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Hunting & Fishing Hunting alone safely

mikel822

Banhammer
Banned !
Minuteman
Nov 26, 2020
8
3
Washington DC
Please share your strategies for safe hunting, I love hunting alone and backpack hunting alone, the following is my strategy for safety: Inform someone exactly where you are going and when you will return, if you don't show up on time have them look for you. keep some form of signaling device with you, (blaze orange vest is good, flashlight with strobe function) Always keep on your person in your pockets and small pack supplies and water to survive a day or two if unable to walk out. I always take an aspirin daily and keep a few on my person if there is any cardiac problems, I also have some powerful prescription pain killers from when I passed a kidney stone I keep with me in case I get mangled up somehow. I Wear good boots and watch out for rattlesnakes some of them are extremely deadly. Very Important, mark your trails with something reflective in case you have to walk out at night and keep a spare flashlight on your person as well. In my day pack I keep thermals (enough to survive a night out), windproof gloves a wool ski cap, matches, rain poncho, water, trail mix, 2-3 flashlight, some form of reflective markers, something blaze orange usually a vest. I NEVER separate myself from my pack or the items in my pockets. One thing I may start doing is bring one radio from a pair of FRS radios with a preset channel, leave the other radio with whomever has agreed to come look for me if I don't return on time. I learned the hard way one time, taking my pack off at night and having no reflective markers to mark it with, got lost and separated from my supplies, fortunately after a few hours I found my pack, could have ended up bad. Backpack hunting alone is an unparalleled experience but it must be done wisely.

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I leave a trip and coms plan; carry an inReach mini and set it to send tracking points every 2 hours; have a side arm (I hunt in brown bear country, don't usually carry it if I'm not going solo); carry a days worth of food; bring clothing and shelter that will let me survive a night or two in the current weather (normally I just bring a full camp, but not always); two flashlights; water filter and stove.

Honestly, until I know an area well there is not much difference between my overnight kit and my day hunting kit. Depending on the weather, pack weight is only 15 to 20 pounds. That does go up if I need winter kit like snowshoes or skis.

It might be a little overkill, but several people die in the mountains up here every year. Some of them would have made it if they had just been willing to hump a little gear. The goal is to self rescue and just use the inReach to say "I'll be late." The other thing people forget in Alaska, is depending on weather rescue could be a couple days in coming even if they know where you are.
 
Garmin Inreach Mini has seriously been the biggest game changer. Being able to text my wife lets her be at ease and allows me to be out there longer. Everytime you send out a text it also sends your GPS location. It has an SOS feature where if pushed emergency services response. You can do month to month membership or a year long membership. Worth every penny.
 
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Your radio idea is good, however the range of those FRS radios is severely limited. The output power is also low. If any type of terrain, hills or trees exist, your range will be greatly decreased. Some cases to a few hundred yard or less. Please don't go with the impression FRS radios will grant you instant contact miles away. Saying that, having one is better than not having one. Check out GMRS, Amature/HAM radio and getting your license. You will be surprised where a radio repeater may be. Plus your knowledge and capability of radios will greatly increase far above the use of FRS. On top of it, its another fun hobby!
 
For me, it is always hunting with a fully charged cell phone and running Life360 which is a tracking program. My wife can find me to within a few yards if necessary or direct others to me.

I carry multiple light sources and spare batteries for two of them.

I carry a bleed kit.

Depending on the circumstances, I will carry water as well, but usually I am within a few hundred yards of the truck.