I wouldn't be caught with one of those big RAMBO knives like from the movies,cool to collect but not for hunting,you can usually tell the new guy by the size of his knife.
Itry to neverhunt without some sort of communication device in case of trouble.

saxman ... you comment on the knife made me think of a kid named Bart I knew long ago. He begged to go deer hunting with our group. We finally agreed. He showed up with a brand new Winchester Model 94 30-30 (he'd never fired) three boxes of shells, and a Bowie Knife for skinning. Needless to say, he shot at a deer, missed, and the front sight fell off his rifle and he never knew it until I checked on him and noticed it missing.

I shot a nice buck that morning, and so I was all done. He then wanted to "borrow" my rifle. I sat him down and explained how to use the semi auto 30-06 Remington Woodsmaster Carbine with a Tasco 3-9x40 scope. That afternoon, I thought world war three started. He opened up with that semi auto on a small fork buck. He actually did kill it. But he just kept shooting. He came back all smiles, and had a monster cut on the bridge of his nose (but never knew it). He then asked me... who do you clean a deer? That was something to see, his Bowie in that small buck, trying to not stick the guts.

When I first started hunting about 45 years ago, all I would take was my rifle, bullets (or Bow/arrows), knife, sandwich, an apple and a candy bar.

So, those Therma-cells work huh ?..... I know there are times during the archery season or early ML season when the skeeters seem like they can carry you away. And I really hate it when a deer is staring you down and one lands on your nose or cheek.

One thing I always have with me is my trusty Gerber. Small enough to fit in my pocket and not get in the way and sturdy enough to pull of many a task. I alsocarry a Gerber All Purpose Tool. Very handy but my jack knife comes out of my pocket more often than the APT. I wouldnt be caught dead with a anything thats shiney or clanky.

I wouldn't be caught with one of them "bun saver" seats, the one that warms your bottom the longer you sit. I have one and I do use it when it's cold out, hunting by myself of course. The one thing I have to have is my Gerber also, it changes blades and cuts the pelvis cleanly. I used to carry a "fanny" pack filled to the zipper full of stuff such as calls, binoculars, cell, rope, sandwich and all the blackpowder stuff I could. This thing got so heavy mystomach started hurting. Just the light stuff now, I had to retrain myself on things I did not have.

I wouldn't be caught in the woods with one of those but hole removers that came on the market a couple of years ago. I wouldn't be caught without my Butler creek lightning loaders.

That definitely gets my vote!

Another thing I wouldn't be caught dead in the woods without is WATER. Not a gadget but definitely a necessity for me.

I was waiting to see if someone would mention this one. I was a little skeptical about the Butt Out tool as well until I saw it on clearance at Walmart and decided to try it. It has worked well on about a dozen deer and is now one of those gadgets that I take with me hunting.

http://www.hunterspec.com/Updateable...&categoryID=15

What I always thought was a gadget is that mechanical speed loader that looks more like a detonator. Does it work well?

My butt pad and my folding hunter given to me by my Dad when I was 13. I also like rope which I loop into my belt loops, always need that and it ain'y heavy or in the way. I fi sit all day water and food and those $1.00 ponchos.