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Having just taken on a huge piece of hill ground in the borders, I'm in the middle of reconsidering my my stalking kit. One of the big differences is that you need to have more kit with you than you would if you just went for an amble round the farm, where the car is only fifteen minutes away. What kind of day pack do you use and what do you have in it? K | ||
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On the basis that you can't just pop back to the car and in the Scottish Borders you get all seasons in one day you need to work on the basis that if twist / break an ankle you could be up there for a good length of time - as in several hours, particularly as coverage of mobile phone is pretty poor. Boots - a good pair of stout hill walking boots - the last thing you want is to turn an ankle. I would go for a 3 to 4 Season boot that is stiff in the sole and can take a crampon - not that you need the latter, but stiff enough in the sole to support you feet when go up and down steep slippery slopes dragging a deer. Trousers / with thermals underneath in winter - not necessarily waterproof, but need to dry quickly. Top half - layered so you can keep cool but with an outer shell that keeps the weather out. Winter - I have a lightweight down jacket in my pack - just the job for when stationary and can go on under my coat to keep me warm at lunch time etc Lightish weight day pack containing the following: 1 or more litres of water - depends on the weather, the ground and time of year. Many of the border hills are actually very dry with little in the way of water on the tops. Food - to keep you going, and enough to keep you going if you get stuck for 24 hours - not three course dinner, but enough to survive. Three or four cereal bars and couple of bars of chocolate. A flask of something warm, or as I do, a stainless mug, with a Pocket Rocket gas stove, and small gas canister, plus a few tea bags / coffee and sugar - ligther than a flask, and can use water off the hill and only takes a few minutes to brew up, using stainless mug as a kettle. A compass, and until you know the ground intamently the OS Map of the area. Iphones / GPS's to go down, and the go down when it's thick fog and dark. First aid kit, including dressing to plug bullet or stab wounds (knife or antler) - a couple of tampax are I believe as good as anything for this. An extra fleece. In terms of stalking kit I carry A Buck Knife, A leatherman - that serves as a back up knife, bone saw and screw driver. Rifle in lightweight cover (to keep the rain off), five rfounds in magazine and five roound in a wallet in pocket. Binoculars Possibly a stalking scope, and probably for the first few outings until you get to know what is on the ground and where they tend to lie. Can save you a lot of walking. Sticks that can serve as a walking stick, shooting aid and also as handle for a drag rope. A dragging rope or two. A good knowledge of where you can get the car to, dragging routes and other extraction routes and most importantly the wisdom to not shoot shoot something that is at the bottom of the hill and you have to drag it up before you go down. Most importantly - midge hood, midge and tick repellent and sense of humour. | |||
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In terms of pack - my old one army surplus Berghaus from the 1990's has died so am looking for a new one. I bought last winter a really good Berghaus Arrete 35 - its a mountain sack designed for climbing / ski touring etc, but is really comfortable. If only they then made it in a green / brown sort of colour, rather the red and black I would get one of those. I quite like the look of the French Chamois type day bags - the ones that open out to take a Chamois on the way home - but would only be useful for Roe, and possibly small Sika hinds. | |||
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Heym, Great info mate. I was looking at the badlands stuff and the hazard range. I think cabellas do some note resting packs in their mountain hunting departments. I can't wait to get back up there in a couple of weeks. K | |||
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My favourite hill pack for areas with a long walk in and out is the Eberlestock Mini-Me in olive green with scoped rifle scabard. The 5 litre pack is big enough for basic 1st aid kit, drag rope and shoulder strap, munchies, phone, spare mid layer, space blanket, whistle, strobe/SPOT locator beacon and gralloch kit, plus it holds a 2 litre hydration bladder. The outside of the pack has a tension strap which my rolled-up waterproof outer layer goes under unless it's actually raining or snowing. Knife, ammo pouch and Leatherman are on my belt. The scabard means I don't have my rifle shifting about on my shoulder on a sling but still within easy reach. This leaves my hands free for a hill pole or stick. Leica binos on a chest harness, with a neoprene cover from Monarch Country Products when it is cold or wet. Clothing is a mix of Harkila ProHunter, Harkila Grizzly, SwedTeam Xtreme and technical base layers by Rab, NorthFace or Norwegian military surplus - the good old Norgie top is still top kit. No cotton layers that gets damp from sweat then stays cold! Gloves are Sealskin hunters with Goretex/fleece over mittens in the real cold. I wear a Le Chameau thermal beanie on my head when sitting up. | |||
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Kiri, you need two things: 1. A little wirey Scotsman with an intimate knowledge of said hills, and 2. An Argocat. Everything else is gravy. Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not out to get you.... | |||
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A quad. | |||
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To be fair Brian, as you've seen this weekend, his current needs are a little more fundamental than that, such as a pair of trousers that don't wick the entire water contents of the hill into his undercrackers and a coat that keeps out the brutal Scottish rain rather than being designed to pocket a couple of flies and a short, fat cigar on a southern English chalk stream in the late summer sunshine... Even with said dour monosyllabic Scotman straight from central casting and his usually broken-down again Argo, Kiri's still going to die on that hill in his current flyfisherman/safari fusion costume, so a shopping list for new kit is needed. I was just thinking through my winter hill stalking kit and roughly calculated I'm wearing or carrying £3,500 worth of clothing and equipment, not including my rifle! Given my wife says I dress like a vagrant most of the time, that's about five times the value of the rest of my non-shooting wardrobe  | |||
