Hunting Forum

Skud
That's why you other savvy Elk hunters need to back me up!

They don't just piss when they get out of their beds, they shit too!  Though the placement of the urine, as Skud said, can help ya figure what your chasing.

The dropping  can help ya in a # of ways, dry, wet, or snow;

1. They tell ya how fresh the sign is (frozen sign last a lot longer and weather plays a big part in how quick it drys out.)  Fresh dropping are almost the same color inside as they are outside.  The older the sign, the darker the outside, till it's dark all the way thru.  Real old sign will be bleached almost white by the sun and hard.
   
2. That you are in a bedding area.  When Elk get up they often shit and piss, the later drys up.  But if you look closely, you'll find the flattened pine needles and the outline of  bedded animals.  The size of the beds and the # can indicate what your following and whether it's worth staying with em.  The more animals, the more likely there will be a bull with em.  And the fresher the sign the more likely you'll be able to catch up with em.  They probably won't bed there again for a long time, but take a good look around (even if the sign is not fresh.)  What you'll find is that 'Elk bed in similar areas'.  Hunt similar areas during the mid day when Elk should be bedded, (or, when following fresh tracks into a similar place, slow down.)  Lots of shit around doesn't mean your in a bedding area.  Elk let go a lot when feeding, pellets will most often be scattered or thinned out in the direction of movement.  And as when getting out of a bed, when spooked - they let go!!!  Many times I have only realized that I had been busted, when tracking Elk, when I've seen the steaming piles and all the tracks coming together in one line.

Dean
H2O

Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

Tracking,
Direction of travel?
When following a herd of Elk, you have to follow all the tracks.  You can't just follow one!  Can't count the number of times that I have sat and watched Elk feeding on a hillside, all facing different directions.  Seen the same thing when all there was but tracks.  Tracks going up, tracks going left, tracks going right.  Been right on them many times, knowing I was close, and the tracks I was following were meandering everywhere.  Have leaned, when tracking heard animals you have to ignore the individuals and concentrate on where the group is going.  Exception, would be if the Elk are lined out and spooked, and a single set of very large tracks separates from the group (I follow those individuals.)  Following the group is easy  when it come to Elk.  Just have determine the general direction that most of the animals are moving and head that way.  If the tracks become thin (and you find that you are only following one or two sets of tracks),  I stop.  I mark my place, and move left or right (depending on the best wind) till I find the groups tracks again.  Once I know I'm close (see yellow butts, hear em, or tracks say I'm close), I try to circle around them (down wind) and set up.


How old are the tracks?
As I mentioned in the post above, depends on the weather.  Tracks, droppings and other sign, age with the weather conditions.  Tracks, and all of the other sign disappear fast with rain or fresh snow.  Tracks in mud can last a long time.  IMO, the only tracks/sign worth following are less than a day old. Hours old is way better!  (Though, you can determine the direction they where heading from sign days old, judge the age of the sign, figure how many days they are ahead of you, and hunt areas you think they might be in.)  Fresh tracks in dry earth are extremely hard to follow and determine how old they are!  Windy days will bend the edges of the tracks.  Dropping that get some sunlight will dry out faster.  Frozen droppings in the shade will look fresh when thawing out.  As hunters we often concentrate on the weather that's coming.  As a tracker you have to remember the weather that's been!  If the wind hasn't been blowing, and the edges of the tracks are rounded, old sign (except in loose sand.)  Droppings that where shaded when temps were below freezing,  I check the ones that were in the sunlight.  A tree that looks freshly rubbed, I look for bark on top of the leaves or snow, I check the branches to see how they have aged - given the recent weather and if they are laying in sunlight.  How much sap has flowed from the rubbed tree?  Goal is to figure out where they are going, and get ahead of them.  Doesn't matter if their tracks/sign are ten minutes or ten days old.  You have to hunt them where they are!

Tracking Elk is about attention to detail!  Even though, Elk don't have much of a tail.

