List important equipment for hunting camp

[22-rimfire]

Plan on taking enough survival items with you hunting just in case you have to spend a cold night away from camp. You never know. That link was a good one.

I also liked the "evening shoes" suggestion. If I were hunting in the mountains for elk with a likelihood of snow, I'd probably being wearing LL Bean hunting boots (leather top, rubber bottom).

 

[FITASC]

You left out well-broken on boots and moleskin, clothing for all weather, especially rain gear. One thing I always brought along was the US Air Force survival guide - lots of good ideas. IIRC, someone previously mentioned 35mm film cans with cotton balls - use Vaseline, not alcohol which will evaporate - will allow you to start a fire even in the rain.

 

[Mr. Hill]

What I really forget was a good first aid kid, including antibiotic cream. The day after I shot my elk, I managed to catch a nasty tree branch right across the scalp. Lot of blood. The antibiotic cream helped prevent an infection after I got it clotted up, and I was able to stay in camp and help gut and drag a fat cow that another guy subsequently got way up in the forest; we were getting snowed on while we gutted her at 10:00 pm.

Ug, the endless jokes I got from the other guys in camp about bashing myself in the head with a tree.....

 

[HiBC]

I like the Petzl headlamp,LED,I think tht call the "Tactical " model(yeah,I know)
What I likeabout it,its lightweight,and has a red filter that will flip to cover the light.That makes it far more friendly to the eyes of your friends.

Whiz receptacle,cutting down on trips outside keeps snow ,mud from being tracked in.Laundry soap jugs ,you can break that spout insert out,leaving a wide opening.
Tent shoes? those Acorn sox with leather soles are pretty good.Slick on snow,though!!.
Realrope or tubular webbing for dragging,the 20 ft,but a 50 ft (or 2) of 550 parachute cord will get used.
Short term,I can see plastic to keep meat clean,but cheesecloth game bags breath.I recommend them.The meat under the outer facia is essentially sterile.Not so the outer surface.Best to let the outer surface dry to a glaze.Bacteria need moisture.The wet surface of meat on meat or meat on plastic can spoil.

First aid? My essential is a little 1 or 2 oz bottle of Betadyne surgical scrub provadine.Mix with water till it looks like strong tea.Clean wounds with it.

Then Neosporin. I carry a couple of GI Carlisle battle dressings in a pocket of my day pack. And some of those waterproof cloth bandaids..
Chapstick or equivalent.And some kind of hand crème .Burts bees,or a little round tin of Eucerine,or bag balm...just something for if they start to crack.
Aspirin,Pepto tabs....And some chili pequin flakes and a few dry prunes.

 

[Warrendee]

And don't forget

cant believe no one mentioned this..Toilet Paper,

 

[xandi]

That's what leafs are for... just not poison oak

 

[Zorro]

Multiple Knives.

I learned by forgetting my "Good Knife" once.

A small knife in every pocket is WAY better than one big one.

Also Camp Scissors! Culinary Scissors are substantially better than a knife for some tasks.

 

[giaquir]

Pie,coffee and cigarettes..an old timer once told me and of
course a 30/30

 

[Mr. Hill]

And glow in the dark Chem sticks - we used them tied to trees to mark the trail near a downed elk. Very useful!

 

[themalicious0ne]

Mr. Williams,

Quite alright. I had assumed you must have been talking about something else. Most likely, litterally being an animal skin.

I didn't mean to call you out, just didn't want someone going on a journey not bringing something they may really want.

 

[IndependenceRanch]

Reading these comments were very informative. I've been on a Elk hunt only once and it took months of training to get into the physical shape I would need to be in. You might want to show up early as well to acclimatize yourself to the higher elevation. Also, plan on leaving travel plans with local game warden in case you go missing. It could save your life. Elk is an incredibly heavy animal. So make preparations for transport of the animal if you do get lucky enough to find and shoot one. Also make sure you have a big handgun on you. It can be very dangerous processing an Elk with Bears and Mountain Lions in the area.

As far as preps, all the posts are great but you might have to prioritize some because you can't bring a truckload of stuff out with you. Good binoculars, a good elk call, warm clothes come to mind.

 

[rebs]

A must have is Gander Mountain Butter Pretzels. I also take Sam's Club small meat balls and heat up with butter and Franks hot sauce.

 

[Mr. Hill]

I just referred to this thread to prep for next week's elk hunt; thanks to TFL, this is a great website!

 

[langenc]

2 mules to haul all this 'stuff'.

 

[Mr. Hill]

Actually, a beat up old GMC truck. Almost all of it is left at the base camp, I only take a day pack while out hunting.