BigGameHunt.net Hunting Forums

[rather_be_huntin]

Alright the season is coming, only a couple months away now for early season. What goes in the 'ideal' elk day pack. I'll start with mine.

1.TP. Theres a reason why its first on the list:)
2.Emergency stuff. First aid kit, waterproof matches, emrgency blanket, water tablets.
3.2 knives with at least a 4 inch blade and sharpener.
4.Bone saw, probably buy a Wyoming Game saw this year.
5.Game bags, enough for 4 quarters plus 1 or 2 extra just in case.
6.Pepper to keep the bugs off the meat.
7.Lunch, plenty of water(2 liters), and extra candybars for energy.
8.Extra shells. I carry 20 when rifle hunting.
9.Compass, might buy a GPS this year too.
10.Leatherman for crude repairs to equipment.
11.Hand sanitizer and plastic gloves.
12.Binocs and sometimes a rangfinder.
13.Orange tape to find my way back to a downed animal. (always take the tape of when you're done)
14.Nylon Rope.

Thats all I can think of at the moment. What do you view as the ideal elk pack? Feel free to add or substitue items on my list.

[bitmasher]

I think you have it all covered.

The orange tape is an interesting idea, never heard of that before, but I can see where it would come in handy. However if you get a GPS unit this year, it will render the tape as just dead weight. A map will come in handy if your unfamilar with an area, but again GPS wins over if you have one.

Some may find a hatchet useful if you are hunting late season. Makes busting up wood for those waterproof matches easier....

A flashlight is something to consider too, if you tag one just before dusk and need a little extra light for gutting/dragging.

[donmillion]

I agree with bitmasher. A flashlight or chemical light stick is an absolute must. If you're going to rely on a GPS then you'd better include spare batteries also.

As for hand sanitizer, I live and hunt in Colorado where CWD is a concern. Ordinary hand sanitizers won't neutralize the protein prions that scientists are pretty sure are responsible for transmitting that. Ordinary chlorine bleach, however, will. So for the last two years I've been carrying a small bottle of bleach with which to wash my hands and knives after field dressing.

[rather_be_huntin]

I actually do carry a flashlight but I knew I'd forget to put something on the list. Really its a headlamp, nice for cleaning animals after dark and walking. Keeps both hands free. Also extra batteries for the GPS and the hatchet are a good idea too.

Thanks for the tip on the bleach. They just found CWD in Utah and I guess it should become part of my pack.

[ This Message was edited by: rather_be_huntin on 2003-06-27 12:13 ]

[PS350XLT]

This is what a good forum is for. You get to see what everybody uses and get some good ideas to make your hunt even better.

I've got just about everything that's been mentioned except for hand cleaner/sanatizer. I've never even thought about taken some with me. I've just used my water and cleaned up when I got back to camp. I will have it with me now though.

I've always carried ribbon tape to mark my way back to my game. Then after I've got it cut up I decorate the head like a christmas tree so I don't look like the next tag to be filled. :smile:

I thought more about getting GPS lately. I looked into the Garmin Rino 120. It's a two way radio w/ a GPS with peer-to-peer. So when your trying to explain to your hunting partner where your at to come and help with your game they can see themselves and you on the LCD screen and see how to get to you. The web site (garmin.com) explains this a little better so check it out. Also if anybody has these and would like to share there feelings on how they like them please let me know.



[ This Message was edited by: PS350XLT on 2003-06-30 10:03 ]

[bowhunter1]

Interesting learning about the bleach. I've always (for the last several years) worn plastic gloves for gutting deer here in Michigan. I also carry a pepsi in my backpack for cleaning my hands and arms afterwards. The caffeine in the pepsi washes the blood right away.

[bitmasher]

Where did you hear about the bleach, Don? Bleach is a great disinfectant for bacteria; however I'm a bit suspious that it would have any effect on prions that make up cwd (cwd is not a bacteria).

I say this not to be alarmist, but rather I know that it takes a fairly acidic or basic solution to denature a protein (which the prions are). I have some doubts that bleach would "cut the mustard" in denaturing the prions, although I don't know for sure that bleach does not denature prions.

Certainly can't hurt to use it, an I'm definitely not going to knock anybody that tries to do anything they reasonably can to reduce the cwd risk. Just that bleach may not be enough....

[bitmasher]

PS350XLT, you may want to check your local regs about using two way radios while hunting. Some states, like MT forbid the use of them while hunting, since it is believed to not be fair chase. CO doesn't forbid while hunting, but I have read grumblings that they might.

