How many of you guys use fanny & back packs when hunting and what do you allways keep/carry in them?I allways carry a frame type pack when hunting far from a road so i can pack out the meat if i get a buck.Iallways carry compass,map, knife,trail marking/flagging tape for bloodtrailing,rope,extrabullets,matches,calls, ground blind building camo sometimes,sitting pad & rain pancho,sometimes cell phone,bugdope,buck scent,lunch & water,cough drops,asprin & T.paper & allways a emergency bandana for cuts or turnicut..incase of snake bite or something bad....
Other times i just carry a fanny pack with water bottle,knife and calls,T.paper,bullets,bandana& compass,Rope,bugdope,buck sent. With all these items i can handle emergencies or help someone hurt,take care of downed game,live off land if need be(survive) and be comforable for a full days hunt or two.I have been in some tight spots thru the years and allways try to keep a lighter or matches in cold weather,and several hunters i have met/known have gotten serious injurys and had to crawl for help from falling outta tree stands and stuff took em several days..some got Lost too..Allways be prepared!One local fellow stepped in a old stump hole at night coon hunting and broke his leg in three places!OUCH!!!Anyway my list seems like the bare necessities for big woods exploreing/hunting Big Game....Whats some stuff you guys carry?Ever have to use/need the emergency items?

I carry a small day pack. I have somewhat the same goods you have but not all. I also carry a GPS... along with two compasses and topo map of the area in which I'm hunting.

Rain gear. A space blanket and a 9x12 plastic drop cloth. I always have a Zippo lighter (duct tape around the hinged opening & two tiny Tobasco bottles cleaned and full of lighter fluid), and strike anywhere matches in a waterproof container, along with wax fire starters.

Here in the Rocky Mountains, one of the greatest dangers of being "in a situation" is of cold and wet weather. So I'm prepared for that, should I find myself having to stay out at night on the side of a mountain... which has happened to me twice.

I carry two Mini-Mag flashlights and a head band for one of them. If having to clean an animal at dusk, the headband comes in mighty handy.

"Be Prepared," is a good motto. I know several hunters who have gotten in serious trouble because they were NOT prepared to take care of themselves out in the boonies when an emergency situation placed them in severe danger.

Good luck. L.W.

My prime emergency items are. Led headlamp, folding saw, fire starters, large plastic bag I can use for a shelter, a spool of dental floss for tying things off- it's strong as hell and small.

First aid kit- aspirin, tylenol #3, bandaids, sanitary napkins (absorbant as hell, and also good to tape to your heel for blisters) This is in a small ziploc and takes no room at all. It's very basic but anything bigger and you get tempted to stop carrying it.

I carry all these items on my person in case I get seperated from my pack. Everything else is either hunting calls/gizmos or luxury stuff like food etc. I also carry water if I'm going far.

Thanks for the replys,This is what i was hopeing for with this thread,new ideas and you guys have some good ones!Most areas i hunt iam alone and iam talking long way from anybody or anything.I always try to let someone know where i will be and when i will be back home.If i go to some really big woods were i could be lost/stranded for several days i allways carry some bullion cubes at the very least.My compass has helped me out many times and is my #1 item!aint nothing like having jeep trouble/stuck in mud /snow or worse and being stranded for 3-days!Great tips brothers!

A lot of it depends on where I am hunitng the bigger the woods the more stuff that goes along.

I normaly carry in northern Wis. cleaning gloves a bic lighter a emegencey blanket, drag rope,extra shells, compass, When in much bigger woods like Canada, AK ect the list gets a little bigger.

In the survival classes they always say "carry bullion cubes" all they are is salt with a little chicken/beef fat basically no nutrition and no calories. If you rally want to carry something carry chocolate,dry fruit is also calorie rich. I always make a bag of trail mix--"gorp" as the tree huggers call it. Chocolate chunks,dry fruit, nuts, banana chips etc. A small bag that fits in your hand is enough to carry you through a day. One thing about dry fruit though is it does need water to rehydrate it--it will dehydrate you, suck the water out of you. So always drink water when you eat that stuff. carrying a pop or beer is lovely--but it also dehydrates you so have water also.

God knows this chef don't wanna be hungry very long. MMMMMMMM food

the chef

I would add one of those Gerber/ Fiskars axes. I have one that has a 12 inch handle and it is extremely useful. Excellent for fire materials gathering, cutting up game or building a little wind break. The handle is probably unbreakable and the head will hold a reasonable edge. I also have the one with the 6 in. handle, doesn't work as well but very handy. I'd trade a knife for either in a tight spot.

I carry in my back pack along with other things a bright pink poncho and a space blanket. The poncho is a light plastic one which could save me getting wet if I got stuck out at night that along with a space blanket is a potential life saver.
The pink stands out like a dogs dodars, which could help a search party to see me.

Something to think about is my pack. It only has the one strap which goes over the left shoulder down over the chest to the right side of the waist leaving my right shoulder free.
It used to annoy me, having spent time practicing throwing up the rifle and then doing the same with a bloody great padded strap. It used to throw the eye relief all to cock.
Now it's great, there's nothing to impede swift placement of the rifle on the shoulder.

I always have latex gloves, (the blood and guts doesn't bother me but it is sure nice to have clean hands); a 1 gallon plastic bag (liver and onions anyone?) and (3) 1.5ul eppendorf tubes 3/4 full of 100% ethanol-->never know when I might want to grab a hair or tissue sample from that lucky hunter along the way.......

IV

I carry a road flare for starting a fire
when all other things fail this one wont!

I carry the normal first aid kit, nothing intense, just some tape wrapped around a screw, a bandaid or three, some gauze, Excedrin, and something that hasn't been mentioned is a strip of MOLESKIN. Nothing beats it for blisters. I wouldn't be caught dead trying to haul an axe up the mountain, so I have one of those bone saw, skinning knife combo's. Also, spare gloves, socks, plastic bag, and fire starting material. Vaseline soaked cotton balls weigh nearly nothing, and they work! Of course, water is carried and some snacks. Good thread.

I'd like to recomend reading Cody Lundin's book 98.6 degrees, The art of keeping your ass alive!
Many of the good ideas mentioned here are in the book. A small kit can be very usefull if you keep your wits and someone knows where to look for you.
Gene

Nessmuk's old book,"Woodcraft" is a must read for any outdoorsman. I's a hundred years old but still very interesting as far as basic stuff. Don't panic and believe your compass are two of his dictums.