What is the least amount of gear that you can/do take on a hunt and are still successful?
I will start off with my gear for the three scenarios I will be hunting this season.
By myself/field hunting: backpack, two decoys, blind, chair, shotgun, two mouth calls, slate call, MRE.
By myself/run and gun: backpack, shotgun, two mouth calls, slate call, MRE, maybe one decoy.
With a hunting buddy: backpack, shotgun, two mouth calls, slate call, MRE.
I was looking at vests but figure if I get one, I will just want to buy more stuff to put in it.
I forgot to mention the all important Thermacell.
if i am going bare min i just take my vest (has a kickstand seat built in), gun, shells and a mouth call pouch. easy peasy
When I first started spring gobbler hunting many yrs ago all I took was my shotgun a pocket full of high brass no. 6 shells and a cedar box call a friend of my Dad made. Now I feel like I'm roughing it when I don't take a seat cushion on my vest.
If I'm ambushing: gun and one shell.
Stuff does not make the hunter, it just makes things a little more comfortable.
Being honest, I "could" go out with nothing more than a single mouth call, shells, shotgun, and a good pair of boots and still fill my tags. But where's the fun in that
When you start out you will buy buy buy thinking each thing will give you a little edge and it might. Sooner or later you will realize that a lot of it is unecessary and start leaving it all at home and just go hunting. Half my turkeys are dead becuase of scouting or roosting.
I buy calls because I like calls
I have decoys, hardly use them maybe 10% of my set ups involve decoys.
I have turkey chairs, again rarely take it. Only carried it last year becuase my wife was 7months pregnant and sitting on the ground made it difficult to stand back up lol.
I have a blind (used it once in the pouring rain with a youth hunter).
When it gets hot I leave the vest at home and just take what fits in my shirt pockets and box pouch on the belt.
There have been lots of days where all I needed was my gun, a pot call and one shell. But I like to carry a variety of calls because you never know which ones the birds might respond to. And I always carry a pair of ratcheting clippers to trim limbs/brush if needed. Oh, and I always have some TP in my vest in case I have to do some paper work in the woods.
Gun, shells, camo, and a call you are comfortable with is all you really need.
Not far from that for me would be therm-a-cell, TP, and my turkey seat.
A small saw or pruners are also good to consider for clearing limbs from a tree that poke you in the back or even building a quick natural blind
License shotgun and one shell would be pretty much minimum. You can call em by mouth or whistle a kee kee. I've done it many times without camo. Now this is not my first choice but it'd work at a minimum regardless
Gun, shells, camo, your go to call, seat cushion, owl hooter.
Thermacell, 2nd diaphragm call, and baby wipes make the short list of extras.
:thanks: Gun and ammo, vest, power bar, water, glass call, mouth call, owl hooter , old faithful decoy, hat bill light, compass, watch, knife, TP, orange bag. Besides my clothes and boots, I think that is it. Al Baker
I've killed a lot of birds with camo and a shotgun. See them along a creek, drop down into the creek. Ease up the bank...boom
Quote from: Gooserbat on March 18, 2015, 11:49:34 AM
Gun, shells, camo, your go to call, seat cushion, owl hooter.
Thermacell, 2nd diaphragm call, and baby wipes make the short list of extras.
baby wipes are a life saver! Anti-monkey butt is another good thing!
I wear a vest and fill it with stuff because I've got space for it. I've gone down to the smallest vest because I'm going to fill it if I have space for it.
In my vest now that I don't hardly ever use:
spare face mask
spare gloves
flashlight
compass
owl hooter
crow call
slate call
2 strikers
probably 10 mouth calls (that I don't use much)
decoy
Stuff in there that I do use:
2 mouth calls
shells
face mask
gloves
box call
When I was hunting the Black Hills, I found out real quick that I didn't want to lug all that crap up those hills all day long. I went down to my gloves and face mask in a pocket, gun with the 3 shells in it, a mouth call or two and a box call to cut the wind. Everything else wasn't needed and was more of a hindrance than help.
Gun, ammo, facemask, gloves, vest, seat cushion on vest, calls, TP, and water bottle.
To me this would mean,leaving the vest home. My essentials would be the obvious.
Camo head to toe.
The Ol 835.
1 wing bone.
1 box call.
1 mouth call (cutter)
Pocket knife.
1 soft seat.
