Opening day is Saturday for NC hunters too. Rain or shine, I am staying dark to dark.

By mid season, I thin the vest contents down a little. I would like to start this season with the minimum. Right now I have 1 pot, 2 scratch boxes, a push pin, a box call, 4 strikers, a purse with 4 mouth calls, a gobble shaker and all the extras like a mini light, water bottle, compass etc...

I wish I had an old timer to teach me how to get by with less than half that stuff.

One of these days I am hitting the woods with one mouth call and that will be carried on my tongue!

Who has evolved back to the bare minimum?

I looked at my vest yesterday and laughed. I've got 6 mouth calls, a Lohman pump yelper, a box call, 2 slate calls, more shells than I've used the past 5 seasons, and other stuff i dont need. I start every year like this, but in a couple of weeks I'll go out with only 2 calls, the Primos Freak and my dependable HS Strut Double D mouth call, that stays in my mouth from the time I get out of my truck until the time I get back in it. One day I'll realize that all that junk is just slowing me down and all I need is the call thats in my mouth.

My vest just packed: 2 mouth calls,1 slate,headnet and gloves and backup of each, 1 inflateable hen, 4 shells, wing, half an old binocular( essentially a monocular), crow call. Very light. Will add only water bottle and snack(apple probably) . Oh yea, old small Zebco de-liar (fish scale and tape) just in case!

I guess I've always stuck with the minimum...2 diaphrams and sometimes an aluminum call, also sometimes a decoy. Then of course my gun and face mask.

I usually take a call (in my mouth) and a power crystal slate. As for shells I have 3 in the gun and 4 in my pocket. Bottle of water. Thats about it.

Ask Diablo about thinning down - he seens to have it mastered. I think I have taken over his spot of "I have the vest with the kitchen sink in it". I am not even going to go into what's in it - freddy will probably kick me off for using up too much cyberspace listing it all.
I had to laugh at myself also - prob. will have 1/10th of it by end of week 2.
Good luck everyone.
BB

I'm just like everyone else, I carry to many things in my vest. Instead of taking items out of my vest I decided when I take my daily walk, at least 3.9 miles, I would wear a packpack with 17 lbs. of weights inside. Hopefully the weight of my vest won't be a burden this year. Lots of luck tomorrow.

I weighed my pac with everything I wanted to take...18.5 lbs. Weeded it out and ended up with mouth call holder, box, water, rain gear, knife , plqastic baggie, 2 strikers,compass(or gps),one pot(non smoke),face mask,gloves, shells,6ft 1/4 nylon line,fire starter,crow call, owler(2), space blanket...=11 lbs.

Oh yeah, 3 sections of good paper towels.

YES