Hunting Gear List for Rifle Hunters

[AfricaHunting.com]

Hunting Gear List for Rifle Hunters

Hunting Gear
- Rifle
- Scope
- Scope caps
- Sling
- Travel gun case
- Soft gun case, to protect your rifle in the hunting vehicle or charter plane
- Ammunition
- Ammunition pouch or belt
- Small screw driver, for your scope sight setting and glasses
- Pocket knife or Leatherman tool
- Binoculars
- Binoculars strap or suspender support system (the latter will make wearing them more comfortable and secure with no swinging or bouncing)
- Spotting scope
- Range finder
- GPS (Global Positioning System)
- Shooting stick, most outfitters will have one that you can use or you can bring your own.
- Basic rifle cleaning kit, your outfitter will probably have one
- Small bag or back pack, for taking personal items on hunt (waterproof may be recommended for some hunts).
- Hearing protection
- Knee pads for crawling
- Gloves for crawling

Travel Accessories
- Flashlight or headlamp with spare batteries and bulb
- Camera, lenses, flash and film, if not digital. If your camera is digital you might consider bringing a second memory stick, charger and/or batteries.
- Video camera, tapes or memory card/stick, charger and/or batteries. Ask your PH to take pictures with his own camera too, it's great back up
- Lens cleaning kit
- Ziploc bags, a great way to protect valuable equipment, like your binoculars or camera, from dust sand and water. Make sure that the bags are big enough to fit over your items while in their original cases to offer added protection. Ziplock bags are generally very useful and versatile, I never travel without them.
- Electric converter(s). Ask your outfitter as they may have a different current and/or outlet than the country standard at the lodge or camp. Check your newer electronics as many computers, cell phones, cameras, etc. will accept a wider range of electrical input, such as 100V through 240V and require only a plug adapter instead of a converter. These items may adapt automatically of have a switch to change voltage.
- Plug adapter(s)


Don't forget also to ask a recommended equipment list from your hunting outfitter.

 

[Sika98k]

A spare scope in case your primary scope gets damaged,broken...

Another handy piece is one of the laser bore guides that fits your calibre/chamber but remember spare batteries for it.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Jerome, that is a great list. I am going to add a few of your items to mine for my next trip. For those contemplating a safari, this is the list I give to my Africa newbies. This is for RSA, my trips, late May, early June in the Northern Cape when
it can get unseasonably COLD (Last day of the hunt this year, it was 20F). Add, subtract or modify but this is my bare bones baggage list to hunt the first day in camp.

AFRICA CLOTHING LIST IN CARRY-ON BAG
Goose down jacket
Lightweight camo jacket
Camo gloves
Hunting boots
One pair of boot socks
One camo T-shirt
One pair of underwear
One pair of long johns, tops and bottoms
One pair of camo pants or jeans
One camo long sleeve shirt
Camo hat/ camo beanie
Binoculars, range finder
Ditty bag with toiletries, sunscreen chapstick, soap, deodorant, hand sanitizer, hand wipes,
toothbrush, mouthwash, toothpaste, pain relief, antacid, immodium,
Neosporin, eyedrops, eyeglass wipes, floss, qtips, Gas-x, eyeglass kit, etc.
whatever else personal needs but not necessary to bring Walgreens, aisle three with you. LIQUID STUFF MUST BE IN A TSA APPROVED CLEAR, PLASTIC BAG FOR SCANNING AND INSPECTION WHEN GOING THROUGH SECURITY unless you'd like to go to the back room and get a good feel job after you strip down to your skivies. ))))
Camera, phones, chargers, SD cards, etc.
Energy bars, snack bars, hard candy
Optional: Hunting fanny pack/side sack/backpack ( I put this in my gun case)

NO SHARP OBJECTS, scissors, nail file, pocket knife, leatherman, etc.
(see back room warning, above).
Copies of ALL PAPERWORK including Passport first page, SAP 520, Customs forms,
health info, letter of invitation.
This is enough to hunt the first day after arrival if the rest of your stuff
in checked baggage doesn't show up in Blomfontein or Joburg.
Like the Boy Scouts say “be prepared”.


