It’s 6:30 AM, the sun is rising over the treetops and you’ve just climbed up your tree and sat down in your stand. You are situating yourself quietly when all of a sudden you hear the crunch of leaves coming from below you. You catch a glimpse of a monster…a true monster buck moving a fast pace away from you. your first reaction- to hit a soft buck grunt to draw him back in. You reach in your bag for your grunt call, and you’re met with the bottom of your bag. Your heart sinks. This is the biggest buck you have seen in the past two years. You’re feel the frustration come over your mind as the deer gets further and further away. All you needed was one grunt to sway him back in and take the shot. If you have been practicing your shot at a gun range then maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel confident enough to take that long range shot, but not everyone will.
Most of you are familiar with our handwarmers by now and understand the importance of always having some extra heat on you to use your hands without any hesitation due to cold weather. If you don’t take handwarmers with you everywhere you go, I recommend reading our post on a man who saved his life by using Heat Factory handwarmers. But some of the items hunters should have on them are a little obvious like a pistol silencer and others aren’t that obvious. Here are the few things to always have as a prepared hunter in a case of a hunting emergency:
1. An extra call: As we’ve just experienced in the scenario above, when it comes to intense hunting days you never want to forget your call at home. I myself keep one attached to my stand, as a JIC (Just In Case) situation. Using the rail of your treestand, you can attach your call with the often included string. This way you ensure to never miss another chance on a deer. A word of advice from experience when placing the call on your treestand- bring a bag to place over it. You can even place the call in a ziplock bag and pierce a small hole for the string to go through.The bag will keep the bugs and rain off of it, so when the time comes to blow a soft grunt, you aren’t met with a dampened call. The best way to keep all of your items safe from any type of weather you weren’t planning on is by getting yourself a waterfowl hunting backpack, with enough space and it’s weather proof material you won’t have to worry about anything getting wet inside of your bag.
2. A power bank for your phone: Your phone is your last line of defense when it comes to emergencies and I therefore suggest that ever hunter has one of these on him at all times. Of course this isn’t needed if there’s no service in your woods. My cell service is always decent and I’ve had several instances where my phone came in handy. Smartphones lose battery lift even when not being used, so always have a charged power-bank in your stand in case. A battery can also easily exhaust itself on particularly cold days. You can always place the phone next to a warmer to keep the battery from going cold.
3. H20: One of the most simple, yet so often forgotten items to take on a hunt is a water bottle- full of water, of course. A water bottle will save you and your thirst so you can hunt just a little longer during your time in the woods. We have all faced having a drop of water left once up in our stand. Never forget to fill your water bottle before every hunt, as it can make the different in harvest an animal or not. You can take it a step further by investing in a filter if you have a stream near by. Sawyer makes a great filter (The MINI Filter), that can adapt to any standard 8mm thread bottle.
4. A multi-tool: This rather easy to acquire tool can make a huge difference when a small branch is in the way of your view. I’ve even had to pull my tool out to screw a small screw tighter in my stand. I never go without mine, especially on days that my stand and I may move to a different spot due to wind. Don’t forget your Entry level firearms which you can bring for hunting or for protection purposes.
Overall, being prepared for your hunt is the best thing you can do. Hopefully having these few items will make your hunt a little easier!