1 Water
I would have a lot of confidence with just that. However........ There's a ton of stuff in my vest that I just wouldn't leave home without ;D
full camo
shotgun
2 shells
1 mouthcall
but more likely....
full camo
shotgun
3 shells
vest/seat cushion
3 mouthcalls
2 pots, 3 strikers
crow call
owl hoot
decoy
knife
flashlight
cell phone & extra battery
ziploc bags
disposable gloves
pruners
license
ink pen
rubber bands
water
snack
thermocell
can of chew
How do some of you carry all of that stuff!!!???
I love my vest and all my calls and gadgets but after first weekend I hardly ever take it. I have my small fanny pack that I can fit everything I need for a successful hunt in.
Slate and couple strikers
mouth calls
bottle of water
flashlight depending on where I am hunting
compass
scratch box and chalk
But I pretty much never go in the woods without my gun and gobbler lounger on my back. Gobbler lounger will also normally have a 12' stake blind rolled up in it while traveling as well.
Gun OR bow
ammo or arrows
mouth call
cell phone
wallet/license
AND TP! I have to HAVE tp! YOU might not need it, BUT I do! I don't care what outdoor adventure I'm going on, TP is coming!
I have hunted with and killed turkeys using only a single shot with 3 shells (used one per hunt), a pot call & striker, one mouth call, camo coveralls, a mask, gloves, and camo cap. That was when I was younger and I could sit on the ground without cushion, stool, or seat.
These days I use;
SBE II with Speed Bead, & Claw sling, loaded with 4 shells.
Camo Clothes;
Layers depending on temperature. Cap, Gloves, Mask, Snake Boots,
A Vest with;
5 more shells, a lighter, T.P. & wipes, Compass, Penlight, ThermaCell, Water, Dried Fruit & Nuts, Knife, Clippers, a few strands of wire to tie back bushes. Spare Cap, Gloves, & Mask.
One Long Box, 2 Pot Calls, 3 strikers, 5 mouth calls, a Lifetime Sportsman's License (since 1985) and Tags, Written Permission to Hunt On Private Land (when needed).
A Gobbler Lounger, a Stake Blind. About 25% of the time Jake/Hen or Strutter/hen Decoys.
Jim
Quote from: jblackburn on March 18, 2015, 11:18:44 AM
Gun, shells, camo, and a call you are comfortable with is all you really need.
Not far from that for me would be therm-a-cell, TP, and my turkey seat.
A small saw or pruners are also good to consider for clearing limbs from a tree that poke you in the back or even building a quick natural blind
Agreed!
This is all I've pretty much ever carried.
Gun with 6 shells
Slate, glass, 2 strikers
Mouth call
Water
Tp
flashlight
Knife
License
Pen if the state requires to fill out license on the spot
Scales
A box call once in a blue moon
Gloves and face mask only if it's cold
My stuff varies on length of time i've got to hunt,weather,where i'm hunting,time of season,etc.
But I have figured out the less I carry the more I will need to use the stuff I didnt bring,and the more I carry the less I need to use the stuff I brought :z-dizzy:
A lot less than I take lol! I go over prepared. I am lucky enough to hunt a place that allows me to cover several miles of hills hollers and ridge tops. I access from the bottom so it's a lot of walking and uphill either way. So I take with me
Gun
Shells
Now in my vest
4 pot calls
8 strikers
Conditioning stone/sand paper& Scotch brite
1 box call
2 mouth calls
Crow call
Owl call
Woodpecker call
Gloves
Mask
Handmade turkey tote
Cell phone
Thermacel
Camo handkerchief bad allergies
BC powders
Lighter for drying out slate
Spare battery for my scope
Flashlight
Pocket knife
Leafy bug suit when it warms up
I also carry a back pack
In it I keep
Video camera for self filming
Tripod for camera
Spare battery for camera
Tick repellent
Snacks & waters
Truck keys
Wallet with license
Hand pruners
3 decoys which I never use. I hunt timber the only field like openings are log yards. I hope to get set up in those sometime and film a Tom attacking a decoy.
I think if memory serves me that's all lol. I know it's a lot to deal with but I don't let it slow me down. I am very mobile with my set up.
Sent from my iPhone that I ain't smart enough to use with tapatalker
Shotgun with 5 or 6 shells total counting the rounds in the shotgun.
License
3-5 mouth calls
gloves
face paint
flashlight
sometimes a rangefinder
crow call
once in blue moon may take a slate call.
sometimes a snack.
The least amount of gear I could hunt with, would be one mouth call (or box call), one shell in the gun, and a gun... Wearing camo clothes of course...
