What's in my pack?

This article was first published in my email newsletter in March of 2025. I've added it to my website, because I think the information has some long-term value. If you'd like to keep up with the latest hunting information, including my open dates and available hunts, you can subscribe to my newsletter at the bottom of this page.

If you look at my website hunt pages (like the page for my aoudad hunts), you’ll see that each of them includes a suggested packing list — the clothes and gear I recommend that you bring along with you. Each list is pretty complete. You’ll also find a set of specific gear recommendations on the gear page of my site.

But while we’re on our hunt, you’ll be packing up each morning, loading the things you’ll need out in the field that day. I often get the question: What should I take with me when we head out to hunt? Or more specifically, people ask me: What’s in your pack when you head out to hunt?

So let’s talk about my morning packing list.

WATER

Water. That’s the single most important thing you can pack. Water, water, water.

Texas is hot. Stalking an animal is work. Climbing up and down hillsides is real exercise. If you don’t keep drinking water, you’ll get dehydrated, and dehydration will quickly sap your energy, kill your fun, and — potentially — have serious and immediate health effects.

Dehydration can be deadly. You can last days (unpleasantly, perhaps) without food, but you won’t last long at all without water. Your body’s basic functions depend on an adequate supply.

A few years ago, a couple of hunters — father and son — were hunting on their own in the valley along the Rio Grande, not far from the higher elevations where I sometimes hunt. They didn’t have enough water, the heat in the valley was ten or fifteen degrees warmer than the elevation at which I hunt, and they didn’t recognize the symptoms of dehydration until too late. The father survived, the son didn’t.

The early symptoms of dehydration include thirst, dry mouth, fatigue, dizziness, mild headaches, and muscle cramps. A bit later, you can experience nausea, rapid heartbeat, severe dizziness and confusion. And it goes downhill from there.

So no matter what else you pack, you should always pack plenty of water. As a rule of thumb, 2-3 liters for a day is a good number. And don’t make assumptions about how little you’re going to have to hike. I’ve had hunters take water out of their pack when we were leaving the buggy, because the sheep we were pursuing were nearby, and they didn’t want to carry that weight.

Well, the sheep moved, we followed, and eight hours later when we finally got back to the buggy, they had been out of water for five or six hours.

You can pack the water any way you want — just bottles, if you like — but I highly recommend using a water bladder in your pack, with a drinking hose up over your shoulder so you can just turn your head to get a sip. That isn’t just because it’s ‘convenient’ — it’s because the convenience means you’ll keep drinking regularly throughout the day. Even an easily accessible water bottle, strapped to the outside of your pack, won’t get used as frequently as a bladder with a hose that’s within easy reach of your mouth.

Remember: it isn’t enough just to have water available. You need to keep drinking it, because by the time you feel symptoms of dehydration, it’s already too late. You don’t want to get that far.

I always carry an Individual First Aid Kit (IFAK).

INDIVIDUAL FIRST AID KIT AND INSURANCE

I always carry an ‘individual first aid kit’ or IFAC.

I’ve got EMT training and certification, so my kit is a bit more sophisticated than the average hunter’s. I carry things like hemostatic gauze, tourniquets, vented chest seals, nasopharyngeal tubes, 14-gauge needles for chest decompression. You don’t need to carry all that, but you definitely should carry any personal medications you might need; if you’ve got allergies to wasps or something like that, you should carry your EpiPen. If you’re diabetic, carry what you’ll need for that.

And then there’s insurance — specialized travel insurance for hunters. I’m not talking about ‘trip cancellation’ insurance (although you can get that, too, if you want), I’m talking about the kind of emergency insurance that can get you medical evacuation out of a remote location and direct to a hospital.

This isn’t something you pack, of course, but I’ve always got mine with me. In my case, because of my business, I’m insured 365 days a year. If you’re joining me for a hunt, you can expect this kind of insurance to cost you maybe $300 for the duration of the hunt. It’s not a lot in the big picture, but getting a medivac without insurance could cost you $75,000.

The insurance I use personally is Ripcord, and I recommend it. (Note that this is an 'affiliate' link, which means that I get a small commission if you purchase through the link; but that's not why I recommend Ripcord. I recommend Ripcord because I trust it.)

