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Less gear. More fun?

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Less gear. More fun?

Postby Jhg » 04 02, 2022 •  [Post 1]

Part of my history is (besides elk guide) is wilderness river guide. We ran trips up to 14 days and 30 peeps. The amount of gear was insane- dutch ovens, gas grills on stands, folding tables that also were designed as body litters, toilets, coolers, canned drinks, tents, sleeping pads, bags, chairs, mixing bowls, etc etc etc. The system we used to organize and pack it all was ingenious. But it was still a shitload of gear.

I noticed hunters draping themselves with gear- and I noticed that many, if they see another hunter using xy or z, especially in a youtube video, will set themselves up with the same gear. It does not matter they now look like a trooper making a rush on a beach head. Not that I actually care what anyone else chooses to carry on themselves hunting, but it is interesting to see how much we seem to "need" to go chase an elk.

Personally, I have always hated a lot of "stuff" hanging off me while hunting. I choose the smallest pack I can get by with, design my bugle strap to get and keep out of the way fast. I hate bino cases on the chest. I carry them, sometimes. But as great as having them can be, I do not think they are so vital that my hunt is a bust without them. But then, I hunt timber.
I have a lady near me sew my hunt pants with pockets that are just the way I like them- specific in function and you never know they are there. I do not like bulk on my legs. They are not load haulers. Legs need to slide through brush and slip past dead branches. I need to know they can do that.

My kill kit is basic. 1st aid kit minimal. Fire starter same but bulletproof. I carry a survival bag. I do not need three different rain coats, do not need gaters. Only need one face scarf, or balaclavas, or hat or neck gators. Choose one.

I carry two knives, but I use them both. I do not need two more packed away "just in case".

Do we need all the gear we think we do? I am not advocating a spear and loin cloth as the grail of minimalism, but have we lost sight of the skills and gotten comfortable with the tech diapers?

Open the debate. What do you consider essential. What can you live without. Do you even care.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby wawhitey » 04 02, 2022 •  [Post 2]

I know guys that cant seem to go hunting without hauling an entire sporting goods store along with them, its crazy. More and more im using less and less. I also hate having binos on my chest. In fact its very rare nowadays for me to even carry binos or a rangefinder hunting. More and more i gravitate towards big tracts of timber where there is just not a lot of glassing opportunity, and encounters will be sudden and close range. I end up having a lot more action this way, and its a lot more fun for me. Sitting glassing all day just isnt my cup of tea. Ive found i do just fine without all the gadgets and bs, and enjoy my hunt more. Plus, i have room in my pack to haul meat out. Dont understand what these guys do after they kill an animal when their pack is fully loaded with gear already. Give me some game bags, a knife, a water filter, headlamp, some spare batteries, a couple calls, and a weapon and im pretty much set. Oh, and dont forget the wet wipes.

As far as your saying you dont need gaiters, i guess you are smart enough to sit home in front of the fire come winter time. Im not that smart. Always out hunting in the snow, and gaiters are essential to me.

One other thing i always carry that i dont think many peopke do is a good, small set of hand pruners. When i find a good looking spot to sit and call, rattle, or just watch and listen, i usually have to trim sone little limbs off a tree trunk ill be sitting against, or lop a little brush out of my way.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Swede » 04 02, 2022 •  [Post 3]

I am with you guys on this. I am some form of minimalist. I like good solid stuff, but it does not have to be the "best", whatever that means. I expect everything to preform properly, but it sure does not need to have a lot of extra bells and whistles.
Case in point, I have a new F150 on order. It is the XL model with an AM/FM radio, but the 3.5 turbocharged engine. Vinal floor covering and few but functionary options. It will tow, but if you go with me, and want to watch a movie, bring your own laptop to watch it on. If you go with me and we are hunting, leave that stuff at home. :D
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby 7mmfan » 04 02, 2022 •  [Post 4]

I used to haul enough to survive for 2 weeks in my day pack. Never hunted further than a mile from the rig but dangit I could homestead there if I wanted. I've cut my pack way down to just what is necessary. Similar to whitey, kill kit, game bags, first aid, food, water bottle and water filter. Head lamp of course. Unlike whitey I so like my binos on my chest. I use them constantly, even in close quarters. I also pack a spotting scope when I head into the high country. Just helps me cover ground with my eyes.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby wawhitey » 04 02, 2022 •  [Post 5]

Well i will be breaking character a bit and carrying a pair of 8x42 binos and a rangefinder when i go to idaho next month. If i see a bear before i start calling the binos will give me a chance to make damn sure its not a grizz before i start making my fawn noises. And a rangefinder because ill be carrying a scoped rife incase i get into wolves that are hanging up a ways out. Leaving the 444 at home for this one. Taking the 308 for a walk.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Jhg » 04 03, 2022 •  [Post 6]

wawhitey wrote:...More and more im using less and less....Oh, and dont forget the wet wipes....