Not that I care one way or the other if hunters use them in the field (frankly they can be useful if you get seperated from your group, etc), just a heads up so you don't get nailed if they are illegal while hunting in OR.

[cowgal]

Bit,

I believe the DOW themselves claimed using bleach was helpful. But I'm not 100% sure... maybe Don can help clarify.

It was my understanding that only very high heat could kill prions, not the kind of heat from an oven or sunshine, but extremely high heat. That's one of the reasons that meat processing plants did not want to process elk/deer in the same facility as beef, pork, etc. They were concerned about the possibility of not being able to rid the plant of the prions if/when they became contaminated. Which makes me believe that the normal disinfecting process must be ineffective.

[ This Message was edited by: cowgal on 2003-06-30 23:24 ]

[bitmasher]

Well I googled around some and it does look like the powers that be are recommending bleach, although they don't seem terribly confident about it:

http://www.cwd-info.org/index.......questions

Your right about the processing plants Cowgal, and one of the reasons the bleach gives me pause as a serious denaturing agent for cwd. If bleach really worked, then processors wouldn't turn away game meat, since they would be just a bleach cleaning away from disinfection.

Oh well, cwd raises more questions than answers, in that case it is best to do what you can.

[donmillion]

Right. I got my information about bleach from the CO DOW website. No, they're not extremely confident about its ability to make things completely safe from CWD, but it certainly seems to be the best bet at this time.

I believe that for heat to render the prions harmless it has to be something in excess of 1500 °F!

[bowhunter1]

Just remembered, one more item I carry in my backpack is moleskin, for the occasional blister.

I would also like to add that I agree with PS350XLT, in that this is an excellent forum. I have learned quite a bit, and look forward to future useful information on this site!

[ This Message was edited by: Bowhunter1 on 2003-07-01 12:53 ]

[PS350XLT]

bitmasher, we can use two way radios or cell phones in OR while hunting. You just can't use them to locate and direct other hunters to that game. We personally don't use them for that.

I hunt with just one other person, so using them to try and corral animals wouldn't work with just the two of us. We use the radio's for letting the other guy know when we've got something down and are trying to explain to him how to get to you to help. For the most part we use them to find one another when it's getting dark and we're walking the roads back to camp. That's why I would like to try the Garmin Rhino 120. I think they would reduce the "come-n-find" game that you do when your trying to get an animal out in a limited amount time.

[ This Message was edited by: PS350XLT on 2003-07-02 09:49 ]

[ This Message was edited by: PS350XLT on 2003-07-02 09:50 ]

[HuntorDieHunting]

Just a few things to add. Flares, the heavy-duty railroad type that will burn fifteen to twenty minutes and at 2 to 3 thousand degrees. They will start a fire in any conditions, even soaking wet. Makes all other fire starting methods obsolete. Mainly for emergencies. Small packets of baby wipes the fifty cent to a dollar type. Makes great light weight toilet paper and general clean-up. Space blanket the thicker variety, you would be surprised how warm they will keep you in an emergency. A strobe, they take either one c-cell or d-cell batterry and will flash for hours. A plane sees this and will radio your location to the proper authorities. A spool of heavy duty woven nylon, pretty thin, but very strong. Great for making shelters like lean-to's and tying things down. Aspirin and throat lozenges. MRE's for survival food. Folding stove, a little bigger than a pack of cigaretts, and some fuel bars. With a metal cup you can make coffee, soup, tea, etc.,etc. And four tent stakes, combined with your rope you can tie an elk spread eagled for easier gutting if no trees are around. Small brass pullies for hanging quarters when your are packing out one at a time.

[ This Message was edited by: HuntorDieHunting on 2003-07-02 12:24 ]

[bitmasher]

Oh ok PS350XLT, was just giving you a heads up, in case you hadn't checked the regs.

Yeah if you both had a gps unit then it would be easier to track each other down. Just send the coordinates to the other guy. I can think of several outings where that would have been handy.

In reading HuntorDieHuntings post, I think probably a day pack for a late season hunter in the high country is different than an early season hunter at lower elevation. What season do most people hunt around here?

Just throwing this out there, but when people think about survival, they pack a lot of stuff necessary to last several days in the elements. I have nothing against this.

However here is something to consider. With a satellite (which is different than a cell phone) phone you are never out of contact anywhere on the face of the planet. If you are concerned about getting lost and not found, a satellite phone will assure you are never a phone call away anywhere. Granted these things are not cheap. I don't own one, the DOD owns a bunch.

http://www.iridium.com/