SATELLITE PHONE AND GPS MAPS

I always carry a satellite phone. I carry a cell phone, too, but there’s not always a signal out in the far corners of the ranches we hunt, and in an emergency, I want to know I’ll be able to communicate.

Some hunters carry satellite texting devices, because they’re cheaper and lighter than phones. I prefer a phone because talking on the phone enables me to communicate a lot faster, to exchange more detailed information, and to avoid the miscommunication that can occur so often in text messages.

Note that I don’t personally carry any GPS mapping devices, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see the value in them. In my case, I’m hunting ranches that I know like the back of my hand. Basically, where I hunt, I’ve got my own built-in GPS maps.

Because of that, I can’t give you the same kind of recommendations I give for equipment that I use personally. However, I’ve heard good things about onX Offroad. It offers maps that can be downloaded in advance and then used when you don’t have cellular connections.

OPTICS

I always carry binoculars and a spotting scope.

My binoculars are from Swarovski Optik (Swarovski 12x42 NL Pure), and, speaking technically, they’re not inside my pack; I carry them in my chest harness.

For a spotting scope, I’ve got an angled scope (a 25-50 wide-angle eyepiece, also from Swarovski). A straight scope limits me so that I’ve got to be exactly in line with the animal I’m trying to see, which, of course, makes me directly in line with him, too. With an angled scope, I can stay out of sight.

TRIPOD AND CAMERA

I carry a camera. Cell phones take pretty good pictures these days, but I want something with a bit higher resolution and a bit more control. I even carry a portable ‘bounce board’, a reflector that will light up the shadowed side of my subject, for a better photo. Of course, not everybody needs this, but I want to get high-quality photos, both for my business and for my hunters.

I’ve got a tripod for my camera, too, but it’s really multi-purpose. The tripod has an Arca-Swiss mount on it, and that mount is pretty much universal. I can mount my camera on it, and it fits most rifles, too. If one of my hunters has a rifle that isn’t compatible with an Arca-Swiss mount, that’s ok. I’ve got a vise-like adapter that fits on the mount and will hold just about any rifle in its grip.

I also recommend that you fit your rifle with a bipod and know how to use it. I even use my bipod when I’m using a shooting stick — the shooting stick just converts my bipod into a tripod.

And I carry a lightweight shooting bag, too.

SUPPRESSOR

In Texas, most hunters use suppressors, and that’s what I tell my hunters to do. With a suppressor, out in the field, you don’t need any other hearing protection. (On a range, where you’re likely to have overhead covering or other hard surfaces, you should use hearing protection even with a suppressor, because sound is going to bounce right back at you).

By the way: Do not use a muzzle brake. That’s sort of a reverse-suppressor. It lessens the recoil, but it does it by redirecting gases back at you.

If you don’t have a suppressor (but you really ought to), then wear hearing protection.

My Iridium satellite phone is a backup to my cell phone; in an emergency, I don't want to be without service. And my knives by Ruben Ramos are the best knives I've ever handled.

KNIVES

I love my knives. They’re made by Ruben Ramos in Baird, Texas. They’re light, hard, and sharp, and they hold their edge really well. I carry two of them. I can skin, gut, and quarter five or six animals with one of Ruben’s knives before I need to sharpen it.

MISCELLANEOUS

I also pack sunscreen when I head out in the morning, and lip balm and insect repellent, too.

I personally don’t wear gloves, except in really cold weather, so I don’t pack any. But if you’re more comfortable with them, bring them along. Some people also bring walking sticks with them. But, if you get tired and think a walking stick would help, I can probably just snap the stalk off a sotol plant for you.

I also carry bags (garbage bags or game bags), wet wipes, and disposable nitrite gloves. And, if rain is a possibility, I carry a rain jacket.

BOTTOM LINE

For more information about full packing lists and my specific gear recommendations, check out my individual hunt pages and my gear page.

And here’s my key piece of advice on what you should pack:

1. Water (and more water)

2. Any personal medications

    

Beyond that, it’s personal choices. And, with the exception of water and personal medications, if you’re missing something, I’ve probably got it in my pack.