Backquiver gear packing ... and game packing

      One of the things I hear from archers not wanting to use the backquiver for hunting is that the quiver takes up the space that would be occupied by a daypack or backpack.  However will the archer be able to take into the field all the necessary gear to have a successful hunt?

      I've used the Hill style backquiver for most of my life, including hunting.  Since I like the quiver for the way it carries arrows and it's speed and efficiency in handling arrows, I've come up with ways to manage carrying gear that works.  This may not be for everyone, and if someone is packing deep into the backcountry, and a backpack is necessary for that reason...well, then maybe other options may need to be utilized.  However, for all the hunting I do, including miles-long mountain forays, the following works really well.

      First off, I don't carry excessive gear.  I don't carry extra coats, pants, etc. I don't carry lots of game processing items or lots of water.  I try to keep my equipment pared down to the minimum yet still carry emergency items, a water filtration system, extra clothing depending on the time of year, and some meat processing equipment.  I don't need three knives.  I need one and a pocketknife to bone out any animal in North America.  I watch the weather and dress accordingly, avoid sweating during the hikes up the mountains, carry an extra wool shirt or sweater if needed, that sort of thing and I've never felt a lack of preparedness.  I carry a little extra food/energy bars. I carry multiple types of fire starters and can light a fire when needed.  I carry a satellite Inreach tracking/texting device, a compass, and a GPS device.  I carry a cell phone when in range as well.  I feel I'm more prepared than the old archers who were a lot tougher men than I am.  And I carry all this gear in a haversack.

      Depending on the terrain I hunt, the haversack of choice is either an Asbell wool double pouch for back country elk hunting...it hangs about waist level and is easily maneuvered through the woods;  or I carry a Duluth Pack shot shell back in the desert sagebrush country where the pack is riding higher under my arm and out of the way of that pesky, noisy sage.  Either way, the gear needs will be a little different and each pack does it's job well, and still allows me to use the backquiver as it's intended.

      For many years I used waist-mounted belt packs and endured the inevitable pulling down of the breeches during hill climbs.  I don't do that anymore.   For small forays, the small waist pack works very well...and I still sometimes use one for short, close hunts, but the haversack/bag works just a bunch better for me.

     "But what if I get some game?"  That question is asked as well.  "How do I get it back to camp? I don't want to go to camp empty-handed."   That used to plague me as well.  Small game is easily field dressed and put into the quiver for transport, that's not an issue.  But what if you shoot that deer or elk or hog and it's a far piece back to the truck or camp?  What then?

      If the game hunted is further away or in rougher terrain than I can use my game cart, then I use the following methods.  They work very well and I wish I'd thought of them.  

       Number one:  The trick I learned from reading an interview in the old Instinctive Archer magazine put out by my friend Rik Hinton.  He'd interviewed a longbow hunter by the name of Scott Troll who was a very good elk hunter.  Scott used a backquiver exclusively and his way of packing game back to camp with his first load was a simple long-sleeved T-shirt. Yep.  A game bag and pack all in one.  He'd tie the cuffs of each arm in a knot or tie up with some leather lace.  Tie the neck closed with lace and stuff the arms and torso of the shirt with meat.  Finished by tieing off the waist with leather lace as well.  To carry the load, the two meat-laden arms drape over the shoulders and hang down the chest and the torso of the T-shirt hangs down your back.  The load is balanced and easily carried.  Fifty pounds of meat can be easily taken out this way if desired.  I found that mock-neck or turtleneck shirts are better for tieing off the neck area, and knotting the cuffs works well.  The T-shirt is like a game bag as well and once back at camp you can just hang it up.  I roll up the T-shirt and used to carry it tied to my quiver but now I just attach to my haversack with elastic cording.  This is a super slick way to carry some meat back to camp as the backquiver just rides along on top of the meat load.

     Number two:  Idaho Pack Out Bags.  These are a pannier pack bag system based on the old newspaper carrying bags or horse packing pannier bags...but used to carry game on a person.  The bags hang fore and aft and meat loads quite heavy can be managed surprisingly well.  I've carried up to 80# much more comfortably with this system than with a packframe.  And the bags roll up in a tidy package that I can lash to my haversack as well.  Check these out, they're very worth the price.

Pack Out Bags (squarespace.com)

     So there you have it...packing gear and packing game...all while still enjoying the Hill style backquiver.   Now it's time to go hunting...

      Shoot Straight.