Now, what I actually take includes the clothes I wear out, and my gun with a sling, and here is what goes inside my vest:
- Multiple mouth calls (6-8)
- 1-2 box calls
- Small square of camo netting (to put over myself or the friction calls)
- Camo mask and gloves
- 6 shotgun shells (three of which are in the gun)
- GPS (with coordinates back to the car).
- Binoculars.
- Toilet paper (how can you not include toilet paper in poison oak country?)
- Camera
- Phone
- Water
- Snacks
Even with my vest loaded with all of the above, it is still pretty light... I might also include decoys, but generally they stay in the car... Although I will use them if I am hunting with someone else.
Depends on where I'm hunting. My farm: I just pack 3-4 friction calls, gun, shells, mask. This all packs away in a small camo fanny pack.
Hunting the mainly woods birds, a vest with all the goodies usually loaded down too heavy.
Whether I use it or not I always carry what I may need to stay the night. Accidents happen and I hunt way off the beaten path. My wife doesn't expect me home till dark when I leave before daylight, sometimes I am home for breakfast.
Without regard to clothes, in my vest:
(2) pot calls, one slate and one glass and (3) strikers
(1) box call and (4) mouth calls
TP, one bottle of water, and a couple granola bars
Thermocell, lighter, flashlight
3-5 extra shells, a pen, tie wraps
Extra gloves, extra mesh mask, 5' of paracord
GPS and cellphone
(1) hen decoy and (1) jake decoy
I seldom use the jake, heard one guy had his hen decoy shot last year in Winona. I usually leave a note in my truck about the general area I will be in and if things change I leave a message on my wife's phone. Lord the stuff I have bought, used once and left in the box or sold to the next guy. I do like a thick cushion but do not carry a folding seat. My Leatherman is always on me so that doesn't count. There is one area I like to hunt at least once a year that is 1.25 miles from the nearest open road. It is a beautiful place with small waterfalls and rocky spurs that go up several hundred feet. Wonderful deer hunting in there but I wouldn't shoot one to drag it out. Turkey are in there and about mid season get pushed further in. Most folks just don't like the walk but if you have enough stuff with you to make it comfortable its not that bad. I don't mind the load if I get to work a bird.
If I had to I could (and have) get by with:
Shotgun
3 shells (in gun)
Camo
Favorite mouth call
I am one of those people who will pack everything I have just because I "might need it...". I will finally convince myself to leave most of it in the truck, but will end up taking it anyways because "what if...?". Most of the time never end up using 90% of the stuff I take.
I think budtripp said it best: shotgun, 3 shells, camo, favorite mouth call.
If only it were that easy...
I stopped fighting myself over all of the gear last year. I do limit my vest to a crow call, owl hooter, 1 trumpet, 1 slate, 1 box call, 1 nail call and a scratch box. Thats pretty much it besides a therma cell, gloves, mask and a knife. I'll be using a crossbow this year.
Chris
I've narrowed it down to me, my vest, my gun. I can't believe I carried all that stuff in the past. I've tried carrying blinds, decoys, and cameras. It's too much.
I forgot to mention that I carry a zippered pouch around my neck with mouth calls in it. I only use decoys and a ground blind if I am in a fixed position. Chris
Mouth call shotgun and butt pad! Of course I am clothed in camo.
Camo ,shotgun,5 shells,several favorite mouth calls and most of all my turkey seat!
Most of the time I like to take all the stuff I can get into my vest and pockets. When I'm going into "stealth mode" camo, shotgun and a mouthcall will do.
Shotgun, dip can full of mouth calls,head net, gloves head to toe camo. Maybe a sixer to calm my nerves.
Gun, my Ol tom shirt, hooks zebra wood pot call, and 2 strikers, and tube call. Don't need anything else
double barrel 12 blackpowder w/both barrels loaded. water bottle.
When I am in bare bones mode (long walk, very warm day) I take: mouth call selection, glass pot call and striker, binoculars, thermacell and reading glasses. Usually a couple of small water bottles. Oh yeah, something to sit on always.
I can leave the binoculars and not walk back, but I really like having my little pair of Nikons. Keeps me more engaged while hunting - glassing things other than turkeys too. In the woods sometimes, I see something that looks like a bird and like to be able to glass it. I glass turns in the road before I step out, glass fields before coming to the edge, etc. It slows my pace a lot and I think that is usually a good thing.
I had a vest but the dang thing had so many pockets I could never remember where I put everything I went back to a backpack with a bug tamer mouth call and a slate and a coshin connected to my pack