Thoughts on using a military surplus ruck sack as a first pack until I can save up for a high quality/value pack for Western Big Game hunting?

[Lyfter1013]

deleted

 

[Anschutz]

I convinced my wife that I needed a high end pack by hiking 4 miles with 70lbs in my MOLLE ruck. Can it be done? Absolutely. I'm sure there are several 4ID Soldiers using their MOLLE ruck to hunt. Make sure you watch some videos on how to set it up properly to make it as comfortable as possible. I did not prior to an arctic course and suffered through a few days of carrying it.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

Like the others have said, if that is what you have, just go hunt. I have hunted/packed meat with packs that were much more spartan. The attached photo shows the kind of military surplus pack I used to pack my first few elk. I upgraded after the straps cut the circulation off in my arms while I was packing half of a boned out bull. I made it a little over a mile with that load and realized it was causing serious problems when I took the pack off and couldn’t lift my arms. We had made it to the trail, so my friend and I just returned the next morning with some help.

View attachment 211977

Wow that would been extremely rough. Those straps look as comfortable as ratchet straps. No padding at all.

 

[WVgoodguy22]

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I am going to try it out this spring and may look into those REI backpack hiking options that you mentioned. I don’t have an REI locally mostly Cabelas and Sportmans Warehouse

 

[deer_shooter]

By your username I assume you are my neighbor to the south. I have a cabela's frame you are welcome to borrow. Let me know.

 

[Westxhunter]

I am curious what everyone’s thoughts and experiences are with using a military surplus ruck for backcountry style hunts or even truck camping 🏕 and potentially packing an animal out with it?
I recently was given a rucksack by an Army Vet who volunteers at a local VA. He is a coworker and we spoke of my hunting dreams out west so when some became available he snatched me one. I bought some additional pouches for it for extra storage and organization.
My first hunt plan is for a possible 10+ day rifle hunt in Wyoming for mule deer and pronghorn. I don’t believe that I will pick a high country unit for the mule deer deer. Not sure yet but I have some time to decide.
So what are your thoughts knowing that is my goal. Eventually I may go hunting but hopefully have some family and friends to help pack it out if blessed to take one.

I have one myself. I didn't feel like paying hundreds of dollars for a meat hauler, when it seems like this one works just as well.

I am curious what everyone’s thoughts and experiences are with using a military surplus ruck for backcountry style hunts or even truck camping 🏕 and potentially packing an animal out with it?
I recently was given a rucksack by an Army Vet who volunteers at a local VA. He is a coworker and we spoke of my hunting dreams out west so when some became available he snatched me one. I bought some additional pouches for it for extra storage and organization.
My first hunt plan is for a possible 10+ day rifle hunt in Wyoming for mule deer and pronghorn. I don’t believe that I will pick a high country unit for the mule deer deer. Not sure yet but I have some time to decide.
So what are your thoughts knowing that is my goal. Eventually I may go hunting but hopefully have some family and friends to help pack it out if blessed to take one.

I decided to go this route for my hunting pack. I paid 60 bucks total and it came with a new frame and two sustainment packs. It holds everything i need and also has all the extra space I need to haul meat. You really do need to watch a video on how to adjust it for your body though. It's definitely comfortable when you do. The only thing it could use is different camo, but hey I'm not that snooty.

 

[Pucky Freak]

You can get a decent bang for your buck on packs. I would not say the same about optics or boots, which is much more you get what you pay for. Just a quick search on eBay you can get a decent used hunting pack on eBay for about $70-$80. If I was on a limited budget and needed a pack I would definitely allocate $75 to getting one of these packs rather than suffer through a milsurp pack.

Personally, I bought a new Slumberjack Rail Hauler 2.0 for $160. It meets my needs just fine. I’ve added a waterproof system, gun bearer, and bow mount for another $50 total. I do want to upgrade eventually, but it’s very low on my list of what I want to upgrade.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

MR packs on camofire right now, might be worth a look

 

[gallagher71]

My elk hunting partner and close friend uses his pack from when he was in the Army. He served in the 1980's before gear was high-tech. In the past three years, we've hunted elk together on four one-week trips from a wall tent. Each time, we've walked up and down mountains and never walked less than 40 miles in 6 days. Guy never complains and usually out-hikes me with a smile on his face.

Our unit selection, individual training regiments, e-scouting, and our hunts are planned with intention. We're both physically ready and mentally prepared to go hard.

That all said, my partner is a green beret. It's been 25+ years since he was active duty. In his 50's today. He's way tougher than I could ever hope to be.

Forgive me, but I'm going to turn your question around a bit. The real question isn't if the pack is "good enough to go." Question is will you be physically and mentally "good enough to go" with the pack.

 

[Bullshot]

True Fact According to the Interweb - it is impossible to hike, hunt, or enjoy yourself in the west without $7,000 of fresh gear and optics.

Also, no elk or deer were killed before 1995 and certainly never by anyone in army surplus woodland camo or cotton blue jeans.

 

[Addicting]

My elk hunting partner and close friend uses his pack from when he was in the Army. He served in the 1980's before gear was high-tech. In the past three years, we've hunted elk together on four one-week trips from a wall tent. Each time, we've walked up and down mountains and never walked less than 40 miles in 6 days. Guy never complains and usually out-hikes me with a smile on his face.

Our unit selection, individual training regiments, e-scouting, and our hunts are planned with intention. We're both physically ready and mentally prepared to go hard.

That all said, my partner is a green beret. It's been 25+ years since he was active duty. In his 50's today. He's way tougher than I could ever hope to be.

Forgive me, but I'm going to turn your question around a bit. The real question isn't if the pack is "good enough to go." Question is will you be physically and mentally "good enough to go" with the pack.