Wet wipes.How did we ever get by without them. Seriously. If I run out or forget them I feel both dread and disappointment, but mostly dread.

I was watching a recent elk video that is part of a series they do ever year. Except for one group, I felt like I was watching a movie about road hunting. Lots of material showing guys getting in and out of trucks. Standing next to trucks. Loading gear into and out of trucks. Not surprisingly, the most successful group was in the woods, horses or hiking.
Point being, that the gear question also gets at why are we out there? For myself there is the successful tag. But as important is the "esthetic experience". It is super important to me that I feel like my days hunting are largely a woods and "in the field" experience.

When I return home I am refreshed because I got away from all the reminders that are a part of our daily lives- politics, screens, advertisements, rewards programs, and the noise. Being in a truck every day driving around is not my idea of getting away from it all.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Indian Summer » 04 03, 2022 •  [Post 7]

When I decide what I am going to carry the first thing I do is put it into 1 of 2 categories. Want or need. I’ll start with want. These are things I can do without. Their purpose is likely to either make a task a little easier or to make me more comfortable. But they’re not necessary. Sometimes there’s a gray area. For example a nylon siltarp. Most elk hunters would not put that in the need or must have category. But I hate rain. Did I mention that I freaking HATE rain?!? But I don’t carry rain gear. I don’t need it often enough to put it in the need category. To me rain gear barely serves a purpose anyway. When you wear it you sweat so you get wet from the inside as much as you would from the outside. Also if you’re mobile eventually water works its way inside anyway. So to me it’s not worth carrying. For that reason a lightweight sil tarp works its way closer to the need category. Once I set it up as a portable shelter not only am I 100% dry but so is my pack and gun. gun. There’s a value to that. I can sit and glass or shoot from under my portable shelter all day long in any kind of weather. So it works its way into a very special category of items that can potentially increase my chance of killing a bull.

I do wear a Bino pouch. If it only served one purpose I might not. But like nearly all of my gear it serves multiple purposes. It also holds my rangefinder. It holds my wind detector. It holds extra ammo where I can get it quick and easy. I it also holds my diaphragm calls. When something serves that many purposes it gets the nod as being worthy of an item that I need.

I’ve had many clients and many friends who were new hunters ask me about all of the gear they need. Many many times I told them nope you definitely don’t need that. I know they’re thinking yeah but it sure could come in handy. I tell them on day one you’ll be saying yeah it would be nice to have this, yeah I might need this, yeah this sure could come in handy but on day two you’ll open your pack and start throwing things across a tent saying screw this, don’t need that, who cares if this comes in handy and all the sudden you’ll start seeing things the way I do.

Years of elk hunting helps you fine-tune your gear and that means becoming a minimalist to a certain degree. But I’ll never eliminate an item that’s going to help me hunt longer harder and increase my chances of punching my tag.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Lefty » 04 03, 2022 •  [Post 8]

I use to carry what many carry. But Ive whittled it down substantially.
My first aid kit consists of suggestions from a friend PP. who was a real mountaineer: AT my neighbor , a military doctor: and D.S. a long ago friend-Army Ranger-medic.
D.S spent 3 days someplace US military wasnt suppose to be. Broken back, hips leg and foot bone. He jokingly commented the best 3 days of his life with the good meds he had. So I carry some potent little pill, aspirin, Benadryl ,
DS and and AT both state medical emergency knowledge, Along with Years of first Aid trainings. Know how to splint, tourniquet use. Keep em breathing and not bleeding out. everything else is mionr . So many items are mutli -purpose.
AT say a comfort kit,.. My first aid kit is not much bigger than a deck of cards.
So Boy scout motto " Be prepared" also means don't be stupid,,

My phone, GPS/maps, emergency contacts

Overnight emergency plastics bags, 3 types of fire starting, 9 hour candle
Meat kit consists of a knife- painters plastic/plastic bags

Water, and more water, sometimes 1000 calories .

