What do your carry in your pack?

[MarkL]

Fairly new to the world of stalking, just wondering
What do you class as essential items in your stalking backpack?
Knives, small knife sharpener, disposable gloves
Spare batteries for thermal etc.
Small 1st aid kit.
Head torch
Spare rounds.
What you carry will depend on where you are going? Local farmland different to solo in highlands etc

 

[HarryG]

I don’t carry a pack, I just get it all in my pockets including trouser map pockets and the pocket in the back of my bino harness. All of the items on your list above, except thermal spare batteries, knife sharpener and 1st aid kit. My thermal has amazing battery life. I also carry string for a suspended gralloch, 2x S hooks, a drag rope, tissue for drying lenses, ear defence, wet wipes, Spartan bipod, and chest saw. I only take a head torch for evening stalks. I’m shooting roe in the lowlands.

 

[Jh1986]

I use the little bladder pack on the back of my chest harness.

Up front I have:

• Thermal
• Wind indicator (talc)
• Knife

In the pack I have:

• IFAK
• Thermal batteries
• Pull through boresnake
• Gralloch gloves and sleeves
• Cable ties for gralloch
• Torch and spare battery (as torch will also charge my phone)

My ground is small enough that I just leave the drag sled in the truck and pop back if I get lucky. Also spare rounds, as it's no hardship to nip back and fetch them. I also have a spare of my entire pack kit in the truck, in a snugpak ready to go (traditional bins instead of thermal ones though).

 

[Rake Aboot]

As little as I can get away with

 

[Jagged77]

No pack but use a Eberlestock chest rig with side and bottom pouches. I can end up a good distance from my car so in addition to the usual (thermal, binos, spare batteries, small 1st aid, ammo) I also bring a roe sack with suspended gralloching kit in a small separate shoulder bag. I have got a bladder pouch for the back of the chest harness but it interferes with the rifle as I use a biathalon sling.

 

[wytonpjs]

Other thread running:

Post in thread 'Basic stalking kit'

Mar 13, 2025

Please find attached 2 lists from years ago when I started stalking. One list for on the person/roe sack, the other for the vehicle. Be careful you don't end up with the "kitchen sink" - you can stalk with just a knife (as well as your rifle, binos, etc) and some will argue that you don't even need the knife! But is it safe an appropriate for the terrain and conditions over which you will stalk. Especially whilst you are learning, some of the items on the list will be useful but as you evolve as a stalker, so will your kit and how you carry it. For example, on my binos harness now I...

• wytonpjs

• 

 

[Tim.243]

Fairly new to the world of stalking, just wondering
What do you class as essential items in your stalking backpack?
Knives, small knife sharpener, disposable gloves
Spare batteries for thermal etc.
Small 1st aid kit.
Head torch
Spare rounds.
What you carry will depend on where you are going? Local farmland different to solo in highlands etc

Don't use a back pack and solo most of the time, what ever I/you shoot has to come back to the truck/car
TBH the bigger picture is not nick knacks but how you get your quarry back also how you deal with it post shooting it!
As an example 1 field is 550mts back to the truck with an up hill gradient as I not only measured shot deer from there and dragged them back to the truck!
I have my own method of extracting deer for my ground but they still don't weigh any less!
As an example a dressed weight 55kg Fallow buck will be in the v high 60's live weight with a set of antlers wanting to dig in the ground so make sure you have a plan as you never know what steps out.
To answer your question.
Last night I was expecting to see muntjac but saw 5/6 fallow (over the boundary) nothing shot.
4 rounds in the rifle
knife/Para cord drag rope in my poachers coat pocket
2 cr123's for the n/v
Sticks
xq38 around my neck.
Phone.
The rest in the truck

 

[VSS]

When I started stalking I carried all the things I thought I would need.
Now I only carry the things I actually need.
There's a big difference.

 

[Greenmist]

When I started stalking I carried all the things I thought I would need.
Now I only carry the things I actually need.
There's a big difference.

Like a first aid kit (too soon )

 

[VSS]

Like a first aid kit (too soon )

Ha ha! I always have a small first aid kit in my pack, but on the occasion to which you allude it was somewhat overwhelmed. Plus I found it rather difficult to utilise items from the kit using only one hand.

 

[Tim.243]

Ha ha! I always have a small first aid kit in my pack, but on the occasion to which you allude it was somewhat overwhelmed. Plus I found it rather difficult to utilise items from the kit using only one hand.

This is it Tim! A first aid course I attended the chap running it had a scenario where people gloved up then he pored red fairy liquid on both hands to simulate dealing with a lot of blood. Then asked them to undo a pressure bandage kit! as blood is v slippery.

 

[Rutland lad]

My answer to the OP’s original question is -

On occasion too much

On other occasions not enough !

It’s an ongoing quest to reduce the ‘nice to haves’ in the bag to ‘need to haves’

Not helped by different stalking grounds.

 

[kenbro]

This is it Tim! A first aid course I attended the chap running it had a scenario where people gloved up then he pored red fairy liquid on both hands to simulate dealing with a lot of blood. Then asked them to undo a pressure bandage kit! as blood is v slippery.

Seem to remember you cheated somewhat, Tim?
Ken.

 

[Terrydeer]

Not mine but it seems to have everything and then you know you have all that you need

 

[wytonpjs]

Not mine but it seems to have everything and then you know you have all that you need

Bet he’s military

 

[Terrydeer]

Bet he’s military oh he could be

 

[cooksey]

Knife, thermal, bullets, a bit of water, a mars bar, phone and something to drag a deer. Less is better I don't understand the obsession with carrying lots! People spend large amounts of time and money making the rifle set up fairly light so it's easy to carry then carry 5kgs of extra crap!

 

[VSS]

Knife, thermal, bullets, a bit of water, a mars bar, phone and something to drag a deer. Less is better I don't understand the obsession with carrying lots! People spend large amounts of time and money making the rifle set up fairly light so it's easy to carry then carry 5kgs of extra crap!

That's why they want a light rifle set up.

 

[biffo]

Toilet paper and hand sanitizer

 

[TringSaint]

In my pack it’s nitrile gloves, first aid kit, buttolo squeaker, food grade bags in case of a badly shot deer the needs to be broken down in the field and that is it.
Phone, ammo, knife are all on my person.
Having spent a lot of time in the alps doing fast ascents of big peaks you learn to pack light!!