A Beginners Guide to Field Survival Kits for Hunting

Sensational TV programs chronicling the spastic antics of so-called survival experts have pumped a great amount of phony survival information into the American brain.

These shows have promoted the idea that survival situations begin with the “victim” falling out of anairplaneand landing on a deserted island with nothing but a large knife. The host then endures a number of misadventures, only to be saved by the well-timed discovery of a freshly killed zebra that’s been left behind by a lion.

In real life, survival situations don’t play out this dramatically. Instead, they begin when you wander away from your car or truck thinking that you’re going for a quick hike on a day’s hunt. Then you get injured or lost, and things go to hell.

The key to surviving these situations isn’t finding carrion or wringing water from a pile of animal dung; instead, it is proper planning and packing. Besides logging your starting point with a hand-held GPS unit, a responsible hunter maintains a basic kit of essentials that he always keeps handy, either in a pack or a hip pocket, whenever straying away from a vehicle or other point of departure.

A good kit is not comprised exclusively of emergency survival material, as it should also contain a wide variety of small tools and materials that come in handy on a daily basis. Nor should a kit be static. I customize my kit before every trip, so that it’s always fine-tuned for the particular conditions that I’m likely to encounter. On a wintertime trip in the far north, for instance, there’s no need to let insect repellent take up space in my kit when an extra canister of fire-starting paste is way more appropriate.

A basic hunting kit for overnight ventures. Weighs under two pounds when loaded for several nights afield. Fits easily inside a hip cargo pocket or pack lid.
A: OR Backcountry Organizer, size medium.
B: Driver bits for basic firearm/bow/outboard engine repairs and adjustments;
compatible with the ¼” driver on a SOG multi-tool.
C: Black Diamond headlamp
D: SOG Dark Energy 240-lumen flashlight
E: Insect repellant wipes, Benadryl, Tylenol, Chapstick, lens cleaning towelette,
antibiotic ointment
F: Resealable waterproof envelope for adhesive bandages, gauze, alcohol prep
wipes, etc.
G: Adhesive bandages and gauze pads
H: wipes
I:Dental floss with heavy duty needle tucked inside container
J: Toothpaste and collapsible toothbrush
K: Fishing kit: A chewing tobacco container containing a few flies, split shot
and 20 ft of 6 lb test.
L: Spare batteries to fit flashlight, headlamp, GPS, and rangefinder
M: Waterproof matches in airtight container
N: Lighter wrapped with emergency supply of duct tape
O: Fire starting paste
P: Havalon Piranta and extra blades
Q: Snare Shop Survival Snare
R: 25 feet of 4 mm utility cord
S: Zipties
T: Suunto Compass

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