What's in Your Blind Bag?

by
posted on September 10, 2012
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
dogs_ah2015_fs.jpg (24)

An all-important question was posed a couple days ago over on the Final Approach Facebook page: Besides shotgun shells, what do you feel is the most important piece of equipment in your blind bag? Here are some of my favorite answers:

• Calls
• Thermos (Presumably filled with extra black "duck hunting" coffee)
• A hot chick (How big is this guy's duffle? Or rather, how small is his "chick?")
• Toilet paper (Been there, needed that, and it's also a good fire starter)
• Multitool (With duck hunting, you just never know—it pays to have a versatile tool for broken-down outboards and other emergencies)
• Sausage and egg biscuit
• Camera
• Head lamp
• Shotgun Bore Snake (Sure beats unplugging a muddy barrel with a long stick—not that I would ever do that, of course)
• Aspirin (For that post-miss headache?)
• Wader patches (When you need 'em, you really need 'em)
• Spare gun plug (You may have yours, but what about your buddy's new brother in-law?)

All things considered, I was impressed by the comprehensiveness of this list. There are but a few items I'd add to it:

• Extra dog whistle
• Change of gloves/socks
• Small butane stove (I'll see your sausage and egg biscuit and raise you a hot bacon omelette)
• Canine first aid kit
• GPS
• Lighter
• Hot Hands
• Choke tube tool
• Oh, and uh, shotgun shells

So what's in your blind bag?

Latest

Upland (5)
Upland (5)

5 Keys To Make This Your Best Upland Season Ever

Tired of walking long distances and coming home empty-handed? Here are five keys to help boost your bag of birds this year.

C&H Precision and MERUS Adventure Launch Guided Hunt Giveaway

Free entry runs through Nov. 13, 2026, and one winner and a guest will be heading to the Texas Panhandle for a fully guided hunt at MERUS Adventure—a private hunting and off-road park near Claude, Texas, outside Amarillo. The trip includes a fully guided hunt, range time with top-tier optics and gear, on-site lodging for the length of the stay and off-road driving across the property.

Things I’ve Learned About Public-Land Elk

Every generation has a story starting with, “I remember the good old days.” Elk hunters have a similar dialogue and although elk numbers are at some of their highest in modern history, public-land hunting still represents a sea of challenges. With decades of elk hunting in my rearview and an ongoing education, a few lessons I’ve learned from elk hunting may aid you in your public-land elk pursuits.

Colorado Ballot Battle Heats Up

The required number of valid signatures to put a “Right to Hunt and Fish Amendment” on Colorado’s Nov. 3 ballot was reached on Sept. 4. If approved by voters—according to Ballotpedia’s summary—it would add the “…right to hunt, fish, and take fish and wildlife through traditional methods” to the state constitution.

#SundayGunday: CZ 600+ ST3 American

On this week's #SundayGunday, we are taking a look at the new-for-2026 design of the CZ 600+ ST3 American, the ST3 being the long- and magnum-action model. Built by the legendary Czech company for the American market, this is a rifle adapted perfectly to hunting on this continent.

How Can Hunters Travel Out of State With Suppressed Firearms?

Getting federal and state agencies out of the way of the citizens who wish to use suppressors to make their guns more polite to their ears and to their neighbors’ is an ongoing, complex and multifaceted effort. There is, however, progress being made thanks to the Trump administration.

Interests



Get the best of American Hunter delivered to your inbox.