What are some of the best equipment hacks you have found useful in the bush or back in camp. I know duct tape is universally useful, but my last hunt was likely saved through the use of ShoeGoo to repair both my pairs of boots before they got unusable. I would not leave home without some sort of glue for footwear - and non-footwear “on the fly” repairs. I’d be interested to hear what other hunters have found handy for hunting or traveling to or from Africa- apart from the stuff you find on “What to bring” lists. So, what do you bring?
Not particular to Africa, I would say these apply anywhere, but... a small (1 oz size) bag of dryer lint for lighting fires (the littlest spark will ignite this stuff), a spark tool (flint and steel or modern ferrocerium equivalent), map of the area and a compass, 20-50 feet (9-15m) of paracord, one of those super light packable emergency blankets (these are tremendously useful for a lot of things), a drag rope, small medical kit (that includes among other things: scissors, tweezers and painkillers), First aid book, nitrile gloves, water purification tablets or a lifestraw (if you have more room in your pack), All of these things are useful not only for their obvious uses but for a plethora of other things. I would say of everything, make sure you have everything you need to encompass the rule of 3. The more ingenuitive you are and the more you know about the area you hunt (it's animals, plants, topography and weather), the less you will need to haul around. If you are completely relying on your PH to save your butt if the **** hits the fan, remember, he is only human and you have a responsibilty to be prepared as well.
The rule of 3 is:
3 minutes without air
3 hours without shelter (this include heat aka fire)
3 days without water
3 weeks without food
My hunting pack contains everything I would need to find my way around and survive for a short time (up to a week) in the area I plan to hunt. I am not paranoid, my father was just a NYS Forest Ranger and spent a lot of time heading up and managing search and rescue operations for people that didn't bring everthing they might need because they "knew where they were". Some of them were carried out in black plastic bags or never found at all. All said and done, I carry about a 25lb pack plus rifle when hunting. It isn't too bad and you really get in shape quick! It is completely doable. Here is a pick of me dragging a deer out with my pack on. It really isn't that combersome.
Thats just my coat and my hunting seat strapped to my pack but you get the idea. You don't need to be prepared for WWIII, but you should be prepared to survive until someone can find you or help you. Bringing basic tools or parts to make tools, is tremendously helpful. Especially if it gets cold at night. It gets brutal in the Adirondacks in winter so for late season hunting where the temperture never gets above 0
⁰F, I always have additional gear to try to stay warm.
Sorry that was a little long-winded.
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