Turkey hunting forum for turkey hunting tips

Not including your gun and calls what do you want/need to have with you?  I am not trying to think what more to bring but how little.  Less than 5 is OK too.  One of my essentials would be water.

Besides water, it would be TP/baby wipes, brush clippers, map or software or both, and a compass for back up if I'm going way back deep in the woods.

I am assuming camo clothing and shells are also not included in this list. The only other essential I have is my vest and toilet paper. I am a minimalist when it comes to turkey hunting. My entire list is :

Gun
Shells
two mouth calls
one slate call
Vest
TP

That's it and what you will find on me on 95% of my hunts, not including camo

Good thread: not including gun and 3 shells

1) Kleenex pack
2) Lens wipes
3) 2 push-pins
4) 1 pot call with 2 strikers
5) mouth diaphragms

Honorable mention:

Trumpet
Turkey tote
Wing
Windy day boat paddle

Quote from: Paulmyr on January 22, 2023, 06:29:00 AM
Besides water, it would be TP/baby wipes, brush clippers, map or software or both, and a compass for back up if I'm going way back deep in the woods.

Me and you'd hunt fine together, Paul I wouldn't change a thing.

1) clippers
2) pocket pack of Kleenex for TP
3) water
4) map


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Every time I leave the house, camp, or the truck, I ask myself and anybody else that might be with me,..."Do I/you have your gun, license, shells, and calls?"  I have said that so often that now the guys I hunt with will most of the time ask the question for me before I have the chance.   ;D :D

...Only four things, but those are the four that, regardless of whether I forget anything else, I must have with me when I start out. Early in my turkey hunting life,...and before I started reciting that question,...I can't tell you how many times either myself or someone I was hunting with ended up without one of those four things, creating an occasional very awkward situation.   ;D :toothy12:

Baby wipes, food, water, pocketknife, lighter, small multi-tool, small first aid kit. Other than calls and shells I am set.

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Agree with above.  Would add Thermocell to that list.

Water TP shears snake bite kit thermacell. Gotta have thermacell in the south


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Water, license, compass, TP, and Thermacell.

Out to that list, water would be the first to go if I needed to drop it down to 4.


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Alright Happy.  Why the pocket knife AND multi tool?  That seems to be overlap.  And why a multitool at all?

ThermaCELL late season
Phone with onX for maps
Waterbladder



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Wet wipes
Binos
Knife
Shooting/walking stick
Stool (to sit on....not for the wet wipes)   ;D

Water
Something to safely clean my glasses/scope
Thermacell though I have never needed one since I started to use Permethrin I still have one in each blind. I use them more for fishing to be honest.
Scale & measuring Tape
Pain killer of some kind.
Small solar chargeable battery that I can set up to keep battery charged for phone in case of emergency.

1. A well broke in comfortable pair of boots
2. Thermacell
3. A comfortable seat
4. Water
5. A good dose of patience

Phone
Hand pruners/ knife
Piece of camo netting
Thumbtacks/ Rubber bands
Binos

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 22, 2023, 05:18:08 PM
Water
Something to safely clean my glasses/scope
Thermacell though I have never needed one since I started to use Permethrin I still have one in each blind. I use them more for fishing to be honest.
Scale & measuring Tape
Pain killer of some kind.
Small solar chargeable battery that I can set up to keep battery charged for phone in case of emergency.

Your camera?

Quote from: Zobo on January 22, 2023, 09:25:32 PM

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 22, 2023, 05:18:08 PM
Water
Something to safely clean my glasses/scope
Thermacell though I have never needed one since I started to use Permethrin I still have one in each blind. I use them more for fishing to be honest.
Scale & measuring Tape
Pain killer of some kind.
Small solar chargeable battery that I can set up to keep battery charged for phone in case of emergency.

Your camera?

Oh yes, always the camera now, but it was asking strictly the hunting items so I left that out.
(https://i.imgur.com/pB1QdPsl.jpg)

Beside my gun' ammo and calls I carry the following in a Glenda satchel

License
Pocket Knife
Clippers
Snack
TP
Cell Phone
Glenda Seat
Turkey Tote

Quote from: Brillo on January 22, 2023, 11:38:35 AM
Alright Happy.  Why the pocket knife AND multi tool?  That seems to be overlap.  And why a multitool at all?

The multi
Tool is fairly small. It fits in a leather pouch with a lighter in the back of my belt. I always carry some sort of pocket knife out of habit every day. The multi tool is just in case I need to work on something on my  gun, pull a splinter, cut a small branch ect.

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For me, other than calls and a couple shells, I carry a fire starter, a leather turkey strap, a sandwich bag of baby wipes, and a press style water purification bottle.


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bug spray
tp
clippers
phone
binos if I'm hunting any fields, cutovers, etc

Quote from: Happy on January 23, 2023, 10:12:52 AM

Quote from: Brillo on January 22, 2023, 11:38:35 AM
Alright Happy.  Why the pocket knife AND multi tool?  That seems to be overlap.  And why a multitool at all?

