I bring pretty much what you bring plus two 15lbs kettlebells so a total of 30 extra lbs. I like to work out when im hunting so it's worth it to me.

 

Poser pos.^

 

How much weight will you be dealing with if you shoot a deer 5 miles from the truck?

 

5 miles is a long ways in the woods, and lugging 40-50lbs is no joke. I'd say go for a few 5mi test hikes with a 40lb pack and see how you do. Doing it is the only way you'll know for sure. Better to find out now than on an actual hunt.

 

I might be able to help but am not real familiar with Maryland topography. You are carrying a lot of weight for even a 1/2 mile walk in relatively flat conditions. I was at about 35lbs last year and have worked real hard to get closer to 20. The idea is to arrive at your tree without a layer of sweat because the next thing you are going to do is hang your stand and climb on. Both are strenuous activities. Both need to be as simple and stress free as possible to avoid sweat. Keep it as light as possible and as simple as possible.

 

I pack in with about 35 to 40lbs and it takes me about an hour to go around 1 mile , 5 miles is a looong ways! If you really are going 5 miles I would stash my stand and pack closer to where you're going.

 

wow here in oh. you can't go over 1 mi. without crossing a road......5 mi.? tell me again how good that deer taste!

 

I never cared much when I was young but these days yes I'm trying to be as light as I reasonably can. I have it down to a sub 25lb pack. I have everything I need for a day hunt in there. A saddle, steps, Solo Scout platform, tethers and linemans, extra coat, knives, gps, compass, water, ect, ect.. I even have a small packable stool in there if I need to hunt from the ground. With my pack it weighs 24.8lbs plus I'm hunting with a longbow that weighs 2.4lbs with quiver full of arrows on it, I just can't see getting much lighter myself. Just as important as weigh I also have it into a pretty small profile, 10"w x 25"h x 8" d :wink: It all fits inside my body profile so there is no snagging of branches and such. I can walk all day with this set up

 

If you are walking 5mi into the woods, would you consider packing some gear into your spot and either concealing it or locking it to a tree a day or so prior ( maybe the afternoon or evening prior to your hunt)?

 

I don’t think people realize how far 5 miles is in the woods, most of the day will be used up walking and that’s not even considering if you shoot a deer. I try hard to keep it under 30lbs, that seems to be my tipping point. Keep in mind that carrying heavy weight is compressing your spine and very hard on your joints, so it is wise to keep your poundage as low as possible.

 

I took my kid 5 miles on a round trip last summer with zero weight. He was convinced at mile 3 he was dying.

5 miles even round trip is a HAUL. If you can go max speed youre looking at 4mph so lets say it knocks you down to 2 with the weight. Walking 2.5 hours one way...

The getting one out is what bothers me, even quartered. A big buck even quartered is a lot in a single load. Now if you have to do two... ten miles of just packing meat.

 

I guess I should of been clearer. 5 miles is the round trip. I scouted the stand location i wanted to be at. And my gps said from car to tree and back was 5 miles. I did it with a 25 lbs pack without stand or bow. But this was summer in and I trying to ranger it. Next year I might try saddle but im commitment to the lone wolf climbing that i promise my wife was going to be last treestand i buy.... think my max with be 35 lbs. Water might be the heaviest thing in my pack. So what do you all perfer? A strong canister like Yeti that you uses every time or disposal bottles that doesnt add weights? I usually go water bottles but im concerns about the plastic making too much noise.

 

The LW climber is a great choice, if you can do a hand climber that would be even better. I take water bottles in both for convenience and safety.

 

real men pack in 100....:wink:

 

walking 5 miles to hunt a deer sounds horrible.

 

Here in the Northeast where we track deer on snow, it is not uncommon to go 10-15 miles in a day.

 

After several years of hunting WAY back in the public I have found my load out is like this. If you can survive 10 hours without it, don't pack it. I pack one bottle of water to drink going in and carry a lifestraw to refill it. I peanut butter sandwich and some crackers and maybe peanuts. Its not a 10 day back country hunt so you don't need much. Water, food and maybe a pair of clean dry socks to change into once you get there. Everything from my stand to the accessories on my bow are as light as I can get them. Think not how heavy you can stand it, but more a long the lines of how light can I get it. The older you get the lighter and lighter you will find you make your pack.

