Carrying everything into the set

bmicek

bmicek

New member
What’s everyone doing to carry everything into their set at night? Currently, I have my rifle slung on my back, I carry my tripod and X24 in one hand, and scanner in the other. I like to keep a free hand so I can scan while I’m walking in. I’ve seen tripod slings, and call slings as well. I feel like I can only sling one item otherwise they clank together. But at times I clank my call and my tripod since they’re in one hand as well. Curious as to what others are doing.
 
Great question! Something I struggle with myself. Some times I sound like a stupid monkey with cymbals. I like my Foxpro xwave but that thing is way too big and the speakers are giant megaphones just begging to bang into something on the walk in. I can see where a more compact call could be advantageous. I started putting the xwave in a cinch sack or backpack to keep it quiet.

I was just experimenting with an old 3 wheeled golf push cart I had in the garage. Put some Rhino grip/Gun holders on it for the tripod and my rifle. Strapped a chair/stool down the middle where the golf bag went. Might sound stupid but I can roll that thing a lot of places. I had it sitting around doing nothing and gave it a try. So far it works and is generally quiet. The only negative is trying to push/pull it up some mountains I hunt.....not fun. Definitely a tool for open areas.

Was against the whole helmet and thermal tac-op look when I first started but from a functional standpoint it makes a lot of sense freeing up a hand so I may go that route eventually. In the mean time if you see an old dude pushing around a golf push cart with a bunch of gear on it don't laugh too hard.

Hope you get some better ideas from the more experienced people here
 
Rifle attached to tripod via Arca over left shoulder. X24 with Boondocks cover and strap slung over my shoulder. Everything else in a strap vest.
 
I clip my rifle to my tripod via Arca rail. I use a Sly Dog ground and pound to put my call, extra mag, drag, etc in. Scanner in my other hand. Sometimes I sit on the seat and sometimes I just use it as a pack. Pretty simple.
 
At night I haul everything in a Ebelestock backpack.

Tripod goes in the gun scabbard, remote, ammo, magazines, extra gloves, etc go inside.

My stadium seat gets bungee corded to the outside.

My caller is a Fusion that hangs from my belt on a bow holder. Long hikes back out, I may put it in the backpack.

Scanner is on a neck strap.

I carry my gun. I may sometimes walk a half mile to make a set, no way I want to leave it attached to the tripod.

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DeereGreen said:
Rifle attached to tripod via Arca over left shoulder. X24 with Boondocks cover and strap slung over my shoulder. Everything else in a strap vest.
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This seems like what I’d be most likely to do. I need to try walking with my rifle attached to my tripod. Picturing it, it doesn’t sound very comfortable… But it seems like my best solution maybe. I’ll just have to try it
 
I have a modified 5.11 backpack that can either haul my Xwave or my 3 section tripod. The pack has QD sling type attachments, so the rifle is in front and supported by the straps of the 5.11 backpack. I can go a long way like this. My scanners are helmet mounted. If I use my 2 section tripod I have to put the call in the pack and carry the tripod. I've tried to sling the tripod and it always seems to ding the rifle at least once.
 
Take a guest and load them up, lol.

Just kidding. Rifle over shoulder, tripod in left hand, caller on a strap hanging on left side with strap over my head on right shoulder. Scanner in right hand. I try and keep it minimal. Comfortable boots and chaps work for me to add keep me warm and able to walk through some nasty stuff to get to a calling location. I give each spot about 20-30min.
 
I have been using a game cart for the past several years and it has worked out well in prairie dog fields. If you're in a rocky area you would not want to use this. Everything I need will is the box including my tripod, ammo, call, folding chair, etc.. This year I'm going to try and do it with a backpack only. If it doesn't work out, I'll take the cart back out.

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I do the same as Alf, day or night. Day time I carry my shotgun in the Eberlestock gunrunner, and rifle on my shoulder. Scanner goes around my neck. Fusion goes in the pack usually or I carry to the next stand.
 
Scanner around my neck. Rifle slung with a two point, barrel down, across my back. Everything else is in my pockets. I still use a fox pro scorpion for this reason, it’s in one cargo pocket and the remote and my phone are in the other. Both my hands are free to scan or open gates or keep from falling down. I stopped using a tripod last year and make 90% of my stands prone.
 
bmicek said:
This seems like what I’d be most likely to do. I need to try walking with my rifle attached to my tripod. Picturing it, it doesn’t sound very comfortable… But it seems like my best solution maybe. I’ll just have to try it
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I’ve done 11 miles in a day with the rifle clipped to the tripod. It wasn’t bad at all. That was my heavy day rifle with a 39oz bipod even. I have multiple packs with different ways to hold a rifle I use for big game hunting. It just takes extra time using them and I haven’t seen a benefit yet for coyote hunting.

The Slydog and being clipped in makes it so fast when you get to your stand. And silent. Not dealing with lights or fumbling trying to clip in without lights. You aren’t making noise sliding your rifle out of a scabbard etc.

I’ve hunted with multiple people and so far I haven’t seen anything more efficient yet.
 
ALPS lg bino chest pack has my tethered remote and scanner (on a lanyard with 2 closed reed calls attached). Side pocket has a small penlight incase my headlamp breaks and my "critter caller" open reed. Diaphragm is on an alligator clip on a cord inside the alps. Gun over my right shoulder. Tripod seat or stadium seat and ICOTEC nightstalker + hung on it over the left shoulder. Tripod is used as a walking stick (I am 73 and hunt very hilly ground) or tucked under my left arm.
 
dirtytough said:
I’ve done 11 miles in a day with the rifle clipped to the tripod. It wasn’t bad at all. That was my heavy day rifle with a 39oz bipod even. I have multiple packs with different ways to hold a rifle I use for big game hunting. It just takes extra time using them and I haven’t seen a benefit yet for coyote hunting.

