FREE BACKCOUNTRY HUNTING GEAR LIST
There will always be certain essential pieces of gear that a hunter takes with them in their pack. Other items are taken based on a few criteria such as; depending upon the time of year, the weather, the terrain, the season, the species, and hunting location relative to the trailhead.
We have found throughout the years that being able to track what gear we plan to have with us with a gear list allows for easy planning beforehand as well as keeps us from forgetting any necessary items or packing in anything extra.
It doesn’t matter if you’re headed out for a weekend high country mule deer archery hunt in August, a weeklong September archery elk hunt, or a once-in-a-lifetime journey to Alaska, using the gear list template to plan and prepare for your trip will guarantee that you will have everything you need packed and ready come time to go hunting.
Your free gear list template
We have made our Gear List Template accessible with the list below:
Once you open the spreadsheet, you can create a copy to modify for your gear...
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Computer & Web Browser: Select File, then "Make a copy" or "Download" from the menu
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Mobile Device & Google Sheets App: Open the Menu by selecting the three dots in the upper-right corner of the screen, then select "Options > Share & Export"
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If the spreadsheet opens in the web browser on your mobile device and you don't see either of the previously mentioned options, try installing the free Google Sheets app on your device.
Once you have your copy of the spreadsheet, modify each item as needed to build your customized gear list.
HOW TO USE THE SPREADSHEET
At the top of the spreadsheet, you will see there are areas for your Base Pack Weight, Full Pack Weight. There are also weights per category of items, such as the Pack & Accessories category. These numbers are all calculated for you, and will be explained below. The Base Pack Weight does not account for food, fuel, or water since those are subject to change. Once you enter how much food, fuel, and water you will be carrying, those numbers will be added to The Base Pack Weight to provide you with The Full Pack Weight.
When you check "INCLUDED" next to any item, that item will be added into your pack weight totals. This feature allows you to compare the weight of different items to meet your needs dependent upon the trip. If we are hunting archery elk in a mostly timbered area, we will not pack a tripod and spotting scope, but those items will be in our pack for a high country mule deer hunt. Other examples are different boots and clothing dependent upon how cold or wet the forecast predicts. By changing the "INCLUDED" status of those items, we will notice how our pack weight changes accordingly by category and total.
Once we have all of the items included for a specific hunt, we will often print off a paper copy of the gear list to use as we pack our gear before leaving home. That's where the second checkbox column — "PACKED" — is used. You can also mark items as packed using the digital spreadsheet if you don't want to or need to print a hard copy of your gear list. Keep in mind, the “PACKED” column is to determine whether the task is completed or not and does not change the pack weight numbers; only the “INCLUDED” column is considered into the pack weight calculations.