Dean
H2O

Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

Dean, you didn't mention the most important part of tracking elk. The pointed part of tracks point in the direction the elk is traveling, the rounded part points the way he came from. I know that is so obvious that it would seem to not need mentioning but... I was working in the woods many years ago during elk season. there was 8 to 10 inches of fresh snow on the ground. We got to an old skid road that lead back to our rig so we headed on up it to warm up and eat some lunch. On that skid road was a set of elk tracks. A big set of tracks and alone. Probably a bull. Right along side these track was a set of boot tracks going in the opposite direction. A big set of tracks and alone. Probably a fool hunter.

 

Well after we had been back in the rig for awhile this big guy walks up. He looked to be in his 70's and had a rifle that looked like it might have been a hand me down he got from his grandpa when he was 12. He got to telling us about how he had been tracking this big old bull down that skid road all morning but just couldn't seem to catch up so he gave up.

 

Good thing he gave up, he might have ended up in the spot that elk was born.

Big Lance

Now that is so funny it's sad!!!
Topgun----30-06 NAHC LM NWTF US Army Vet Corp SP5 68-71

Good one Lance,

In the wet ground of the Northwest, I've followed tracks the wrong way.  When spread out in soft ground, tracks will often appear wider in the direction they are going.  As Lance said, "The pointed part of tracks point in the direction the elk is traveling".  Look down into the mud or snow, find the points.  That's the direction they are going, not necessarily the narrowest part of the track.

Dean
H2O

Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

Come on, you Elk savvy hunters.  You all have got to have something to add?

OK, I've admitted to doing things the wrong way.  Sometimes that's how you learn.  Though, I don't think there are many here that claim to track Elk, that haven't followed tracks the wrong way (if only for a sort distance till the tracks became clear.)  Don't think back tracking em, hurts anything (cept, our pride), you always learn something (where they've been, where they're going.)  Though hunting them wrong direction, you can end up, with an empty fridge!

How many?  Should I follow?
Both questions depend on the season and many other variables!  Generally  I've found the more tracks the better the chances of a bull being with them in any season.  During the rut and for several months after the rut is over, single/double tracks might be worth following, depending on what you're after.  During the rut, I've found that satellite bulls, often hang around the edges of the main herd.  These can be anything from spikes, to old (regressing) bulls, kicked out of the herd by a dominant bull.  I generally don't follow these track, though they do warn me to be cautious.  (Though you have to be cautious when getting close to any group of Elk, lots of eyes, noses, and ears, cows or bulls.)  Back to the question; a couple of large and small tracks or even 4-6 fresh tracks, I might follow for awhile, depending on where they were going/how fast they were moving, the wind, how late in the season and wether I've got a cow tag to fill.  If I'm looking for a branched bull, I'm looking for at least 15 sets of tracks, or single tracks breaking off from a large main group (15+ animals when pursued in October or November.)  September (very early October), I think, holds em all together.  In September, truly then, the number of tracks (the size of the herd) makes a real differance.  The bigger the numbers, the more likely that a really big bull can only keep em together and keep the satelite bulls outside the herd!

Should I follow; depends on many things: weather, how far you are from camp (or a safe way back), the numbers you are following?  Have you seen the big guy?  Are you willing to settle for a cow?  How many?  What season?  Wind direction?

Every time I run into Elk I learn something, I use all that I've read and all that I have learned, to make me a better Wapiti hunter, so that next year my freezer will be full of fresh Elk meat!

I don't claim to be all knowing, and some of my observations may be wrong (I'm still learning.)  Just saying what I've seen and learned.

Sure wish more of you other Elk savvy guys would jump in!

Dean
H2O



Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

H2O Elkaholic--You just brought something up. I read all I can about elk in the off season. This post is one of the items I read, and it is better because you can actually interact with others. Learning from others is always a good thing, and the more you read the more you learn. Most people do their elk scouting close to hunting season. I do mine year round. If we are going camping we try to go where I will be hunting elk and learn the terrain. You can also learn where the elk will be at different times of the year and how they might react to hunting pressure. Some people may not be able to do that if they don't live where there are elk but they can read. The more knowlege you have the better hunter you will become.

 

The one thing you always read about is being in shape. The better shape you are in the easier the hunt and better chance for success. I went for a physical about two years ago and my weight was up around 280 and blood pressure was through the roof. I started out exercising slowly, with advice from the Dr, and in 6 months dropped 60 pounds and 6 inches in the waist. I also modified my diet and cut out most, not all, of the empty calories. Once the routine was set it was easy to maintain and hunting has never been so fun or rewarding as it is now. 

