Home › Forums › Campfire Forum › A few things I've learned
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Would like to draw on some of what you guys and lady BOW HUNTERS might have learned about hunting and gear over your years of experience.
Offer up a tip or two to share.
Converse black tennis shoes, the mild weather whitemans moccosins.
A Pancho in the rain! sit and watch it pour, rolls up neatly for your backpack.
Your extra string should always have been shot in.
Two knives.
Learn to read a topo/compass, even if you have a GPS, carry both.
Roll up some duck tape on an old arrow shaft, enough to tape a stick to a broken leg.
Para cord, at least 20 feet.
Big orange hwy dept type trash bag.
Lastly, a cell phone turned off, in a ziplock. -
Learn to make fire.
If camping push two sticks into the ground and place boots upside down on these at night, helps to stop things moving in ,allows air to circulate and stops them filling with water because it will rain the minute you leave them unattended.
Change batteries in flash lights etc. frequently and take spares.
In areas where you expect to find water a good filtration system is often easier than carrying extra water.
BURN VELCOVE nothing in nature sounds like it and it can’t be undone silently, its only good for kids shoes.
Always plan a stalk/creep check the ground, dead ground, bottle necks, dead ends, thorn bushes and wind.
Don’t get tunnel vision when tracking or stalking always check to the sides and whats between you and the target.
Take something to eat that makes you feel good for when you are sat under your poncho watching the world become a sponge.
Take something off before you get hot and put something on before you get cold.
Mark guy ropes so that they can be seen in the dark.
Mark.
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Whatever gear you buy, buy the best stuff you can afford. It will save you money in the long run. Even my wife is convinced of this…she TOLD me to buy the Swarovskis’!:D
And above all else, HAVE FUN! It’ll make the other hunters jealous.
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For those in colder climates –
Get boots with extra felt liners and change them out at noon and four. Dry feets is warm feets. Change yer socks too and hang on to the used pair for stuffing down your mate’s craw when his snoring goes above 47 dB 😆
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Hey you guys know your stuff! Great tips, all, and none I would disagree with. This is the sort of grassroots info that all experienced outdoorsmen/women have, in one form and another, and should share. I have nothing to add right now but am an eager student! Keep it coming and for fun, let’s say the total can’t amount to more than 20 pounds including pack weight (for a day hunt). As I get older I “need” to learn to carry less and get the weight down. Yet every year it seems to cree up even more. In large part that’s because I always assume I’m going to succeed (sooner or later) and I prepare for it. I guess that’s my tip here, after all, if only in a broadly general way: I’m frequently shocked and disappointed at how many hunters with enough experience to know better, hunt deep into the backcountry chasing elk or other big game, and maybe carry one knife, no game bags, no pack suitable for hauling meat, no sharpener, no flashlight, etc. If they are so convinced they won’t make a kill that they feel safe not carrying the tools of success in order to save a bit of weight, well, maybe they should take up lawn bowling instead, where they have to carry nothing but a gin-tonic. Meat is wasted, trophies are ruined, all is lost just to lighten the load a bit. On the other hand we have the “gear hogs” who are gullible enough to believe all the incredible BS put out by advertisers who tell us me “must” have this and that and the other thing too, and an ATV to haul it all on, and a trailer for the ATV, and a Big Rig to haul the ATV trailer, etc., geeze such a world. Thanks, dp
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Have a Good Compass and backup and know how to use them.
Have two fire starters – waterproof matches and flint and steel (having a church candle helops for keeping a flame going.
Carry water or water purifier – you dehydrate quicker in the cold.
Have a Plan and stick to it. Make sure someone at home knows where you are – if your plan changes make sure it is communicsted.
If you get lost – ADMIT IT. Build a fire and get comfy. Rescue People will find you.
Have lots of snickers bars – light in the pack. High in sugar and energy = just what you need to help fight off hypothermia.
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LED’s
Two nocks on string for three under, one over, one under.
Female velcro on the belly side tips, help silence string hits on recurves.
Silencers in 3rd’s on the string.
