GTA
All Springer/NP/PCP Air Gun Discussion General => Hunting Gate => Topic started by: Froghunter on September 02, 2010, 11:34:52 PM
-
Mine is pictured below and what I will be using for the upcoming hunting season. The squirrel season starts the 15th of September in Delaware……Two weeks from today!
Gun Case: The gun case is a Cables padded rifle case 48” long and in Advantage Timber. One of these days I hope to build a hard case just for this gun.
Rifle: The rifle is a Diana Model 40….The same family as the Model 34. I have finished the stock in a Forest Green Textured by Rust Oleum paints. The barrel is wrapped in an ace bandage and secured with rubber bands. You will notice that the scope has blacking removed in spots. The story is that the scope was mounted on my HW-50S and I crashed the tube with the BKL scope mount. I had to sand the sides level/even to place it in the new mount. The scope is a 3-9 x 32 Golden Antelope and has done well so far with the tube being crashed. I’m can not remember the mount brand, but it has one inch rings. I purchase a small tube of goop this afternoon and need to do the lower part of the rings. The mount is turned around because of up and down scope adjustment. It’s centered in the middle of the clicks. Windage is off about 2/3 to the left of center. It has the scope stop bolt with in the mount and I’m pleased so far with it. I’m down to three pellets that shoot good at 10 yards and need to continue to shoot 20, 30, 40, and 50 yards for my plot chart. I will do this……this coming weekend. The pellets are the Beeman 8.6 grain FTS, JSB 10.2 grain Exact Heavy and the Crosman 10.5 grain Premier Heavy. I understand that the last two are heavy for the platform, but they shoot well so far and I’m planning on using the CPHs for my hunting pellet. To continue with the rifle; it is stock, but has been lube tuned. Once I get her the final zero/sighted in the turrets will be taped down with athletic tape.
Ranger Finder: Bushnell Yard Pro Sport 450 and this is the first year I will be using this system with the POI plotted chart. I’m not sure, but I’m thinking it will work on the longer distance shots 25-40 yards. I’m not feeling confident with shots over 40 yards.
Binos: Bushnell Trophy 8 x 27 good tool to have and was one of the first items I purchased.
Pruning Shears: I use these to cut the feet and head off the small game I harvest. I skin the game out first. Then dress it and use the shears to take the feet off. Works for me……. and a lot easier than braking leg bones and using a knife. Also used for cutting stuff for a hide and shooting lanes.
Pocket Knife: My is a small Case lock blade that is about worn out, but holds an edge and does the job of dressing the game.
Note Book: I’m not one who likes to take notes, but this year I’m going to try and start. I have a pencil and pen that go in the camo notebook holder. I also don’t seat my pellets in the chamber, but I have read on the forum that it can be done using a pen and I will be giving it a go to see if it works for me.
Flash Light: Mine is a small AA battery LED unit I take with me. It’s a cheap one we picked up from Auto Zone.
Gloves: They are not a matching pair?????? The left hand glove is an old leather glove I found on the ground at work. It has been cleaned up and condition with mink oil. It is lined with a brown cotton jersey glove that I also found along the road and it’s brand new. I’m glad it was a left hand glove to and it fit me. I looked for the right hand one, but didn’t fine it. The right hand glove is a black leather glove I also found in my travels. It has been cleaned and mink oiled. The index and thumb fingers have been cut and sew to keep the stitches from coming out any further. In some pictures on the hunting forum another member has his index and thumb cut out of his glove too. Homework, why do we have these two fingers cut out of our gloves?
Almost done!
Game Bags: I’m so confident that I will bring home the bacon that I have two plastic groceries bags to use for the dressed game I have harvested and will be taking home. Early part of the season I have a small cooler in the truck with ice.
Face Net and Boonie Hat: I believe in the face net and the gloves on the hands. They are going with me and I use them. They work for me and if you are not using them, give’em a try. You can use an old brown/green color t-shirt and cut eye hole to see out of.
