What to Take Besides Your Bow

Bow Hunting Equipment: What to Take Besides Your Bow

As a Midwest style hunter, I have sure had my ups and downs when it comes to archery hunting. The

highest of highs to the lowest of lows. I’ve seen bigger bulls and bucks than I ever thought

imaginable, and I have missed bigger bulls and bucks than I ever thought imaginable. I’ve had top of

the line gear and equipment fail on me, and I have left the top of the line hunting gear at home or

camp when I needed it most.

No matter the issue, it seems that every hunter must fail numerous times before stalks or sitting

water holes come together for that memorable hunt. Regardless of how experienced of a hunter you

are, issues arise and you learn something new. I have been hunting for over twenty-five years, and I

learn something new each time I go out to scout or to hunt.

One thing I don’t have to learn new from each failed hunt is what gear to bring with me on my hunts.

My wife makes fun of me whenever I have an elk hunt or leave for archery deer; she says that I pack

like a woman and take several duffle bags with me when I leave town. Well, that’s because,

numerous times, I have “left home without it.” Whatever it is.

You can’t have just one list of what to take hunting for all your years of hunts. Each season, style and

terrain may require a tweak to your list, but much of the equipment does stay the same.

Walking into a major hunting store is proof that there are endless things that you can purchase to

take on a hunt, but for this article, I am going to focus on the basics, although I will assume you know

to take food and wear hunting clothes.

I will also throw in some experiences that I have had that make me take more than I probably need

to.

1- On My Person

To me, everything that is the most important during crunch time is found in arms reach and easily

accessible. Everything in this category is what I wear as I am out hunting and hiking around. Each

item is in a certain pocket or place on me that only experience has taught me what is best for me.

 Binoculars, rangefinder ( Make sure these are rugged and meant for hunting. Optics are

fragile and may easily ruin your hunt )

 GPS radio

 Tag and license

 Pistol

 Day pack

 Animal calls

 Wind powder

2- Day Pack

As of right now, my day pack is an Eberlestock that I take whenever I am actually out in the field,

either scouting or hunting. This pack contains whatever I might need during an all day hike while I

glass or still hunt. You do not need all these things, but experience has taught me that it doesn’t hurt

to have them on hand.

 Emergency kit (mine contains a life straw, lighter, solar charger for my phone, bandages and

a whistle )

 Two knives

 Old school compass

 Two flashlights (a head lamp and a hand held flashlight)

 Three or four mechanical broad heads

 Three or four nocks

 Orange trail tape

3- Meat or Harvest Pack

These items revolve around whatever you would need to harvest and pack out an animal. This way if

I have this bag in my truck, I can come back and dump some of my day pack items into it and then go

back to pack out my animal.

 Metal frame meat pack depending on the animal

 Knives

 Rubber gloves

 Garbage bags

 Game bags or pillow cases

4- Archery Tackle Box

Something I have done is I taken a large old fishing tackle box and turned it into my archery tackle

box. I keep items in it all year round, which helps me since we shoot our bows out in our field daily. If

you open the tackle box, you will find

 Broad heads with replacement blades

 Hex key wrenches

 Spare nocks and illuminated nocks

 An extra “D” loop

 Peep sight

 Extra release

 A sight housing

 Drop away rest

 Leatherman

 Silencers

 Spare batteries for my range finder

All of these items can be used at home as I am practicing, but whenever I go on a hunt, I am sure to

always have this tackle box with me at base camp. I rarely ever need a majority of these things but

being so far from home, it isn’t much work to grab this tackle box just in case.

5- Base Camp

Base camp can be anywhere you deem your home away from home, your tent, your camper, or even

the back of your truck. Wherever it may be, I am sure always to have the items below not too far

away from my hunting area.

 Archery tackle box

 Extra arrows

 Map

 A few extra knives

 A spare bow

 Camera, phone and GPS chargers along with extra batteries

 Extra range finder

 A small target

Each item mentioned above has a story as to why I pack extras. I needed all of these at least one time

during and emergency or when I was on the other side of the state.

The most important item, in my opinion, is a spare bow, as it took me twelve years to draw a great

elk tag, I snuck within forty yards of a very large bull elk, and I drew my bow on him.

As soon as I got to full draw, my top cam torqued sideways, and the string came off the track cutting

down into the cam.

My bow was stuck at full draw, and I needed a bow press to fix it. Needless to say, I made some calls,

and a very good friend lent me his bow. I had to adjust the pins and draw length, but after three long

days, I was able to continue hunting bull elk in a highly coveted unit in Arizona.

As I said at the beginning, all of these items depend on what you are hunting and where you are

hunting. If you are close to home then, of course, you don’t need to go all out, but if a home is a full

day’s drive away from where you are hunting, you may want to have some backup gear just in case.

About Author: Almo is a firearm enthusiast, an avid hunter, and a strong lifelong 2nd

amendment supporter. Outdoors, hunting and shooting were a big part of his childhood,

and he continues with these traditions in his personal and professional life, passing the

knowledge to others through freelance writing. Almo is an editor for outdoorempire.com