By Mark Kenyon
Yesterday I posted a breakdown of money-saving tips for out-of-state deer hunting trips, citing my experiences over recent years taking DIY hunt/camp trips to places like Montana and Iowa. And since posting that article, I’ve gotten a number of follow-up questions specifically about the gear I used on those adventures.
That said, today I thought I’d share a list of all of the gear I used for my most recent trip, last September in Montana. Below you’ll see all of the gear I used to camp out and hunt public land for whitetails in Big Sky country for a week (much of which is also the same gear I use throughout the rest of the year). Take note, it took me many years to be able to afford and acquire all of this and I don’t claim that everyone else will want/need the exact same things. This is just what has worked for me.
Camping:
- REI Half Dome 2 Plus tent
- North Face Cat’s Meow 20 degree sleeping bag
- REI Flash inflatable sleeping pad
- Black Diamond Orbit lantern
- MSR Pocket Rocket backpacking stove
- GSI Halulite Minimalist cookset
- Black Diamond Spot headlamp
- GSI 2.6 gallon water cube
- Yakima SkyBox 16 Carbonite Cargo Roof Box
- Yeti Tundra 75 cooler
- Yeti Hopper Flip 12 cooler
- Leer truck cap (which I added to my truck in order to camp out of it)
- Goal Zero Yeti 150 solar generator
- 9″ Rinehart Field Target
Hunting
- Bear Archery Arena 34 bow
- Trufire Hurricane release
- Trophy Ridge React Pro sight
- Trophy Ridge HX drop away rest
- Trophy Ridge 9″ static stabilizer
- Maven B1 10×42 binoculars
- Lone Wolf Assault hang-stands (2)
- Lone Wolf climbing sticks
- Muddy Outdoors climbing sticks
- Bushnell range finder (older model)
- Ozonics HR 300 and extra XL battery
- Primos Buck Roar grunt tube
- Hunterra aerial/topo maps
- Carbon Express Maxima Red arrows
- Muzzy Trocar or Rage Hypodermic broadheads
- Wicked Tough hand saw
- Wicked Ultra Light pole saw
- Nose Jammer
- Hunter’s Specialities Scent Away spray and wipes
- Magnum game sled
- Gorilla G-Tac Air safety harness
Clothing (for early to mid-season trip):