Give yourself a day to acclimate, two is better.
Sow the pocket in the middle of your shirts, compact bino slip.
A pint of whiskey for the sheepherder gets decent info. A fifth gets the truth.
If you do not know where you are going, and where you are at, Stop, and go back to where you started, preferably camp.
Off the shelf or a springy for hunting in rough country. Stick ons are a gamble.
In bear country, pull your hams up over a limb with para cord if you have to leave them overnight, not too close to the limb edge.
Chlorophyl caplets two weeks before the hunt, and during. Ivory soap if nothing else. No aftershaves scented, or colognes before or during. -
Keep a bag of Science Diet Lamb and Rice in your pack, it will work if you need to survive. Doesn’t taste good, but will keep you alive.
All good advice here, I have cut what I take to the woods, and only take what I absolutely need, not what I think I need.
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After not hearing an Elk or Deer for a day or so of hunting, don’t actually hear an animal and talk yourself into believing that it “couldn’t” be an Elk or Deer because you haven’t heard one while on this hunting trip. Treat every noise and sense as if it IS the real thing until determined otherwise. This informational item adds no weight to your pack!
Idabow -
Cottonwood wrote: Keep a bag of Science Diet Lamb and Rice in your pack, it will work if you need to survive. Doesn’t taste good, but will keep you alive.
With all due respect, did you fall and bump your head?! I can understand eating dog food if you found some and had nothing else to eat and were in desparate need of food, but to INTENTIONALLY pack it when you could pack ANYTHING you want, is crazy!
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Patrick wrote: [quote=Cottonwood]Keep a bag of Science Diet Lamb and Rice in your pack, it will work if you need to survive. Doesn’t taste good, but will keep you alive.
With all due respect, did you fall and bump your head?! I can understand eating dog food if you found some and had nothing else to eat and were in desparate need of food, but to INTENTIONALLY pack it when you could pack ANYTHING you want, is crazy!
Patrick – it is a food source of such, it is not what you would snack on during the day. But in the country I live and hunt in, one can get way back into the back country while hunting ie the Bob Marshall Wilderness is one such place I live close to.If one falls, and gets hurt, your rescue could be days away if one does not have SPOTME that enables one to be located rather quickly by http://international.findmespot.com and many a bowhunter/hunter does not. Cell phones are of no use in this rugged country, and it sure beats eating bugs, if all you can do is drag yourself around from stump to stump, or dead fall to dead fall grubbing like the bears do.
The focus is to keep one alive until help arrives.
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Don’t pack your Lanski sharpener…too much weight. Just get a 2 sided coarse/fine sharpener that you can use for broadheads, knives or fish hooks. Mine is a Smiths, and it works great on my pocket knife and hunting knives. Still learning how to sharpen broadheads with it, but that just takes practice. Also, it never hurts to carry 10 feet of fishing line and some hooks/sinkers with you. If you can fish, you can eat. And don’t forget the first aid kit. Something I still haven’t perfected yet, and I manage to cut myself regularly, whether it’s on a sharp knife, broadhead, stick/branch…you name it. Add some moleskin for blisters, too. Various cloth-type bandaids…knuckle, straight, butterfly…etc.
Michael.
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Hiram, ‘Female velcro on the belly side tips, help silence string hits on recurves.’ this must be velcro’s only saving grace.
Cottonwood, may I suggest an alternative to Science Diet, rice and smoked sausage, the rice just needs a zip-lock bag or four individual portions of half a mug, a couple of spiced sausages can be distributed about pockets and pack easily and is good hot or cold.
Michael, I’ve lost mine but these are great ‘Fallkniven DC3 Sharpening Stone’ diamond one side and ceramic the other and very light.
Mark.
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I buy the bigger wider strips of stick on velcro at wal-mart. I cut the female (soft) strip into a strip that covers the limb groove to pad the string. This same strip makes good shelf material as well. I like velcro! It keeps my BP vest attached (keepers) and my ankle holster on. What is bad about velcro?:)
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I cant belive this…none of you mention hot-melt glue. Allways bring a few sticks of hot-melt glue, the transparant rubbery kind.
