What's in your elk hunting backpack?

[jamfarm]

Exactly 8 weeks until the GOS opener. Just wanted to see what you guys carry in your elk hunting backpack. I feel that I carry too much stuff and wanted to scale it down. What do you think are the must have's for your pack and what could get left back at camp?

[landphil]

An elk tag. :lol:

[TheObserver]

Exactly 8 weeks until the GOS opener. Just wanted to see what you guys carry in your elk hunting backpack. I feel that I carry too much stuff and wanted to scale it down. What do you think are the must have's for your pack and what could get left back at camp?

If I were to hunt out of base camp;

Knives/saw, rope, caribeaners, game bags, lifestraw water bottle, headlamps/flashlight, batteries, pen size diamond knife sharpener, sil-poly tarp, diaphragms/bugle tube, granola bars, lighter, toilet paper

Then I always carry my bino harness which has my binos, tags, a leatherman, GPS, surveyors tape, compass, wind indicator, extra batteries, card reader, an extra compass

[jac]

Water bottle, food, knife, game bags, first aid, fire starter, elk calls and bugle, battery pack, head lamp, spot communication,

[RackStar]

Pretty much the same as jac

keep it simple and light. Most likely covering lots of ground.

[bcfirefly]

Try not to pack your fears, meaning think you will run out of stove fuel, you end up packing more than you need. worried about your knife going dull, so you pack a 2nd, worried about being too cold, so you pack more clothes than if you were at the ski hill... anyways its a good perspective to have when looking at your gear list.
https://exomtngear.com/blogs/article/free-hunting-gear-list-spreadsheet

[Ron.C]

Try not to pack your fears, meaning think you will run out of stove fuel, you end up packing more than you need. worried about your knife going dull, so you pack a 2nd, worried about being too cold, so you pack more clothes than if you were at the ski hill... anyways its a good perspective to have when looking at your gear list.
https://exomtngear.com/blogs/article/free-hunting-gear-list-spreadsheet

good post^^^^^^

I have definitely been guilty of this.

I mostly hunt alone. I always head out from camp in the morning prepared to hunt till last light. Bino's are on my chest and rifle on the shoulder. I sometimes carry my tripod and bino adapter if I'm hunting more open area where I will be doing more glassing. I no longer carry my spotter when elk hunting.

Pack I now use for elk day hunts is a Mystery Ranch Guide Light MT frame with 23L (1400cu inch) Mule bag ( close to a 6# wieght reduction from my old external frame pack and bag). Gear carried is nearly the same for any deer dayhunt minus the elk calls and 3 game bags and easily fits into this small pack. I've used the same syntetic Caribou game bags for the past 3 years on elk, deer and bears. Super light, very tough, and and clean and dry with ease. 4 elk size caribou bags (or other syntetic brand) weigh less than 1 of my old traditional style and compress down to nothing.

- tags and gun licence
- small amount of TP
- cell phone/w inreach and glasses. My cell tripple hats as my GPS, Camera and pairs with inreach for easy comms.
- knife (fallkniven F1). Can breakdown and dress an entire elk without sharpening or needing a second blade.
- insulation layer (varies depending on the forecasted weather and they type of hunting. A big fan of staying out all day and just sitting quite during the mid day hours).
- ight packable rain gear ( if forecast is for significant rain or I will be hunting slide areas).
- tougue( or lighter beanie) and gloves (both depending on the forecasted weather)
- 3L water bladder and couple snacks. ( last bull was nearly 24hrs effort from the time I left the truck to the time I was back with the last quarter, I was out of water by 0200).
- headlamp and one set of spare batteries (they live in my survical kit).
- carry my windchecker and ready use calls in my pants pockets, my bugle rides acoss my shoulders on my pack, couple different calls in my pack if I need to mix it up.
- bear spray (on my hip belt beside my knife).
- 4 synthetic game bags, 50' paracord (never needed 50').
- survival kit, always in the bottom of my pack( small emergency shelter, small single AAA pen light, fire starter, meds( 2x asparine in case of heart attack, 2xpepto, 2x ibuprohin) small bit of bandaid, small compression badage for big cut, cliffbar).
- elk decoy (sometimes) depends on how and where I'm hunting.

I will sometimes carry my pack alarm (as I did with my last elk) and sting a long perimeter line 50-70 yards downwind of the kill site. Perhaps it only provided a false sence of security, but let me focus on the task of dressing my bull alone in the the dark in heavy griz country

[KodiakHntr]

I see a bunch of guys carry a lot more stuff than I do.

Typical creature comforts - tp, water, bit of food. Weather dependent clothing.

Hiking poles - cross them and you have shooting sticks. 100lbs in the pack, use them as intended.
5 game bags.
Knife (typically these days a replaceable blade jobbie with a couple spare blades)
Neck knife, because it’s handy. On bulls skin the piss patch off before doing anything, swap knives or blades.
50’ of paracord, because I feel like I should…. Got the process down pat on elk and moose though, so I don’t ever use any rope anyway.
Hults Bruk wildlife axe, for no real reason other than if I feel like pulling ribs its quick as hell for that.
SG 7400.
Skyline bino harness with glass and lrf, rifle, bugle tube and cow calls.

But to be honest, game bags and a knife is all I really need. Break them down into manageable pieces, and you are golden. Same as moose.

[HappyJack]

Extra socks, don't look after your feet and you won't have much fun.

[high horse Hal]

That mid-day change of socks can be amazing, then cinch up the laces tight for the down-hill home

Good lists above, but for me I'll always have a spotter and tripod, always.
A cheap spotter @25x can pick out a tine far better than any scope or even expensive binos

[HarryToolips]

Great thread idea..once I've setup my hike-in camp or other camp, I still probably bring too much items and weight in most hunters' opinions but I like being prepared..I bring my pack frame + main pack with rangefinder, multitool, flagging tape, fire starters, bore-snake, water, food, first aid, sil tarp, rope, several knives, 2 compasses, Gaia GPS maps on my phone, pack alarm, gloves, water purification, msr stove and pot, bivy, hiking poles, spotting scope and tripod, mouth reeds, bugle tube, antler or bone for raking, binos, rifle, wind checker..