With bow season opening up this weekend in South Carolina, and already being open in other parts of the country, I wanted to give some quick tips for the things that go into my pack in hopes that I may help someone be prepared. First off though, it is important to differentiate my hunting situation. It will apply for most, but with different types of hunting you are going to find the need for different tools/equipment. For me, I will predominately be tree stand hunting this year. Some of it will be on my property, and some of it I will be traveling for, but the pack I put together will hold true for either. If your situation is differs from making a walk from your house/truck to your stand, you may find the need to add a few more pieces. But this will be a good starting point for anyone heading out into the woods with a bow.
With this type of hunting, there isn’t really a need to pack extremely heavy and truthfully I could probably get away with packing less. But in the woods I would rather have something and not need it than need something and not have it. I want to be prepared to go from climbing into my stand to dragging a deer out of the woods without heading back to the house or truck. So when I start my pack, the first thing I load in is a rope. This can be used for a wide variety of scenarios including helping you drag the deer out. Next, I make sure to include my knife set for field dressing as well as some snips and a foldable saw that could be used for taking out a limb or sawing throught the hip bone if needed. Then, I include some twine, simply becasue it is very versitile and can really come in handy for things like securing the burlap screen around my stand. You never know when something could have came loose from the last trip in you made. I always take a doe bleat as well as a grunt call, even though I rarely use them. Where I hunt, I haven’t found much success from them but they don’t really take up a lot of space and this way I have them in case I decide to use one of them. I always carry my safety orange vest, even though I am hunting on private property the majority of the time. I have neighbors that hunt along my property borders so you can never be safe enough. A headlamp and back up flashlight gets thrown in next, followed by some gloves for field dressing. I carry spare camo face paint as well. I am a big believer in covering your face, so if you arent’ going to use a face shield I would strongly recommend putting some paint on your face. You can be perfectly camoflauged, but if you dont’ cover your face you can still stick out like a sore thumb. Especilly with bow hunting when you are wanting the animal within 50 yds for most hunters. Later on in the season I include some shakeable hand warmers, but they aren’t essential early on.
Now to some of the most important things in my pack. One thing that I picked up last year were clip on trail markers. These can be used to mark a trail to your stand so you can easily follow it in the dark, or also for marking your blood trail as you are trying to recover your animal. These things can come in very handy. One of the most critical pieces is a laser range finder. Unless you are hunting the same stand where you have pinpointed certain markers with yardages, knowing your distance can be tricky. I carry a Leupold, but many other manufacturers will work well. I also like to carry a back up release. Many people overlook this, and a release is something that is very easy to leave in the truck or for something to go wrong mechanically. So throw a backup in your pack and never go without. Following that I include a small Hulk figurine that my oldest daughter gave me for luck. Funny enough, the second time I carried it into the woods I harvested a deer. So it has became something that I feel like I have to have with me. (I am a former college baseball player so superstition is hard to escape). And please please please, don’t forget your hunting license or your tags!
One topic that gets overlooked sometimes is taking a scent control spray to the stand with you. Most hunters now know the value of scent control, but they spray down at the truck and that’s it. I like to spray down before I enter the woods, before I climb in my stand, and before I climb down. The goal is to keep as much of my scent down as possible. Especially considering that I hunt the same stands quite a lot each year.
Other than that, don’t forget one of the most important pieces of equipment. YOUR BOW!!! Develop a checklist, and verify that you have everythng you need for your style of hunting prior to leaving the house. The last thing you want to do is drive an hour or two to your favorite hunting spot and realize you left your bow at the house. For real, don’t be that guy…
Author: Josh Westmoreland