Big difference between the Alice packs and this newer style. I would take one of those Alice packs any day a thousand times over one of the Molly packs.

 

[Gunner46]

I've managed to do just fine with a Desert Storm era Alice Pack for more weeks afield than I care to remember.....with and without the pack frame. Just don't stuff a bunch of crap you'll never use in it. You'd be surprised about what you Think/but Don't really need.....

 

[Oldskool67]

Yes it will work fine. There are better packs. Just go hunting with it and then you can decide from there how you want to spend your money.

 

[turbobrick]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and experience with a MOLLE military rucksack as a temporary option until I can save up $$ for a high quality/value pack. Coming from West Virginia and having a very limiting budget of time and money I might be only able to get out west for one hunt a year.
I know that I don’t need a large pack for pronghorn since they mostly will be found less than a mile away from the truck or SUV (depending upon what I can rent), I am not sure yet what kind of deer hunting I will do or where in Wyoming. Going to try to keep the region within a couple hours of my pronghorn unit.
I didn’t figure that it would be the most comfortable thing out there. I know that comfort and fit is very important especially under load. I have a 23 in torso from waist to shoulder at 6’1” and 250 lbs.
I recently bought some 14EE Hanwag Alverstone II Gtx off GoHunt during their 3X points deal in January. I know that great boots is very important too. I plan on wearing them a lot in the off season and will try to put weight in the pack and hike with it. If I don’t like it I may go one of the routes that you all suggested once I know that I have the tags 🏷. I currently have 273 dollars worth of points at GoHunt and could use it on a Mystery Ranch pack (Stone Glacier is too expensive), but I was planning on using that for a shelter like the Seek Outside Silex or a Zoleo.
Thanks again everyone. Definitely gave me food for thought

I'd 100% rather have any MR hunting pack than a shelter like the Silex, if my only pack was a surplus pack like that. The Silex is a fine shelter, but you can buy one of many inexpensive new or even used tents that will honestly do almost everything as well. As an example, I've got a brand new Alps Lynx 1 with footprint I'm selling for $80, that will work just about as good. The gulf between those two shelters is much smaller than the one between a military pack and a MR.

 

[zach_destroys]

Use it man. You may get sore shoulders but they always feel better in a day or two. I've carried ungodly amounts of weight in those things. If you pack carefully and wear it properly you will be just fine.

 

[ImBillT]

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts and experience with a MOLLE military rucksack as a temporary option until I can save up $$ for a high quality/value pack. Coming from West Virginia and having a very limiting budget of time and money I might be only able to get out west for one hunt a year.
I know that I don’t need a large pack for pronghorn since they mostly will be found less than a mile away from the truck or SUV (depending upon what I can rent), I am not sure yet what kind of deer hunting I will do or where in Wyoming. Going to try to keep the region within a couple hours of my pronghorn unit.
I didn’t figure that it would be the most comfortable thing out there. I know that comfort and fit is very important especially under load. I have a 23 in torso from waist to shoulder at 6’1” and 250 lbs.
I recently bought some 14EE Hanwag Alverstone II Gtx off GoHunt during their 3X points deal in January. I know that great boots is very important too. I plan on wearing them a lot in the off season and will try to put weight in the pack and hike with it. If I don’t like it I may go one of the routes that you all suggested once I know that I have the tags 🏷. I currently have 273 dollars worth of points at GoHunt and could use it on a Mystery Ranch pack (Stone Glacier is too expensive), but I was planning on using that for a shelter like the Seek Outside Silex or a Zoleo.
Thanks again everyone. Definitely gave me food for thought

I’ve been sleeping in a $30 tent for five years. Personally I’d get a good pack and decent sleeping bag over an expensive shelter unless you knew you absolutely could not go back to the truck in case of extreme weather.

 

[blacksheep]

Buy a frame pack like the Stansport Deluxe Freighter Aluminum Pack Frame. They are super light and you can attach a daypack to it and it only costs about $90 on Amazon.

blacksheep

 

[WVgoodguy22]

By your username I assume you are my neighbor to the south. I have a cabela's frame you are welcome to borrow. Let me know.

Yes I am from the northern panhandle of West By God Virginia. My youngest brother has one and it worked well as a meat hauler on a big bodied mule deer . Since it was too cold and windy in SE Idaho in 2019 we stayed in a hotel so he didn’t get to use it for backcountry backpack hunting. Thank you

 

[WVgoodguy22]

My elk hunting partner and close friend uses his pack from when he was in the Army. He served in the 1980's before gear was high-tech. In the past three years, we've hunted elk together on four one-week trips from a wall tent. Each time, we've walked up and down mountains and never walked less than 40 miles in 6 days. Guy never complains and usually out-hikes me with a smile on his face.

Our unit selection, individual training regiments, e-scouting, and our hunts are planned with intention. We're both physically ready and mentally prepared to go hard.

That all said, my partner is a green beret. It's been 25+ years since he was active duty. In his 50's today. He's way tougher than I could ever hope to be.

Forgive me, but I'm going to turn your question around a bit. The real question isn't if the pack is "good enough to go." Question is will you be physically and mentally "good enough to go" with the pack.

That is a good question and something that I am working on. I have joined a gym and actually use my membership. But I know that I need much more training before I am ready for certain kind of hunts with multiple miles and elevation change and being out in weather conditions that are all over the place etc… That’s why I am starting with pronghorn and possibly low country mule deer

 

[WVgoodguy22]

Thanks everyone for their thoughts, advice and sarcasm on my question . I know that things can and have been done on a low budget including many DIY solutions. I will definitely give it a go, learn how to fit it and hike with weight in it. I have many months to go and May 31st drawing still has to be good to me.