When you are out on a hunting trip, you will rely on what you have carried to hunt, including your ammunition (see here) and the proper hunting gun, you will need to treat the meat, and survive the length of the trip. Because of this, you need to be prepared by ensuring you have all the necessary and essential hunting gear with you. While it is true that different trips will require slightly different gear, there are a few items you should always have with you, such as the best 2 way radios, shotgun and shots and camo gear. However, there are some other essential accessories that we are going to be looking at below.
Water Purification System
A hunter should never embark on a hunting trip without knowing how they will get safe, clean drinking water. While you might decide to carry all the water you might need with you, that will only make your load heavier. This is why a lot of hunters choose to carry a water purification system. In many cases, this system only has a UV filter and iodine tablets, but both of these are enough to get water that is clean enough.
Navigation System
Although every hunter wants to get home after a hunting trip, thousands of people are lost in the woods and mountains every year. It is essential that you not only know where you are going but where you are at all times as well.
Since a lot of people do not know how to use a paper map and compass to navigate, hunting GPS units have now become the norm. These make it easier to navigate no matter where you may be in the woods. It is also a good idea to get one that allows you to save offline maps. This way, you can still navigate even when you are in an area that does not have a strong cellular signal.
Knife
Every hunter should have a knife. It can be a folding, multipurpose or fixed blade knife. For large game, you might also need a cleaver like this 7″ Tactical Hunting Wide Blade Cleaver from Blade-City.com. From cleaning game, to notching hunting tags, or cutting rope, a knife is one of the most important accessories you can carry with you.
Some hunters are also opting to carry knives that have replaceable blades. These knives are very sharp and light, do not need sharpening, and are getting cheaper.
Scope
While you may have brought the best gun money can buy and perhaps you consider yourself a sharp shot as well, the majority of hunters definitely benefit by adding a rifle scope to their gun accessories. There are a vast variety of scopes available on the market suitable for first-time amateurs as well as professional hunters. Luckily there are sites out there that will help you find the right one for you, such as this one which has a page comparing mrad vs moa.
Not only will a scope help me make a clean kill, but they are also great for helping you spot animals and informing you the distance between them and you.
First Aid Kit
A first aid kit is a must especially when you are going into unknown terrain. Whether you get a blister or a cut, it is important to get first aid as quickly as possible so what things do not get worse before you have a chance to access a hospital.
To reduce weight, you can try to only have essential items in your first aid kit. These include small, medium, and large band-aids, hand sanitizer, anti-itch cream, antibacterial cream, and your choice of bandages.
Conclusion
Being prepared is an important part of going on a hunting trip. When getting prepared, ensure that you pack all the essential items you need with you — such as a Leica rangefinder. These are items that will make the hunt, processing the meat, as well as being on the trip as easy and comfortable as possible.