Keeping it simple and lightweight while ground hunting

[frassettor]

#170229

Good afternoon. I was just looking to hear what others are carrying for “ necessities” in their pack . I find out that I carry way too much and don’t like it. As a ground hunter, I like lightweight and simple but find that when I carry my side quiver, ghillie, chair and the essentials, I find it heavy and cumbersome.

[John Popielarczyk]

#170230

Pen, license, drag rope, knife, gutting gloves and compass. Usually in a small Kuiu back pack. The smallest they have. Sandwich/snack and platypus water bottle. Also in pack. Ground pad to sit on. I use a side quiver as well. Dress for the weather. Extra wool gloves and hat in pack if it’s cold. I never tried a ghillie suit.
I understand trying to pare things down. I’m always trying to do the same.

[klfrassetto]

#170235

I recently purchased  Kifaru pack that I strap my waldrop pac seat to. Everything feels so heavy to me.

[John Popielarczyk]

#170240

I don’t have the waldrop seat but have looked at them and they seem pretty cumbersome to me. I have used a kayak chair on occasion. Pretty light, inexpensive and comfortable for a 2-3 hour sit. You could also try a Torges seat or one of the variations if you want to be higher off the ground. I couldn’t strap anything to my pack. Maybe a poncho. Are you just going out for the day or overnight?

• This reply was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by John Popielarczyk.

[richard roop]

#170242

I see that we have a couple of new voices here. Greetings and salutations from S.E. Arizona !!!!

What I carry (usually too much) depends on what I’m doing & when. A morning walk-about calling coyotes, I’ll take a shoulder bag with calls, tracking tape, knife, pruning shears, license / tags, some para-cord, some cheese & crackers and a bottle or two of sweet tea.  Also always have binoculars and rangefinder on a strap. I wear knee pads for a bit of comfort while tucked back into a cubby in a bush via the pruning shears.  Gloves & a beanie over a camo baseball cap for the early cold.  I carry a powder bottle for wind detection in a pocket.

For longer all day treks or sits I took a folding dove stool WITH A BACK REST, threw away the bag under the seat and sewed a day pack onto it  I then sewed a hip belt onto the day pack. I now have a pack that I can carry far more junk than I need and at the end of each season I go thru everything and ask myself “What were you thinking ??” I usually have a paperback book to read (or start a fire with) more munchies, and much more fluids. I have a GPS gizmo, and all of the stuff I would have in the shoulder bag.  My bow quiver always has two or three expendable blunts for roving shots.  On the warmer days or while scouting I carry one of those insulated lunch bags with a frozen water bottle and a couple of zip-loc baggies. If I get lucky and pop a rabbit or two I can clean it and keep the meat cool or at least have a cool drink of tea.

Edit to add; I like to carry stuff that has multiple uses. Paperback / firestarter. Kleenix / trail markers, chapstick / string wax & firestarter etc.

• This reply was modified 1 month, 2 weeks ago by richard roop.

[John Popielarczyk]

#170249

I also carry a lighter/matches and a plastic garbage bag. Forgot about those. I don’t use binoculars anymore. I always figure they make me move around too much. If I have a shot, it will be close and I’ll see the deer without them.😀 Same with the gps. OnX on the cell phone covers that base.

[frassettor]

#170255

John,

quite the contrary. They are not cumbersome at all. They are extremely light and comfortable. I mainly go for afternoon or day hunts.

[John Popielarczyk]

#170258

Interesting. I’ve watched a number of video reviews on them and guess I got the wrong impression. They look bigger than anything I’d want to carry although one of them seems turkey seat size. Just figured they’d be heavy based on the size. Heavier anyway.
I’m still trying to figure it all out. If I ever do, I’ll let you know.😀

[frassettor]

#170259

It’s weighs 3 1/2 pounds , folds flat

[aeronut]

#170262

The timber I hunt in is thick enough I don’t need binoculars.  I use a Dawgware quiver that has two pockets and carry the items I need.

Small first aid kit, fire starter and ball of lint, paracord, signal light, compass, granola bars, small water bottle, license.  At my age I have an In reach I carry on my belt along with my cell phone.  I still hunt through the woods and use the deadfall trees as a seat to hide in for a blind.  I carry three broadheads and one target point in the quiver and my favorite selfbow weighs just 14 oz total.  I go as light as possible.

[Stephen Graf]

#170310

I don’t know why they aren’t more popular, but I always have to pitch the hammock seat for ground hunting adventures.  Nothing is smaller, easier, faster, or more comfortable for a sit in the woods.

That said, nothing is perfect.  For them with thicker thighs, they can squeeze around the legs and be uncomfortable.  But we traditional hunters are resourceful folk.  I made a “tee” fitting on my 3d printer that fits the end of the extension rod and relieves the problem.  And now the seat IS perfect. Those without a 3d printer could use a 3/4″ PVC T.

I think Fanatic Outdoors came up with the idea, and that’s who I got mine from.  But they now have a new and improved version that has 2 telescoping legs.  I haven’t tried it.  But there are knock-off products on Amazon that (I hate to say it) are better and cheaper.

I killed 2 deer and a coyote from mine this year.  I seem to spend less time standing and more time sitting these days 🙁

Happy New Year everyone!

[Raymond Coffman]

#170362

Like Steve ,I have an original hammock seat that I like a lot and use more often than in the past , since passing  the 71yr mark….

Like Richard ,I have different day packs for different hunts, always have e gear, but mix and match for different terrain and situations..

I always have binos , don’t use a rangefinder much ( depending) as I don’t shoot past 25 yds or so..

I use binos everywhere, even in deep woods / brush . Amazing what you see with them sometimes that the naked eye misses. Slow movement of the glass of course is key ” like molasses in wintertime”.

I was Coues deer hunting in the “CherryCows” (Chiricahua Mtns Az) some years ago. Still hunting a long a trail in a deep canyon, thick growth on the sides but I could see clearly about 75 yds up the trail. I noticed something in the trail about 35 yds ahead (I’m 20/20 with glasses on). I couldn’t quite make it out. Very very sloooowly I raise my lightweight zeiss glass ( use a Pentax forge now, great glass for a reasonable price. Both 10x) and see a bobcat’s upper head ( eye/ears) looking back at me, slowly lowering ITS head below the dip in the trail..I tried to ease up to get a shot , too late …The cat had slipped off into the deep grass and brush. Just one example ( from many) of using binos up close….

Scout aka Ray

[richard roop]

#170365

The binos that I use are Vortex 6.5×32.  Low enough power to hand hold steady but still strong enough for what I need.  The big plus is that they are the only ones I’ve found with a good field of view with my glasses on.  Mounted on a tri-pod I can glass steady without eyestrain.  I like them enough that I bought a back-up pair.  As I recall, they were pretty reasonably priced, too.

I have a couple of rangefinders. I carry the Bushnel most of the time.  For ranging big game, not so much but for confirming guest-a-ments  after a roving shot is good practice. Roving shots can be anything from 5 yards to 125 yards.  Often, I’ll look at a rock or a tree, estimate the yardage and then check it with the rangefinder.  Useful tool.  Useful practice. I have it on my bino strap so I always have them both with me.

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