I have yet to say I wish I had ****** along. Im not going to die of exposure, wont loose meat ( well maybe on a 90 degree night and 100 degree days )

Now at my ATV, pickup up and camp I could do surgery lol :lol:

Im a bigger guy. When backpacking not counting food and water, my pack is 29 lbs ( including fishing gear)

I was a former Scoutmaster and worked with boys 12-17 years old. A firm believer of K.I.S.S. Knowledge is more important than stuff.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Swede » 04 03, 2022 •  [Post 9]

Indian Summer wrote: But I’ll never eliminate an item that’s going to help me hunt longer harder and increase my chances of punching my tag.


There folks, you have it in a nice condensed form. I tend to also agree with Lefty on the 1st aid kit, but I don't carry even that.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Indian Summer » 04 06, 2022 •  [Post 10]

Me neither Swede . No first aid, no rain gear, no game bags either. Why carry them all week when you’re only gonna need them one day? That stuff doesn’t help me kill elk.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby 7mmfan » 04 06, 2022 •  [Post 11]

My game bags weigh virtually nothing, so I have no issues carrying those around with me. I have peace of mind knowing that I can have the animal fully quartered and contained before I leave the kill site.

I go back and forth on the rain gear. Like you IS, I DESPISE being wet. It's probably my least favorite thing. And my rain gear is heavy because it's quality. I have carried a tarp with me a few times, but I rarely sit in one place long enough to make it worthwhile. In the areas we hunt the elk are on the move a lot it seems, so setting up to watch one big basin for a whole day can be a waste of time. They may be just one or two over. I have learned to wear raingear without getting soaked in sweat. If I know I'm going to be wearing my raingear and covering ground, I literally only wear my raingear, sometimes with a base layer under it. My clothes go in a trash bag in my pack and stay dry for when I change back into them later.

The tarp that I have is big though, 10x10. I could probably get a smaller/lighter version to keep in my pack. Having an emergency shelter is not a bad idea anyway.

Every year it seems I go through my pack before my hunts and take more stuff out than I put in. Inexperience early on lead to packing a ton of "just in case" stuff. As I've gained more experience, and burned more calories, most of that just in case stuff has been unpacked. My current pack list is as such:

Kill Kit:
- Full set ultralight game bags, vacuumed sealed to reduce bulk.
- Havalon Titan knife. Has regular folding blade and replaceable blades. Having replaceable blades eliminates need for sharpener
- 4'x 8' sheet of painters plastic
- tags
- Half roll of electrical tape
- half a dozen zip ties
- Clip-Shot
- Flagging ribbon
- 1 contractor grade trash bag
-

Trekking Poles
Javelin Bipod
food/water for the day
1 liter Katadyn Squeeze water filter
Small first aid kit, size of card deck
Toilet Paper and wet wipes
Battery pack/cord to charge my phone
Phone
Garmin In-reach
Fire Kit
- matches, 2 lighters, fire starter patches, couple lumps of dried pitch

Now, is there stuff in there that I could get by without? Absolutely. I rarely use the following:
- battery pack
- first aid kit
- fire kit
- Garmin In-reach

However, those are items that when needed could make an enormous difference for me. Even life or death. Adding a small Sil tarp would be a good addition. Everything else in my pack gets used on virtually every trip.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Jhg » 04 07, 2022 •  [Post 12]

Well, game bags always. 2 contractor trash bags, one pre cut into what is basically a ground cloth for one person, or a place to lay quarters. The other, if it really actually rains longer than a couple hours I make into an emergency rain poncho. Thats my rain gear out here in the Rocky Mtns.

I carry a diy seat pad. Since I somehow manage to lose these, versions have been cut from worn out hogman waders (really nice), wet suits, and closed cell sleeping pads. It isn't that my butt has to have padding, even though that is nice. It needs to stay dry and warm. Nothing is worse than sitting on a wet log or cold wet rock without an sit pad. If these home made pads weighted 10lbs and were the size of a small car I would still carry one.
I always carry a light folding saw and use it quite a bit. It is right there in a pocket ready to hand so its easy and I build little blinds or cut the branch that blocks me walking a log across a stream.

Bought gear I actually needed and still use: bugle (wait, I made my own), bow quiver, pack hook from Abowyer, the pack frame and bag system (spent much $ on those but it is worth it), boots and socks ((more $), gloves that actually can be used while hunting- shooting my bow, etc., sunglasses, and a decent hat with a brim so rain will not drip down my neck.
I take fire starter pretty seriously and always can get one going if I need to and when I need to it is wet, dreary and the psychological lift a fire brings is huge on a mentally tough hunt.

