AK Moose Fly-in packing list

[KJH]

I'm 99% just a reader and usually never post anything on the forums... I started getting our packing list together so a new member to our group can start getting his gear ready for his first moose hunt in Alaska.

I figured I might as well post the list to the forum so others can use it as a baseline and to get their thoughts going. This list really works for us (2-3 hunters), but may not for others hunting locations and styles. Its a combination of trying to be lightweight, but having all the stuff we need to be comfortable. We typically set up our camp at or very near the airstrip (usually a gravel bar on the river or a flat ridgeline).

The pdf file was too big, so I'll cut and paste it into a second post to this thread.

 

[KJH]

This list is our list for 2-3 hunters going to a 7-12 day DIY fly-in caribou or moose camp. I have used this basic list for trips in Alaska and Canada. It seems like a lot of stuff, but when you split up it really isn’t too much stuff. Once you get to your weight or space limit, you can tailor as necessary. Not all of this goes on each trip, but 95% of it does. We rely heavily on killing something or catching a few fish to eat well, but we wouldn’t starve if we didn’t.

We burn all our trash (when we can) and bury the ashes when we leave. Each person takes their main pack, army style bigger duffel, weapon soft case and whatever can fit in their pockets to the field. If it doesn’t fit there it usually doesn’t go along. Not uncommon to have to parcel out the bags to use the most space on the plane. We plan for 70-100lbs per person plus as much as we can wear and get in our pockets and wear our pistols for the bush flight… Depends on the transporters requirements. We also pack our soft cases with a bunch of stuff.

Small Miscellaneous
This is all the small stuff that can be packed in pockets, boots, and other nooks and crannies while getting to and from the field. Most of these things weigh almost nothing. Take all of the packaging off if it makes sense, or remove from containers.
• Bungee cords (2-3 per person usually works; various lengths)
• Zip ties (plastic ty-rap type; various lengths and a dozen per person)
• Paracord (aka 550 cord; minimum 100 ft per person)
• Compass (basic type; signal mirror is a plus)
• Cigarette lighters (4-5 per person; sealed in multiple zip lock bags)
• Baby wipes (multiple small packages are better than one bulk package)
• Duct tape (a half role for camp is typically enough)
• Electrical tape (one role for every 2-3 people is enough)
• Large Garbage bags (only contractor bags are good enough; 4-5 per person)
• Latex gloves (8-10 pairs per person)
• Zip lock bags (12 gallon+ size per person; 12 quart size per person)
• Clothes pins (6 per person)
• Matches (2-3 small boxes of waterproof camp matches)
• Colored flagging tape (30-40 ft per person)
• Rope and more rope (various sizes and strengths)
• Paper targets (small size to sight in guns; also can be used to start fires)
• Small roll of wire (5-10 ft per person; can be coiled around something)
• Small candle (1-2 per person for an emergency; in a small zip lock bag)
• Sewing needle and thread (just a little is needed; heavy duty thread)
• Extra batteries (headlamp and GPS)
• Half rolls of toilet paper (two per person; smashed and in a zip lock)
• Lens Cloth / Lens pen / Screen cleaner (cleans binos, scope, spotter, etc.)
• Emergency poncho (cheap kind the size of a pack of cigarettes)
• Steel wool (one pad per person; these REALLY start fires once it goes)
• Fire starters (Cotton balls covered in petroleum jelly; 12 per person in a small zip lock)
• LED headlamp (one per person and one spare for the group; AA batteries)
• Paper towels (20-30 per person pulled off the roll; stored in a zip lock)
• Hand shovel (small plastic gardening type; 1 per group)
• Drywall jab saw (aka heavy duty keyhole saw; used for limbs, bone, or anything. 1 per 2-3 people. Do not use the cheap ones)
• Extra tent stakes (6-10 extra lightweight aluminum)
• Leatherman or multi-tool includes pocket knife (1 per person)
• Small Vise grip pliers (1 per two people)
• Havalon knife and spare blades. (1 per person)
• Printed topographical map of your area if you know your drop off point.
• Bulk mosquito netting (buy it in bolt roll at a craft store to cover you meat; weighs nothing)
• Regulations book or internet printout (in zip lock)
• Pen/pencil
• License/Tags/Harvest Tickets/etc. (in zip lock)
• Gun cleaning kit /oil (1 per person)
• Game bags (8 per moose/6 per caribou/ 6 per black bear)
• Filet knife (one per camp)
• Orange safety vest (Lightweight; mark kill site, signal, etc. 1 per person)
• Whistle (small; 1 per person; sounds stupid but I’ve used it more times that I care to admit)
• Leather work gloves (1 pair per person)
• Deck of cards (in zip lock; one per camp)
• Emergency space blanket (sucks, but lightweight and for emergencies only)
• Super glue (one small tube per camp)
• Light stick (disposable calume type; 1 per person)
• Hand towel (1 per person)
• Pills (ibuprofen, Tylenol, Aleve, anti-diarrhea, ciproflaxin; consolidate into one container)
• Lip balm
• Blister kit- (Cloth tape, mole skin, band aids, Neosporin)
• Hydrocortisone (small tube)
• Toothbrush
• Toothpaste (travel size)
• Carabiner (2 small ones)

