Pat's "Hunting like an Animal" pack list
Contributors to this thread:Elk
From: CO_Bowhunter
23-Aug-17
CO_Bowhunter's Link
Pat Lefemine wrote a short article many years ago that included a packing list. This has been my go-to list for years and years. Although the image links no longer work, the article and hunting pack list are tested and solid. I remember the first time I read this and thought, "This is the way I want to hunt" and I never looked back. It provides maximum flexibility and keeps me in elk country without slogging back and forth from a typical hunting camp. Based on my hunting journals, I've had over 300 elk within 20 yards since 1993. I believe a lot of it has to do with this approach, hunting like an animal.
Thanks Pat! From the article: My personal list (less than 25lbs) Camp Trails Freighter frame backpack Ultralight -10 degree sleeping bag North Face Tadpole 3 lb. tent Enough freeze dried food for five days (5 meals) Snack food for five days One change of lightweight clothes Two changes of Thermax socks One fleece jacket Set of gore-tex ultralight rain gear Bow with five arrows Game saw and knife Game Bags Liquid Game Bag meat protectant small mag-light flashlight small 35 mm camera - two rolls of film 100' parachute cord matches for emergency only Iodine tablets One water bottle compass 2 Small backpack rolls of toilet paper Topo map Game Calls (optional) Small emergency kit (space bag, bandages, etc)
From: Carcajou
23-Aug-17
That's an excellent read, and thanks for sharing. The concept of "hunt like an animal" is my mantra. Using wind currents, terrain, and observations, such as visual, hearing etc..dominate my reasons for pursuing game. Thanks for resurrecting this old post, it still holds true!
From: jordanathome
23-Aug-17
35mm camera and 2 rolls of film. LUV IT!
Good stuff Pat!
Upgrade the dry butt wiper rolls with a pack of wet wipes.......nice and clean!
From: Mark Watkins
23-Aug-17
A classic! Great info!
Having hunted Stone Sheep with Dustin Roe, this is his system pretty much to a "T."
He calls it "living with the sheep".....10 day backpack hunts (sleeping in a different location every night in most cases) can be physically and mentally brutal....but it is the most efficient way to maximize hunting hours and opportunities!
Mark
From: TD
23-Aug-17
Not bad. All good stuff. But I think somebody needs to check their scales...... =D
From: SJJ
23-Aug-17
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbbevyob1zg
From: Jaquomo
23-Aug-17
How did you boil the water for the freeze dry meals? Or did you just eat "crunchy stroganoff"?
From: joehunter
23-Aug-17
I still have the original print off I made of that article in my files . Pretty much got me going with my current system. Big comfortable base camp to come back to after a few days of bivy hunting with a setup much like Pat's article details. Worked last year! Hopefully it works this year.
From: APauls
23-Aug-17
Sounded to me like he wasn't boiling water.
From: CO_Bowhunter
23-Aug-17
This is still my favorite list, 35mm film aside. I have the same Northface Tadpole Tent that Pat used and included in the original post. The weather is so warm early in the season I forgo the stove and have a good variety of healthy food in separate ziploc bags, one for each day. This first trip to the hunting blind is easy, 10 Clif Bars is all I need. Doesn't get any simpler than that. I bring EmergenC to mix with water to make it slightly more interesting. This list is laminated and secured to my pack so I can check everything before I leave. The first time I used it I hiked in 4 miles through deadfall from the highway, set up in a basin and opening morning I couldn't get out of my tent because I was surrounded by elk. One even tripped over a tent guy rope. Tent placement is important. LOL
From: jordanathome
23-Aug-17
3 lb tent.....no way. Mine is a 1 lb Nemo Spike 2.
From: CO_Bowhunter
23-Aug-17
Jordan, remember this list is 20 years old. Equipment has changed. My favorite four season tent is made by a Colorado family. The company is Seek Outside. I have their 8 man tipi tent with a titanium stove. 14 feet in diameter and 9.5 feet at the peak. Total weight, stove and tent, is only 9 pounds. Bombproof. And the tent compresses down to the size of two water bottles. I packed it 36 miles into the Bob Marshall Wilderness in Montana. Here's a photo of my campsite. For bowhunting this year I'm sleeping in my hunting blind that I packed in.
From: LUNG$HOT
23-Aug-17
The big question is, where you Manscaping back then?
From: CO_Bowhunter
23-Aug-17
You're on the wrong thread Lungshot, possibly the wrong Web site. I'm from Montana. The only manscaping I'm aware of is scalping. And no, I've never done that to myself. If you weren't scalped for making a manscaping comment in my home town, you'd definitely be thrown off the Kootenia River bridge with a tire rim firmly cabled to your left testicle. You'd be wise to keep your manscaping comments to yourself and get some therapy soon.
From: TD
24-Aug-17
As far as Pat and Manscaping...... I don't think so with that porn star mustache back then..... heheheheh......
From: jordanathome
24-Aug-17
9 lb tipi.....holy crap....that is like carrying around an extra arm. ;)
From: GotBowAz
24-Aug-17
CO_Bowhunter, how much does the tent weigh without the stove and how fast can it be set up? I really like the idea of a roomy tent i can stand in but if it takes a lot to set it up id rather deal with something lighter and simpler.
From: Mad Trapper
24-Aug-17
I have heard Pat called many names, but animal.....?????
From: CO_Bowhunter
24-Aug-17
The tipi tent by www.seekoutside.com weighs 6 pounds without the stove. Remember, this is a bombproof palace that will withstand 60 mph winds with laughter, tons of room, and it sets up in about 10 minutes. You can literally tuck this tent under your armpit. It is the best, by far, four season tent I've used.
From: krieger
26-Aug-17
6lbs would be worth it in inclement weather...looks nice!
From: CO_Bowhunter
16-Aug-18
I'm mentoring a few new bowhunters this year and we went over Pat's list a few nights ago at a local pub. Dark beer and light conversation. I go back to this list every year because it works and minimizes my pack weight. I do bring a stove and make my own meals. The freeze dried stuff turns my insides out. I also bring a heavy duty emergency space blanket that is used for many things, including laying out a my game bags as I take care of an elk.
From: loesshillsarcher
16-Aug-18
If Pat were to update the list it would include Astroglide and a blow up sheep doll most likely
From: loesshillsarcher
16-Aug-18
hehe
From: Brotsky
16-Aug-18
Pat you ate cold mountain house? You really have taken self harm to the next level! Ha!
From: Kurt
16-Aug-18
From about 1980 on I followed the same protocol as Pat's '97 article for 2-4 day backpack elk hunts in CO. It works...lots of elk went home to the freezer. And Mt House is much better today than it was 30 years ago, and it tasted fine cold back then! Just let it sit for 20 min instead of 5 min with boiling water.
From: M.Pauls
16-Aug-18
LOL! (Pat)
From: Vonfoust
16-Aug-18
Good Lord you are lucky you are alive! Cotton??!? I've been told that cotton even touching my body above 7000 ft will kill me.
From: Mad Trapper
16-Aug-18
I have heard Pat called a lot of things, but... an animal?????
From: CO_Bowhunter
16-Aug-18
Kidding aside, this list has served me well for more than two decades. It is brilliant in its simplicity and thoroughness. I can't recommend it enough. If you've never made camp where you just happen to be as it get dark, you owe yourself a treat. Waking up and hunting immediately, without a long slog from camp is such a thrill.
From: 12yards
28-Aug-18
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