Its excelent for repairing almost anything including minor holes in inflatable matresses, tents, clothes, shoes/boots…you name it. Works in all weather and at close to all temperatures, all you need is a heat source!
Its the one thing you dont wanna forget…besides bow and arrows;-)
Cheers
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Begrudgingly I admit that on RARE occasions velcro may possibly have a use. My gripe is that it is used to close and secure all manner of holders and cant be undone quietly, will self-seal when not required to do so and makes that noise that can only be likened to catching a favourite shirt on a nail and provokes the same reaction:evil:
It also collects all manner of crud and whatever its attached to WILL start to curl up at the edges when the Velcro starts to become less effective.
Best use is on emergency splints and kids shoes.
Mark.
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SteveMcD wrote: Have lots of snickers bars – light in the pack. High in sugar and energy = just what you need to help fight off hypothermia.
I’ve got to disagree with this one. Here’s my take:
If you’re really worried about hypothermia you’re going to need something hartier than candy. My choice would be jerky (fat+protein=warmth). Any vegitarians here to object? 😆 Oatmeal would be good too if you are settling down with a fire to cook it up on.
I suppose that if you know you’re only an hour away from camp & you’re getting concerned, you could cram in a snickers for a little jolt. But if something else were to delay return, I fear the sugar crash would leave you worse off that you were.Snickers vs. Dog Food. Vote now! 😆
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Hubertus, vegetarians on a bowhunting site:shock: those will be the quorn hunters:D
I like malt loaf and use it when waterfowl hunting, even tastes fine after a week and doest even mind being sat on, dogs also like it keeps them busy sucking the malt of their teeth. Also have a stash of hard rock candy, for slow sugar release.
Mark.
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While I agree with Hubertus that a Snickers bar ain’t “real food,” I also agree with SteveMcD’s implication that among candy bars (not counting your high-end yuppie brands), Snickers is worth carrying. I don’t even particularly like them — I prefer my pnuts in the shell, esp. at happy hour, and not in candy or other “foods” — but I’ve learned that they are more “satisfying and lasting” than all other candies I’ve tried. Except of course my wife’s homemade chocolate fudge crammed with pecans. But try and get her to cook that during hunting season! 🙄 I hunt in pretty darned rugged country compared to most folks, yet unless I’m backpacking overnight I never have carried “survival food.” Just food. Canned chicken white meat is a great filler (just be sure to bring a ziplock bag to pack out the can). Snickers. Venison jerky if I have it. We can live for a really long time without food (and most of us would benefit from a week of “starvation”). We we can’t go long and still function without water. I personally rate staying warm first, water second, shelter third and food last. But then how many of us ever have or ever will truly need survival food for more than a night? It’s far more “comfort food.” I once backpack hunted for 5 days and 4 nights with just a big bag of trail mix, a few candy bars, a pound of venison jerky … and a pint of bourbon. I did not suffer. Selah, Snuffs.
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It still sucks if you don’t even have a candy bar to chew on if you get stuck out over night. LOL. But yes, most times, the food we carry is, in fact, “comfort food”, as Snuffy put it.
Michael.
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The GUTLESS technique,enough pack for a good load of meat back to the truck, decent emergency kit.
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I would prefer snickers or trail mix to dog food but jerky does seem to do well if you would prefer something that does not melt, the early part of the colorado elk season can still be fairly warm(opening day august 28th).
Fleece covered back packs are quieter especially with out velcro.
Nothing beats using your head if the weather moves in or something goes wrong.
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I like pemmican or trailmix myself. a 3oz bar of pemmican has almost 400 calories and 20 grams of protein. Its almost a meal all by itself.
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When moving/setting a stand mid-day during the rut, take your bow with you. (Duh!-This was looooong ago)
When hunting ALWAYS be alert of your surroundings- it may soon be your turn to shoot a big deer.
Hold onto the bow while on stand, because the deer will sneak in from behind you and pin you down otherwise.