Once known as 3does,1buck pre-"upgrade" : It is better to rule than to serve.

I do a great amount of reading on the subject of elk. Unfortunatly I live in one of those areas your speaking of (Michigan) where it isn't very condusive to try and go camping in the areas I plan on hunting. (out West)  But I do study those areas in every way and means at my disposal until I can get out to the area to do so in person.

 

Maps, books, various elk hunting threads, and a new tool (well not that new) is Google Earth. They now have a 3-D layer download and the things that it can do as far as terrain rendition is simply remarkable. I actually feel as if I have been to some of those places using that mode.

Like Dean commented about earlier,.. there's a lifetime of learning these elusive critters and then some.

. There's room for all Gods creatures,.. right next to the taters' an' gravy! ,.........
. Shoot Straight & Stay Safe ! ,..........
. Terry Webster,...
. NAHC Life Member,.
. NAFC Life Member,
. RMEF Sponsoring Member,..
. SCI Member,..
. Michigan Sportsman's Assoc.,
. NRA Life Member,..
. US Army - Nam' Veteran SGT E-5 1970-72 1st/327th /101st AB

Twelch
Thanks!  I too read all I can, even after hunting em for 28 years.  I watch all the TV shows I can too!  Maybe I'm getting old but I find myself learning more from the mistakes I read or see on TV, than from those successful hunts.  When I read or watch something about someone getting busted, (wind swirls, moving when you shouldn't, under estimating how spread out they are)  I say "damn, I've done that!  That's why they ran off in November of 1989."  I've tried to get into where I think they winter here in Wyoming, think I'm going to need a snow machine or snowshoes to get back in there.  On Washington's coast, I could get to where they are all year.  Winters, as they are here, might be better if I left em alone anyway!  Here in Wyoming, as when I lived in Washington, I try to camp with them every opportunity I have.  I try to leave them alone in the bad winter months, as well as when they are calving in May and June.  Rest of the year, if I'm camping, it will generally be close to fishing, and/or where I'll be hunting.  I try to spend as much time scouting, and just being in areas they go, as I can.  You learn from watching em, and just seeing tracks of where they've been.  And, you learn from success and failures in the field.

Terry
Ahhh!  You bring us back to the maps! 

All
I'm a map hound!!!  There is so much you can learn from a good map!  I know many other Wapiti wise fellows here, do it too!  In the early 80's I began mapping out where I see them and when.  Back then it was on topo's, now it's with a GPS and mapping programs, though I still tranfer it to maps and GPS I can carry with me when hunting.  Maps are your best friend!  They show you way's to get ahead of them, potential bedding areas, how to get back to the truck, and much, much more!!!  Often locals in the area will be able to direct you to good paper maps of the area's you'll be hunting.  The ones you can get with your GPS are great, and the mapping programs you can buy and get for free on the Internet will only add to your knowledge.

If any of you disagree with anything I've said, please post it.  Can't learn to much about hunt'n Elk, and I'm still learning!

Dean
H2O

Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

Hunting elk here where I live in Alberta its all bush and lots of it. I dont hunt alot of high country its mostly low along the rivers. Its hard hunting as there are not alot of roads but there are alot of siesmic lines. We some times scout at night to locate them and go back in the mornning to get them. Calling at night works good here as they are more active. Last year we were out calling and walking till dark. On the way back to the quads we located a bull at night and snuck back in that mornning and got him.

Walking is the order of the day when hunting elk. last year we quaded in about 10miles then walked about as much to find elk.We drove past a camp every day going in and out we would stop to talk with them on the way out.All they did is complain about how there is no elk in the country and we took two in two days just 4 miles from thier camp. If they would just have goten off thier quads and walked a bit they would got one to. But it was fun seeing the look on thier faces as we drove past camp with a bull on the back two days in a row.