The multi
Tool is fairly small. It fits in a leather pouch with a lighter in the back of my belt. I always carry some sort of pocket knife out of habit every day. The multi tool is just in case I need to work on something on my  gun, pull a splinter, cut a small branch ect.

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A multi tool is always a good idea, luckily I had one with me on a recent fishing trip, my buddy got a treble hook through the hand, we had to cut the hooks with the wire cutters to remove it. Good thing to have for sure, you never know, you know?

1. Vest with comfy seat
2. Smartphone w/ mapping software highlighting public/private boundaries
3. Pruners
4. Wet wipes
5. Gaiters

The obvious items that don't count
Gun, Vest, face-mask, a few calls

The extra items if importance
-Toilet Paper
-Water/snacks
-OnX
-Binos
-Bug Spray, I don't think I've ever actually used it turkey hunting but one time scouting for deer I looked down at my itchy hand and must have had fifty seed ticks crawling around it. Luckily I had some bug spray and gave them a direct blast. So I carry some turkey hunting now.

Sometimes I'll throw a turkey hunting book in my vest


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You fellows with the exception of Lawrence are going to starve to death. Number one essential with the water is some food. Usually an orange or two, a peanut butter or a ham and cheese sandwich and some small snacks like raisins, granola bars or something. Yes, that stuff weighs some, but it will all be eaten so the pack is getting lighter all day long and the weight is gone on the way home. I can hunt the mtns. from daylight to dark with food and water, but will play out by around lunch or early afternoon without it.

The guys nailed the rest so I wont be redundant - but do not go without baby wipes, they are good for a lot of things (do not leave them in the woods though).

It was only mentioned once in this thread, but Permethrin sprayed on your clothes and left outside to dry before wearing them is critical and way beyond an essential. And don't go light, soak the clothes, and once allowed to dry before wearing, the treatment will last longer than you think. Ticks are no joke.

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on January 25, 2023, 10:19:23 AM
You fellows with the exception of Lawrence are going to starve to death. Number one essential with the water is some food. Usually an orange or two, a peanut butter or a ham and cheese sandwich and some small snacks like raisins, granola bars or something. Yes, that stuff weighs some, but it will all be eaten so the pack is getting lighter all day long and the weight is gone on the way home. I can hunt the mtns. from daylight to dark with food and water, but will play out by around lunch or early afternoon without it.

The guys nailed the rest so I wont be redundant - but do not go without baby wipes, they are good for a lot of things (do not leave them in the woods though).

It was only mentioned once in this thread, but Permethrin sprayed on your clothes and left outside to dry before wearing them is critical and way beyond an essential. And don't go light, soak the clothes, and once allowed to dry before wearing, the treatment will last longer than you think. Ticks are no joke.

Here hunting is sunup until noon, I eat on my way there and then eat at the truck at the end of the day. I do not take food into the blind because I do not want coon or skunk in the blind. I do keep a gallon jug of purified water in each blind.

Quote from: Brillo on January 22, 2023, 11:38:35 AM
Alright Happy.  Why the pocket knife AND multi tool?  That seems to be overlap.  And why a multitool at all?

I carry both as well. The multi tool is in case if gun repair. The knife on the multi tool doesn't compare to my pocket knife


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Great post topic

1. Google maps
2. Water bladder
3. Thermacell
4. Mosquito headnet
5. TP & Babywipes

And a turkey tote when I'm feeling it. 

Getn old...I need a comfortable chair thats lite ;)

Wing— baby wipes— ziplock bags (mushrooms) - turkey tote- rangefinder

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 26, 2023, 07:25:48 PM

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on January 25, 2023, 10:19:23 AM
You fellows with the exception of Lawrence are going to starve to death. Number one essential with the water is some food. Usually an orange or two, a peanut butter or a ham and cheese sandwich and some small snacks like raisins, granola bars or something. Yes, that stuff weighs some, but it will all be eaten so the pack is getting lighter all day long and the weight is gone on the way home. I can hunt the mtns. from daylight to dark with food and water, but will play out by around lunch or early afternoon without it.

The guys nailed the rest so I wont be redundant - but do not go without baby wipes, they are good for a lot of things (do not leave them in the woods though).

It was only mentioned once in this thread, but Permethrin sprayed on your clothes and left outside to dry before wearing them is critical and way beyond an essential. And don't go light, soak the clothes, and once allowed to dry before wearing, the treatment will last longer than you think. Ticks are no joke.

Here hunting is sunup until noon, I eat on my way there and then eat at the truck at the end of the day. I do not take food into the blind because I do not want coon or skunk in the blind. I do keep a gallon jug of purified water in each blind.

When we run out of turkey tags, it sounds like we need to come to your place and put a hurting on the coons and skunks. There is no way I am sharing anything with a skunk. LOL

I ditched the vest for this, easiest way to trim what you carry, I do have a seat too. Basically, this is the Run & Gun pack, now if I'm hunting from the blind, I have a bit more.