CHECKED BAG FROM U.S. TO JOHANNESBURG

Ammo in locked ammo container
One pair of camo pants, one pair of flannel lined pants
One pair of boot socks
One camo T-shirt
Two pair of under shorts
One flannel lined or heavy long sleeve shirt
One pair of long johns, top & bottom
Slippers/flip flops
Enough energy bars, snack bars for the hunting days

IN MY GUN CASE
Two scoped rifles
Bipod
One sling
Gun cleaning kit ( patches, mops, brushes)
Bandolier, extra magazines, spare parts, toolkit, lens pen, cots
Cloth gun sack
Cleaning rod
Optional, fanny pack/ side sack/ backpack
Leatherman or folding knife

ON THE PLANE:
I wear lightweight, loose fitting safari clothing that I got at Cabela's on
recommendation from my my buddy and mentor, Mr. Africa (he's got 22 safaris under his belt)
Safari shirt
Safari Shirt jacket (lots of pockets)
Safari pants (they convert to shorts, lots of pockets)
Support socks I bought from Magellan
Comfortable shoes
Noise cancelling headsets
Travel pillow
Reading material, puzzle books.

 

[bebo]

Warning :
If you can , take dietetic foods for athletes .... (marathon) , because in sweating, you lose your salt etc. ..
People feel sick because of the food, in fact it is the loss of salt and other trace elements they lack !!!!

 

[Pheroze]

it can get unseasonably COLD (Last day of the hunt this year, it was 20F).

I have a question about the hunting boots for a hunt in RSA: The lightest set I have are insulated with 200 grams thinsulate. I assumed I would want uninsulated boots and was looking at the Russell Moccasin website. But it looks like they may be fine after all. What do you folks prefer for foot wear insulation in South Africa?

 

[bassasdaindia]

I have a question about the hunting boots for a hunt in RSA: The lightest set I have are insulated with 200 grams thinsulate. I assumed I would want uninsulated boots and was looking at the Russell Moccasin website. But it looks like they may be fine after all. What do you folks prefer for foot wear insulation in South Africa?

Courtney boots !!!

 

[bassasdaindia]

add Camel Pack for hydration to your list,a small camel pack in the bush carries my essentials :

liquid
lighter flint
plaster
Alan key for my scope

but most important is the hydration.

 

[Velo Dog]

Courtney boots !!!

+1.

 

[Pheroze]

I checked them out and they look really unique! Velo Dog, have you found them suitable for you hunting in Alaska? I am wondering how waterproof etc they are and whether they are more suited to the arid conditions only. I am asking because to break them in I will be stomping through the colder & wetter parts of Canada.

 

[Red Leg]

I have Courtney boots and love them. They are not water proof and not lined. I would not use them for any sort of Northern hunting - the soles are not aggressive enough for real hill work. Think an African interpretation of a Classic American bird hunting boot, but built of tougher material to hold up to the thorns and rocks. They are designed to carry you miles and miles behind a tracker and to get you quietly up to a game animal at the end of that hike. The soles are a modern interpretation of the tire tread from which they were originally made, which is almost as quiet as gum, but much more thorn resistant (you have not truly had a predicament until you try to remove a boot with a quarter inch of acacia horn buried in the ball of your foot through the sole of your boot!). If I am hunting wet country like the Caprivi, I prefer the Russell PH. But for every where else in Africa, I use my Courtney's. I also prefer the "safari" to the "Selous". Both are great boots, but the Safari weighs much less than the Selous.

 

[Pheroze]

Thanks Red Leg, I have read the country reports but still do not know what the environment holds for me. I was hoping to have the boots do "double duty" but I think that is not wise.

 

[Red Leg]

Good lists and particularly smart breakout between checked and carry on. I personally have been well served with polar fleece rather than down. Even in dead of winter, 90 percent of days will warm up by mid/late morning. Down can also be really loud if the outer shell is canvas or cordora and the like. Also unless you are doing something really special like mountain Nyala in Ethiopia, I wouldn't drag a spotting scope along. It'll never leave the tent after the first day. Finally, have a high quality camera that you can carry in you pocket. I have a couple of Nikons - a big SLR which rides the truck and gets pulled out for special and/or creative work, and a quality pocket camera that goes with me on those long marches.

 

[Hogpatrol]

re: Boots. I have a narrow feet and bought Danner hiking boots. They did the trick for the daytime but my feet got cold on the night hunts. On the karoo, there are these weeds (?) that have little prickly seeds that get in your socks and stay there so gaiters are being added to my list for the next trip. My PH recommended them also (he wears them).

 

[Velo Dog]

I checked them out and they look really unique! Velo Dog, have you found them suitable for you hunting in Alaska? I am wondering how waterproof etc they are and whether they are more suited to the arid conditions only. I am asking because to break them in I will be stomping through the colder & wetter parts of Canada.

