after cleaning it and air drying.

I mean, I do keep a keychain knife on me. But man would that suck trying to field dress a deer with it.

lazarus said:

LoL on the horseshoe. A couple of years ago I took a shot on a dandy 6-pt. It stood there about 30 seconds and finally noticed me as I finished reloading my ML and ran off.

Found where it was standing (right next to a fallen tree rootball). Only thing I found was a...

Horseshoe sitting in among the deer prints in the dirt.

Shit you not. Kept that thing. Don’t take it hunting with me though. For a few seconds I wondered if that was really a deer I took a shot at...

PS I figured out later my bullet hit a small branch about 20 or so yds from the deer, must have deflected it enough to miss. Certainly didn’t deflect it in to a hit.

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I have killed many trees, they just seem to jump in front of the deer. I think the deer are paying protection to the trees.

I carry compass, a whistle, bug spray, permission slips license, bout five rounds spare ammo, lighter with Vaseline soaked cotton balls, warmer pair of gloves (seasonal) a model 120 buck, 30 ft marlin spike rope for binding or making make shift blind, folding saw , pipe tobacco + pipe sometimes empty 35 mm can. Rattling horns, Spam and crackers and code red Mountain dew for code water for warm.
Binos all the time.

Here is the real question i have. Elbow length gloves or no gloves and wet towelettes to clean your hands and forearms after gutting? The one place I hunt has a creek, so i walk to the creek and wash my hands and arms. This new place, no water!!

I killed a doe last week and those nitrite gloves were full inside with blood that came over the wrist cuff. Not much sense in them when they are that short.

Elbow length gloves, with tight latex on the outside if no water. Even with water, it hardens the fat instantly on the knife, drives me nuts.

Harrys said:

I have killed many trees, they just seem to jump in front of the deer. I think the deer are paying protection to the trees.

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Lol. It is a racket :-)

Speed3 said:

Elbow length gloves, with tight latex on the outside if no water. Even with water, it hardens the fat instantly on the knife, drives me nuts.

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That’s why I use a folding knife. Don’t want that crap a my sheath and no easy way to clean it in the field.

I use regular nitrile gloves. I get some blood on me I wash it off in my house. But in the field hunting, I just rinse my hands with a bit of water from my canteen. At least so far my hands have never gotten that bloody. Usually if I am careful my forearms only get a bit of blood on them cutting the windpipe.

Dunno. Tend to not get all that sticky. It’s blood on my hands that sucks and I usually get it down to only a bit of a tint when I am done.

Partly why I tend to carry a fair amount of water in the field.

My pack is light also. I'm hunting, not living off the land for a week. Knife(buck quick change, it has a gutting blade, a drop point, and a saw, why did they stop making these?), snacks(nuts, jerky), water/gatorade, flashlights (headlamp for after hours operations aka field dressing, and a handheld surefire), battery charger for my phone and headlamp, my tree harness/deer dragger, extra CR123s, ammo. Pack probably weighs about 8lbs or less. I use my scope instead of binos since I'm not shooting past 100yds. It works for me. I hunt on private land and it's a 1/2 mile across by a mile deep with a creek on one side, road on one, a river on the other, and a 6ft ditch to the south. You can't get lost.

lazarus said:

That’s why I use a folding knife. Don’t want that crap a my sheath and no easy way to clean it in the field.

I use regular nitrile gloves. I get some blood on me I wash it off in my house. But in the field hunting, I just rinse my hands with a bit of water from my canteen. At least so far my hands have never gotten that bloody. Usually if I am careful my forearms only get a bit of blood on them cutting the windpipe.

Dunno. Tend to not get all that sticky. It’s blood on my hands that sucks and I usually get it down to only a bit of a tint when I am done.

Partly why I tend to carry a fair amount of water in the field.

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You guys use gloves? I don't see the point as I get in there past my elbows to rip the throat out. Usually there is some green grass or leaves to wipe the crap off then a bottle of water or a stream nearby to get rid of the rest.

Bountied said:

You guys use gloves? I don't see the point as I get in there past my elbows to rip the throat out. Usually there is some green grass or leaves to wipe the crap off then a bottle of water or a stream nearby to get rid of the rest.

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This, just essentials. And these in a ziplock to clean hands and knife.

Mike3888 said:

This, just essentials. And these in a ziplock to clean hands and knife.

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Forgot this part..I bring a few spare ziplock bags to put the gloves in and a separate one for the knives. I've thrown a sheath and my watch away on 2 different occasions haha.

For the knife discussion. I switched to a morakniv in a plastic sheath. Super easy to clean up afterwards.

My pack has:
2 headlamps
Plastic trash bag
2 small towels
Zip ties
Deer calls
Morakniv and gerber knives (gerber has a gut hook)
License and permission and tags in a ziploc
Thermacell and extra pads
Extra hat and gloves
Orange vest
Extra gallon ziplocs
Extra aaa batteries
Face cover or gaiter
Folding saw
Rope for dragging

I wear my harness and rescue rope when I walk in from the truck. And I keep a snow sled in the truck for dragging. I'm never more than a quarter mile away.

Since I hunt from my deck this and the TV is all I need.

Bountied said:

My pack is light also. I'm hunting, not living off the land for a week. Knife(buck quick change, it has a gutting blade, a drop point, and a saw, why did they stop making these?), snacks(nuts, jerky), water/gatorade, flashlights (headlamp for after hours operations aka field dressing, and a handheld surefire), battery charger for my phone and headlamp, my tree harness/deer dragger, extra CR123s, ammo. Pack probably weighs about 8lbs or less. I use my scope instead of binos since I'm not shooting past 100yds. It works for me. I hunt on private land and it's a 1/2 mile across by a mile deep with a creek on one side, road on one, a river on the other, and a 6ft ditch to the south. You can't get lost.

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I had it drilled in me that you don’t use your scope because then you are pointing your gun at something you are sure you are going to kill.

Granted I’ve hunted a lot of public land. So there would be times I’d be staring at a hunter through my scope if I hadn’t of been using binos.

That and on public land I do a lot of still hunting in fairly thick woods and scan with binos a lot. I’ve picked bedded deer out of thick stuff at a range there is no way I’d spot them with a naked eye (60, 80yds).

lazarus said:

I had it drilled in me that you don’t use your scope because then you are pointing your gun at something you are sure you are going to kill.

Granted I’ve hunted a lot of public land. So there would be times I’d be staring at a hunter through my scope if I hadn’t of been using binos.

That and on public land I do a lot of still hunting in fairly thick woods and scan with binos a lot. I’ve picked bedded deer out of thick stuff at a range there is no way I’d spot them with a naked eye (60, 80yds).

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Yeah when I scope something I may be going to kill it, safety on, finger off the trigger. I've scoped a lot of deer I wasn't planning to kill. I used to carry binos but I never used them because I had my shotgun with a scope right there. If I saw a bush that looked weird I'd glass it. With a shotgun I'm limited to ~100yds or less. My vision is pretty good so binos are not needed. Do whatever you want.