MK M GOBL

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on February 04, 2023, 07:00:48 PM

Quote from: Sir-diealot on January 26, 2023, 07:25:48 PM

Quote from: mountainhunter1 on January 25, 2023, 10:19:23 AM
You fellows with the exception of Lawrence are going to starve to death. Number one essential with the water is some food. Usually an orange or two, a peanut butter or a ham and cheese sandwich and some small snacks like raisins, granola bars or something. Yes, that stuff weighs some, but it will all be eaten so the pack is getting lighter all day long and the weight is gone on the way home. I can hunt the mtns. from daylight to dark with food and water, but will play out by around lunch or early afternoon without it.

The guys nailed the rest so I wont be redundant - but do not go without baby wipes, they are good for a lot of things (do not leave them in the woods though).

It was only mentioned once in this thread, but Permethrin sprayed on your clothes and left outside to dry before wearing them is critical and way beyond an essential. And don't go light, soak the clothes, and once allowed to dry before wearing, the treatment will last longer than you think. Ticks are no joke.

Here hunting is sunup until noon, I eat on my way there and then eat at the truck at the end of the day. I do not take food into the blind because I do not want coon or skunk in the blind. I do keep a gallon jug of purified water in each blind.

When we run out of turkey tags, it sounds like we need to come to your place and put a hurting on the coons and skunks. There is no way I am sharing anything with a skunk. LOL

It is a wet area, it may be considered a wetlands but I do not honestly think so. Always moist there and coon and skunk seem to love that kind of stuff. We were going to trap it this year but it was so wet we could not get to it. (It is about a half mile in I guess.)

A butt cushion be it attached to my belt, vest,...
Wet wipes
Cough drops
Compact binoculars (8x32 are my go to)
Map, areal photo, onX, Google maps...

Of course most of us carry a lot more and would miss items not in the top 5, but the top 5 would be necessities to me.(Gun/shells/license/face mask are musts)

Thermacell
Water bottle
Phone (with maps)
Seat
Knife (I would not count this normally as if I have my pants on I have a knife in my pocket).

Of course I usually carry snacks, but the above 5 would cause me to turn around if I realized I did not have them. Only that which would make you turn around should be considered an essential - anything else is comfort/convenience.

I'm very superstitious so if have a number of things I must have in my vest but I'll try and narrow it down.

1-Lucky quarter my daughter gave me
2-TP
3-My granddaddy's face mask
4-Thermacell
5-Water
6-Grizzly wintergreen long cut


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My top 5 turkey hunting essentials are;

1. Comfortable chair...age and a wonky back requires it.
2. Dude wipes/ T.P.
3. Snacks...trail mix, dried fruit, nuts.  I don't eat before hunting, it makes me meaner to be hungry.
4. ThermaCell...our 'skeeters are hungry, plentiful, and relentless.
5. Water.

I left out knife because I carry one everywhere I go.  It is a life essential, not just turkey hunting.  I only need to use binoculars ~50% of the time. I also carry a spare facemask & gloves in case my buddy or I lose ours...It has happened enough to make carrying them worth doing.

Jim

Snakeboots
Thermacell
TP
Water
Phone (OnX)

Thermacell , cushion , paper , non crinkle water bottle

water and snacks
bug spray(late season)
my turkey seat
tp
binoculars

Thermacell, binoculars, rangefinder, water, and a good thick butt cushion.  I live in Florida so the Thermacell is a must.

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20oz coffee
Hand and toe warmers
Phone charge bank
TP
Pruners

Funny to see the folks that hunt the southeast all have Thermacell on the list!  :icon_thumright:

1) the ability to get far...far away from other turkey hunters ***for real .. nothing good comes from crowded woods !

2) the ability to get near a gobbler that those previously mentioned turkey hunters don't know about

3) the ability to listen to turkeys and emulate realistic turkey sounds ..and not sound like a turkey call salesman

4) the ability to shoot where your aiming

5) the ability to have a family that understands turkey hunting is one time of year ..leave you alone

With that said "ability" doesn't come on a shelf from China ..it can't be bought but it's certainly earned ..most times with a lifetime of dedicated insanity, lol

Other than gun and calls:
-my pocket bible
-good tp
-comfortable butt cushion
-some snacks
- fresh pair of socks. Chasing birds in the mountains will wear you out and a fresh pair of socks halfway through the day will make you feel like a new man

Water mask gloves sling Seat


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Uncrowded place to hunt
Gobblers to chase
More gobblers to chase
Water
Snacks

Big second for DudeWipes. Game changer!!

Thermacell, cell phone with onx, TP, water, knife.

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Pour your water into a Gatorade bottle to keep down on noise - man those cheap water bottles are off the chain noisy!!!

Quote from: Wigsplitter on March 19, 2023, 11:26:36 PM
Pour your water into a Gatorade bottle to keep down on noise - man those cheap water bottles are off the chain noisy!!!

That is why I prefer a bladder and you can bring much more and if you refrigerated it the night before it can help keep you cool on those warmer days.

Binoculars
Water
Snack/food
TP
Knife

(Phone is always with me as well).

I am irritated if I forget any of the above on any given day...  I am devistated if I forget TP and need it.

1 Thermacell
2 toilet paper just in case
3 Snacks
4 water
5 cell phone for emergencies

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