With 11 days to Michigans bow season, I am in full prep mode. Last night, however, I paused and laughed at myself.

Every year on DAY 1.....my haversack and pockets are bulging with stuff "I need". By DAY 45.....my around the house farmland deer kit has been trimmed down to "knife, lighter, compass, rope".

I'm exaggerating a little, but I'm always shocked at myself with how much gadgetry I start out with, and how simple I end up.

Asbell writes in Stalking and Stillhunting about how everything extra you bring directly affects how successful and being quiet and stealthy you are. He mentions todays whitetail hunter going from pickup to treestand with a full backpack, and compares it to his first Alaska trip, when he wandered around with a can of sardines and an extra sweater.

I'm not giving advice here....just saying it out loud, maybe to remind myself   :D

I think about this every time I strap on my pack when elk hunting. However, I am alone, in remote country, and you just never know. My whitetail rig is quite different from my elk hunting outfit, and a lot easier to carry.

My most hunted spot is in my backyard so I don't bring anything except the clothes on my back, bow and arrows.

I don't need much more to hunt the local WMA...and it's illegal to start a fire there.

When I hunt the "big woods", I have plenty of stuff in camp but don't necessarily need to bring much of it on the actual hunt.

QuoteOriginally posted by centaur:
I think about this every time I strap on my pack when elk hunting. However, I am alone, in remote country, and you just never know. My whitetail rig is quite different from my elk hunting outfit, and a lot easier to carry.

You might remember Mike Vines and I were in the Big Horns (your backyard) last fall....I definitely carried a bit more than my white/farmland kit. Not knowing the terrain, being alone with no cell phone to call an ambulance...I agree 100% with you that some places DO require a bit more "gear".

Great reminder, well stated.  Have a great season.

Agree hole hardly,  as I get older all the extra has gained in weight and confusion as to why I have it in the first place.

I don't have this problem bowhunting but come turkey season my turkey vest looks like Bass Pro erupted.  By two weeks into it I'll have 2/3rds of the stuff either scattered around the house or laying behind the seat of my truck.

I must admit I have never taken much to the woods with me.  Matches/lighter, some TP,water, snickers bars(depending on how long I will be out), a good knife, sometimes a compass if I am in new country and perhaps a short length of rope. Since I have coverage and my wife demands it of me because of health and age issues, my cell phone.

That being said, I am hunting in Southernmost Illinois mostly on my own property but sometimes on other ground and I can usually drive my truck/tractor/4 wheeler almost right to a deer.

Roger, I'm with you.  I find it amazing how much "stuff" ends up in my pack and pockets and how little I truely need.  Thanks for the reminder.

Keep it simple. Thought about that all day today brushing up blinds.

Last week Roger, I laid out everything on my work bench that I "want" to take with me. Then after serious consideration, eliminate one by one the stuff I really can do without.

Now it's very simple, when hunting with my back quiver and large fanny pack, all I do is transfer those items to my Catquiver 3.5 when I hunt with my left handed bow. I just make sure I carry fresh water or Gatorade on every hunt.

Good idea Joe....I'm doing a warmup today, taking a kid out for the youth hunt. It will be handy in reminding me what I need and what I don't.

As an aside, the kid I'm taking...his Father is a partner on our lease. Dad is taking one son, I'm taking the other. Dad....although one of my oldest and dearest friends, is at McGyver level of gadgetry-love. He will take one kid and they will both have bulging day packs  (fatter than any pack I ever wore in the Army) for an afternoon hunt. I will take the other, and we will have a haversack, mostly filled with jerky for snacks.    

I go through this every year, I finally just bought a smaller pack.. that helped a lot but before season and a couple times during I empty it out and re evaluate.. some depends where im hunting but I find I always have more "stuff" than I will ever need...

Opening day I brought all my toys into the woods. 1 week into the season my pack load has been cut in half.

I struggle to cut clothing. As a mountain hunter, cold weather can mean COLD weather. My pack space mostly gets filled with clothes and water.

Good thought process Roger.  For my back yard whitetail hunting,  if it doesn't fit in the 'man purse' it doesn't need to go.

Umm, that's a satchel, Ray...

I'm about the same, except after the first outing, I seem to add a few pieces, I forgot. THEN things seem to thin out a bit after a few more trips.

I go thru the same thing. Even camping at dder camp I take way too much. We went salmon fishing and scouting this past weeken and I didnt take my camper just a tent and my truck was still full and I wanted to go light, go figure...
My main deer spot down here is close so I only take my bow, knife a head lamp and thats about it.
anything else I need I can return to the truck and get if I need. If Im lucky and shoot something I usually leave for a while and give some time before I take up the track anyway.

Roger...nothing wrong with giving that advice...I often think about how we get into traditional bowhunting to keep things simple and then work very hard to complicate it...I hunt close to home on land I know well a lot and your refined down kit seems perfect to me...and I leave the lighter, compass/gps and rope in my truck...only thing I might add is a small flashlight if hunting late

DDave

Oh, I still carry a compass.  The deer runs into the marsh I hunt and it gets dark while I do the cleaning and I always check which way is out before I start dragging.  I have hunted here for 20 years or more and when its dark, I can still get turned around.

CHuckC