# Hunting Essentials



## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

Every year around this time I get the deer hunting urge. I start reading books and articles about it and they all seem to say one thing. Buy x. It is essential to your hunting success. What does everyone here consider their hunting essentials for say winter deer hunting?


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Sight in your rifle and then practice some without a benchrest, at unknown ranges. 

I don't need many gadgets to hunt. A weapon, a knife, and maybe a piece of rope is nice to drag a critter with. When I was a kid I killed a deer after school and found my only knife with me was a tiny swiss army penknife with the nail file and scissors. But that little blade did a great job gutting the deer. 

The last elk was skinned with a piece of obsidian because DS wanted to see if we could.


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## rags57078 (Jun 11, 2011)

don't forget to wear fluorescent orange


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## snake35 (Jan 24, 2011)

1. Sight your rifle in.
2. Work with your rifle!
3. Scout your location.


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## BigJ (Nov 5, 2010)

Assuming you have the basics Gun, Knife, Appropriate clothing for your area. I Like to take my hunting chair that has a backpack sewn into it with a few goodies to make it easier to stay in the woods longer. munchies, water, small thermos of cofee or soup, extra hand warmers, waterproof matches, space blanket, TP, Binoculars, grunt tube, rubber exam goves, rope, rattling horns. none of it is heavy nor does it take much room and some of it can save your bacon if you get into trouble.


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## zant (Dec 1, 2005)

Y'all live in cold climate..BRRR.my opening day is shorts,orange vest,sighted in rifle(200yd zero),rope and a sharp knife...also cell phone.


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## joejeep92 (Oct 11, 2010)

Rifle I do have yes and have hunted for several years now. Just wondering who out there was still hunting without the latest and greatest in hunting gadgetry...


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

joejeep92 said:


> What does everyone here consider their hunting essentials for say winter deer hunting?


Lot depends on where and for how long.
If'n I'm hunting my property then a gun and maybe a knife and not much else. Why carry "it" when "it" is only a short walk away and I'm only out there for an hour or two.
If I'm hunting elsewhere I'd be packing the gun, extra ammo, knife, and many of the following: heavy dog leash (or rope), compass (and map), lighter (or matches), some sort of snack, and water. Again it depends on where and how long the hunt.

Of course I'd be dressed for the type of weather conditions I'd be in.........


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

People say Rope to help Drag a Deer out but I like having Rope to hold Hind Leg out of the way when Field Dressing.As far as Calls I like Primros Can.Bag for Liver and Heart or the Whole Deer if I decide to just Debone it in the woods.I like Cell Phone and GPS,makes finding where you want to set in the dark easier,plus I can use the Cell Phone to call my kill in.

big rockpile


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Need less to say the tool be it bow and arrows, shot gun or rifle including the Muzzle loader.
At my age I consider the blind as essintial for statying warm and comfortable in the woods all day.




































The camera is also are part of my hunting as I feel it not only reminds me of the memorys of the day but the years as well.


































A good book helps keep me out also.

 Al


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

Cup of coffee & rocking chair

I "hunt" - maybe I should call it "harvest" - off my front porch......


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## fishhead (Jul 19, 2006)

A gun that you can shoot accurately, warm clothes, a stand built from what you can scrounge in the woods on a bottleneck like a strip of land between 2 swamps and patience is all I've ever needed and I usually get a deer.


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## poorboy (Apr 15, 2006)

Is that a one holer or two????:drum:


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## GREENCOUNTYPETE (Jul 25, 2006)

compass and back up compass

gun 

knife

small saw - just not worth banging on the back of the knife when the small folding saw is so handy for cutting the pelvis it is much lighter than the hatchet

dressing gloves several pair - just makes getting on with hunting much easier when your not up to your elbows in blood and i don't have to wash my hunting coat near as often

folded up paper towels in a large zip lock bag 

the paper towels , spare knife , saw, rope for a drag and extra dressing gloves get carried in a small blaze orange bag with a spare box of shells- this usually rides in the truck 

in my coat i carry the compasses , shells , a handkerchief ,small flash light, a few zip ties in with my back tag and a watch on my wrist (have to know what time to start a drive)

i should explain we group hunt opening weekend , we aren't usually more than a mile from the trucks often they are parked a hundred yards from where we expect the deer to run 
this is team hunting , i am the fasted at field dressing deer and everyone wants to get back to hunting so i gut them while some one backs the truck as close as they can we toss a tarp down and toss the deer in fold it up a bit in the tarp and push it in every jumps on the tail gait or in the trucks and off to the next drive.

it is all about minimizing time wasted on clean up and such so we can get back to hunting there are only about 20 hours of day light to opening weekend , we take time driving (this is walking on foot to push the deer to the standers slowly) the woods slowly to not spook the deer but wast no time with moving to the next drive when that one is over. 

other than the extra dressing gloves,the spare compass and the zip ties (we used to carry string) not much has changed the truck got a little newer the the crew got older we lost some land we used to hunt and we process our own in the garage.
the family has been hunting the same area for over a hundred years. 

before hunting licenses they did more hunting by opportunity they would be out working the orchard , see a deer and spend the rest of the day canning venison. but even back into the 20s and 30's a group would get together at the end November temps were steady below freezing for the hunt , that was the big meat hunt to get thru the winter.


