What did you get rid of from your pack after elk season?

[bignocks]

I made a post about game changer Items before elk season and now I thought Id make one after. Did you have any items that you got rid or or changed during your elk trip? What went well and what will you do different?

After 3 weeks of archery elk from new mexico to Idaho I ended up changing a few things. It rained almost everyday in NM and yet I never got out my pack rain cover. I also realized that with zero service onX maps still works if you download your maps. Its super easy and I feel like I no longer have a need for a gps. Game changer for me. In idaho it was very dry and with all the 2 track roads I ended up mostly wearing more of a tennis shoe instead of boots. As for food I tried the ol butthole sandwhiches which I thought were good. I also bought a bunch of tuna packets and would add those to every dehydrated dinner meal to get some protein. Chalula was good to add some zing.
In new mexico I had a pretty small tent, but I put a tarp over the top so I could leave the door open even during the rain so I didnt feel so cramped. It was way better and also prevented tent condensation.
Idaho has amazing grouse hunting so remembering to get the tag for those and also some states require an archery stamp of which I almost didnt realize and could have easily ended up like eric chesser.
Im sure Ill think of more later but those come to mind.

 

[Chad.frank]

Had a flexible boot this year and I’m going to try a stiff soled one next, clothing all did great but I’m adjusting some of that and ran a floor less shelter which wasn’t bad at all but would like to try a floored one next year. Will continue to adjust first aid kit and possibles pouch.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[bsnedeker]

Oooh, I love this thread already!

No real changes in gear for me, although I might slim down my possibles pouch a bit. For me I think this year has convinced me that I should go stoveless in the future. This year, like all past years, I took 2 rehydrated meals with me per day: MH Biscuits and Gravy/Breakfast Skillet Combo (Amazing!), and an assortment of dinner items. I REALLY enjoyed my hot meals, but I came to the conclusion that they weren't really giving me too much of a psychological boost over what my BH sandwiches and pro bars were. When you take into account the weight penalty for carrying a stove, fuel, and cooking sleeve, and the water penalty for rehydrating AND the time penalty when you want to stop and cook, I think I would be much more efficient out there stoveless. I'm all for having a number of rehydrated meals waiting for me back at the truck, but for dayhunting and backpacking I'm going to ditch the stove.

 

[Bronc]

Got rid of kill kit and game bags. Added 2 cans of beer.

 

[craig Holland]

Yeah , didn't need the kill kit either . Could have traded for a case of beer. Lol. I agree dehydrated meals left back at camp before and after hunting. Sanwhiches saved weight for sure.

 

[Squirrels]

My pocket rocket 2 and stove. I dehydrated my own meals this year. They were good but prep and cook time were depressing when watching my two buddies with there jetboils and freeze dried meals. I've replaced it with a primus eta lite.

I tried a backpacking cot. Didn't notice I slept any better or worse....so the weight isn't worth it. I may go to a heavier more luxury type pad.

Going back to a tent. The DST was fine and had no issues. It's a matter of footprint size for me.

Had a befree 3l filter. Love the filter but that 3l bag is hard to manage unless you are using it as gravity style. I will be swapping it out for a 1L.

Good thread. There are some things I changed before this year that worked well too, but that's for another thread....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[netman]

I’m now completely sold on OnX. The ability to preload maps and use them off line makes me so happy.
For backup I bought a new Garmin Montana with Colorado and Wyoming chips. Total waste of money.
I absolutely love my Jetboil!
I absolutely love my Sitka clothing!
I absolutely HATE the sights on my CVA Accura.
I’m unsure about the 300 grain Thor’s.
The Wrangler pants that have some stretch are absolutely fantastic!
However the biggest change for me will be is that I’m going to buy a top quality spotting scope and have it with me every hunt when out west.

 

[codym]

All the extra damn batteries.. I was cleaning out my pack and found like a dozen AAA and AA. My rain pants. My gaiters and attacks are fine and just the rain jacket works for me.

 

[Ucsdryder]

Blood!

 

[ORHunter]

I got rid of my unused tags. 2 states and didnt need either one them. Saves me about .00002 ounces.

Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

 

[Ironman8]

Came here to say that i was cutting my kill kit since I haven’t needed it for a few years, but y’all beat me to it! Ha!

I’ll be trimming the amount of meals that I need to rehydrate down to one. Only dinner when it’s dark and there’s no rush to be anywhere.

Really loved my new (to me) concept of non-Goretex boots (Salomon Quest 4D) with Rocky waterproof GTX socks. Much better ventilation when you don’t need the waterproofness and can throw the GTX socks on over your regular socks when it rains or there’s a ton of dew in the morning. Worked out very well this year! Another plus to the system is that the boots dry faster and the GTX membrane can be switched out when it wears out but the boots still have life left.

 

[Gumbo]

I purged some batteries by switching to lithium. I also got rid of a couple contractor bags, leatherman, excess clothes, and a lot of other things so insignificant I can't even remember what they were. My rule was if I couldn't remember the last time i used it it was gone. I lightened my pack by at least couple pounds, probably 3-4.

 

[Superkodiak38]

We ended up base camping for 15 days, never found an area worth re-locating to so we left our options open and drove to different areas, In my day pack I stopped carrying my rain jacket after the first week, I only used it once and I stood under a spruce and never had a drop of rain hit it. This was based on where I was and the current conditions. The second week it got hot and I dropped my fleece as well, Instead I kept a very lightweight down vest that packs down to the size of a sandwich baggie. I also carried too many batteries for the first couple of days and ended up dropping those, I had a spare head lamp and changed out batteries on the GPS right before the trip, only used it to mark camp, the truck and some points of interest so spare batteries were left in camp. On food, I will pack differently next time, instead of putting a whole days food in a ziploc I will put breakfast's in a bag, snacks in a bag and food that requires boiling water, dinners, in a bag. I will also get an alcohol stove to make tea or coffee with on breaks. I didn't carry a jetboil just for coffee, and I REQUIRE coffee for proper function, but a couple of ounces for a stove and fuel would be worth it.

 

[cnelk]

I found some moldy jerky that I removed

 

[Jqualls]

Bone saw. This is the first year I used the gutless method and I wont be goig back.

 

[marktole]

Dropped my spotting scope and tripod once I got into vocal elk. I haven't ever really had much experience with the run and gun style of elk hunting before this year, and holy hell, was that fun. Lighter pack made it even more fun being able to haul ass after bulls.

 

[Violent Hippie]

in the area I hunted I would 86 the tripod.

 

[Btaylor]

I found some moldy jerky that I removed

How is that even possible? You're fired.

 

[flinginairos]

After my Wyoming trip I think I will be going to a slightly more flexible boot. I used the Scarpa Kinesis Pro and they were great, but walking miles and miles in them in super dry conditions they were just overkill. Also dropped the First Lite gaiters half way through. No need for them. Same with camp shoes. Had them on the first part of the trip and hardly used them. i also took about double the amount of camera batteries I needed. I filmed the whole trip and figured i'd burn through them but didn't. Other than that I felt pretty dialed in.

 

[Tick]

GPS and an extra foam pad under an inflatable for sure.

OnX is all I need to locate hunt areas to hit. I am paranoid about my inflatable pad getting a leak but it hasn't happened yet.

Tripod maybe. It is nice but I think using a trekking pole for support will work for most of my areas.