Hunting Checklist: What Do I Need For Deer Hunting (11 Essentials)
Hunting Checklist: What Do I Need For Deer Hunting (11 Essentials)
Let’s talk about the essentials that every hunter needs to bring with them when deer hunting.
What Do I Need For Deer Hunting:
There is no end of things that would be nice to have while deer hunting. Let’s go over a 11-point checklist:
The following are the three things that you absolutely need:
1. A gun
2. 10 bullets
3. Your hunting license
As long as you have those three things, you can shoot a deer.
But of course, there is more than that in my hunting bag. I have my essentials, but then I also adjust accordingly based on where I am hunting and for how long.
So here are other essential items I would take with me in any given hunting situation:
4. A sharp small knife. To field dress any animal you harvest, you are going to need a sharp small knife to cut it open and remove its organs. Everyone likes to have a big hunting knife with them, but I have had more use out of a paring knife than big old buck knife.
5. Bone saw. The saw I use is a general purpose blade from a hardware store, but you are going to need to saw through the pelvic bone to cut out the lower intestines. A saw is much better than using a hatchet.
6. A harness. Where I hunt driving is not an option, so I would never have the opportunity to drive to my deer. Even if you could drive in your hunting area, you never where a deer is going to drop. Even with a 2 inch hole in its chest a deer can run 500 meters before dropping. The harness will allow you to drag your deer to your truck however far away it is.
7. Binoculars. I usually have these around my neck and will often be scanning hillsides or open areas in the distance. You would be surprised what you find that you may not have otherwise seen with the naked eye.
8. Flashlight or headlamp. Chances are you are going to shoot your deer near dark and by the time you recover your deer and field dress it, it may be pitch dark. I will also use a flashlight (on low) to get into my hunting position early in the morning before sunset.
There’s also a list of things that I often carry when hunting in remote areas:
8. I carry a Garmin GPS. First, prevents me from getting lost and help in an emergency situation where I could relay my UTM coordinates to anyone looking for me. Second I find a Garmin extremely useful for hunting. Let me give you some examples. One, you shoot a deer at dusk and it runs into the forest. Now, do you really want to plunge into the forest at dark without having a clue where you are going? No, you’d get lost. But with a GPS you can look for that deer with a flashlight and find your way back out of that forest. Another example would be if you shot a deer and only wounded it, you could follow the blood trail and plot each drop of blood, so if you lost the trail, you could always come back to the last spot you saw blood. I also plot interesting things I see while scouting in the summer. For example, I’ll plot a spot where I saw three cow moose, so I can come back and look in that area three months later before hunting season.
9. I carry some survival gear. For me, that only includes a length of rope, a plastic water bottle, iodine pills, fire starter sticks and a lighter. This allows me to fashion a lien-tu, have potable water and get a fire started, which is probably enough to survive a few days in an emergency situation. If you’re hunting 10 km from home on the local farmer’s corn crop obviously that wouldn’t be needed.
10. Bear spray. I hunt in the foothills, and grizzly bears are always a threat. I carry bear spray on my belt. Studies show that bear spray is more effective in defending a bear attack than a rifle.
And then, I look to bring one more thing…
11. A bird book. This is just for fun, but if I am going to spend 10 hours in the bush, I’d like to learn a thing or two.
Best of others
The fire is a nice touch 👌
Hit the heart and no dear is going 500 yards and you don’t need binos you got a scope most likely
No tp or paper towels?
Very nice video thanks for sharing 😊
A orange hat and Medical gear should be mandatory.
You have a gun and are in a area where there are a bunch of idiots with guns. You better have a trauma kit.
I tend to overthink and catastrophize, resulting in bringing WAY too much gear. This helped.
Spotting scope, binos and a gun! That’s all I need!
Thank you for explaining the essentials and make things easier to digest.
Thank you.
Thanks for sharing.
You really should take at least a tarp for shelter from the weather
Gun, knife, beer.
Idk all the deer i have killed dropped in their tracks
I like hunting very much.
Exactly a guy that really knows what to bring when hunting. I am amazed at what others bring .
why would you not bone a deer out if you are gonna walk that far
Love the list. Straight to the point essentials and none of the nonsense.
