Planning a DIY Trip? Here’s What You’ll Need

Matt Opsahl

Guys Being Dudes, Freelancing

You’ve seen the pictures and the videos, you’ve heard the legendary stories. You’ve decided it’s time to plan that once in a lifetime DIY trip to go shoot birds in another state. I’ve compiled a guide on how to plan it, what to bring, and how to have success. Just as a reminder, half of the fun of a DIY trip is the process, so try to enjoy it. Remember the goal is to shoot birds, but it’s not the sole purpose. Hunt new places, build new or better relationships, and spend time with people you care about.

1.) Pick Where You Want To Go 

If I’m being honest, its becoming harder and harder to truly freelance waterfowl hunt. I’m not going to provide you with specific spots or even states, but I will give you some broad advice. Try and pick a state that is wildly different from where you typically hunt. It will challenge you to try new tactics and hopefully you’ll get to target a different variety of birds. Once you’ve landed on a spot, start researching the hunting regulations, bag limits, possession limits, licensing costs, etc. (NOT EVERY FLYWAY has the same regulations). Once you’re comfortable with where your going to be hunting and the respective regulations, start thinking logistics. Where are you going to stay? Do you need a rental house or a hotel? When is the best time to go? Modern technology has made finding these answers a hell of a lot simpler. Now that you’ve figured out your lodging options and what time of year you’ll be hunting, it’s time to figure out the area. Apps like OnX have made this a lot easier to “internet scout”. That’s where the journey really begins. Once you’ve arrived, the scout will make or break a great trip, i’ll come back to this later on. 

2.) Trailer

If you own a decked out trailer, awesome. If you don’t, no fear. That’s why UHAUL exists, and they work just the same. If you’ve read any of my previous gear articles, you know I am a psycho about realism. I find that the most realistic decoys on the market are full bodies which means you need SPACE. Decoys are the easy part of your packing list. I’ve compiled a list of the items that I think you’ll need to pack below. As a disclaimer, this set up is for field hunting. 

• Minimum 14 ft. enclosed trailer

• Minimum 10 doz. Full bodies- don’t forget to mix ducks into your spread 

• Bring snow goose socks or full bodies if you have them, it adds variation to your        

  spread, and who knows you may kill a snow, or 100

• Motion- 3 spinners (Lucky Duck), don’t forget to bring chargers and a power strip to plug in at night. Bring an extra battery or two, 

• A frames- I prefer Lucky Duck’s 2x4’s as they make it easy to pre brush with whatever cover you’re planning on hunting 

• Flags- if your planning on Goose hunting at all

• Shells- buy a case or 2 of Kent Bismuth 

• Guns- bring a back up. Also, bring CLP in case your gun jams up 

• Spare tire

• 1/2” Impact with socket set to change tires

• Portable Tire Inflator 

• Decoy sled (you never know if you’ll have to walk in) 

• Grill- you’ll need to cook (hopefully the birds you’re harvesting) ‘

• Dog blinds

• Dog food

• Dog trauma kit (Note- find a 24 hr vet or at least a vet you can get to within driving distance of where your hunting)

3.) Truck

Not be that guy, but if you’re pulling a trailer, make sure you have enough truck to pull it. Packing out your truck is a really important part of this process. I’ve compiled another list below to set your truck up. Side note, buy a topper. It makes it a lot easier if it rains, snows, etc. Keeping the elements off of your gear will go a long way in making the trip more enjoyable.

• Spotting scope

• Binoculars 

• Sunglasses 

• Map- sometimes your cell doesn’t work 

• Phone charger 

• Spare tire 

• Cooler 

• Tools in case you break down or run into weather (impact, jack, chains) 

• Portable generator- if you break down in a tough spot, you’ll want power

• Med kit- bring a tourniquet, bandages, general first aid

• 2 cases of water 

• Leatherman 

• Towels for the dogs 

• 2-3 boxes of DEF if your truck isn’t deleted

4.) Clothes 

Bring an extra or spare set of EVERYTHING. Weather can change pretty aggressively and you want to be prepared. More importantly, you want to be able to hunt. I’m a fan of Sitka Gear so most of my recommendations will be from Sitka. 

• Rain gear- Delta Wading Jacket, Hudson Bibs are my go to’s for field hunts in the rain

• Cold weather- Sitka Gradient pant, Merino 330 hoody, Duckworth wool hoody 

• Gloves- waterproof set and a cold weather set

• Jackets/ Vests- Hudson Jacket, Ambient Jacket, Dakota Vest 

• Socks- I am a huge fan of wool socks- you don’t need to break the bank here

• Bring a box of hand warmers 

5.) Scout/ Hunt Success

Scout, scout, and scout some more. The most common mistake I see when guys try to freelance is that they get to where they are going to be hunting and they just want to hunt. Typically the hunts don’t go the way they imagined, because they didn’t focus on the scout. I get it, it’s a long drive, and you’re excited to get rolling. To be very clear, if you're going on a 7 day trip, I’d plan to scout exclusively the first day. If you can’t find them the first day, go find them on the second. If you want to have successful hunts, you need to SCOUT, period. Be prepared for a ton of driving, it takes a while to learn a new place. Try to find large concentrations of birds and then figure out there patterns. A good piece of advice is to try before you’ve arrived to find large staging areas on OnX which will give you a great starting point. These are typically in my experience large bodies of water surrounding the area you want to hunt. That’s where you’ll find the best concentrations of birds, especially if you’ve timed the weather properly. Once you’ve found your concentrations, step on the gas and follow the birds to where they’re feeding, loafing, etc. From there, watch the birds habits, take notes, and come up with a game plan. Once you’ve built your game plan, go and ask for permission. It’s never a bad idea to have a few extra cases of beer in the truck for the farmer who says yes! At the end of the day, the scout is half of what makes freelancing fun. Time spent in the truck with friends and family all with a common goal will give you generational stories to tell and memories for a lifetime. 

Some of my best memories are from hunting other states with family and friends. You’ll make new relationships with land owners/ farmers, and even better relationships with your family and friends. You’ll go through every emotion from stress to excitement to complete devastation to pure joy. Freelancing is the most rewarding hunting I’ve ever done and I truly believe it's an experience every waterfowl hunter should have at least once. 

Maverick