Hunting mobile
 

I’m wondering what you guys are using for a back pack when you’re stand hunting mobilely or saddle hunting.

I sold a Kuiu pack I was no longer using earlier this year, it was too large for this endeavour. So I thought I would pick up the new FL Transfer Pack. It’s nice but I think I’m going to return or sell it. It has a lot of nice features, quiet fabric and overall materials as well as some nice pockets, but I’m not sure it’s what I was thinking.

What are you guys using to haul in your stand or platform and warm clothes for a morning or evening sit?

I'll use bungies to roll up/strap my heavier layers to the stand. I also use a large fanny pack which I clip to the stand. That has my kill kit, first aid/survival stuff, lunch, etc.

I bought a lightweight stand and climbing sticks years ago, hoping to be ultra mobile…ya, no. Tried shoulder straps on the stand, but that’s really uncomfortable for a long hike. Best I found was packing it on a pack frame, because i could secure it tight/quiet, but it was way too heavy to go very far and have all the other stuff (layers, food, water, kill kit, survival gear etc etc) needed for an all day sit and potential night in the bush 10 km or more in.

Once I figured that out, I started packing it much shorter distances, for evening sits in nice weather and actually had a decent amount of game sightings. Just really limited to when/where I could go.

The saddle is probably my next purchase. No issue adding ropes/saddle/sticks to a SG pack even with all the stuff needed for a full day hunt.

Still wouldn’t want to add that kind of weight to an overnight load out (tent/stove/sleep system)

Hunting mobile
 

There are also purpose-built packs for this.

Take this one, for example (First Lite Transfer Pack):

https://www.firstlite.com/products/t...c_id=500594278

Lone Wolf made a really fancy packing system for their stands as well, was quite pricey. Saw one on Kijiji last year.

I received the Transfer Pack in the mail the other day. My thoughts were that I could use it for mobile stand hunting and still hunting. Like I said in my opening post it’s decent enough but I was wondering what others use. I’m usually hiking a couple km in through the hills and mountains.

My thoughts pre set stands before the season rather then set up and tear down every day.

If I want to be mobile I hunt off the ground using natural cover blow down, bushes and my favorite is trimming a hole under the lower branches on an evergreen. I also have a small turkey blind that is super light and small. The turkey blind is short maybe 30-36inch but when tucked up under a tree it works well

A proper stand set up makes too much disturbance and needs time to settle in my opinion

^I've only hunted once from a stand (home built, someone else's) and didn't care for it. I like to have the chance to move if wind switches or game is elsewhere.

I have a turkey blind as well like SB, but haven't used it in years as I find natural stuff is abundant everywhere all of us hunt. If you're hunting treed areas, you have natural cover on the ground too.

I bought a Ghost Blind off a fellow AOer last year and added extensions to it. 6-panel design, wraps around enough that you could literally set it up just about anywhere and it will always conceal you. Combined with existing natural cover, I'm invisible - even to hunting partners that know the general area I'm in.

I just need to get out more :angry3:

J.

Gah! Sorry, I missed that part from your opening post. Old eyes squinting at the phone screen... :scared:

I do have a couple preset stands. They were used and cheap. I will sit in them if the wind is right or it’a dead calm for a morning sit. My first sit with a saddle I had adjusted based on the wind, it was a raining day with a north wind. I had as large a buck as I have ever seen walk under me in my saddle. I was up 25’ and I just couldn’t get the shot angle I wanted. I thought he was going to give me a broadside at 12 yards and didn’t want to force a high angle shot. In the end I never shot and he walked away. If I had been in the pre hung stand I would have been 45 yards away. But it’s a lot to carry in.

What stand would you plan to be carrying (if you're not saddle hunting)?

I have had several Lone Wolf systems, and have carried them on my back along with my minimal gear. I never had the ultra-compact ones (and definitely not the D'Aquisto series), but what was said before is true - without upgraded straps and some kind of padding for your back, it can get quite uncomfortable the farther you hike. But I've done it, even with the factory straps.

Even Lone Wolf's upgraded straps (link here) and specialized pack (link here) don't solve the issue of keeping the base of the stand off your spine.

That’s pretty much the standard experience with any mobile setup since climbers came around. You will sweat more and make more noise carrying stuff in/out. You aren’t going to get the chance to cut shooting lanes, perfect access routes, pick angles etc all the stuff we do with preset stands….you are trading that off for mobility.

BUT…the benefits of mobility are questionable. We have a very different vegetation structure than what you see in shows/articles from the US. Most places here aren’t well suited to archery hunting, that’s why we focus on field edges and major corridors, or wide open spot and stalk. It’s really hard to get a quality shot opportunity in the bush with no prep, the majority of it is just to thick.

Definitely excellent points!

For sure, where I usually hunt, there's such dense brush and there's just no time to clear those shooting lanes. However, I did have success with some setups where I was able to find a good tree that was on a cutline or cutblock, and I had a good idea that deer would be coming by. With my LW hang-on, I was able to set up quite quickly - and with my climber as well, as long as I didn't have too many branches to knock off on my way up.

That being said, I'm starting to get more into spot-and-stalk and still-hunting for some scenarios, mainly just getting older and running/gunning with the stands is getting a wee bit harder every year. :lol:

Personally I find vegetation transition areas are where I will find the best shooting lanes. But it’s a good point about the difference in vegetation, I also think a more mild climate as much of the lower 48 has means you can hike in a lot less warm clothing, mitts etc.

I’m guessing up here the best way to hunt with a saddle would be to have a handful or two of trees/locations scouted, maybe lanes trimmed, access figured. Then hike in and climb in on the day. I’m still learning and was wondering how everyone else is finding it.

For sure, if you're saddle hunting, you could even pre-set feed ropes for your climbing ropes if you are using the DbRT/MRS or SRT/SRS techniques (which I don't use, I'm not set up for that...)

I was looking at a kifaru Stryker as my next do all pack, lots of flexibility and options for setup. Wouldn’t need a separate pack frame either. I’ve used my badlands diablo to carry 4 hawk 20” sticks, and platform. Using the water bottle holders to hold sticks worked reasonably well.

I have a mystery ranch pintler that I use for everything. I have been eyeing up the sawtooth for awhile but the pintler has done a great job. I added the mystery ranch daypack lid to it as well.