What gear do I need to hunt?

[tj western ma]

Have gun, land, a couple tree stands that other hunters on my property will let me use. Looking for what I need when/if I shoot a deer. What type of knife? plastic bags etc. Thanks

Tyler

 

[Ham Slam]

I hunt with a bow/gun, knife, two rubber latex gloves, one freezer bag, one clothespin, toilet paper in a sandwich bag, and a flashlight. All of this fits in a fanny pack, which I wrap with two small bungie cords to prevent things bumping into each other and creating noise. Sometimes I bring water and sometimes I don't. I always know where I am going and hunting.

This seems pretty simple and light which is how I like to hunt. Sometimes I hunt with just a knife and a bow/gun. When I shoot the deer I make a small hole in the ear and cut my shoe lace a little to string the tag.

 

[atmay]

This seems pretty simple and light which is how I like to hunt. Sometimes I hunt with just a knife and a bow/gun. When I shoot the deer I make a small hole in the ear and cut my shoe lace a little to string the tag.

Those pin-on license holders you get from wallyworld or wherever work pretty well for attaching tags, too.


For a knife, something with a lot of belly is what you're going to want. It's a lot easier to make a clean, shallow slice with a big belly blade than it is a straight blade.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

The minimum of what you need is:
The proper license and tags.
An orange vest and hat.
Warm clothing, stay away from cotton.
A map, two compasses or a compass and a GPS (Compasses do go bad. It happened to me last year).
A good flashlight and spare batteries. (I carry a head lamp and a hand held)
A good length of rope.
A safety harness for when you are hunting in a tree stand.
I carry a gallon bag for the liver and the heart and a sandwich bag to put the tag in.
I use a zip tie to attach the tag to one of the fore legs.
I carry some twine to tie off the anus, others use a zip tie to tie off the anus. A zip tie is easier to use but I use the twine as it is biodegradable.
TP I prefer not to use white during the shotgun and ML seasons

Other items will make you more effective and more comfortable on the stand.

As far as knives go I prefer a fixed blade over a folder. A folding knife gets crap in the handle where the blade goes and it is a PIA to clean. You do not need a large blade to field dress a deer so leave the Rambo survival knife at home , for many years I used a Schrade sharp finger which has a 2.5" blade. It is far more important that the knife is sharp.

I am currently using a Grohman fixed blade knife that I really like:

Bob

 

[edin508]

I just picked up this Buck knife for my fanny pack.LINK

Very nice knife for the pack. I did a fancy para cord wrap for kicks on mine. Well, kinda fancy, lol.
And it was only 19.99 in Bass Pro.
Here is mine.

 

[HorizontalHunter]

Nice job with the wrap. Para cord is always handy to have.

Bob