Larger Miscellaneous
This is the larger stuff that is handy if you have the room and weight available. All of the stuff is useful, but it’s not all necessary. Most of it is…
• Fold-up cow moose decoy
• Bull Magnet megaphone
• Bait em’ 907 moose lure
• Thermos (1 per 2 hunters; coffee or hot broth for lunch when glassing!)
• Larger saw (1 per camp)
• Extra dry bags (keep your clothes dry!!)
• Mini submersible water pump (battery powered; makes a shower with your 5 gallon bucket)
• Tarps (2- 8x10’ per person; 1-2 12x20’ per camp; 1 4x6’ per person; cheap and lightweight ones)
• Waders or wading boots (1-2 pair per camp; location and terrain dependent)
• Folding army style shovel (aka “e” tool)
• Inflatable inner tube (these are the cheap kids go to the beach and blow up by mouth kind; easier to pull a quarter on a float than carry one on your back!) (1-2 per camp)
• GPS (1 per 2 hunters; know how to use it; batteries)
• Sat phone (We rent one per camp)
• Small handheld radios (anything to tell your partners where you are; communicate with the pilot when on final approach)
• Collapsible fishing pole /Reel (full of line; handful of spinners and spoons)
• Seat (foam type; great when glassing for hours)
• Poncho liner (Army issue; my second most important piece of equipment)
• Nalgene bottle (whatever your preferred water carrier is)
• Sleeping Tent (you choose for your situation)
• Tyvek ground tarp if the tent is bare floor.
• Gear tent (an inexpensive “kids” special at the retail store fits all you extra gear and weighs about 2 lbs)
• Bag chairs (typically doesn’t make the cut because of the bulk and weight)
• Come-Along (small ratchet type; huge help, but usually gets left behind with only 2 hunters)

Larger Must Haves
These are the non-clothing items that are on every trip. Many of them serve several purposes.
• Army style duffel bag
• Large Backpack with frame
• *5-7 gallon bucket with lid and handle (one per person; most versatile and useful item in camp)
• Sleeping bag (I like synthetic mummy style; bivy bag if possibility of spiking out)
• Sleeping pad (your personal preference; I don’t go fancy and trendy)
• Gatorade bottles (2 used with lids per person ; 32 oz; this is my preferred water carrier)
• Water purifier (whatever works for you)
• Digital camera with batteries and memory cards (1 per person)

* The bucket slides perfectly into the bottom of the duffel bag or can be loaded separately into the plane. Used to keep things waterproof and protect things from getting crushed in transit. At camp it’s your water proofer, chair, step stool, water carrier, crapper (with plastic bag liner), small table, nightstand, shower bucket, dish sink, laundry tub, marinating bowl, tarp tie down (full of rocks), glassing stool, etc.… If you can think of it, you can do it. I prefer a plastic bucket but one partner uses a light metal one.

