Need Suggestions for hunting equipment

[James Stella]

Ok I need some suggestions for those who have been muzzleloader hunting for a while. A lot of the hunting I do is in wilderness area where I have to carry everything I need with me either in a pack or on horse. When I hunted with a modern rifle I just carried 9 rounds and my rifle. This would be for say 3-5 days.

The muzzleloader seems a bit more complicated. What do you carry with you if you are not near your truck and how many shots (ball, powder, primer) do you carry?

I guess I am talking about cleaning gear extra ram rod etc. I don’t know what I don’t know here.

Thank You

 

[Black Hand]

I would take my gun, horn and gun bag:
The bag contains
30 balls
greased patching
cleaning supplies (cloth/tow worm/ball-screw)
screwdriver
folding knife
compass
license

Not much else is really necessary for a 3-5 day hunt.

Then again, this is what I carry for a trek, a day-hunt, and pretty much any time I step into the woods..

 

[Robert Egler]

1) shooting bag (priming flask, cleaning jag and patches, 10 roundballs, lube, shot flask, paper shot cups (smoothbore allows you a choice of what to use), powder and shot measures, vent pick.)

2) Powder horn.

3) pack with general outdoor gear I carry anytime I'm in the woods.

4) fixed blade knife

5) folding knife

6) belt ax (small hatchet)

7) sidearm and 12 extra rounds (modern or cap and ball, depending on what I feel like)

8) canteen

 

[pab1]

I have done a lot of backpack/bivy hunting in wilderness areas. If you have a horse, weight is not as much of an issue. I was never that fortunate. If you're packing it on your back, weights a huge issue. While hunting I usually carry 4 speedloaders with premeasured powder charge in one end and a ball/patch in the other end. I also carry a few cleaning patches, jag, ball puller and worm attachment with me. I also carry a few pre-greased cleaning patches. A couple extra flints or capper with 10+ caps depending on what you are hunting with. I usually carry this in a small belt bag instead of a shooting bag.

Back at camp I have extra cleaning patches, flint/caps, powder, ball/patches for at least 10 more shots. You may also want to have a nipple wrench or main-spring vise, nipple or touch-hole liner, again depending on what you're hunting with. Thats pretty much what I carry when bivy hunting too, its just all on your back the whole time. You carry more weight bivy hunting but you use less energy not having to hike back and forth to a camp every morning and night.

 

[James Stella]

Thank you for the posts. The camping gear I have I have been using for years but doing it with the muzzleloader is new. I am trying to put my kit for my gun to gether. I will use the suggestions you guy have given me to do that.

 

[BrownBear]

I'm kind of a lightweight, in that I don't like to carry a lot of stuff I won't need. But I also confront the fact that stuff gets lost or damaged and needs repair or maintenance.

I carry only half a dozen balls in my shooting bag, but have another half dozen in my camp kit. Similarly, I carry a small powder horn that only holds about 10 shots, but have about that much more back in camp. Same for spare flints or caps, patches and lube, a small tool/cleaning kit and knife in each place. Basically I don't want to carry too much in a day, but want spares back in camp in case I lose my bag or some such. Oh yeah, and a slip-on sling.

Best way I know to keep my kit small is to use a small shooting bag.

After that, it's about what you want your camp to feature.