We hunt archery elk and mule deer so this should work for any game. This is our procedure that seems to work well for us.
Food wise: we eat things like Honey and Oats Bars , trail mix bars, trail mix, various energy bars to your taste. If we splurge we will throw in a snickers
Also we take the dehydrated fruit packs that we purchase from Costco. We unwrap everything at camp and transfer all food to zip lock sandwich bags to eliminate unwrapping noises. We setup our backpacks to have all the food in outside pockets to reduce opening up a backpack and the need to dig through looking for the food buried down in our packs...Also helps reduce the movement if you do everything slowly when accessing the food. Been there done that and got busted..
Bathroom: We take a couple of empty Gatorade bottles and set them up on the outside screen mesh carry pockets on our backpack. If you can, take only one empty and one full then after your trek in country you can drink the full one to replintish your electrolites. Don't get the bottles confused
We carry an aluminum garden spade trowl in a gallon zip lock bag to bury a dump and scent elimination field wipes just in case we need to go in the field near our hunting spot. We set up over several wallo's and main entry trails. We have more than one hunter setup in the quarter mile area. If someone in our group needs to take a dump, our rule is they packup walk out and do their thing well away from our hunting spot. They bury it then find another place to hunt for the day. They are done and can not try to re-enter our hunting location for the day and we hook up at a pre-set GPS location point after dark. We take no chances of someone busting game out during daylight hours. We go in.. in the dark and come out in he dark..
To pass the time.. we hunt...wait, watch, listen, glass.
Elk make some noise more than deer but I have shot both ways sitting as well as standing. I prefer to stand but the situation dictates that position. If I hear something I prefer to immediately slowly stand if possible while the game is still off in the distance and I can stand without getting busted. If movement risks getting busted the I stay still and let things play out sitting. We always are setup with an arrow nocked on the string to be ready and reduce movement when game comes in...
We use Scent-Killer spray on everyting, backpacks bows, arrows and scent-lok cloths and rarely get busted due to human scent. When we get busted it is always due to some type of movement either repositioning for the shot or drawing our bows. Always try to wait to draw your bow when your game is not looking your way if possible. That drawing the bow movement is critical.
ALWAYS wear a quality safety harness: We like the Hunter Safety Systems Vest type harness. It is very comfortable and distributes the weight correctly if you ever need to use it. It has quick disconnect clips so if suspended you just unsnap with all the weight on the straps to get free. Some harnesses you need to cut your way out...Know your harness and how to get out of it in any position when hanging....
Good hunt'n
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