Am I nuts?? (Hunting equipment)

If your a DIY tipe guy the trapper Nalson is still the best for light and quiet
To me it sounds like your pack is too noisy new packs are either to light and cheaply made or are to heavy .
My old Trapper Nelson pack I would pack out over 200lb of carving stone out of the mountains the new packs can't hold up to that kind of punishment
I need to make a new packboard myself I have a tatonka pack I hate it the frame is strong but it's heavy and noisy I would not use it hunting

http://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-make-a-backpack-zmaz84mazale.aspx

https://en.m.wikibooks.org/wiki/A_C...tion_for_the_Practical_Man/Camping_and_Hiking
 
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I use a orange molle vest for big game hunting in Ont. They are made by onduty.ca

They are very versatile!

The pic is from their site.

On_Duty_050_1024x1024.jpg

I was looking at those at the sportsman show, seem well built and incredibly useful.
 
They are very well built. I always get my pouches s at the sportsmen show. You can sometimes get discounts. This year I got a 3 in 1 large pack that I will use as a butt-pouch on the vest.
 
I dont think it will work in your case, but I use a Alaskan Guide Creations chest pouch that works great for my needs. Along with a back pack for stuff I dont need in a hurry.
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You really carry all that crap 10 km's up and down the mountains plus pack a deer back out? You are obviously a much younger and more ambitious man than I. If I was on the hunt for some new gear in your situation it would be a new quad runner to tote all that stuff around on.
 
Try a cruiser vest; it will not be camo though.

And yes you are crazy for carrying a ranch hand, rifle and bear spray. I think we hunt in the same area and style. Carry a rifle you are confident can stop a bear and bearspray if you are into redundancy.
 
For long hikes a Safari sling is as handy as you can get for your rifle it sits in frunt of you at ready and your pack won't get in the way if you need a quick shot
 
Ranch Hands are fun, but they are just too awkward to get into action and to cycle quickly for me to think of one in this role. If you must have a second gun, I would think that a shortie 12-gauge pump would be preferable. Personally I would just use a rifle chambered in an effective bear cartridge, and perhaps the bear spray as well if you like.

Do you really take a lot of photos that require the use of a DSLR? A high-quality compact camera would fit into a pocket and still take just about any photo you're likely to want on a hunt and would save you some weight, and a fair bit of bulk.

That vest looks like a terrific idea.
 
Just some FYI

If you do plan on going with tactical type carrier make sure you get a chest rig and not a plate carrier if you are not going to run plates. Plate carriers get sloppy with out plates in them

Shawn
 
I hear ya OP on the lightweight gear it's awesome and walking foothills sounds perfect to me from what you describe. I'm interested to hear about as quicker access to the binos and rangefinder and the benefits of carrying them higher. Especially the binos as hanging them was a real drag. Rifles are heavy at least what I carry. I tried doing a 12ga and 06 with pack for a 5k round tripper morning hunt and it was cumbersome. Like the ranch hand holster idea!
 
I hunt the same way and same gear I have tried them all. The turkey vest is designed for sitting still. The tactical rig was uncomfortable for a day afield. The butt pack dragged on me. I finally went with a simple small pack, the elite scout pack by Cabelas. Carries enough and water is handy.
 
When you finally get all geared up please have someone take a picture and post it.

I have been hunting for better than 40 years and have yet to encounter anyone actually hunting with that amount of gear on their person.
 
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