Possibles bag (what to carry?)

[acollins]

What types of items do you guys carry in your possibles bag.

[karrow]

knife small rope camera thats really it when im hunting close to the house.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

small metal file, flashlight, rope, camera and a knife.

[Gray Buffalo]

Everything I need for a day in the woods. Extra broads (screw in), small first aid kit. Extra string, knife, Butt wipes, baby wipes, small camera matches and some food.

[Stumpkiller]

Fenix PD-30 flashlight w/spare batteries, Swedish firesteel & six firestraws, Suunto compass, Victorknox Hunter lockblade, spare bowstring, two Snickers bars, water bottle, deer drag (six ft strap & 12 ft Nylon line), long vet gloves (field dressing), plastic bag for heart & liver, travel pack of baby wipes, digital camera & tree holding bracket, pen and notepad.

[Rustic]

2 knives, ratchet pruners, cable ties, string, orange bandanna, therma cell, stag drag, rope, therma seat, Steiner binos, camera, cell phone, field dressing gloves, butt out, and extra hat. Sometimes a folding stool.

[Keith Zimmerman]

Extra flints, patches, balls,  accessories for my flintlock, etc.

[jrbows]

Multi tool that includes knife,knife by itself, 2 flashlights,drag rope, folding saw, lighter and waterproof matches.

[randy grider]

knife,25 ft paracord,TP,gloves,headlamp,compass,face mask,bottle of water,snack,extra bowstring,pocket camera,extra batteries.

[Bernie B.]

Hunting knife, headlamp, proper licenses, "Glen's Deer Handle" for pulling a deer out, camera, Gorilla camera tri-pod, field dressing gloves, bow hauling rope, compass, toilet paper for trailing a shot deer (and other purposes), and cell phone.  Each year I think hard about "slimming down" my pack, but it never seems to get done.

Bernie Bjorklund

NC Iowa/SW Wisconsin

[Rick Butler]

Hunting knife,multi-tool, water, snack, headlamp, mag lite, 12 ft. rope, mini folding saw, latex gloves, TP, folded paper towels, compass and GPS, wind checker, trail marker tape and cell phone.

[Gray Buffalo]

Some of your haversacks must have wheels under them. How do you get all that stuff in them.  

[dino]

My possible bag is for hunting around the house so I'm never far from the truck:

Hunting Knife, headlamp, wind smoke, handwarmer packet, paper towel, bow hanger hook, pull up rope, pruner, compact bino, grunt. dino

[lablover]

Comapss, Knife, cordage, and some jerky or pemican. calls (squeaker, grunt, turkey wingbone)

[Ragnarok Forge]

Food, fire, water, shelter. Other than that it is personal choice.  Granola bars / jerky / trail mix, matches & lighter or fire steel / flint / tinder, water purification tabs, emergency foil blanket.  The last is useless for heat. It work great as a heat reflector or water proof layer in a shelter.  

I would add 550 cord or light rope, knife / broadhead sharpener. Compass and cell phone or gps if close to town,  only gps if out of cell service areas.  Everything I carry is either oriented to survival, communications for survival, a method for finding my way, or something to deal with a kill.

[alaninoz]

"Food, fire, water, shelter." Ragnarnok Forge has got it, except that I add a first aid kit. I carry enough that I can stay out overnight if I have to and survive. What that entails depends on the type of country I'm in.

Oh yeah - bathroom tissue!

[acollins]

Thanks for the info on all the items.

[DeCurry]

I use one of Theresa Asbell's haversacks, great item.

- toilet paper in a ziplock bag
- flashlight (and backup batteries)
- Mora Clipper knife
- camera
- blunt heads
- rain poncho
- pruning shears
- unwaxed dental floss (large number of uses, such as tying together a makeshift ground blind, wind detector, temporary shoe laces, etc)
- Camelbak 32 Oz water bladder (don't have to remove 32 oz water bottle from bag, drink, replace water bottle in bag [shuffling around items to make it fit and making noise] -- I just reach in, grab the 'hose', have a drink and return the hose to the bag)
- usually a couple Clif bars
- depending on how long I'm out, a sandwich or two

I recently got a Cocoon 'Grid-it!' and that thing is great at keeping all my junk organized and from settling at the bottom requiring me to rummage through everything (read: make pointless noise) when I need something.  Now, I know where I've put all the smaller items on the grid (or can reach in and feel them by hand); only the bigger items (poncho, etc) are loose.

[RkyMtn Joe]

I have a possibles bag I bought from Cabelas Many years ago.  Not sure what the material is but it is camo'ed and soft.  It has various compartments as well as some outside puches on each end of the bag.  I carry a mini-mag flashlight, a grunt tube, and a lightweight Buck folding knife in those end pouches.  Inside the bag I have a compass, strike any where matches in a small waterproof container, pruning shears, digital camera, extra bowstring and some toilet paper and handwipes.

In the pocket of my hunting vest I carry my small binoculars.  Depending on where I am hunting, I often have a canteen on my belt.  My possibles bag is very light and I try to keep it that way by not carrying anything I really don't need.  In really cold weather I may add balaclava and gloves.

[Smithhammer]

How exactly is a "possibles" bag defined? Everything you need for a normal day of hunting? Just the emergency supplies in case you spend an unplanned night out?

I don't have a specific "possibles" bag, and I can't stand haversacks while hunting. But in addition to what I normally need for whatever I'm hunting, in my pack I typically always carry:

Water treatment
Fire striker/tinder
Small 1st Aid kit
Emergency blanket
Headlamp/spare batteries
Snacks
Extra clothing layer as needed for the weather/season/location

Not to be snarky, but I'm guessing it's called a "possibles" bag for a reason - because what you carry depends on what's possible? And what's possible depends a lot on where you are, time of year, etc?