The only persons behavior you can control is your own – so choose your friends wisely. (Told this to my kids over and over)
Practice may not make perfect, but things still work better with more practice.
If you can’t visualize something first, you’ll never achieve it without dumb luck.
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Had not given much thought to what possibly might be my last meal but I’m certain it would not be dog food if I’m still in control! LOL!
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Hubertus wrote: [quote=SteveMcD]I’ve got to disagree with this one. Here’s my take:
If you’re really worried about hypothermia you’re going to need something hartier than candy. My choice would be jerky (fat+protein=warmth). Any vegitarians here to object? 😆 Oatmeal would be good too if you are settling down with a fire to cook it up on.Then we agree to politely disagree.. Tried Jerky… does nothing to relieve hunger pains. And does not provide necesary high calorie burning carbs to covert into body sugar. It is the body sugar that provides quick fuel to the body core. There wouldn’t be any sugar high to worry about. I have to agree with Hiram on the Trail Mix though, a wise choice. Even Snickers bars freeze which can be murder on the teeth.
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“Whats the best daypack?”
Hiram, are you trying to hijack your own thread! :lol::wink:
Ain’t we done that one before?
Just a side note — hijinxing the attempted hijack — on all hunter’s sites I’ve visited, gear discussions far outnumber all others. Magazines of course, and of necessity to a point, pay lots of attention to gear since gear ads for the most part pay the bills. But why are we so obsessed with stuff we can just flash the plastic and buy? Just curious here — why the apparent majority fixation on gear rather than woodsmanship, technique, places, feelings, stories and all the rest that makes up real hunting? I see hunting as a mini-culture under the wing of Big Momma Culture. And BM tells us we can buy happiness and success. Again, no criticism or lecturing or anything else involved here other than curiosity. I’ll never understand the human animal. Esp. my wife! 😛 Of course, she says the same for men/me. dp -
Good ole peanut butter! Had a retired Army Lt. Colonol tell me of of his many expeditons into “no mans land” VC territories that he always relied on peanut butter and Beech nut chew instead of smokes! This fella knew his stuff, still does. Trail mix has nuts and raisins etc. broken down, much the same, protein, sugers.
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To improve peripheral vision tip your head back slightly.
When trying to locate a noise in thick brush or dark cup hands behind ears, to hear whats going on behind do the same in reverse.
To determine exact wind direction face into the wind and then move your head until the wind is even on both ears.
If you do eat snickers in sub zero temperatures cut it into chunks before setting out allow it to freeze so you can suck on it, lasts longer and wont cost you at the dentist.
Mark.
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Your the Man Dave! I know I forget sometimes and my mind wonders into the next thought for some reason. My old sweedish world war two model is due to retire, so I need to get another, but your right! Equipment should not be the focus all the time, else we become more preopped with the mechanical nature of things, and less emphasis on the body in the woods! I am especially blessed with a good sense of “where I’m at” nt getting lost and kinda knowing that I should have the basics already in place “gear”, so OK, back to the woods!:)
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Hiram wrote: http://www.wikihow.com/Find-True-North-Without-a-Compass
Gee, it’s July already! Things I’ve learned in the boonies- it’s ok to take a nap in the afternoon, just realize whatever you’re hunting will sneak by you. Walk in the woods, not through it- take a field guide and learn. Make up your own Altoid survival tin and carry it religiously. Practice your survival skills and work on the weak ones. Haven’t been hungry enough for the dog food yet but lifeboat rations, candy or power bars but real pemmican-50%meat+50%fat+berries can’t be beat. SS mug so you can heat up some instant coffee(Starbucks Viva best so far) or tea, boullion cubes, cocoa- your choice. Most of all, try not to do stupid things that get you written up in the local paper esp. the obit section,where many of the dumbass hikers end posthumously. You really don’t want to start walking, with the load you’re carrying, in new boots the first day of hunting!
