As one of the first human activities, hunting is a popular pastime even today, which engages many people, regardless of age, race, or gender. The goal of hunting is to procure food, but it is more than just that. It is a game of tracking, tactics, and capturing. One can engage in all kinds of hunting, from camouflage, active, dog, and bait, to the type of prey, ranging between big and small game, bird, or boar hunting. Your gear list should be shaped according to the type of hunting you plan on engaging in.
As one of the first human activities, hunting is a popular pastime even today, which engages many people, regardless of age, race, or gender. The goal of hunting is to procure food, but it is more than just that. It is a game of tracking, tactics, and capturing. One can engage in all kinds of hunting, from camouflage, active, dog, and bait, to the type of prey, ranging between big and small game, bird, or boar hunting. Your gear list should be shaped according to the type of hunting you plan on engaging in.
While hunting is a generally calm sport, one can get hurt both while in the outdoors and while handling your weapon. Therefore, make sure that you know how to use it and what to expect when in nature. Apart from your weapon, you will need a sling to keep it in place and a cleaning kit for maintenance.
While using your weapon, be it on a live or faux target, you will need a bipod or shooting stick, scope, and extra ammunition. In terms of covering your location, use a scent block and blind. Also, bring a bag of any kind to place your smaller, emergency, and optional stuff in it.
In case something goes wrong, bring a spare weapon, but also bring extras like a hoist that will help you rest your arms, binoculars, range finders, and anything else you might find coming in handy. Make finding you easy with route markers, and lay low with a stool, sunshade, or extra tarp (and hammer, stakes, and rope to position them) and insect repellent.
Also, take care of your gear when it’s not used with cases for guns and scopes, and remember that no hunter is complete without a hunting knife. In terms of lures, you can go crazy and bring either game calls, lures, scents, or decoys.
While hunting is not for everyone, you might want to try out your primal skills by either joining a local hunting club and renting gear from them. If you’re not into that, you can ask friends to take you hunting with them or finding an organization with an all-inclusive option. In the end, don’t forget to harmonize with nature, but also prepare for the expected weather and learn everything you need before setting out.
In the case of a game or quarry ending with a kill, most hunters will start meat processing immediately. Skilled hunters and butchers know the skills of the trade, and these should be supervised if a beginner is attempting them.
Therefore, make sure you have someone with you that knows what they are doing, or the meat might go bad. First, protect yourself with some gloves, and your food with a food tent with a heater, tables, and chairs. Your hide can be taken care of with salt, stop rot, and water, all placed in a bucket or trash bag.
Cut the meat with a bone saw, shears, and knives, while making sure they are sharp with a sharpener. When it comes to transportation, you can use sleds, hanging units, or a carrier to transport the animal. For extra protection, place the meat in a cooler, bags or ice chest.
If you decide to use the meat immediately, ensure you have all the needed utensils inside your tent, including a stove, cooking supplies, pots, pans, eating utensils, plates, cups, and anything else you might need.
No one wants to reach the hunting field and have the officials send them away because they forgot their permit and license. This is why you should always have them with you, together with your ID, insurance card, and a way of navigating the area (like a map or GPS).
We also talked about a backpack or bag, which needs to host these items in it. Apart from them, you will need everything that will prepare you for the case of an emergency.
That is why your personal bag needs to have water, flashlight if it goes dark, signaling mirror for communication with your group, repair kit for both your clothes and gear, emergency blanket and a fire starting kit if it gets cold, and zip ties or safety pins if you need to bundle something together.
Laying low can get boring, and that is why you should bring a book, kindle, pen and paper, or magazines to keep you entertained.
While using your phone during hunting is a big no, you might still take it with you as a way of communication and easier way of locating yourself. One can also use walkie-talkies if there is no reception. Still, these are all items whose battery runs out, so make sure they are charged to the max and you have chargers, batteries, and portable power with you.
Another way to hunt is with your camera, so make sure you have it with you, together with lenses, batteries, a light tripod, and enough SD cards.
In the case of an emergency, you should have your flare and first aid kit at hand or in your bag.
Keeping clean and safe is a must while hunting, so don’t forget to bring these items with you which can all fit in your backpack: first aid, medication, hand warmers, lighter, toilet paper, and towel. If you want to keep extra clean and wipe off al scents, use wet wipes, desinfectant wipes, or wipe your hands after washing them with a fresh towel.
A few personal items that can help you keep the elements at bay include lip balm, sunscreen,sunglasses, and lotion.
I don’t think I need to emphasize this, but every hunter needs a blaze orange vest to stand out and make them visible to other humans. On the other hand, to blend in with the forest, so the animals don’t see them, they will need a camo jacket, pants, shirt, and hat.
Anything apart from that can be optional but recommended are wool socks, boots, head cover, gaiters, belt, face mask or paint, and extra clothes so they can change.
If it gets colder or rains, you will need some baselayers, insulation, and extra rainwear. These include gloves, parkas, rain jackets, and pants.
Keeping yourself nourished while on the lookout is key, and therefore bringing water, coffee, tea, and snacks like energy bars, sandwiches, trail mix, and sweets are a must. Needless to say, if you plan on staying the night, bring extra canned food or make your own.
Different hunting techniques require additional gear, one popular way of hunting is bow and arrow hunting. Once you get your basics like the bow, hoist and sling for it, make sure to bring all the extras like a bow toolbox, armguard, wind checker, release, and all kinds of arrowheads.
Another popular way to hunt is with dogs, so don’t forget to bring your best friend their gear It includes anything a dog might need when outside, like vests, collars, leash, bowls, kennel, whistle, and first aid.
If you’ve never tried hunting before, you probably don’t know what you are missing out on. Most people would say hunting isn’t just about the waiting or the killed game, it’s about the chase. That makes it unique because you learn more about yourself than you could ever learn about the animal or your team. Therefore, make sure to soak in those silent moments and look at them as meditation while becoming one with nature.
Think of our curated lists as your base camp - a good starting point, but you must assess the climb ahead yourself.
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