Camp & Cooking
This makes the camp and cooking possible.
• Collapsible water jug (1 per camp; with spigot)
• Propane lantern (1 per camp; with extra mantels)
• Propane cook stove (lightweight 2 burner; one per camp; think small)
• Plates (plastic; 1 per person plus 1)
• Silverware set (knife, fork, spoon; 1 per person)
• Cooking pans (1-2 per camp; as lightweight as you can find)
• Coffee pot (one per camp; this heats all our water)
• Tongs (one per camp)
• Spatula (one per camp)
• Metal spoons (2 per camp)
• Cooking fire grate (1 per camp, small; lightweight)
• Scouring pad
• Propane bottles (1 bottle for every 2-3 hunters per day)
• Hatchet (1 per camp)

Hunting Equipment
This is the stuff essential to make your kill. I only carry a protection pistol, water, and emergency kit when packing out meat.
• Weapon of choice to hunt with (rifle- 20 rounds will do it)
• Protection pistol for bears (something you can shoot well; 10 rounds is enough)
• Pistol holster- worn
• .22 pistol for around camp and box of 50 rounds
• More rope
• Soft rifle of bow case for the plane ride (Pack it full of stuff if they don’t weight it!; doubles as my pillow folded up)
• Binoculars (1 per person; worn all the time; with harness)
• Spotting scope and tripod (1 per 2-3 hunters)


Clothing and Worn
This can be a book of itself, although I go super skimpy. Here is what I take, although it might not meet your personal preference or hunting style. Basic rules for me- 1) don’t overdo it. 2) No cotton.
• 4pr. socks (medium weight wool blend; no cotton)
• 2 pr. socks (ultra-thin liners, all moisture wicking material)
• 1 pr camp shoes (very light; just something that isn’t a sweaty boot)
• 2 pair long underwear (base layer moisture wicking material)
• 2 long sleeve shirts (base layer moisture wicking material)
• 2 short sleeve t shirts (base layer moisture wicking material)
• 2 pr. Pants. (your preference; mine are very modified for me with attachments, added pockets, sewn in gaiters, integrated belt, “d” rings”, etc.
• 1 fleece vest
• 1 fleece sweatshirt
• 1 insulation layer jacket (Kuiu type lightweight; no hood)
• 1 micro Berber fleece hooded sweatshirt (my outer layer if its cold and not raining)
• 1 Rain bibs (The best you can afford)
• 1 Rain coat (The best you can afford)
• 1 Backup rain coat (super lightweight like Frog Toggs that can be scrunched up)
• 2 stocking hats
• 1 baseball cap
• Sunglasses
• 1 pr. Tundra boots (Cabelas hip style)
• 1 pr Leather hiking boots
• 2 pr lightweight gloves (easy drying material)
• Mosquito head net
• Baklava

Food and Related
This is the last category to get loaded and the grandeur of the meals correlate to how much weight we have available. The list is broken down into “Always Have” and “Like to Have”. You can consolidate and get rid of a lot of packaging and bulk. We always plan for 2 days of food in case of no fly days (have waited 5 extra days and ate lots of caribou). Some of the frozen or fresh foods is only relevant when you fly out of Bethel, Fairbanks, Kotzebue, etc. where you can buy it locally.

Always Have:
• Bouillon cubes (the big ones; beef and chicken flavors)
• Salt and Pepper
• Lawry’s seasoned salt
• Dehydrated minced onion
• Garlic powder
• Dry soup packets
• Coffee
• Instant rice
• Aluminum foil
• Cooking oil (small bottle)
• Bacon (frozen if possible; as many packages as practical; use the grease for cooking later)
• Ramen noodles (the small packages; makes a fair meal when you can’t stay awake to eat anything else; will warm you up)
• Hot chocolate powder
• Granola bars (each person brings their own)
• Hard candy (I only eat candy when hunting)
• Powdered eggs
• Taco and fajita seasoning packets
• Tortillas
• Peanut butter
• Jelly
• Dried beef packets
• Oatmeal packets
• Fresh onion (at least 1 gets in my pocket before I fly)
• Fresh jalapenos (in my pockets if needed)
• Peanuts and raisins
• Jerky of some sort.
• Small plastic bottle of whiskey
• Mountain house (1-2 per person; for emergencies only)