The Slydog and being clipped in makes it so fast when you get to your stand. And silent. Not dealing with lights or fumbling trying to clip in without lights. You aren’t making noise sliding your rifle out of a scabbard etc.

I’ve hunted with multiple people and so far I haven’t seen anything more efficient yet.
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So when you walk with your rifle clipped into your tripod, you just have the legs folded up and in front of you with the rifle laying on your shoulder?
 
Cheap camo back pack loaded with : call, remote, decoy, bottle of water, extra flashlight/batteries, few extra rounds.

Rifle with sling on my shoulder.

BOG tripod

Therma scanner in my jacket pocket.

If I'm hunting over bait I will usually set up in a little one man ground blind to help with my scent.

If I am day hunting I carry my BOG bipod instead of tripod and a lightweight dove stool.
 
Doesn't have to be complicated. This is how I do it.
Call n backpack loop and mesh pocket..Rifle arca to tripod and scan with left... of course if there is steep /rugged terrain I'll sling rifle and compact tripod into backpack.

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Reading all the responses to this thread, makes me realize what a minimalist I really am.

Rifle over the shoulder if I am walking a long ways, but usually I just clip it to the tripod (ARCA) and carry it pretty much just like the picture above. Rifle/tripod junction on top of my shoulder, it balances real easy if you do it right. Other than that I have a lanyard around my neck with 2-3 mouth calls (a light, non-bulky lanyard and call set, I might add). Sometimes just an open reed distess/howler in my pocket. I almost never use my e-caller at night. Just something else to carry. Seems like they are always banging and making noise when I don't want them to. A good flashlight in my back pocket, an extra mag if I am shooting AR, or extra mag for the CZ. Maybe a coyote drag in a coat pocket, along with extra thermal batteries. My scanner rides on my chest clipped in a Crooked Horn Outfitters bino harness.

Really that is all I need. rifle, tripod, scanner, flashlight, extra ammo and batteries, and a couple mouth calls. If it is simple and easy, then I will walk further and pay more attention to getting my sets right. And/or make more sets more efficiently. I do just as well, if not better, with my mouth calls than an e-caller.
 
Chest rig with remote, extra batteries, scanner, coyote drag, extra loaded mag, knife and pistol, caller over my shoulder or in my hand and rifle already clamped into the tripod and over my shoulder like the picture above.

The chest rig is worn all night so the only thing I have to do is clamp my rifle I to my tripod and I'm gone from the truck, tear down is just as easy.

The key to calling and killing big numbers is covering alot of ground and to do that you NEED to be fast and light. Jacking around with backpacks, adjusting tripods and putting gear together on stand is very inefficient and makes noise, completely contradictive to what you actually need to be doing.
 
There have been a lot of good responses here. Lots of folks with different styles and methods, sharing what works for them. I like threads like this.

But now I'm going to take it out in the weeds a bit and hopefully not derail the thread, but instead offer perhaps a different perspective.

Kino is a good guy, very knowledgeable, I have talked with him on the phone before. About an hour one night while I was spinning up a call. In his response to this thread he said, "The key to calling and killing big numbers is covering a lot of ground, and to do that you need to be fast and light." Now, that is a totally correct statement. I would not disagree with that a bit.

AND, IMO, he is totally correct on the breaking down/adjusting the tripod on stand too. Mine is pretty much set and forget. I carry it/leave it extended to my standard setting unless I really need to change it for some reason. But I digress.

At any rate....

Something I know I forget sometimes is that not all of us have the same goals out calling. For sure I have gone through different phases. Maybe for some it is killing numbers or calling contests, maybe it is enjoying time with your friends, maybe it is calling the predators on your terms, or taking out problem animals, whatever. Some folks like me are minimalists. Some guys are gear junkies and love that aspect of it. No right or wrong answer as far as that goes. Some folks love stuff and don't mind carrying it. As I get older I prefer to keep it simple and travel light. At any rate, take the aspects of calling that you enjoy and focus there, and tailor your system to it.

Right now my focus is that I like making calls and using them. Trying new boards, sounds, designs. I like the time out with my partners, talking as we go stand to stand. Most of my partners are guys I have known a long time. I really like killing coyotes too (obviously), but it isn't a numbers game for me. I really like targeting problem animals, doing ADC work whenever those issues pop up.

I guess what I am trying to say is to evaluate your goals and the reason you go calling. Find the aspects of it that you enjoy. Tailor your gear and your system to that and then find an efficient way to carry the things that make the hunt enjoyable/easier/more successful for you. Those things will be different for all of us. Some basics we all need. Rifle, tripod, batteries, ammo, calls, maybe a scanner. Beyond that most of it is a tradeoff in some aspect. Does this piece of equipment I am carrying add enough value to my system to be worth lugging it back and forth? I tend to make sure I have all the little things like a few extra rounds of ammo, a backup mouth call, extra thermal and flashlight batteries, and probably a drag. Those can just go in a coat pocket and stay there. They don't take up much room or weight, and if you need them, you generally really need them. But bigger things that are heavy or bulky, for me they REALLY have to add serious value for me to drag them around. That is just my style though.

Something I have used in the past, and still do when I am serious run and gun or out chasing pigs, is a battle belt. It goes on and off real quick. It will have pouches for 2 AR mags, flashlight pouch, cable drag, pouch with extra batteries for all electronic gear I may be carrying, plus a fixed blade knife and latex gloves. It takes 10 seconds to put on and pretty much has any small accessories I may need in it. It may be an option worth exploring.
 
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