Pack: I have a couple of different packs I use. The one in the picture is a Camel Bak pack and is small enough for my morning and evening hunts. The bladder has been taken out. I have a daily pack but don’t use it to much. It has a poncho and small blanket in it,
Hunting Clothes: For squirrel hunting I like the woodland pattern of the old Army BDU uniform. I'm retired army, so I have a couple sets of these. Camo or earth tone colors are import for success, A squirrel has shape eyes.
Some things that are not in the picture that I take are a small first aid kit, just for cuts, rubber gloves for cleaning and dressing game and the Camera so I can take pictures for the forum.
I'm hoping others will share with us what they take with them on hunts and what works for them!
Good Luck In Your Hunts!
Froghunter
(http://photos.cubfest.com/albums/userpics/10415/Air_Rifle_Kit.JPG)
-
Bill, I'd say you've pretty well got it covered. I carry a small duffle bag that holds my thermos, water bottle,lunch,SHOOTING STICK (don't leave home without it), rubber gloves, flashlight, pee jug, tree umbrella, etc.. Oh yeah and TP. During deer season I carry my sling in my bag until I need to sling my rifle to free up my hands to do the dragging. Stays in the bag 99% of the time. Also I like those thick plastic sleds that fold around the deer like a taco shell for the dragging. I can get big deer out of the woods and onto the truck by myself with this tool.
-
My Mrod with shoulder strap.
Pellets, two fully loaded 10 shot mags
Sharp pocket knife
GPS
2 one gallon Ziplock bags
Nikon SLR digital camera
Seeing this is my first full season, I guess I'll learn if I'm pack'n too light.
Not counting my back yard varmint exterminations, last season I never really saw any squirrels... got one crow though.
-
Mostly just my 850 and a tin of pellets. Sometimes I'll throw in the digital camera.
If we go to The Farm, we take the spot light, dust masks, surgical gloves, garbage bags, shovel, baby wipes, camera, snacks and bottled water. It's pretty nasty there so we're careful about what we breathe and touch.
-
One thing that I bring with me into the field (even for target shooting or plinking) is a little tool kit. screw driver with torx bits, hexes for scope and trigger, and my swiss army knife (the long one with just long blade, cork screw, can opener, screw driver, small tools--in addition to the obvious, it's great for making a nice sandwich on good bread, and I can pop a bottle of wine at the end of the day. Yes, I'm a hedonist. Sue me.)
Otherwise, these are really useful ideas.
The ones that never crossed my mind are: Flashlight (duh!), pruning shears (BRILLIANT!), and mask and gloves (duh! I am still in "summer mode" but I should have remembered that game often picks up our face and the quick movements of our light -- for me anyway-- hands).
Really smart, and useful guys.
M
-
I have a Realtree waist pack from Wal-Mart with removable pouches that I wear over my cammo. When I hunt on land I am not 100% familiar with I usually take the following. Yes, now that you ask, I WAS a Boy Scout! :-)
-Basic First Aid Kit (band-aids, gauze, tape, Sucrets, aspirin, Tylenol)
-Small Survival Kit (mirror, compass/whistle combo, pencil, paracord, fishing line/hooks/flies, candle, cotton balls, matches, lighter)
-Multi Tool
-Compact Binocs
-Folding dual blade knife
-2 or 3 gallon size freezer bags
-Ammo
-Water Bottle (Gatoraide or Water depending on)
I also take my range box in my trunk that has everything I need to do repairs, spare ammo, etc
-
Well, here is my "bug out" pack. Enough stuff for a week in the woods when it is cold and wet, but my basic hunting gear is just a fanny pack with some water, an apple, maybe some PB crackers, my pocket camera, and a few dog treats if I take a friend.
If I feel the need for a night or two in the woods, I grab the full pack. Lots of obvious stuff in there. Here are a few you might not have thunk of:
Keep an extra 30gal garbage bag handy. If it is really raining, stick your whole pack and your rifle in it and they will stay dry.