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Brian & Gabe's recapitulation pretty much sum it up IMO. But ..... Let's just face the obvious; the most & largest Red Deer will be located on either the highest or lowest terrain furthest away from any spot that can be navigated with any type of vehicle. It's a given. Read the ground at the first possible moment and go directly to this area; bag a Beast or two within hours and then spent the rest of available free time/vacation (days/weeks?) recovering them. It's not gonna happen any other way. Scotland was made like this on purpose, for Sportsmen/women.  The Teuton Roe Sacks (rucksacks) don't afford alot of back support but what they lack in sophisticated comfort they make up for lots of space for potential essentials. You'll be amazed at the amount of stuff (read=weight) you can stuff into it. Main compartment has a waterproof lining, removable for cleaning that is intened to transport smaller game. I've carried a small Coues Whitetail in it and getting the weight on your back beats the heck outa dragging/carrying anyday. Not much use for that feature on the Hill as the game too large other than a Roe Deer. Nice that the stuff inside stays dry even though the canvas Roe Sack is sopping wet, it is amazingly robust. It contains: small fleece blanket (50"x60") a Poncho (alternately a small 6'x6' camo plastic tarp - depending on the hunt, folds flat & light) a large miltary issue toilet kit which further contains a flat pack of Wet-Wipes (their countless uses only limited by your imagination) an MTM ammo wallet; 8 additional rounds of ammo knife sharpener x2 several pair of disposable surgical gloves a static line (Yes, a load-tested parachute cable for dragging even the heaviest Stags & Boar) more toe & hand warmers fixed blade Walter knife w/plastic sheath (so I can insert a bloody blade into the sheath and wash later, don't want to do this with leather) Blaser R93 4mm Barrel tool camo head net & gloves (midges) small spray bottle of "Off" (insect repellant, the 95% DEET version). small fleece hand towel (many uses) various sizes Zip-Loks & plastic bin liners pocket-size (Cannon) digital camera mini tripod for the camera (for when there's no one aroud to help with the Happy Snap) small 4" bone saw headlamp if I'm at Ampton with you Guys it further contains two flasks filled with the appropriate liquid refreshment for the drive back to the Manor House. Oh, yeah ..... an extra pack of smokes (Amir) and and several small Bic disposable cigarette lighters (again .... just in case and for Amir). The two outside pockets have plastic inserts (purchased sepately) that contain: First Aid Kit space blanket (will save your life - is light & compact) various spare batteries ear plugs parachute cord (@ 25 mtrs) - invaluable! more toe & hand warmers electrical tape a Swiss made Leatherman Tool (much lighter than the original version with snips that are strong enough to overcome breast & pelvic bones) various screw bits & lightweight handle for additional stuff that's not on the Leatherman don't forget the large wallet for the countless documents required in today's modern Society to remain Legal. Then there's the Boomer, Bino (use the large, heavy Zeiss' for Stands and the compact lightweight Steiner 8x30's for stalking) and a real Scottish Yew staff, yeah the Wood one; not some synthetic mono-pod not only for walking & support but can be used for countless improvised shooting positions. Pockets have two each ammo wallets for 12 round total, SureFire flashlight. Yeah, it's alot and I adjust the contents depending on the hunt but hopefully affords some considerations for your reqirements on The Hill. Waidmannsheil!  Cheers, Number 10 | |||
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In the name of God Gerry, who carries your bag - a Nepalese Sherpa? No wonder you are knee deep in muck every time I see you, it is the weight forcing you under. If you walk into a bog hole carrying that lot, you'll bloody drown... Just because you are paranoid, doesn't mean they are not out to get you.... | |||
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In terms of carcass extraction, here in the British Isles we are fixated with extracting the whole deer as a complete carcass. I suppose this is partly from tradition in Victorian times when you had ponies, and nowadays with game dealer requirements and also health and safety / environmental considerations etc. But if the meat is for personal consumption I don't see a lot wrong with extracting the meat as they do in most other countries - take the carcass apart in the field and put it in a pack and walk it off the hill. Considering that about the half the weight of a gralloched carcass is skin and bones you are expending a lot of energy carry out bits that ultimately are going in the bin - think of the weight of the head and lower limbs - first things that are removed when lardering. In this country we of course do need to be discrete with what is left behind, otherwise the fluffy bunny brigade and the press will come to the wrong conclusions. I have used this approach a few times when stalking with friends whose ground has eagles and they are encouraged to feed them - makes extracting stags in clearfelled forestry so much easier. | |||
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Heym - agree 100% re dragging out (heavy) offcuts, though it doesn't take many stags to fill your freezer, then its back to game dealer requirements and whole carcasses. Kiri, I think if you're taking clients out, a argo or quad will be useful. Most clients will not be keen to hump a stag over clearfell and a quick extraction means more stalking time and trophy fees. Otherwise, the only additional items I take in Scotland are a drag rope and drag harness (wear the harness), poncho/raincoat (can sit on), snack bars, toilet paper, camera, headlight and ammo (on belt). Like Adam, I invested a lot more in my stalking clothes once Scotland became a feature. Meindl Douve boots, Deerhunter ram trousers, proper gaiters etc. Second set of everything in the vehicle for the drive home. There is usually no shortage of water on the hill to drink and wash hands and I've yet to rely on the multiple knives and sharpeners people seem to carry - it is only a quick field gralloch in most cases. With desk jockey fitness levels, the best thing I can do to increase my chances of success is to travel as light as possible so that I arrive at the shooting point without sucking air and sweating buckets. Nothing worse than missing that pressure shot because carrying the bushwear catalogue for 3 days has given you the jitters. | |||
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