A note on wools.
Some of you know about the floods we had here in Colorado a few years ago. It rained steady for days. All the other hunters packed up and went home- wet wood, leaky tents and steady rain drove them out. I kept hunting. I had a truck camper and I had wool. I hunted all day, every day, in relative comfort. The wools I had on were the tight woven type and then the wool swelled shut. A thin poly pro next to skin layer kept my dry enough to be able to concentrate on hunting and not on the rain. Sure, there were moments of exasperation when it was really coming down, but in general I was warm and happy. Not dry exactly, but not uncomfortable either and that is good enough.

So I guess gear that performs and can also perform under differing conditions, or gear that is essential for a hunting task, like processing an animal, because without that piece life would suck so thats why you have it along. Or gear that is a personal thing that someone else scoffs at but you have been in the woods a lot over your life and you know yourself so you pack it along.

20' of paracord. Fire starter. A trash bag. Can I make it through the night if I get hurt or have to stay out? Can I stay warm and dry no matter what weather? All I need is an emergency bag, my clothing and my wits. Don't need stuff to survive the apocalypse, build a cabin or bake a cake although cake would be nice sometimes.

I do not bring a little hatchet.

I carry my .45 1911. If I need to chop anything up I use that.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Swede » 04 07, 2022 •  [Post 13]

And I have no game bags either. I have a freighter that I pack out meat in. My day pack is too small to be used for a pack frame for meat, and besides I don't want meat in it even if it could handle a backstrap. If i get something, I will go back to my truck for game bags, a saw, etc., and I just might be able to get help too. :D
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Swede » 04 07, 2022 •  [Post 14]

7mmfan wrote:Toilet Paper and wet wipes


You need to man up and get back to nature. :twisted:
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby 7mmfan » 04 07, 2022 •  [Post 15]

Swede wrote:
7mmfan wrote:Toilet Paper and wet wipes


You need to man up and get back to nature. :twisted:


I was always a poison oak guy. Then I had a kid and i was curious about wet wipes. Tried it and never looked back. I poop in luxury now.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Swede » 04 07, 2022 •  [Post 16]

My cousin had an emergency when we were kids. He had no idea what he could use to wipe with, so I pointed to some nearby nettles on our granddad's farm near Vader WA. He still remembers how soft those leaves are.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Jhg » 04 12, 2022 •  [Post 17]

My wife wants me to start carrying an Inreach or similar emergency locator
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby 7mmfan » 04 12, 2022 •  [Post 18]

Jhg wrote:My wife wants me to start carrying an Inreach or similar emergency locator


I started carrying one when we had our first child. It was less for me and more for them. I am not worried about myself in the woods, pretty typical 30 something man mentality, but it makes her more comfortable and god forbid something happened at home I would be able to find out.

My main hunting partner is my Dad. He's 65, in fantastic shape, and as confident in the woods as anyone. However, stuff happens. I also carry it for him and send it with him when he goes solo. He has no idea how to send messages or text with it, but in the event of an emergency he can hit that SOS button and know the cavalry is on the way.
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby saddlesore » 04 16, 2022 •  [Post 19]

Except for small hand held range finder when I am ML hunting.I am still carrying the gear I did 20 years ago that all the unnecessary stuff got culled out I don't have chest bag for my binos, but do have harness .I use to use only,a piece of stretch material but got tired of the binos banging on my chest.I might have one topo map in my pack,but no GPS, phone, etc.

Using livestock a whole new game concerning gear comes into play. Most game processing tools are in my panniers. My rain gear is never far away. Getting wet,even in Sept, and not making it back to camp could very well end in hypothermia. With livestock, I am not usually within walking distance of my camp, so I do carry a minimal first aid kit.

INstaed of garbage bags , I by the $2 poly drop tarp from Walmart that weighs about 3oz. It is 10' x 10'
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Re: Less gear. More fun?

Postby Lefty » 04 30, 2022 •  [Post 20]

Swede wrote:
7mmfan wrote:Toilet Paper and wet wipes


You need to man up and get back to nature. :twisted:


:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
No more,, I like real TP,

We also us TP as tracking tape,,, a few rains and its gone. I think I learned a long long time ago,,, TP was a main necessity,.,,,,I hear stories of socks , shirt sleeve, tossing away underwear. Done the nature thing plenty,,,, but that is easy enough to avoid.
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