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Sorry guys, ‘puter heated up- got to the low 80’s here in the PNW- time to sleep in the bathtub wrapped in in a wet sheet with a fan turned on high. Back to our topic- besides the usual; attempt to get some of the honey-do lists things done before hunting season i.e. Yes Dear!(say it like you mean it) the burning query on this thread seems to be Hiram’s ‘What’s the best daypack?’ The easy answer is the one you have but I’ve come to prefer the fleece two-piece- belt and shoulder you can zip together or separate at your choice. Why have a daypack at all when you can wear a pair of military combat pants with commodious leg pockets in the hue you prefer- along with the many models of ‘combat’ vests with a gazillion pockets including a hydration pocket for a Camelback or equivalent and you’re good to go. Besides it’ll be useful when the Shumer hits the Bloomberg i.e. the SHTF, TEOTWAWKI and other lovely scenarios rapidly approaching. Actually, somewhere on this site is a photo of our own inestimable David Petersen with his version of a ‘lightweight’ pack- it’s the size of a small house and he’s smiling because he’s stopped- and it’s five feet to the campsite at 10,000 feet somewhere in the Rockies! One other suggestion if you hunt the huge Elk as David does- hire a pack of porters-Sherpas are wonderful I hear.
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Always have a spare tire and a spare set of car keys.
Always have two knives and a sharpener. Always make sure at least one knife has a lanyard to the sheat in case you drop it in the brush it will be easier to recover.
Always make sure to carry enough water and water purification tablets or purifier.
Always carry a magnesium stiker to start a fire. Way better than matches or most lighters. Just use pitch from a tree and the cotton balls that come with the water purification tablets.
Always have tickets for the show. TP.
Always keep your hunting license and tags in one pack for hunting season’s entirety.
Never eat yellow snow.
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Take some first aid training, carry equipment to stop bleeding and know how to use it. (Super glue and cellopane) get a good TOUGH compass, (sits in the bottom of the pack, how often do you check yours?) carry a leaf bag for a emergency bivy sack, carry a couple of lighters, some vaseline soaked cotton balls. I envy you flint and spark guys BUT when I want fire I want it NOW. Let someone know where you are and when you are expected to be back, and when it is time to call the police. Para cord and 100 mph tape hold together the world, carry both. A good sharp knife. Remember the bigger the knife the smaller your…
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At 64, nearly 65, I always like to hunt with a buddy…someone stronger than me but not necessarily faster. 😆
Don’t hunt with anyone who takes bags of dog food into the wilderness. That just ain’t right. 🙂 Fig Newtons are high in complex carbs, protein, vitamin C, and taste like….well..Fig Newtons. They are also cheaper than most dog foods. Besides that, he will probably start howling about three in the morning when you want to sleep.
🙄If you are hunting with a buddy, share the loads but don’t carry the same things. That should be a no brainer, but you never know. No alcohol….it helps with dehydration…..save that weight for water. Now if you’re Irish, then disregard the no alcohol warning.
😕Maps and compass are a must here in the east where you can’t see for forty miles when standing on a rock. 8) We have trees and lots of them, along with ridges and adjoining hollows, etc., etc. A GPS in addition is a definite plus; you can get turned around here quickly in the big woods where everything pretty much looks like everything else.
Hunting should be a lightweight project, not an eighty pound pack, so pick wisely….you can survive with a light pack if it’s smartly set up.
Did I mention “no lamb and rice?” I think I just gagged. 🙄
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Here’s one from Dave Canterbury:
The rule of 3s
I can survive:
3 minutes without oxygen.
3 hours without shelter.
3 days without water.
3 weeks without food.
(a great way to set priorities when packing & if you’re in trouble)
I’ve taken in some of his videos on youtube & gotten some good tips (search Dave Canterbury Pathfinder School). I think he knows his stuff (IMHO). -
carolinabob wrote
I envy you flint and spark guys BUT when I want fire I want it NOW
I believe you’d be surprised to find that magnesium, pitch from a tree and toilet paper light up real darned fast. In fact during wet weather which is quite regular here I don’t rely on a lighter being dry and in working condition. Unless it’s been in a plastic bag. At any rate as long as you get your fire when you need it, that’s the important thing.
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