One thing we get alot of here is city hunters guys that come out with huge campers and all the quads you could want.The area I hunt is only 3hrs from the city and on the weekends you should see the convoy of hunters on the highway. The worst part is they love to park in the middle of the best spots to hunt.A couple of years ago we scouted a area around a old gravel pit for about two weeks.Seen lots of sign and lots of elk but on opening day the gravel pit was full of campers from the city.We did a broad shearch for elk but could not find them.I dont think anybody took a elk in that area all year even after they all left.

 

 

fogducker---Your comments are similar to what we find in Wyoming on our annual mulie hunt.  We normally wait out the opening week crowd and hunt the last two weeks of the season and only see a few residents.  When I have been out earlier I see most people hunting close to the roads and most are complaining about "no animals".  We fill our tags most every year and two of the last three I've killed my best bucks.  To do that though I have been back off the road 2 or 3 miles and see plenty of animals.  A lot are either too lazy or too scared to get out of sight of their vehicles!!!   One guy with a California plate stopped at our camp along the main road and complained there wasn't a deer in the whole area.  Meantime as we were talking we were watching a group of deer on the hillside right above his truck about 150 yards away 

Topgun----30-06 NAHC LM NWTF US Army Vet Corp SP5 68-71

I love those kind of stories Topgun.  Here our Elk and Deer archery seasons take place at the same time. One year my hunting partner and I had both killed our deer so we were strictly concentrating on elk. On the last weekend it had cooled off and we had an inch of fresh snow on the ground as we hiked up these steep muddy ruts that had some fresh tire track in them so someone apparently thought it was a road.  Soon this Pickup comes bouncing down the hill with four guys in it. They stopped and told us that there were no deer up there because the snow had chased them all down lower.

 

We kept on going hoping to cut some elk tracks and about a mile later we came to the spot they had turned around. Right in their track were five bucks standing there minding their own business. Three were real monsters and one of those was a non-typical with I don't know how many points. For years after that, every time it snowed a little we would joke about how all the deer had moved down to the lowlands.

Big Lance

Yep you got to get off the roads. I have seen elk from the road but it was out of season or after dark This happened to me deer hunting one year. It was getting close to dark and I was walking back to the road to get picked up. I was about 30 yards off the road in camo, no orange, and spotted two bucks 50 yards from me on the same side of the road when I heard the vehicle. A truck is coming towards me  with a rifle barrel sticking out the drivers and passengers window with two guys in the bed holding rifles as well. They were doing about 10 MPH and I said well there goes my chance to kill one of those bucks a they are going to get them. They drove right past without seeing me or the deer. They went by me about 50 yards when I touched the ML off and they threw on the brakes.You should have seen their faces when they backed up and saw my 5x5 on the ground .

Once known as 3does,1buck pre-"upgrade" : It is better to rule than to serve.

Good info guys!  The Mulies & Blacktails too!  Do think the same of Elk.  Had Elk wander past my camp not 100 yards away.  Seen em stack up right along side the road, just out of site, waiting for a good time to cross.  Do think you get out of the truck, you'll see more game!

Another thing I've noted is #s.
Elk are herd animals, they prefer to be with more of their kind.  Some things bust em up; noise, smoke and human sent (presents), the weather, availability of food and water, ect... but generally they prefer to be with other Elk.  The more the merrier.  In September and early October when the big bulls have kicked the smaller ones out, the smaller bulls still hang around the main group.  Often the bigger, lesser bulls, will run off the smaller ones and all the small ones end up in one group.  Even the cows will group up into two separate groups, cows the herd bull is herding and cows past or yet to come into estrus.  So you end up with this big bunch of Elk, all in the same drainage - but in separate groups.  So during the rut you'll find; a herd bull escorting cows in (or near) estrus, big satellite bulls hanging in the outskirts, and another group of cows (close to the main group), and a bunch of lessor bulls hanging together (though, often they split off and try to get back to mom and the herd(or they are just horny)).
Even when scouting for rifle season later in the year, this is what I'm looking for!  Even if the Elk have moved on, the sign that they were there is obvious (late Sept. rubbed trees (some torn to shreds), tons of droppings, wallows, and tracks everywhere.)  Elk cover a lot of ground, but if you can get an idea of which way they were going you can jump a lot of ground and get to where they are now.  If not pressured (by us or the weather), they will be within a drainage or two from where all the sign was.  Not in the same #s, but I've oftentimes found them still concentrated.

