Survival gear and techniques for the woods

[tunrevir]

I thought I'd post this and see what types of things you all carry afield when on a hunt. Not just out the back door of the cabin or just down the street to farmer Johnsons feild but out into the wilderness. Say the Rockies or even the tundra. What items/techniques would you consider to be essential to survive for up to a week in the woods? Could you do it in inclement weather, cold, wind, sleet, snow, rain, a dip in frigid waters? Lets hear what you'd carry and how you'd use it!

Tunrevir~

[jlm]

A tarp, dry paper (or wood shavings) and some sort of fire starting device. With that a guy could go a long time! Lots of other stuff helps as well...chime in guys!

[Nate McVey]

I have hunted elk in CO for 7 years now and each year my survival pack gets bigger and bigger. Of course I have the usual ie. batteries, waterproof matches, extra knives, rope, etc. But I also carry:

Solar Blanket

Packable North Face Coat

GPS

Compass

Map

MSR backpacking stove

Heat packs

Water purification

Radio

First Aid Kit

Rope

Xtra Socks

Gorp, Cheese and Jerky

Instant Coffee

Those things are in my daily hunt pack and I know it seems like a lot, but with today's backpacks it is easy to put all these things in seperate compartments and still have room to pack out a quarter. I'm sure I will think of some more things that are probably in there, but that is a start.

[BobT]

I hunt in northern Minnesota. I make it a point to be sure and have a knife, fire starter, compass, gps, flashlight, and extra ammo.

But primarily I make it a point to be aware of my surroundings. I think in many situations when a person becomes disoriented or turned around in a forest, it is when they have been daydreaming and not really paying attention to the surrounding terrain.

Bob

[HuntFishDude]

shiner2367, just curious, have you ever weighed your pack? Did you guys forget to list the toliet Paper?

[Nate McVey]

Quote:

---

shiner2367, just curious, have you ever weighed your pack? Did you guys forget to list the toliet Paper?

---

With 120 oz. of water, Red Bull and food it's about 40 lbs. As far as the TP goes, I figured that was a given We typically pack out the front quarters first, unload that packs and go back for the hind quarters and the rest of the animal. I know it seems like a lot of stuff to carry, but I have been turned around before when the weather changed and I was glad to have that stuff.

[tunrevir]

My day pack has similar items as yours Shiner when I am elk hunting. Topomaps are nice to have along as well, kinda clues you into some of the beches and saddles like the contour lines on the lakemaster chip! I also carry a cheap packable set of rainwear that I can put on over my hunting clothes if need be for extra warmth and water/windproofing, the packable kind packs down to about 5"x6"x5" Nice to have in a pinch! Oh yeah and about 10' of duct tape, parachute cord rather then rope, magnesium fire starter, butane lighter and waterproof matches, cotton balls soaked with vaseline and a few other items.

Tunrevir~

[woodview]

an odd one here - diapers (about the best 'large wound' bandaid you're going to find). On that line baby wipes.

triple anti-biotic cream. good stuff especially when you're not always able to wash smaller cuts and scratches.

Burn cream.

depending on time of year a snake bite kit is a must (at least after you've had a couple close encounters - not usually needed during hunting season if you're at any elevation and I don't ever plan on using it but... since I've just jinxed myself)

another odd one - film container. I smoke (I know I know) I don't think that sealing the butte in one is going to stop the scent but why add more than needed and more importantly it keeps them where you can throw them away and not litter. they're just good little containers.

As shiner said the h20 pills. They're needed in many places in the rockies. Forget the name of the illness but the water can be dangerous. Don't just assume that pretty little spring bubbling up from the ground is good - think the illness is cattle related but will bubble the brain and not in a good way. could ask in the western state forumns I'm sure they'd probably be able to tell you about it pretty quick. Boiling the h20 plus the pills is probably the way to go.

Oh, cell phone - hypocritical of me since I don't carry one but we personally go up a little 'goat' track and getting to a hospital would take around an hour just to get to the bottom of the mountain. Plus every few years a big one hits (storm) and people have had to get pulled off. Would stink leaving your gear till the spring but much worse to get stuck up there.

Totally unrelated to the conversation but Wyomings online application is absolutely great. Took me about 2 minutes from start to finish and I'm done. Talking about accomodating someone who's going to put stuff off till the last second. Now, if they'd just reverse their decision to go to preferrence points!

[Duck Matt]

Mine is the following double packed in two-1 gallon zip lock bags (great emergency water canteens) and then sealed with a vacum packer two boxes waterproof matches, small can sterno, first aid kit, folding knife, compass, small steel mirror, space blacket sleeping bag, 100 feet parachute cord, film canister with fishing line, sinkers and hooks, whistle. It is about 12 inches by 7 inches by 3 inches and completely waterproof and floats. I have never needed it but it goes with me on all my hunting trips.

[Nate McVey]

Thanks for mentioning the Sterno Duck Matt. One scoop of the gel and you could light anything wet in just a few seconds. It also gives of great heat and lasts a couple of hours.

[iffwalleyes]

Great tips guys keep them coming. I have several of these things with me but now I have some more ideas to add. I know I will have these before I make a journey out west again.

[iffwalleyes]

I am bumping this back to the top. I am getting gear ready for a Sept elk hunt to Mt. Shiner and others have some great things on there list can you think of anything else that might be a really good idea to have. I think all of what Shiner had will be in my pack plus the sterno another great idea.

[Ufatz]

A cell phone! Jeeeez you guys, I'm surprised this hasn't been mentioned before.

[iffwalleyes]

Quote:

---

Oh, cell phone - hypocritical of me since I don't carry one but we personally go up a little 'goat' track and getting to a hospital would take around an hour just to get to the bottom of the mountain. Plus every few years a big one hits (storm) and people have had to get pulled off. Would stink leaving your gear till the spring but much worse to get stuck up there.

---

It was but I don't know that there will be too many cell towners in the mountains maybe.

[Nate McVey]

iff, you're going to want some bear spray. I spent a year in Big Sky, MT and I had a hard time taking out my trash without mine.

[icehousebob]

I've made my own fire starting kits that work well. I take dryer lint and old, weathered rope, chopped into one inch lengths, and put them mixed together into the twelve sections of the bottom part of a cardboard egg carton. Then fill each one with melted wax. Old candle stubs, parafin, whatever is handy. Each section makes one waterproof firestarter. The chopped rope works like a bunch of small candle wicks and will burn long enough to start damp tinder. Carry a few sections and a Bic disposable lighter in a ziplock bag.

A friendly campfire makes any situation seem less critical. And the time and effort of building a fire calms people down and helps avoid panic and gives you time to think.

Another useful item is a couple of large trash bags. They can be used as an emergency raincoat or cut into a waterproof groundcover or tent. They will break the wind, and if you can get the bright orange ones, they make good emergency markers. They don't weigh much and take up little room in a pack if they are wrapped with duct tape. The tape can also be handy in an emegency for making a shelter or bandaging wounds.

[Kostoglotov]

I’d start with the “Pocket Survival Pak” – It’s an excellent starter kit for $25-30, that doesn’t take up much space.

Whistle

For fire starting – Vaseline “soaked” cottonballs work well. I’ll store them in a 35MM film container. 2 means of firestarting are a must – Bic lighters, good wind/waterproof, fire steel, etc.

Flashlight & Headlamp

Knife & Multi-tool

550 (Para) cord

One other thing is practice with the tools you’re taking – try out your means of firestarting, how you’re going to build a shelter, etc. Doing this stuff for the first time when you are lost, injured, etc isn’t the time to learn