Hunting mobile

Prairiekid · #1 10-03-2022, 02:45 PM

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?

Stinky Buffalo · #2 10-03-2022, 02:52 PM

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.

3blade · #3 10-03-2022, 03:23 PM

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)

Stinky Buffalo · #4 10-03-2022, 06:07 PM

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.

Prairiekid · #5 10-03-2022, 09:57 PM

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.

Smoky buck · #6 10-03-2022, 11:14 PM

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

jcrayford · #7 10-04-2022, 06:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smoky buck

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

J.

Prairiekid · #8 10-04-2022, 08:53 AM

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.

Stinky Buffalo · #9 10-04-2022, 08:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Prairiekid

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.

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