What do you carry in your backpack, or do you even carry one?

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dennishoddy

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I carry a pretty full backpack even though I'm only 1/2 mile from the vehicle when walking in on one spot and 1/4 mile on the other and I can see flat land for miles in any direction.
It's a day pack, so contained within there is a first aid kit with clotting material for puncture wounds, and an inflatable splint for broken limbs, one of the space blankets to keep warm, a cheap rain poncho that is in a 3" X 4" bag for one time use, compact binoculars, range finder, saw to split the sternum and pelvic bone of a downed animal, roll of nylon twine for whatever, marking tape to hang on limbs or grass while tracking,(also called toilet paper) gutting knife, latex gloves to put over the shoulder length artificial insemination gloves to keep all the gore off the clothes, Ink pen, zip ties and business cards for harvest tags, flashlight and headlamps for whatever duty, backup battery and cable for the cell phone and the snack of choice. I'm sure something is missed. It's about 20-25 lbs. Not that big of a load and in another thread, I mentioned my new hearing aids have a feature that calls 911 and a contact if one falls in another thread giving a map of my location to each.
So, that's what is in mine.
What is in yours?

Edit, a GPS, and a simple magnetic compass to verify the GPS.
 

RidgeHunter

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Very basic first aid
Lifestraw
Knife
Space blanket
Field tags/pen
Headlamp and spare batteries
Dishwashing gloves
Deer drag handle
Some paracord
Compass
Pocket Juice cell phone charger
Lighter and matches
Couple orange bandanas
TP for blood trailing
Snacks, sandwich, tiny can of Pepsi, can of ice coffee if out all day.
Nalgene of water
Few rounds of ammo/few speedloaders during Blackpowder.

Sounds like a lot listed out but it's not much to look at. Tiny stuff. Main compartment of my daypack is solely for layers I don't wear walking in.

25 is heavy! My backpack camping setup is usually ~22lbs before adding a water bladder. I doubt my hunting daypack is more than 12 or so with my coat in it. I will weigh it this week.
 
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RidgeHunter

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Last year I had to help a lease member trail a deer on a warm day and drank all 32oz of my water. I was pretty thirsty when I got to camp that night. Added the Lifestraw this year. It's less "I'm gonna die here" than it is "man I would drink from that creek right now and keep hunting if I could". But it's good for both. They don't weigh much.
 

retrieverman

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I used to carry a loaded pack but am taking the minimalist approach now. Weapon, ammo, extra ammo, skinning knife, binos, range finder, and a bottle of water.
I’m never more than a couple miles from my house, Ranger, or truck where the serious supplies are, so I figure I should be able to make it to one of them if I really need something.:anyone:
 

Hangfire

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I had my hunter orange vest custom made (plain orange one one side and camo orange on the other) super large to fit comfortably with room to spare over insulated coveralls and whatever else I was wearing under them.

When I had it made I had them sew two huge / jumbo breast pockets and two the same size lower pockets below them on the outside of both orange patterns......so I ended up with four, counting inside and out, giant pockets to store things in while out hunting plus I wore a small fanny pack.

My hunting buddy and I would part ways at camp and head different directions and we both hunted within 2 or 3 miles max of camp and he'd always tease me about carrying so much stuff for being as close to camp as we were.

I'd always carry;
1. a canteen of water.
2. drag rope which also doubled as a rope to pull my rifle up in my stand.
3. waterproof matches, a Bic lighter and two 35mm film canisters filled with lint out of the clothes dryer.
3. toilet paper.
4. disposable gloves.
5. plastic bag for the liver and heart.
6. a couple of cheap new dish rags for hand drying.
7. extra folding orange handle Buck knife besides the one always on my belt.
8. space blanket.
9. a busted compass (don't ask :)).
10. snacks which were normally store bought peanut butter & crackers and a candy bar or two.
11. a what looked to be paper thin emergency plastic poncho which came folded up small like my space blanket.
12. two each of three different sizes of Band Aids, small tube of first aid ointment and a large wound dressing.
13. mini mag flashlight with two fresh extra batteries.
14. partial roll of yellow flagging.
15. rifle and two muzzle loader speed loaders and a few extra caps or five extra rounds of ammo.
16. squeeze bottle of commercial made wind direction dust.
17. deer bleat call.
18. pump bottle of 'fresh earth' scented odor masker that I'd use after I sat down.
19. extra wadded up orange cap in case I sweated through the one I had on.
20. small binoculars.
 

Parks 788

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All the hunting I've don has been on private land but tends to be large tracts and I am known to overpack for all/any occasion.

Use an inexpensive camp backpack from BPS
-G19 on right Hip
-Hunting knife on left hip
-Various cover sense and deer piss all in a self contained zippered pouch.
-Flashlight and headlamp
-Extra batteries
-Case pocket knife
-Orange flagging tape
-Snacks - Bars and bagged goodies
-Extra gloves and head covering
-Ammo pouch for rifle with 10 additional rounds
-3 additional G19 Mags and 50 Rd box of HP ammo
-Whistle
-Field dressing gloves
-50' Para cord
-2 bottles of water
-Two large ziplock freezer bags
-Binos - Sometimes - dependent on location of stand
- Foam seat pad hanging off exterior of pack
-Separate EDC pouch I carry in my EDC backpack even at home and it contains: This goes in hunting pack too.
-Lifestraw
-Lighter
-Flint and separate Mag bar
-hacksaw blade
-Maglight and extra batteries
-Izulu 2 neck knife
-6 large safety pins
-25' para cord

Never thought about TP for some reason but will have to add that to my pack for so many reasons.
 

kirk1978

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Field cleaning knife/saw kit
Toilet paper
flashlight
2 bottles of water
bag of beef jerky (for lunch)
heavy gloves, light gloves (one pair will be in the bag and one being worn)
carry my large coat in the backpack on the way in while wearing a smaller jacket to keep from sweating on the walk in. When in the stand I switch.

My 4 wheeler and truck are only 1/2 mile away so anything else is close by.
 

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