At the moment of truth, hunters need to make an effective shot with their weapon to quickly and cleanly kill the animal they have been pursuing. That exact moment of truth lasts for…well, just a moment.
In the context of a backcountry hunt, there are often many days spent and many miles covered before that fleeting shot opportunity. And over those many hours and miles, you have been carrying your weapon through rugged terrain. Hopefully, you have a way to carry the weapon that provides a high level of security and protection, so that your weapon remains ready for the moment of truth.
This article will focus on rifles, but we also have a simple method to carry a bow on our packs.
CARRYING A FOLDING CHASSIS RIFLE
For many years, the overall shape of most hunting rifles was essentially the same. There were minor differences in rifle stock designs, but for the most part, a stock was a stock. In recent years, there have been more variations in hunting stock designs, as well as the introduction of lightweight rifle chassis built for hunters.
We have been using lightweight folding rifle chassis for many years now, and our favorite options are the XLR Element and the MDT HNT26. If you are interested, we have an in-depth comparison of those chassis.
To secure a folded rifle chassis to a K4 Pack, all you need is a K4 Locking Buckle, which comes included with every pack...
CARRYING A NON-CHASSIS (STOCK) RIFLE
While chassis have gained in popularity, most hunters use a non-folding rifle stock. In that scenario, we do recommend using our K4 Quick-Release Rifle Carrier.
When designing our rifle carrier, the utmost priority was security. While hiking through the mountains, it is critical to ensure that your rifle is stable and secure, not moving around or at risk of coming undone.
Other design ideas that we developed and tested (as well as other products on the market) were slightly faster to access, or made it possible to put the rifle back in the carrier while wearing the pack (which you cannot do with the K4 Rifle Carrier), but those designs lack in security and stability, which we did not want compromise.
After security, our next priority was to provide a solution that offers quick removal of the rifle while wearing the pack. As you can see in the demonstration below, we designed the K4 Rifle Carrier with both security and quick-access capability...
Whether you use a bow, a folding chassis rifle, or a more traditional rifle stock design, the K4 Pack is designed for all weapon platforms, as well as other hunt-specific gear (spotting scopes, tripods, etc). To learn more about the features and functions of K4 Packs, we have 30+ How To Videos, and our team of hunters is readily available to answer any questions you have.