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## MaineFarmMom (Dec 29, 2002)

When deer season opens here I'm in jeans and tshirt. By the end of November I'm in layers of socks, camo pants, shirts and heavy winter coat. There's a small propane heater in the stand but it's a little noisy so I don't use it unless I'm miserably cold from sitting still. I take a rifle and ammo, binocs and cell phone. IF I ever get a deer (no shots fired my first two years) I'll go get the ATV bring and someone to teach me how to field dress (or do it for me, I have no problem admitting to being completely grossed out).


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## Ed Norman (Jun 8, 2002)

Cabin Fever said:


> Cup of coffee & rocking chair
> 
> I "hunt" - maybe I should call it "harvest" - off my front porch......


So you actually do bring the kitchen sink.


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## diamondtim (Jun 10, 2005)

joejeep92 said:


> Rifle I do have yes and have hunted for several years now. Just wondering who out there was still hunting without the latest and greatest in hunting gadgetry...


1. Hunting mags are published to sell ads to hunting gadget manufacturers.
2. Ads are bought to get you to buy the latest hunting gadgets.
3. Most camoflage is designed to attract hunters in the store, not hide them in the woods.

A friend of mine has a website called Whitetail.com. He wrote an article about camo that all hunters should read.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I have yet to see a camo pattern that looks likea cedar swamp, or a camo patteren that looks like you are in a pine plantation. that is the types of places we hunt in the UPPER, here in the lower the deer are so used to seeing us all year long the only thing I think that would spook them is some one setting naked againest a tree.




























I could hunt from the house too. Problem is the wife wouldn't let me read. If your not busy then she would find some thing to keep me busy.




























 Al


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## Pops2 (Jan 27, 2003)

diamondtim said:


> 1. Hunting mags are published to sell ads to hunting gadget manufacturers.
> 2. Ads are bought to get you to buy the latest hunting gadgets.
> 3. Most camoflage is designed to attract hunters in the store, not hide them in the woods.
> 
> A friend of mine has a website called Whitetail.com. He wrote an article about camo that all hunters should read.


haven't read it but it probably won't surprise me like it will most deer shooters. when i need to fill the freezer i find a good spot next to a travelway and blast one. and i'm usually wearing my warm blue shirt, which coincidentally is one of the few colors deer can see.
when i'm out for fun i take the greyhound and a good knife (in case he actually catches something i want to kill).


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## Oldcountryboy (Feb 23, 2008)

Hopefully by winter time I'll have my freezer already full of deer meat and then I'll just set by the woodstove and enjoy the warmth.


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## pheasantplucker (Feb 20, 2007)

For me:
Rem. 870 12 ga. with @ 3 slugs
Cold weather clothing and rubber boots (insulated)
Hunter Orange

Flashlight (to get to the stand while still dark)
Knife for field dressing
Rope (to help me haul deer out
Plastic bag (to put heart/liver in after I gut it)
Perm. marker or pen to fill out tag

Now I do have these luxury items, though they are not truly necessary:
doe estrus scent...(I dip some hemp rope in the bottle and drag the rope (meandering) across where my stand is set up.
Grunt tube (to call em in) [Don't make the mistake of calling too much or too often]
rattling sticks (or antlers)...This generally only works pre rut, or during the actual rut. Not effective after the rut.

What's holding you back? Once you get out there, even if you don't harvest a deer, you'll be amazed to see what goes on in the woods during the autumn...every day, all day while the rest of the world is busy "making a living". I (and every other deer hunter I know) is absolutely addicted to it. I literally dream about deer hunting throughout the year. I hunted for almost ten years before I got my first deer.I've seen a fox trying to climb a tree. I've seen skunks come walking through my set up. Had a red tail hawk land not more than 10 feet from me, as I was sitting in my tree stand. I was absolutely motionless for about a full minute, before he detected me, and bolted. I've seen two bucks going head to head, fighting and clacking. I've had (not during turkey season) eleven turkeys come strutting through my set up. Lots of woodpeckers, etc. Even before I got my first deer, people would ask, "Were you successful?" I'd tell them "Yes". Then they'd ask about the deer I got. When I told them I didn't get a deer that year, they'd say, "You said you were successful!" My reply was always, "I was...no deer this time but still a success!" If they weren't hunters, they wouldn't understand.


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