Hi Pheroze,

Definitely not suitable for wet conditions.
Think of them as thin/tough leather/high top/tennis shoes but with a very quiet lug sole.
In possible contrast to another post here, one of the main reasons I bought my Courtneys is that I liked the aggressive yet quiet lug soles on them, and they seem to work fine on the Limpopo Kopjes and in the Draakensburg Mts for me.
I think Red Leg may have been referring to hunting bighorn sheep/mountain goat, etc when he said - "the soles are not aggressive enough for real hill work".
If that is the case, I totally agree with him that Courtneys are not suitable for that extreme climbing type of big game hunting.

However, for the places I have been in Africa (only two countries so far but, at least 4 geographically separate/diversified locations), they have worked very well for me.
Likewise, I would take them for hunting anywhere in the world that, I was pretty sure the foliage is going to be dry at that time of year.
Be advised that even the morning dew on grass will soak your Courtneys through very quickly.

Courtney Safari (ankle high) are the pair that I have but, Westley Richards was out of the taller Patrol Boot when I finally decided to buy a pair.
I would've preferred a bit taller boot but, the ankle high Safari model has served me well for 3 out of 4 safaris now.

On my first safari, (Namibia) I wore my well broken-in Redwings but, I had more aggressive soles put on them by a local shoe repair shop - they are just work boots otherwise, such as carpenters and hard working folk in general would wear for outdoor labor.
The modified Redwings are noticeably heavier than the Courtneys but otherwise very good boots for dry conditions as well.

As for Alaska, I wear either Danner Ft Lewis if hiking hilly ground (Kodiak, deer / rabbit hunting, etc) but on tundra (caribou / ptarmigan hunting, etc) I wear LaCrosse Burley.
However, only the Burleys with the "air-bob" soles, definitely not the less aggressive soles also available with Burley model boots.

As usual, I have taken several paragraphs to say what others can say in a few lines but, nonetheless, the above is my dos centavos worth on boots (You have to accessorize in today's fashion environment!)

Cheerio,
Velo Dog.

 

[Red Leg]

I am tracking with you Velo and was thinking steep, cold and slick. Was in coastal BC in November hunting mulies and my Courtney's would have put me in the hospital or worse. I have both Danner's and Meindl's for that sort of work. Also, most places north of Oklahoma have a good chance of at least damp during fall hunting. Courtney's don't do well in damp or wet. I have used my safaris dove hunting in both the US and Argentina, and for that they were perfect.

I think most of us who have been to Southern or Eastern Africa wouldn't think of hitting the brush without gaiters. The seeds will indeed drive you to distraction. Another option would be tucking long pants into boots military style. I haven't done that - maybe because I spent too many years wearing them that way in uniform!

 

[Sika98k]

If you are packing long johns go for merino wool. Proprietary brands would be Smartwool and Icebreaker.

Brilliant stuff ! If you overheat and sweat when you stop the wool still keeps you warm unlike the polypropylene whatever's.

Another advantage is that if you are stuck in them for a few days you don't Ming too badly. An added bonus.

Same goes for the socks. Smartwool merino all the way.

I took a pair of meindl desert boots to Namibia with me recently. Fine,did the job but they were hot to wear. Standard British army issue. Possibly in reflection a bit too robust. The Courtney's I got in Safariland in Windhoek were,well,just a little bit too fresh for the bush

 

[Red Leg]

There are two Meindl desert hunting boots - the British ( and some US ) military issue and their "safari" boot. The safari is an extremely tall, soft, and very light boot. They would be ridiculous in shorts, but with a long hunting pant, they might be very good indeed.

 

[ack]

If you are packing long johns go for merino wool. Proprietary brands would be Smartwool and Icebreaker.

Brilliant stuff ! If you overheat and sweat when you stop the wool still keeps you warm unlike the polypropylene whatever's.

Another advantage is that if you are stuck in them for a few days you don't Ming too badly. An added bonus.

Same goes for the socks. Smartwool merino all the way.

I took a pair of meindl desert boots to Namibia with me recently. Fine,did the job but they were hot to wear. Standard British army issue. Possibly in reflection a bit too robust. The Courtney's I got in Safariland in Windhoek were,well,just a little bit too fresh for the bush

I will also add that you cannot beat Smartwool merino..Great stuff if you need long underwear.

 

[kudu1]

Give me a pair of "veldskoene" (vellies), hunted all over SA in them for years, so did my father, grandfather and great grandfather, nothing like 150 years of tradition eh?

 

[Witold Krzyżanowski]

And a bottle of Scoth whiskey?
Witold