You've got to hunt where the Elk are, but often where they've been can tell you much.  I am a firm believer that the bigger the #s, the more likely there will still be a good bull running with the cows.  Now the big bull that kept em all together in late September, he'll be the first to break off when pressured by us or the weather.  And the toughest to find!

JMO
Dean
H2O

Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

hello -  i'm back - One thing to remember -every elk hunting situation is different. Looks like we got a lot of cold weather hunters around - like the boy scouts - being prepared can make life easier. Especially elk hunting - Warm weather hunts usually take place during the rut. no matter what state you are in!  I'll just talk about  Arizona - Early archery hunts- during the rut- are in mid Sept. tempatures in the moutains can get in the 90's. Dropping any animal in these conditions  requires  fast action if  you are gonna have a chance at saving the meat from spoiling . Normally you got less than an hr.! Suppose you are by yourself!  -Just 1-approx.- mile from your truck/camp. What do you do? Did you take the neccesary equipment with you? Do you spend time gutting and then try to get help ? Chances are you can't even move the elk - especially if it's a big bull! What's the fastest  way  back to camp? Do you have a gps. not only to find camp agin but to mark the elk so you can find it agin!  Suppose you had to track a wounded animal for several miles. Do you even know where you are at!

The  number # 1 piece of equipment had better be a good GPS with spare batteries - and  know how to use it!!  more later  -meat care in the field.  Gary

- Poper meat care makes for the best table fare

Take everything you need to hunt as long as the light holds. The last 30 minutes of daylight often holds the best propects for the day's hunt. Don't be afraid to head back to camp in the dark. If you knock one down at last light, you will have to take care of it in the dark. Have everything you need to field dress and posssibly skin if the weather is hot.

 

Taking my own advice, I carry a good sized daypack with the following items as a minimum:

At least 6 game bags

200 feet of parachute cord

a collapsable pack frame

2 flashlights

2 good knives

a folding bone saw

topo maps

a good compass

water

food

small first aid kit

2 space blankets

matches

cigarette lighter

cotton balls coated with vaseline for starting fires

whistle/signalling kit 

small sewing kit

rain parka

2 large plastic bags

a small plactic tarp

dry socks

extra clothing based on present weather conditions.

 

With this kit, I can stay out to dark and also spend the night on the mountain if I need to. Many times I have spent until almost midnight dressing, skinning and boning an elk and then grabbed a bit of chow and rolled up in the space blankets. Dawn often finds me headed down the mountain with a load of meat on the pack frame as the other guys are headed up. Since you never know when you will get your shot, use the entire day if needed.

 

Too many elk hunters are afraid of the dark. This causes them to stay too close to the roads and often means they will miss the best hunting of the day.

Artifical intelligence is no substitute for natural stupidity.

elkaholic93 -great advice. Great advice for those even hunting in the cold weather areas. We occasionally have the warm days and you have to think about what you wrote about. It is a bad thing that any elk meat spoils.

Even in cold weather: When I gut I cut the entire wind pipe out (cut from the chest all the way up the throat. And also split the pelvis. Naxt I ensure that I cut (with an axe the inside of the back bone at the shoulders and at the pelvis and lay the carcass open. There is so much heat in the Neck, Shoulders and Pelvis. Doing this cools the animal quicker, and aids in reducung spoiling meat.

 

Shade is your freind. Use it if you can.

 

Tom

FLAGS
Your pack and mine are much the same!

1. 100 yds of dental floss (strong and lite weight)
2. 20 ft of 1/8" braided nylon rope
   
3. 2 flashlights, with two spare bulbs, and extra batteies
4. 2 good knives (I use a Buck 105 and a small buck pen knife, use the pen knife for working inside the chest cavity and such (put my index finger over the back edge to the point, where you point, you cut) makes reaching whey up in there easy, and only cutting what you want cut!
5. Steel for sharping knives
   
6. A folding bone saw
7. Topo maps (can't always depend on electronics)
8. A good compass (same reason as #7)
9. GPS with extra batteries
   
10. Water
11. Food
12. Small first aid kit
13. 2 space blankets
14. Matches (waterproof in a waterproof container)
    
15. Cig. lighter (butane lighters don't work real well when it's real cold)
16. Fire starter
17. 2 four hour wax candles (light makes the nite better when you can't get a fire started, and candles are a good fire starter by them selves)
    
18. Whistle
19. Extra clothing base on current and predicted weather conditions

I take my pack with me anytime I leave the road to hunt, even on expected short hunts.  As said "Elk cover a lot of ground", you get into them and no telling how far you'll travel, or how long you'll be out!