My must have items if I am just out for a single day and I am not camping are:
Gun or Bow
A gun sock(Because where I am, when not in use a gun must be encased on all 6 sides and unloaded)
Pack(with a meat shelf)
1 box of ammo
Field dress kit(knives, saw, game bags, gloves and a sharpener)
Headlamp
Extra Flashlight
Batteries(Always have extras of all types of batteries your gear uses)
Large 1-1.5L bottle of water
Scent eliminator(If bow hunting. I don’t really need it when using a rifle)
Game call
Snacks and dehydrated foods(Out all day? Bring sustenance. Nutrient bars make good snacks)
Compact camping chair(weighs maybe a pound max)
Rangefinder/Binoculars
Paracord
Leatherman multi tool
Toilet paper(when you gotta go, you gotta go)
Wet wipes(scent free) to clean hands
Compass and GPS
And lastly a compact rain gear set if weather goes south
I will go hunting for the first time in a few weeks for a few days (camping) is there anything else I should know before I go?
Drag a deer 5miles.. damn gives you some perspective on the work people used to do to eat dinner. I’m looking to start hunting in australia but my parents are near you probably 😂 luckily no bears here but gaining a license is crazy hard.
Great stuff
This was super helpful. This year I will try my first public land hunting and needed to know how to get the deer out. Haha
0h yeah, the "good old days" hunting in the 1960’s in Pennsylvania !
A gun
A handful of bullets
A 25′ hank of window sash cord
Some kind of knife
Barn coat
Barn gloves
Fluorescent orange knit cap
Fluorescent orange vest (also makes a good signal flag)
Northerners insulated waterproof boots
Thermos of coffee
4 Snickers bars
Wow! Thanks for keeping it super simple. I made my 1st deer hunt about 3 years ago. I had a number of items people told me would be smart to bring along. Half way through the 1st day, I was thinking that I had more crap in my pack than I needed. On my 2nd hunt, I was probably about 30% lighter and have been optimizing my loadout ever since.
I’m double thinking about my gear I just added a bulky camera with a big lens so it replaced my sporting scope but I still need to bulk down. I hunt bears and bear spray has crossed my mind . It is suposto b more effective then a sidearm at close distance plus we cannot shoot the grizzlies here. Thanks for the vid
What about camo gear? Don’t really need it?
Finally a video where there’s a normal guy hunting, not some 19 year old kid with his 3000 dollar outfit
What is a good GPS to Buy?
1. Gun ( rifle or shotgun) with 10-12 cartriges.
2. Backpack 40-50 liters. (One deer just fits into such a backpack.)
3. Knife (13 cm fix blade, ).
4. Rope 3-4m.
5. Headlamp.
6. Plastic bags 3 (80-100 l).Packing meat).
7. Bottle of water 1 liter or thermos with tea).
8. Towel. (Wipe your hands).
9. Toilet paper.
10. Compass.
11. Socks, Sweatshirt.
12. Something to eat. (Bread/butter/solt/boiled eggs).
And good luck!)
Dyneema is the lightest strongest rope u can get if your concerned about weight
Good video. Don’t forget the TP!
Be sure to take wrap around pair of cheap safty glasses . Very useful to keep twigs out of your eyes at night when walking out.
What Garmin do you use? I know this video is a few years old and it’s likely been replaced, but just to get an idea what I’m looking for.
Why on earth would you need 10 bullets! You need to go to the range, sir 😂
Carry most of my gear in a small backpack..that include most of that which you listed. Plus extra clothes gloves and socks..easy to carry on my back leaving my arms free to carry my rifle.
dude forgot a gun
What is that leather pouch?
Finally a no BS video 😅 thank you!! This is what I was looking for. Straight forward, no frills, and practical. 👍🏼
You must love Jehovah your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. You must love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus the anointed is Lord! Repent and be baptized and believe the Gospel.
Awesome! Thank you! I am in AB too and I need to start so this is the best video for me so far!!!
Love the look of this watch! Do you mind sharing the make/model?
What is everyone’s favorite hunting clothes brands and camo patterns?
Straight forward and to the point thanks for the video
Something to keep you awake. A boring waste of time
Thanks for making this! This is exactly the kind of info a new hunter needs to hear.
Might I be so bold to suggest a small rechargeable power bank that fits your mobile device as most phones only seem to last 24 hours. Great concise video my friend 👍
thank you sir
New hunter here…. question:
Can I use a spotting scope or a rangefinder as a substitute for binoculars?
Why 10 bullets?
I treat every hunt like I would an overnight backpack camping trip. Most hunts I’ve been on tend to last multiple days. So I just bring everything I would backpacking in the backwoods, except with the additional rifle and ammunitions.