Elk Hunting Day Pack – What to Pack!

With elk season just around the corner, now’s the time to go through hunting gear to make sure everything is in order for opening day. Gear has a way of getting scattered around over the late winter and summer, latex calls need to be inspected and replaced, headlamp batteries charged, etc. One of my preseason rituals is to go through my elk hunting day pack. This year I’ll be trying out a new Peregrin from seekoutside so there’s no pine needles to clean out from last year. This pack is light, roomy, and has a break away bag and meat shelf for carrying a quarter once that bull’s on the ground.

In one of the side pockets ride my trekking polls which, until just a few years ago, I’d considered some granola hippie accessory that no real man would be caught dead with. Well call me what you will but these things won’t be left at home anytime soon. Trekking polls allow you to employ your upper body strength, improve stability and save your knees on those brutal descents. Trust me, get a pair and try them out. You’ll love them.

In the other pocket is my highly technical bugle tube consisting of a dollar store wiffleball bat and some soft sports wrap(which might come in handy if you twist an ankle on the mountain because you were too tough for trekking poles…). Seriously though, you don’t need to spend 50 bucks on a bugle tube. Spend that money on a good head lamp.

Inside the bag is, coincidentally, a head lamp. I’ve been using a Petzel rechargeable for the past few years. The battery life is pretty spectacular and it’s super light. I’ve also got my BOT from Vargo outdoors which you’ve probably seen in some of my videos. I carry this thing everywhere. The great thing about it is the size and the fact that it doesn’t neck down like most water bottles. This makes it very handy for both hauling water around as well as cooking. Bottle/Pot – BOT. Easypeasy!

Game bags are another necessity. I like the close weave poly bags. Brand isn’t important. Again, you don’t need to spend a fortune on game bags. Just stay away from the one’s made from cheesecloth material and you’ll be fine. I also carry an emergency kit that I’ve covered in another video so I won’t go into detail here. The contents include a large industrial trash bag, very small LED light, ferro rod, paracord, and whistle.

I’d be remis if I didn’t mention the importance of a good knife. There are a lot of companies that sell field butchering kits whit ribcage spreaders, saws, various knives, hatchets, honing stones and all kinds of other stuff. You should definitely go that route if you like carrying a bunch of unnecessary stuff around the mountain. Personally, I just carry a good knife.  I once killed an elk on a late season muzzle loader hunt only to find that the only knife I had was the little patch knife in my possible bag! Let’s just say that you can skin and quarter an elk with a half dull patch knife if needed. But a good sharp skinning knife will make things to a whole lot quicker. I’ll try to do a field dressing and quartering video later this season.

In addition to all that, my Vortex binoculars are my constant companions. I use them continually during a day of elk hunting. People often think of binos as a tool for spotting far off animals which they do quite well. But they’re also very effective at peering through dense vegetation to find hidden animals that you might not have seen with the naked eye. I use mine extensively in both open country and heavy timber.

So you’ve probably figured out that I’m kind of a minimalist. Aside from a few extra layers, that’s pretty much all I have with me on a day hunt out from a base camp. Everything else is just fluff. Don’t get caught trying to fill that pack just because there’s some extra room. Cinch it down and hunt light!