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?