Like to Have:
• Hungry Jack dehydrated hash browns
• Dry Pasta noodles
• Dehydrated fruit
• Cooked chicken packages
• Spam
• Fresh potatoes
• Dehydrated jalapenos
• Crackers
• Powdered mashed potatoes
• Dehydrated vegetables
• Dried cheese powder
• Fried rice mix/seasoning packets
• Chili seasoning packets
• Dry soup beans
• Powdered peanut butter
• Pepperoni
• Dry spaghetti sauce packets
• Tomato paste 4 oz. can
• Dry Alfredo sauce packets
• Dry red beans and rice packets
• Lipton noodle packets
• Powdered milk
• Frozen hamburger
• Frozen sausage
• Frozen lunchmeat (usually ham; canned ham works too but is heavy)
• Loaf of bread (never seems to survive very well)
• 12 pack of beer. (1 beer per day!)
• Peanuts in the shell
• Can of mushrooms
• Bananas
• Apples
• Pancake mix (water only kind; fish/grouse batter or pancakes)

Condiment packets
I start collecting condiment packets 6-9 months before a hunt and use them extensively in cooking. This is the collection of small packets I look for and get from restaurants, gas stations, etc. I take a lot of them. I keep them in a container that doesn’t crush.
• Parmesan cheese (from pizza delivery)
• Ketchup (any drive through)
• BBQ sauce (Arby’s and drive through)
• Horseradish (Arby’s)
• Olive Oil (Subway and Little King)
• Vinegar (Subway and Little King)
• Red pepper flakes (Pizza delivery)
• Mayo packets (drive through, Subway, and gas stations)
• Mustard packets (drive through and gas stations sometimes have Dijon too)
• Hot sauce (numerous places)
• Tabasco (numerous places)
• Taco sauce (Mexican drive through and truck stops)
• Jelly (Hardees and McDonalds)
• Sugar and sweetener (just about everywhere)
• Coffee creamer (just about everywhere)
• Soy sauce (Asian take out)
• Spicy mustard (Asian Take out)
• Pickle relish (gas station)

 

[Johnboy]

Awesome list, KJH. Thanks for posting.

 

[mikkel318]

KJH, I am doing a drop camp moose hunt in late september of 2018 and this list is going to help a lot. Thank you. The item that is seems to be the hardest decision is the tent. If we get rained in for a few days I've heard that being in a small tent (outfitter provided) can make you go crazy. I've also heard that the floorless type would be awful because of the soft ground. Do you have any suggestions?

 

[outdoorsman_3]

KJH, I am doing a drop camp moose hunt in late september of 2018 and this list is going to help a lot. Thank you. The item that is seems to be the hardest decision is the tent. If we get rained in for a few days I've heard that being in a small tent (outfitter provided) can make you go crazy. I've also heard that the floorless type would be awful because of the soft ground. Do you have any suggestions?

Where are you doing a drop camp? Are you landing on a ridge or in a swamp?


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[mikkel318]

We are doing a lake hunt with Renfro's. The other guys who have done this hunt in the past have had different descriptions from hard ground to grass that you will sink into if you stand too long. We don't know exactly until they drop us off.

 

[KJH]

We have always used a tent with a floor in the past, but I'm going to try a open floor this year. I think I'm going to get a Cimmaron.

We use a 4 person tent for every 2 people so you can spread out and stay organized. I also highly recommend going to walmart or Amazon and buying a $20 2 person "kids" tent (try find one thats not pink or superman!) and use it to keep all you extra gear out of the rain and snow. Get the lightest one you can find. It is a really nice piece of luxury having room in your sleeping tent. Sounds stupid, but it is great. When you days of rain that won't quit it's nice to have some space in your sleeping tent. Once a partner took the kiddo tent to the ridgeline during a 2 day rainstorm and used it for glassing to stay out of the rain. He was the only one who was glassing but it kept the rain off his head and he was pretty happy.