I keep a few tea candles and a butane lighter in the tube of the last third of a roll of TP and keep the whole thing in a zip lock baggie. TP always come in handy, and it can be used for dry tinder if needed. While I might be able to start a campfire in damp conditions, having a tea candle to use to start a campfire is a great help and doesn't cost much extra weight.
I use my reflective blanket as a wind break and heat reflector for my small alcohol stove. Fold it into a 6' length 10" or 12" high, curl it into a tight loop, and it makes cooking in windy conditions much easier. You can do the same for starting a campfire if you need to, but obviously, you move the reflective blanket as soon as you get a small fire going. If you hang the reflector behind you when you sit by a small camp fire, it breaks the wind and keeps you a lot warmer, too.
12" long plastic cable ties are sometimes just as useful as paracord. You can tie things off quickly and securely without having to cut paracord or tie (untie) knots in wet conditions. If you have a small nylon rip-stop tarp with metal grommets, with two saplings the right distance apart and two cable ties, it takes less than a minute to make a serviceable lean-to or pup tent. If I need something stronger, I loop the 50' lenght of paracord around two trees several times (don't need to cut it), tie it off, and put the tarp over that. The cord is also stout enough to hang heavier gear from if needed.
In the woods, the hardest foodstuff to come up with is dietary fat. If you pack a small jar of peanut butter, it can keep you going for several days. I keep dry oatmeal, grits, coffee, and hot chocolate in zip locks. With a metal cup and an a small alcohol stove, I can have a warm meal or hot drink in about 5 or 10 minutes. Really nice when it is cold and wet.
I use a 20 ml syringe with an 18 ga. needle to pull up exactly the right amount of alcohol fuel to boil one cup of water without spilling a drop or wasting any excess alcohol fuel. Squirt 20 ml into the small alcohol burner and when it goes out, your are ready to eat/drink, and the stove can be put away dry, as soon as it cools.
Remember to pack a zip lock bag of milkbones and dog treats if you take a friend in the woods with you.
If you haven't discovered these yet, I think the Hennessy Hammocks are one of the all around best pieces of outdoor camping equipment I have ever owned. At 6'4" / 250#, the Explorer Deluxe is very comfortable to me. It keeps you off the ground and dry. It only takes a couple of minutes to set up and take down. Much MUCH better than a 1 or 2-man tent.
http://hennessyhammock.com/catalogue.html (http://hennessyhammock.com/catalogue.html)
Stuff:
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn270/tcups/Stuff-1.jpg)
Packed away:
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn270/tcups/Packedup.jpg)
She knows there out there . . .
(http://i306.photobucket.com/albums/nn270/tcups/Iknowthereoutther.jpg)
-
very nice set up froghunter mine looks very similar i don't see your gutting blade or knife , good looking gun you have Tcups your rolling large also very sweet doggie perfect German sheppard my man
-
Lol, you guys carry a LOT of stuff! I thought I carried a lot when I go coyote hunting! For the air guns I mostly just take pellets, my shooting sticks, and a canteen. I don't go so far from the car that I'm not really worried about anything else.
The only thing that I carry a LOT more than I used to is a nice shooting cushion. I bought mine during turkey season and it makes it a LOT easier to sit still for a long time. It has a backrest on it and an inflatable bottom! I think it is from Hunters Specialities, but I'm not sure.
-
it depends on what/where i'm going. if i am deer hunting, i'm a spot and stalker, so i will typically take more. pruners are a must, my buck knife is a must, i have a small fannie pack type camo deal from basspro that i stuff with the following
ammo
calls
knife
leatherman multi tool
leatherman bits (small bit kit with 30 different bitts)
GPS unit
topo maps of area
mesh camo gloves during warm season, fold back hunting mittens during cold
emergency foil blanket
550 paracord (almost invaluble in the field)
i also carry a camelback hydration bladder with me almost everywhere i go with 3 litres of water. i will typically leave 3 gallons of drinking water in my truck as well as a sleeping bag rolled up, and a dry change of clothes. if i fear of the weather, i have a full milspec Gortex ABU Camo suit, that i keep in the truck as well. i drive a full size k5 blazer so i pack the snot out of it for hunts.
