Survival gear when out shooting wildlife

My response to another thread got me to thinking. I'm a retired aircrew member, and spent a lot of time over the years taking survival/survival equipment training and refresher courses. The mindset has stuck with me, and when my buddy and I hunt, I normally carry a good bit of survival gear with me in case something happens and I have to spend a night in the woods, or some other issue crops up out in the woods. I have yet to make a wildlife photography outing that takes me any meaningful distance from my vehicle and civilization, other than the couple of trips to the boneyard beach. That beach not what I would call remote, but it is a 20 minute walk from the car over a trail that can flood at high tide, and another half hour to civilization. On those occasions, I normally carry a backpack with enough gear to spend a night in the boonies, and some basic first aid stuff. When hunting, at a minimum, I carry a tourniquet, gauze and tape, bandages, water, plastic sheeting and bags, matches and fire starter, a knife, compass, whistle, flashlight, wire saw, glow sticks, rope, gloves, poncho, emergency blanket, spare long underwear and socks.

I may have to rethink what I carry as my new camera gear backpack is fairly full now. The items that take up the most room are the spare clothing. This may actually the most important gear on an unplanned extended stay in the cooler months.

What do the rest of you carry when you are in such situations? I may be overthinking this due to my training, but I do feel that at least some type of a rudimentary kit is an excellent idea to have with you if you are in a situation where things may go south without warning.

---

› See More: Survival gear when out shooting wildlife

Well, not sure I'd really need a tourniquet on a photo outing. Hunting is slightly more likely to encounter a serious injury requiring one. Of course, I could easily make one in the field with the rope and some handy small branches. The commercial model is small and easy to use, so I carry one, plus my hunting buddy is a retired paramedic, so he kind of pushes me on the medical stuff. Cutting branches and assembling even a rudimentary tourniquet while bleeding out might be problematic.

Toilet paper and candy bar are comfort items. The water is a must IMO. Not mentioned, but a cell phone is a must also, although many remote locations don't have coverage, hence the whistle and compass, a map of the area wouldn't hurt either. Most places I go, a hike in a straight line in any direction will pretty quickly intersect a river or road.

Again, I may be overthinking this, as the odds of getting stranded in the woods are very small. The odds of a traffic accident to and from are far greater. Still, it never hurts to be prepared, if not for yourself, for someone you care about. My daughter is usually with me on my photo outings. She may be a grown adult, but I still feel pretty protective of her. If something happened to her, I doubt I would survive the encounter with my wife.

Well, where I hunt, we are normally less than 1/2 hour from our vehicle also. The issue is tracking a wounded animal may get you off the trails and into a situation. The photo shoots at the beach are less about getting lost, than getting stranded. The strip of beach is separated from the parking lot by a fairly long trail through the marsh. It is raised a few feet from the marsh, but obviously can and does flood at extreme high tides. Also the gate closes 1/2 hour after sunset. I'm sure I could get a ranger to come and open up, but all in all, seems reasonable to be prepared for the worst. It's not uncommon for day hikers end up getting stranded and don't survive, or barely survive for want of a few basic items.

Bottom line it is a personal decision based on experience, and perceived risk. Many places I don't worry at all about it. Others I make sure I have at least a few basics. In the past I just grabbed my hunting backpack and carried it with my photo gear in a separate bag. It stays packed, and has everything in it, so why reinvent the wheel. Now that my photo gear pile has grown and it's in a backpack, I have to rethink. Got me to wondering what everyone else does.

Originally Posted by Peter7100

I think a fully charged cell phone is the most important thing.

I would put it up near the top, although there are a lot of places I go that do not have cell service, so I like to have backup. If I had to choose between a knife, and a cell phone, I would probably choose the knife. I can make and do a lot of things in the woods with a knife. A cell phone can only do one thing, and that is dependent on having a signal and battery power. OK on reflection, I guess it can do two as you can use it as a flashlight. For a little while. With a knife, I can make what I need to get a fire going and have light and warmth as long as the wood holds out. I could probably make fire without a knife, but it would be much harder.