What are the "Essentials"

[Jonathan Waits]

Hey there hunters,
So I am starting to get into hunting, we went coyote hunting earlier this summer with success. I wanted to know what you guys consider must haves for gear. We are going to start with turkey and get to deer, and looking around on the interwebs, there is a ton of stuff that people try to say is essential seem like gimmicks or just a sensational product (like scent away, you still smell foreign) . So I was wondering if you had a list of gear that I would absolutely need, from the hunt to the table, meaning processing gear too, or would it be safer the first few times to just take it somewhere and have it processed?

 

[dennishoddy]

Forget the scent products. Pure gimmick. Play the wind game.
You need 2 knives in my experience. One being a heavier fixed blade hunting knife that can be used for utility work like chopping limbs, and a Havalon knife for skinning. Havalons use surgical scalpels for blades and are replaceable when dull.
For cutting through rib cages and pelvic bones on deer/elk these tools work wonders. You can hack/cut through them, but the proper tool sure makes it easier.

The upper tool is to spread the rib cage and hold it open for field dressing.
You can certainly process your own animal. Lots of YouTube videos that show how, and there is a certain satisfaction about taking that package of meat out of the freezer for dinner knowing you did it all from start to finish. To do that you will have to invest in a grinder as a start. Meat can be wrapped in cellophane, then white butcher paper, or buy a vacuum sealing machine which is what I prefer.
In your backpack keep a 55 gal trash bag or two. Makes a perfect emergency rain suit.
And the most important item that any hunter will use.........toilet paper.
The toilet paper, besides its obvious use can also be used to mark the trail of any game that may be wounded by hanging some on bushes or grass along the blood trail. Gives you a direction the animal is going so if you lose the trail, it's easy to go back and find the last spot.
Small first aid kit with blood clot kit is essential.

 

[Jonathan Waits]

Do you know if Oklahoma has any problems with wasting disease? I hear you aren't supposed cut through bone if that is a problem? I have a grinder attachment for my kitchen aid mixer, so I am good there. Are vacuum sealers expensive these days? Do I need some sort of hoist or can it all be done on ground?

 

[dennishoddy]

Ok. Does not have CWD.
Vacuum sealers are getting cheaper these days. Your meat lasts twice as long before freezer burning.
Field dressing is done on the ground. Legs in the air. It's good to have a roll of cheap wallyworld braided nylon cord to tie the legs off to trees or brush, but it's not necessary. Just easier.
Getting one out of the woods involves using a deer cart, wheel barrow, atv, pickup or dragging one out with a rope. The last option is a bear. 100 lbs of dead weight feels like a thousand after a couple hundred yards.

 

[mike cyrwus]

Never needed to cut through ribcages or pevises in the field. I use a small 2" drop point fixed blade or a gerber gator
Never needed to tie off a leg spread deer either; Dennis you sure you're talking about deer hunting?

 

[LuckyDucky]

field dressing = cut and scoop.

Bing bang boom.

 

[dennishoddy]

Never needed to cut through ribcages or pevises in the field. I use a small 2" drop point fixed blade or a gerber gator
Never needed to tie off a leg spread deer either; Dennis you sure you're talking about deer hunting?

We have deer where I hunt.....not Pygmy goats your used to seeing in your neck of the woods. Our fawns weigh more than your bucks. [emoji12]lol
That being said, we are talking to a first time deer hunter that will gain the experience we have down the road. It's not necessary to tie off a deer, but when one has a 500lb+ Elk on the ground it sure makes things easier.
You guys may want to describe your methods so Jonathan can learn a different technique.
I've split the pelvis and rib cage of a lot of deer with a knife more times than I'd like to remember, but that saw and rib cage spreader sure makes life easier.
A buddy never field dresses. Puts the carcass on the tailgate, skins and quarters right there, and puts in an ice chest for the ride home.
Personally, I field dress, ice down, take home, skin with a 2 ton electric hoist attached to a floor mounted pulley while the deer is hanging from a rafter and skin the deer in about 20 seconds. Boned out completely in less than an hour, ready to process and pack in vacuum sealer.
Tonight's dinner will be a blender of margaritas and elk burrito's made with fresh garden veggi's. It's been since 1982 when I took my first deer to this date I can proudly say we have not bought one pound of beef burger.

 

[dennishoddy]

I have different methods of getting them out of the field on private ground. This is one.

If you blow the pic up, this buck died 533 yds from my blind. The blind is way in the background . .243wssm in the AR platform. He made B&C, but the drop time took it below that level.

 

[drmitchgibson]

Dennis, you're awesome

 

[LuckyDucky]

GM class for sure.

 

[mike cyrwus]

Let's see a mounted pic of that bc buck, Dennis. I don't think that pic does it justice.

 

[dennishoddy]

 

[wixthedog]

Turkey hunting is a different game than deer, concealment is somewhat more important and calling is essential.

