- Joined
- Oct 10, 2018
- Messages
- 1,377
I could par down my gear to bare essentials, in essence my saddle, ROS and stick and easily slip under the 10lb ultra-light threshold that some get so excited about. But what is the goal, impress peeps on the interweb with a svelte loadout? This is as ridiculous as bragging how fast your arrow flies.
I don't see the purpose of concerning oneself about pack weight (within reason). Unless I'm hunting at my house, my walks are at least a mile in that mostly consist of hilly to mountainous terrain. Not carrying my pack and spare gear increases the chance my hunt will be cut short for an unexpected event. ROS strap buckle breaks, I'm screwed. Release breaks or I somehow lose it, hunt is over. A tree limb too big to snap by hand obstructing a shooting lane or interfering with my bow limbs on the draw (been there) and I don't have my Silky, frustrating and distracting.
What happens when I do put an arrow through game? Now what? How am I getting it out? No chance of me dragging it out myself without a sled or cart. So I've got to pack it out...oh wait, I left my pack and game bags in the truck. Guess I'll warm up the field dressing muscles with a trip to the truck Now what if I make this shot at last light? I'm operating in the dark. I've got to pray I don't kill myself onesticking down the tree. Much safer rappelling but rope is excess weight so I left it in the truck too. Let's say I snuck my headlamp in my pocket without the weight watcher weenies knowing. (It's not considered a weight penalty because it wasn't in a backpack. ) Search for an hour and headlamp battery dies. I'm turned around and phone died hours ago when I was in tree passing time on SaddleHunter. I didn't have my aux battery pack to keep electronics charged because it was too heavy to carry. Now I'm in the s**t. Can't call for help, can't see in the dark, no spare batteries or emergency kit, no water etc...Well, at least I didn't carry too much weight...
What started out innocently as a weight reducing endeavor evolved into a serious situation. Does that stuff ever happen? Yes. Should we learn from it, absolutely. You want to hunt for a few hours early in the day with minimal gear, go for it. When I go out I have it in my head that I'm not coming out till dark. If I bail out early or am blessed with a kill early, great. But I don't want to get caught out there unprepared because I originally planned to hunt just a couple of hours and instead stayed late. I also don't want to be forced to bail out because I didn't carry key spare items like extra batteries, release, ocb strap etc.
I'm in the "It's better to have and not need than to need and not have" camp. Hunting time is precious and I don't want to waste a minute of it. Humping an "extra" 10 or 15lbs is worth the peace of mind to me. There is no right or wrong weight to carry. Don't put yourself in harms way trying to impress others. Your safety should be your priority, not a scale reading.
I don't see the purpose of concerning oneself about pack weight (within reason). Unless I'm hunting at my house, my walks are at least a mile in that mostly consist of hilly to mountainous terrain. Not carrying my pack and spare gear increases the chance my hunt will be cut short for an unexpected event. ROS strap buckle breaks, I'm screwed. Release breaks or I somehow lose it, hunt is over. A tree limb too big to snap by hand obstructing a shooting lane or interfering with my bow limbs on the draw (been there) and I don't have my Silky, frustrating and distracting.
What happens when I do put an arrow through game? Now what? How am I getting it out? No chance of me dragging it out myself without a sled or cart. So I've got to pack it out...oh wait, I left my pack and game bags in the truck. Guess I'll warm up the field dressing muscles with a trip to the truck Now what if I make this shot at last light? I'm operating in the dark. I've got to pray I don't kill myself onesticking down the tree. Much safer rappelling but rope is excess weight so I left it in the truck too. Let's say I snuck my headlamp in my pocket without the weight watcher weenies knowing. (It's not considered a weight penalty because it wasn't in a backpack. ) Search for an hour and headlamp battery dies. I'm turned around and phone died hours ago when I was in tree passing time on SaddleHunter. I didn't have my aux battery pack to keep electronics charged because it was too heavy to carry. Now I'm in the s**t. Can't call for help, can't see in the dark, no spare batteries or emergency kit, no water etc...Well, at least I didn't carry too much weight...
What started out innocently as a weight reducing endeavor evolved into a serious situation. Does that stuff ever happen? Yes. Should we learn from it, absolutely. You want to hunt for a few hours early in the day with minimal gear, go for it. When I go out I have it in my head that I'm not coming out till dark. If I bail out early or am blessed with a kill early, great. But I don't want to get caught out there unprepared because I originally planned to hunt just a couple of hours and instead stayed late. I also don't want to be forced to bail out because I didn't carry key spare items like extra batteries, release, ocb strap etc.
I'm in the "It's better to have and not need than to need and not have" camp. Hunting time is precious and I don't want to waste a minute of it. Humping an "extra" 10 or 15lbs is worth the peace of mind to me. There is no right or wrong weight to carry. Don't put yourself in harms way trying to impress others. Your safety should be your priority, not a scale reading.
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