As for the GPS; handy tool.  Think it's the best thing since they invented the center fire cartridge!  But DON'T rely on it!!!  Beginning of the Gulf War, mine had me miles from where I knew I was (think the military commandeered the satellites.)  Also deep canyons and dark timber hard to get a signal.  You drop it, sit on it, or for what ever reason it fails, YOU NEED TO KEEP TRACK OF WHERE YOU ARE AND KNOW HOW TO GET OUT!!!  Elkaholic 93 is right, when working properly and you know how to use it, a good GPS will get you out quickly, even in the dark.  And it will get you back to the same place in the morring to pic up where you left off.

Dean
H2O


Hunting Elk in a rainforest; ya haven't experienced it till ya had rain running down the crack of your *** 30 minutes out of camp. Formerly a Roosevelt Elk hunter on the Washington coast, now hunting them Rocky Mtn. ones, in Wyoming.

My pack, which is a fanny pack with shoulder straps,. is the same as Dean's with a couple of minor differences.

 

Only one flashlight, only one space blanket, no candles, nylon twine instead of dental floss and I rarely carry maps because I usually spend a tremendous amount of time learning the area I am hunting.

 

Then along with my two hunting knives I have a pocket knife and my leatherman tool. I have a straw type water filter because I don't like to carry much water. Too much weight and noisy. A role of surveyors tape. several four gallon plastic bags with twit ties. There good for the heart and lungs or mushrooms or berries or any other tasty little morsel I might happen to find. A small digital camera and a small tripod. Oh yeah, TP. My favorite food while hunting is a mixed nuts with a bunch of dried fruit mix together. That's a lot of fiber.

 

I also carry a predator call. Mostly because when nothing much is happening it is fun to call in a coyote or bobcat or something. But also I have called in both deer and elk on several occasions.

 

This picture was taken at a distance of about 20 feet after calling with a predator call.

Big Lance

1. Plastic container of dental floss (Dean's idea given to me while hunting with him)
2. 25 ft of climbers braided rope
3. 2 flashlights, with spair bulbs, and extra batteries
4. 3-4 good knives (cutting, skinning, de-boneing, & pocket folder) 
5.  1 twin carbide blade knife sharpener, & a honing stone
6.  Folding bone / limb saw
7. Area Topo maps 
8. Lensatic compass
9. GPS with extra batteries
10. Water
11. Food
12. Small first aid kit with a tube of super glue (stitches in a bottle)
13. 1 space blanket
14. Matches waterproofed in a waterproof container with starting material
15.  2-3 butane lighters
16. Fire starting material in a small ziplock baggie 
17. 1 four hour wax candle
18. Emergency whistle
19. Extra clothing based on the current, and projected weather conditions
20. Pin-on emergency strobe lite (like what's on life preservers for a location beacon)
21. 2 small packs of hunters tissues
22. Range finder
23. "Black-Diamond" light (worn on your head) for the ability of 2 handed night-time processing of your kill.
24. 1 roll of surveyors flourescent plastic tape
25. FRS/GMRS radio with spair batteries
26. Extra ammo
27. Compact binoculars

 

I'll normally carry the backpack on planned full day outtings (before daylight to dark), for the days that are split into morning and evening hunts I'll wear a waist style fanny pack with the bare essentials normally used for the times not far from the base camp.

 

 

. There's room for all Gods creatures,.. right next to the taters' an' gravy! ,.........
. Shoot Straight & Stay Safe ! ,..........
. Terry Webster,...
. NAHC Life Member,.
. NAFC Life Member,
. RMEF Sponsoring Member,..
. SCI Member,..
. Michigan Sportsman's Assoc.,
. NRA Life Member,..
. US Army - Nam' Veteran SGT E-5 1970-72 1st/327th /101st AB