One final thing is that we like to erect a good sized "circus shelter" with a bigger tarp to give us the ability to be outside without getting rained on. Sometimes it even covers the sleeping tents. Its easier to get this to work when you're on a lake or river with trees and not just a barren ridgeline.

 

[Maverick940]

Mikkel318:

Renfro will be able to advise you as to the type and style of tent you'll need out there to the west, so closely follow his advice. But suffice to say that you'll need a "bathtub" (bathtub floor) style tent that can withstand high-velocity wind.

Maverick

 

[outdoorsman_3]

If you are doing a lake hunt with renfros you will want a tent with a floor. You will also want a cot as you could have water in the bottom of your tent. I'm going with renfros this year. 60 days out! Bring 3-4 tarps. Then build a roof outside of the tent so that you can stay dry without being in the tent.


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[mikkel318]

Thanks for the help, luckily I have a few years to figure it out.

outdoorsman_3 - Good luck! I hope you put up a trip report and have some good stories to tell.

 

[Gooseterrorist]

Great list. We are headed up the 17 of september on a drop camp with Renfros. its already getting tough to sleep counting the days

 

[mcseal2]

I'm going with Papa Bear in 2018 for 10 days, thanks for the list and advice everyone. I have my list started and it is similar. We rent the camp from PB and can take 100lbs each (camp weight is not taken out of our 100lbs). 100lbs sounds like a lot, but with my list going on an excel sheet and items all weighed it fills up pretty quick. I haven't been to Alaska or moose hunting before.

Here are a couple ideas I had that have worked on other trips including a pretty wet Canadian fishing/canoeing trip, might be good ones to throw out. Might not too, never been to Alaska before.

Cut a roll of blue shop towels in half with a knife and take them for toilet paper. They don't fall apart if they get damp, can be dried out and still used.

A couple of the cheap 5x7 tarps sold at Walmart only weigh about 9oz each and can really help keep a tent floor drier and cleaner when used as a doormat. Don't care if you trash them either, they are cheap.

The Hennesey hammock tarps or anything of similar size can be used to make a rain fly over the tent's rain fly. Especially when using a rented tent I haven't personally tried before I plan to do this.

I'll have a larger tarp also to make a fly to cook under and spend time outside the tent under. Might call from under it too if weather is bad and camp is in a good location. It makes it tougher for me to plan not knowing where we will be dropped, what the terrain is like. I've heard reports that range from camping in real soggy ground to camps with elevation to glass from where you wear leather boots the whole trip. Just depends on where the moose are that year.

I had considered taking my Kifaru Megatarp and stove but I haven't used it on really wet ground like we might be in. It would let me and my buddy snore in different sleeping quarters. I have a Seekoutside bathtub floor I can use in it, and PB supplies a cot to sleep in off the ground. I'm not sure the stove wouldn't make a bunch of condensation if the ground is that wet though. I figure the weight might be spent better in other places.

 

[outdoorsman_3]

Mcseal I stead of the shop towels just bring baby wipes. I just open a pack and let it dry out. That way it does not freeze. Use that for toilet paper. No need to cut the towels


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[mcseal2]

Good idea, hadn't tried that. That would be much less bulky.

 

[Liv2Hunt]

Excellent list! Thanks for putting it together. We are headed up with Renfro in Sept and this is great stuff to cross check against our list already. Best of luck with your new moose hunter!

 

[Nick Muche]

KJH, that is one hell of a list.

 

[Corey Paulsen (teamkabob)]

Add me to that list! Just kidding. Some day I will go after moose!



TK

 

[KJH]

KJH, that is one hell of a list.

It looks like a lot of crap, but it doesn't turn out to be all that much when packed up... Or until you're trying to pack it in the plane.

 

[rayporter]

them darn planes get smaller every year...

 

[KJH]

them darn planes get smaller every year...

Isn't that the truth...