I keep a handful of things in my hunt sack:

1. 1 heavy knife
2. 1 blade replaceable knife like Dennis mentioned
3. Ballpoint pen
4. Zip ties
5. Latex gloves
6. Baby wipes (doubles as TP)
7. Good binos
8. 550 cord

 

[dennishoddy]

Oh yeah, for deer in Oklahoma, you have to personally tag your deer with the hunters name, license number, date of kill and attach it immediately while in the field. It can be a business card, duct tape and a sharpie, or my favorite is white zip ties and a fine point sharpie. Write the info on the inside of the zip tie so it won't get rubbed off while dragging, plus, those ties can be used for other things if the need arises.

 

[wixthedog]

Oh yeah, for deer in Oklahoma, you have to personally tag your deer with the hunters name, license number, date of kill and attach it immediately while in the field. It can be a business card, duct tape and a sharpie, or my favorite is white zip ties and a fine point sharpie. Write the info on the inside of the zip tie so it won't get rubbed off while dragging, plus, those ties can be used for other things if the need arises.

Our hunting licenses have tear away tags that must be filled out in the field with the date cut out, failure to do so is a big no no. I prefer the cable ties for the same reason you do, they serve other purposes as well and they hold the tag on great. I grew up stealing bread ties from the kitchen before heading out but our mom always yelled at us for doing it.

http://ads.midwayusa.com/product/957254/outdoor-edge-razor-lite-folding-hunting-knife-3-1-2-replaceable-stainless-steel-blade-kraton-handle?cm_mmc=pf_ci_google-_-Knives%20%26%20Tools%20-%20Hunting%20Knives%20%26%20Tools-_-Outdoor%20Edge-_-957254&gclid=Cj0KEQjwztG8BRCJgseTvZLctr8BEiQAA_kBD6mmVqnFd6DfIkXoDpbojTDBx_AffVO3iBLP_kiCb1YaAoJz8P8HAQ

That is the knife I use for skinning. I was not a "believer" until I owned one and now I can't live without it! I can usually skin and quarter 3 deer to a blade and replacements are very reasonable. It sure beats having to stop midway through cleaning to freshen a blade on a stone.

 

[dennishoddy]

I've seen those. First one I'd looked at was a Havalon while on an elk hunt in New Mexico.
I had a Mcrosky elk skinner that was custom built for me. Dave builds them out of Jet turbine blades which Rockwell at 64.
It didn't do any better than one of the havalons, and I'm betting yours would be the same. I can get two elk and a deer or two before having to send it in for sharpening. I'm looking at getting one of the replaceable blade knives before going back this winter.

 

[wixthedog]

You can't go wrong for $35. I love the orange handle, it's easy to see where I set it down. I wish it was a fixed blade for ease of cleaning, it's my only gripe really.

You cannot beat the feel of a solid, well made knife and the have their place in life for sure. This one makes the work after the trigger pull a little easier.

 

[wixthedog]

I also process everything myself, once it's quartered and bled out I move over to four Rapella fish cleaning knives for everything after that. I use them for deboning all theh way to cutlet and steaks. They work very well for removing sinew and have a real clean cut to them. I found these four on clearance at the local Bass Pro and I will run through the edges of all of them with one whitetail. A quick edge refresh and they are good to go for the next one.

I run a vac sealer for all my meat except ground and pan, those get twice ground directly into the plastic bags and tied off from there. The vac sealer is not the expensive part, it's the bags! I catch them on sale and buy a few boxes. The mix in meats for your ground and pan can get expensive as well. Throughout the year I look for sales on pork shoulders and briskets and buy them for the freezer as I see them.

A good dehydrator is worth its weight in gold. I started with a cheap 3 tray unit and quickly learned that the time vs yield was ridiculous. During a summer layover from season my wife found a commercial model on clearance and picked it up, talk about night and day difference. A batch now yields three times as much at 1/3 the time.

A scale is good to have, a couple good sized cutting boards, and multiple plastic tubs/trays/bowls for use while processing. I also wear latex gloves when I process but I always have boxes of those around the shop. I take a section of my shop and turn it into a clean area with plenty of workspace cold storage.

 

[trimantrekokc]

needed items for me:
camo or some time of patterned clothes
gun or weapon
shooting sticks if gun hunting
fixed blade gut hook knife
sharper pointed folder
latex gloves
orange if gun season
like others have said, use the wind & natural cover scents when possible (cedar)
once it's dressed and home I will skin with same knives (I have a havalon but unless I'm skinning a yote and doing fine work I don't use it, too small in the hand and blade to flimsy for me)
pulley and gambrel make it nice to hold while skinning
big ice chest to put the meat in to cool until I can get it vacuum sealed
I do have a fillet type knife for deboning

 

[Jonathan Waits]

So do you mix in other meats or just fat from other meats? I know about mixing in fat from beef or pork, because deer fat apparently tastes terrible, but didn't know people actually mixed in other meats?