Late season hunting brings lots of excitement and, undoubtedly, a lot of challenges as well. On one hand, you wish for the snow and cold temperatures, but, on the other hand, you hope it doesn’t snow so much that it makes it unsafe to get around in the mountains.

To make things a little safer there should be several pieces of gear that never leave your truck during a late-season hunt. While you might never use all of these items on one hunt, trust me when I say that you will be glad you thought ahead of time to bring some safety items. 

Here are a few items that I never leave home without on a late-season hunt:

• Tire chains
• Battery jump starter box
• Snow shovel x 2
• Jumper cables
• Hi-Lift Jack
  • I’ve been using the Hi-Lift X-Treme 60” jack
  • Hi-Lift jack Lift-Mate accessory strap
  • Off-road base plate for Hi-Lift
• Tow straps
• Tire repair kit
• Portable truck air compressor (plug into truck version works great)
• Wrenches
  • A tool bag full of an assortment of wrenches
• Axe
• Hatchet
• Leather gloves

If you have a diesel truck, you might want some other items, too. When I had a diesel truck, I used to carry around a small Big Buddy propane heater and had to use that and some tarps to get my truck started in Montana after I left it in the cold for three days.

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Notes on a few items

Tire chains

Make sure you get the right size for your vehicle and that you know how to use them. There is nothing worse than trying to put on chains for the first time in a bunch of snow when your fingers are frozen.

Hi-Lift Jack

Before using a Hi-Lift jack…know how to properly use one! This jack system can be a little dangerous. In a pinch, the Hi-Lift jack is a lifesaver. I’ve used it before to lift a tire up to place logs and pine tree branches when I got my truck stuck in Montana.

Jumper cables

Double and triple check you have them! In Wyoming, when hunting with the Born and Raised Outdoors crew for their Land Of The Free 2.0 film series, somehow my truck battery died after sitting for three days and we wanted to move locations. I searched in my truck and couldn’t find my jumper cables. Then, I remembered that I loaned them to a friend and forgot to get them back.

I instantly thought all was well since we had two other vehicles…wrong! In a case of bad luck, Trent had a new vehicle and didn’t have jumper cables and somehow Zack didn’t have his jumper cables in his truck either. 

So we resorted to driving the other vehicles around the mountains until we came across a great guy driving a Forest Service truck who offered to help.

Snow shovel

If you think you need a shovel…bring two. Trust me! A simple snow shovel is a lifesaver when you get buried. A standard snow shovel from home will work. I now also take along a foldable snow shovel from MSR. It packs up to nothing and I’ve even taken it on a backcountry hunt in Wyoming to shovel snow out of the way for our tipi shelter. Luckily, we rented llamas so they carried the shovel.

Video on this topic of late season truck items

 

In conclusion

While I now carry more late-season safety items than ever before, keep in mind that these items add up fast—not only in money, but also space in your truck. Also, this list could get really long if you really try to prepare for everything, so think of the items you really need if space is an issue. This list has helped me a multitude of times when the temperatures dropped to get out of some scary situations. For a different take on this subject, check out Brandon Evans' past article here.

Best of luck and stay safe this late season!