DJkahuna

Just joined the forum! Question - I have a friend who is a military enthusiast. He hunts in his old BDUs etc. Recently he purchased an army harness tactical thing. Looks like a saftey harness only it has pouches and stuff on it. Looks like this:

he says it gives him back support and lets him carry anything / everything he needs in the field without a backpack. Though it isnt noisy, it seems like alot. (But that also makes him a pack mule for me) lol. I just have some cammo hand me downs and a orange hat. (Poor college kid). I was wondering if any of you folks gear up like that. Is my pal Matt a paramilitary whack job or just hardcore? How much gear can you have before it is too much?

Nathan67

I use alot of my military gear while deer hunting. I got a MOLLE II rucksack that can fit damn near everything in my house in and its comfortable as hell. I also use my issued wet weather gear when it's raining. I can never have too much gear as long as it serves a purpose thats beneficial to me, but maybe I'm a "paramilitary" whack job.
Air Assault!

timbercruiser

I guess it depends on how long you think you will be in the woods. My pack consist of a bottle of water, some skid paper and 3 extra cartridges.

Marko B

Most of the time I have a video camera... a still camera with a 200mm lens... a spotting scope and binoculars...

Sometimes I take a gun...

I always have the cameras.

StillHunter90

Hes not crazy and besides he carries some of your stuff. I pack up quite often.

savage3006

I always carry the following for day trip. Some of that stuff is sometimes shared between several of us:
- 5 to 10 ammos
- bino
- range finder (usually leave it behind because deer shots are always less than 150yds in the Northeast)
- camera
- 2 knives (1 for the deer, and 1 for my lunch). Don't use a contaminated knife for your food.
- knife sharpening stone
- water and snacks
- rifle
- shooting stix (not always)
- gps
- small first aid / emergency kit and toilet paper
- field gun cleaning kit
- pepper spray, game bag, gloves, etc.
- extra clothing as needed

Allen Denton

Now that my 8 year old is with me I have more stuff but we still try and go light. We are never more then 1/4 mile away from the truck and 9 times out of 10 it is way less then that. I have water and TP, my gun and his gun, shells, game boy(although he did not play it much last year) my seat and his seat. We have one fella in the club that we call a walking LL Bean catalog, he has everything and takes it with him on each hunt.

hazmat

The device mentioned is called an LBE (Load Bearing Equipment) and is quite handy. I was in the Army and on a military paycheck one can't exactly go to, say Cabela's or Bass Pro and buy, well, anything because they're so damn expensive. So, it can be more feasible to just use what you already have issued. Makes sense. Only thing is, you'd have to spray down with all sorts of cover scent because more than likely, that LBE has been around a while and seen a few Joe's (possibly a few wars)already, not to mention how nasty BDU's can get!

If he has a little money then maybe he just likes playing dress up and getting out in the woods. It can be fun and some people get a real kick out of playing GI Joe in their off time. Different strokes...

The Rifleman

Well DJ,

I would call your friend dedicated, not a paramilitary nut.

When you get serious about hunting, you will own more than just some hand me down camo clothing and a gun.

Hunting is all about being prepared.

Having the right equipment for you to use when you need it.

I could tell you a story about when I was 15 and shot my first whitetail buck in the game lands of Pennsylvania.

I didn't own a knife, my family was money poor and children rich. Daddy didn't believe in spending anything more than necessary on us kids and ALL the money I made in the summertime went to buy school clothes in the fall.

I hunted in an old green WW I army coat with buttons - not a zipper and also in my dad's old navy pea coat that also had buttons and not much in the way of pockets.

I shot this little buck and dad had to come up to field dress it. He forgot his hot seat and when I walked down to his stand to retrieve it for him. I ran into a 150 class B/C Buck that was not more than 40 yards from his deer stand.

If dad wouldn't have been so cheap and bought me an $8 knife, we wouldnt be having this conversation right now.

I have to agree with everyone else here, buy what ever suits your needs and carry what you need into the field with you. Spend as much time as you can in the woods and you will be more successful than the guy with some old camo and a gun and a knife.

MadOtis

I typically carry what fits in my backpack and not much else (aside from my weapon of choice for the day). In Georgia, temps can range 30 degrees swing in a few hours, so, I will typically carry some warmer weather gloves and face cover for when the temps start to climb, a snack, binoculars, range finder (if I am using xbow), a book to read, grunt call, rattles, a few extra ammos, and that's about it. This also leaves room to put shucked clothing back into the backpack when it gets too warm.

Cheers!
MadOtis