-
Rambos!!! The lot of you thats about all i can say, I thought i was bad. Thanks David
-
What? No coffee? No MREs, No sandwiches? You guys are hardcore.
Bogey.
-
Pics of what I listed above. First pic is the waist pack. Second pic is what's in it at this moment. Tomorrow is first day of squirrel so my load is a bit different for each season.
2nd pic list from left to right: Water bottle, 13 rounds of .20 number 6 shot, 3 clips (7 shot) of .22 rimfire, Nocs, White Crossman box has .22 Gamo Magnums, Black Jerky has .22 CP boxed, below that is multi tool, carabeener, compass/whistle/thermometer combo, plastic bag with candle-paracord-waxed string-twine, first aid kit, dual knife and underneath the pellets are my two freezer bags.
Sorry about the crappy cell pics.
-
Man I feel like a nugget now. All I take is a pill bottle full of pellets, apex and allen wrenches, walmart sacks and my pocket knife. I hose down with bug juice before I walk to the swamp. Everything but the gun fits in my pockets. nice light and stream lined incase I have to run from a wild rabid animal or my wife when she catches me sneaking back in the house.
-
Man I feel like a nugget now. All I take is a pill bottle full of pellets, apex and allen wrenches, walmart sacks and my pocket knife. I hose down with bug juice before I walk to the swamp. Everything but the gun fits in my pockets. nice light and stream lined incase I have to run from a wild rabid animal or my wife when she catches me sneaking back in the house.
Can sure understand that, onebaddj -- hunting in the swamp is really a different experience. Did some of it in Southeast MO (aka Swampeast MO) back in the day. I would add to the minimalist "swamp" kit a compass, though, because in my experience, it is darned easy to get turned around and lost in a swamp.
-
No need to feel that way. I just prepare like I am not coming back soon. It doesn't weigh alot (around 5lbs) and it would help if anything bad happens. I just like to be prepared, that's all! :-) But I am not prepared as some!
-
Rambo here --
Yes, I do the minimal gear thing with a fanny pack most of the time, but I must say that there is something comforting to all of us Rambo types about a backpack you can grab and go, and know what's in it is all you will need for the next few days in a worst case scenario. And the sliver of mountains in Western NC where I have a place and do almost all of my hunting is in one of the few remaining temperate rain forests anywhere. It gets about 80 inches of rain annually. So it is important to think about staying warm and dry.
-
Well, I am usually hunting places that I know so I don't carry much.
Woodland Camo BDU's, game vest, ammo, camelback HAWG, cliff bars, pocket knife, 1911 with 2 exta mags, oh yea and a rifle/shotgun.
-
I'll keep it simple and use the Blake Shelton and Trace Adkins line.
An F150 & a 30-06...
The F150 holds a bit more than a backpack ! although that Badlands pack is mighty fine TCups.
-
Wow you guys carry a lot of stuff. I like to "travel light" for small-game, and I am usually back before lunch time, but I like wear camo jackets with a LOT of pockets, so I just throw stuff in there. I still need to get a good game bag if and when I start hitting the woods more regularly. I prefer to be as quiet as possible going through the woods, so I was always a firm believer that the less you carry on your person, the more stealthy you will be.
-
Thanks for the replies! I added TP, need to build a set of shooting sticks and sharpen the pocket knife and clean up the pruning shears. Four days before squirrel season starts.
Froghunter
-
I usually carry alot more than needed but i also enjoy,firing up my alcohol stove and brewing a cup of coffee or a meal ,just too relax and enjoy the hunting experiance. ;D ;D
-
I haven't been on any extened hunting trips, just been luck enough to be able to hunt family land. I will make a list similar to some of your to one day do a multi-day trip. Lot of good ideas here. 1 thing though to you do your entended with powder or air or both?
-
if i'm going extended, i take an arsenal. of course, i don't leave home without my .45 acp strapped to my hip... weather i'm hunting nutters in the woods, or video games at walmart, i'm always armed.
-
Your not alone in the .45. I believe that more people are CC now than before.