 

Drop all the useless crap. Here is a video that might help.

https://youtu.be/Pv3h1y5xWWw

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If I were going that far I’d probably throw everything on a deer cart and push/pull it to about 1/2 mile or less from your location. That weight wouldn’t be much for walking that distance.


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What you find necessary for a hunt will not be the same as the next man. There are many variables from one hunter to the next. One man might be able to carry 50lbs comfortably for miles and the next might not be able to walk 50yds under the same load. If you can make it, take it.

 

5 miles isn’t terrible. Packing a stand it is. I hunt a spot once in a while that’s 5 miles to it and I pack the stands in during the summer and pack them out at the end of the year. A boned out deer isn’t too much weight either, super doable alone and a decent pack makes it less annoying. No reason to pack out bones.
Day pack weight I’d aim for like 20# ish. All I really carry other than food and water is knife, tags, game bags, tape and a gps.


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The best way to figure this out is to pack it all up and hit the trail on a practice run, it won't take long for you to decide what is necessary.

 

5mi round trip is easily doable. if you are going to hunt the same spot or close to it lock the stand to a tree and mark the gps location. less setup when you get back to the tree the next time.

 

Unless I was planning on being in there over night I would take a stand a bow and limit myself to the items that I just had to have water and filter, first aid kit, lil bit of food and maybe some toilet paper and call it good but I travel light for the most part anyway

 

You get 1000 different answers and none are correct. I hate to drag in a bunch of stuff I don't need for a day hunt personally. I have a fanny pack in the front so my stand lays flat, I use a really light easy to pack climber and I put my jacket on it many times like in this pick so I don't get hot going in.

Also (this was before it was illegal) I could put my scents in the fanny pack and get to them easy.

 

I have a Game Plan fanny pack with shoulder straps that is pretty much loaded with everything I have needed over 40+ years of bowhunting.....it is pretty stout. I also have a Summit Viper SI climber with a Summit bag to hold my RC harness/Qsafe and such, plus a few key items such as a headlamp, TP, knife and field dressing kit. If I shoot a deer, I figure it is going to take me two trips back and forth....one returning with my climber and the other with the animal. This winter I read a lot of AT threads on the "bow and go" system and came up with a pretty workable system....a Millennium M7 microlite stand, 3 Hawk Helium rope mod sticks and a small kids camo backpack to contain the same necessary stuff as my Summit climber. I weighed my Millennium setup and it comes out about 22# total. So wearing my RC harness and carrying my bow/quiver, I have a pretty manageable setup for an impromptu hunt from the air.

Frankly, you will determine what is "necessary" by how much weight you can comfortably haul. If it is too heavy, then go through everything and follow Hawkdriver's sage advice.....if you don't need it that day, leave it in the vehicle. There are times I wish I had my Hooyman telescoping saw for a particular annoying branch, but I don't haul that saw in and out every time for those instances.

 

"Aint nuttin to it but to do it..." pack all your stuff up and go for a hike. It's the only true way you'll know if it's too much for you. Your limits are far different than another mans. Knowing them is the key. But I think you could do it! Especially if theres water back there you could bring a filter and re-up instead of pack the weight.

 

I have killed alot of big deer over the last 35 years packing my bow and maybe a grunt tube or rattling horns. Very seldom take a fanny pack unless I anticipate having to trim some limbs. Less is better. The more you take the more noise you make.

 

IMO that depends on how you hunt. I totally agree if you are going to a predetermined location. But I hunt in new places all the time so the fanny pack lets me take in what I need to setup a new location and then hunt it another day or even tweak the stand for the same day. Many times all that stands between that is a couple 1 inch limbs that are easily removed with a saw or racket cutters. I have even done that midday and hunted that stand that successfully that same night.

That way you go there once and hunt it.........not make several trips in & out. For "me" no right or wrong here I would rather carry in a 5 pound fanny pack and have options. 25 pound back pack......no frickin way.......but no toilet paper (for me & tracking), rangefinder, light, extra release, knife, or saw & racket cutters, ect no way....I want that stuff for what little weight it adds.....lol