What did/do old school hunters carry?

[Archer1977]

Does anyone regularly carry a tomahawk? They seem old school cool and could be functional as a lightweight hatchet. Ive thought about adding one to my kit, but haven't committed to buying one.

[Roadkill]

Water, power bars, ropes,my Ekit,medications,extra tab arm guard, rubber gloves, fleece gloves, compass, cell phone, sock cap in my Ribz pack.

Backpack has more water, extra clothes, poncho, and whatever else needed for that particular hunt.  Life was easier when hunting whitetails back east, but mountain hunting in quick change weather and distances to others makes one cautious, or, maybe it is age!

[ChuckC]

Archer1977, I often do, though not always. If I am scouting up a new spot I will have it.  Check our Ron LaClair's Shrew hawk.  Very functional.
CHuckC

[Sam McMichael]

On most hunts, on my property, my haversack and pockets carry all I need. Requirements expand greatly when not hunting close to home.

[njloco]

The Adirondacks are as big as 4 or 5 Federal parks put together, the big difference is there is plenty of water around, so all one needs is a good filter.

In n.j. most of us are hunting within shouting distance of a blacktoped road, or in someone's backyard, which is where you'll find some of the biggest bucks.

[tenth1]

I used to carry only what my pockets allowed.... Until I had to spend a very cold, wet night in the middle of nowhere.

I always leave the pickup expecting the worst and therefore carry a minimum of a 10lb pack everywhere and a up to 50lb(or more in winter!) for a week long trip.

Pretty subjective

[warbird]

The one thing that strikes my memory that every old timer I hunted with had was a Buck 110. One of the 440c models before that 420hc crap.

[sheepdogreno]

I hunt a small property so at most a 20min walk to the truck...I bring a backpack with extra gloves,temp transport tags,knife,binos,calls,tp,extra set of gloves,and always have my camera and cell phone...phone is a must BC I hunt alone. Could fit it all in a fany pack but I'm cheap and use a hunter green backpack I've had since college. Always have a headlamp too

[tenth1]

What is the phone for?

[old_goat2]

They obviously didn't have some of the stuff we have now as it wasn't invented yet. But I bet they had more stuff than what you saw when they were filming sequences. Let your own needs be your guide!

[German Dog]

Originally posted by Archer1977:

So I wonder often what did the successful old school hunters like Fred Bear and the like carry with them in the field and in what?

I never see them in pictures with bloated daypacks like many hunters today.

 

One of my favorite scenes from the Fred Bear movies is when Fred Bear and his hunting buddy go bouncing across the open fields of the the badlands in a station wagon and then stop and pull out their bows, a fresh box of bear arrows, and off they go hunting. Think the only gear they had with them looked liked a knife.

[reddogge]

Originally posted by tenth1:
What is the phone for?

If they are like me, a cheap safety device so you can call for help if you fall out of a tree stand and are suspended, fall and break something, have a heart attack, poke your eye, stab or cut yourself, or call for help with a big deer.

[Dorado]

Originally posted by warbird:
The one thing that strikes my memory that every old timer I hunted with had was a Buck 110. One of the 440c models before that 420hc crap.

I have my Dad's Buck 110! It's a great knife. It's still being made if I'm not mistaken.

I've been wanting a good Tomahawk, my hatchet that I've been using has all but had it. I'd love to get me a shrew hawk but it's out of my price range for a while.

[Altiman94]

I'm sure the guys before electronics carried their bow, seat, and a knife.

Today - it's beneficial to have binocs at a minimum on top of the other stuff.  If there's any chance you could be stranded over night (getting lost, etc) I would carry the bare minimum to get me through the night.

[JamesV]

Besides my bow and arrows I carry my seat, compass, knife, rope, head net, bug spray, nabs, and this year I am carrying a bottle of water. Almost forgot.....My cell phone.

[woodchucker]

I've honestly never seen any reason to carry binocs.....  :confused:

If I see a deer, I know it's a deer. If I need to know if it's a buck, Or a doe... I can definately tell the differance way before it gets within shooting range.

Personaly, I find them heavy,cumbersum,and generaly a pain in the butt!!!

[Altiman94]

Originally posted by woodchucker:
I've honestly never seen any reason to carry binocs.....   :confused:  

If I see a deer, I know it's a deer. If I need to know if it's a buck, Or a doe... I can definately tell the differance way before it gets within shooting range.

Personaly, I find them heavy,cumbersum,and generaly a pain in the butt!!!

I carry mine every hunt - started doing so in 2011.  I've seen movement I otherwise wouldn't see and am able to identify bucks further away as well.

If you get a good pair, they are lightweight and don't add too much bulk.  Mine are invaluable.

[Onehair]

All through the 70s-80s I carried a compass, knife, matches and a big black garbage bag. The bag served as my seat, poncho and finally to help carry out a deer when all went right. I would gut the deer and put the bag on the deer like a pair of pants. Carry the deer with the hams on your shoulders and tie the feet together in front of you. As long as you kept the deers head from swinging a deer can be carried a long way. I can't do that now.

[warbird]

I try to pack in light with what I can carry in a fanny pack and cargo pockets. The only difference between me and hunters of the past is a few new tech items of the modern hunter. GPS, Iphone, and a pair of led flashlights. Lets face it if we didnt believe in modern tech what are we doing here.

[vintage-bears]

The last few years I have been wearing a KOM fanny pack which I love.
Gloves,rope,pruner,Knife, small flashlight,
2 8oz.cans of pineapple juice (works for me),2 hershey bars,extra tree step and bow hook,extra bow string and tab. Binos around my neck.
And ofcoarse my phone just in case of emergency.

Most always return with same minus one pineapple juice.