Every piece of gear Brady Miller will take on a muzzleloader mule deer hunt

Everyone knows I love helping people when it comes to their hunting gear choices. I do these gear list articles and videos each year to help people plan and prepare for their hunt. You don't need exactly the gear or brands I use to be successful. So take that out of the equation right away. These gear lists are more of an example of the style of gear I use, and what specific items I'm willing to sacrifice or pack with me to have a successful and safe hunt.

As always, I think of gear lists as a living and breathing document, so things might change before my hunt as the weather changes. And do note, that I've already changed a few things in my gear list from the video we published which was shot back in early August.

This gear list is based around a full backpack style hunt so this is everything I'm carrying in my pack.

If you're a visual person, check out the video below:

Access my gear list spreadsheet for your personal gear lists

It’s been a while since I’ve provided an exact downloadable Excel file of one of my gear lists.

Even if you already have your gear dialed for your upcoming hunts, you can still use my gear list spreadsheet to help you plan and prepare for your hunt.

So without further ado, click the button below to access my 2024 September muzzleloader mule deer gear list as a Google Sheet. Please keep in mind that if you're an elk hunter, you can still use this sheet and modify it for an elk hunt.

You can use this gear list and add your own gear to it and customize it for any sort of hunt you're going on.

That gear list is “exactly” what I’ll be taking on my muzzleloader hunt, it might seem like a lot of gear, but I made sure I put every single thing I’m going to carry. If I'm carrying it for this hunt... it will show up on that gear list.

This spreadsheet breaks down every category of gear, then lists each item's name, links to each item to read more about the product, breaks down the weight of each piece of gear in ounces/pounds, and even shows the price per item. Plus, there's a bunch of graphics that auto-populate as you enter your gear.

If you have downloaded my previous versions of my gear list back in the day, this one is a little different. I’ve sort of reworked some things to make it cleaner to look at, plus added some descriptions to the tables. This makes this gear list more complete in my eyes as you can make sure you don’t leave anything at home when you make the long drive on an out-of-state hunt.

The price per item section...

Let's get over this elephant in the room right away. In the spreadsheet, there are sections to add the price per item and you can see the total price of my gear list. This has been a hot button discussion item in years past on my gear list article since gear lists can get expensive.

I list the price per item column due to managing my personal hunting budget and what I'm willing to spend. I want to know what areas I could spend money or save more money on in order to shave weight if needed, and I want to know what areas I’m spending too much money on.

I've been doing this my entire life, so I just didn't go out and buy all this gear at once. I don't get paid by any company to use their gear.

Yes, if you're starting from scratch, a gear list for a backcountry hunt can be very expensive or relatively cheap. That is the beauty of backpacking. You can get by with any gear; it's up to you as the hunter to figure out what works best for you. Backpack hunting is my favorite style of hunting, so my hunting budget is focused on this.

Why a gear list?

The reason I personally do gear lists for every hunt is simple... I want to know that I don't leave anything behind and to see if there is anything I need add or even subtract from my gear. When I'm getting ready for a hunt, I create a gear list well in advance. I why always tell people to take all their gear and place it on the floor and run through it several times to ensure you have everything and to see what you could live without. I always keep my gear lists in both a Google Sheet that I can access from my phone and I also have a custom Excel spreadsheet I built several years ago that I linked in some previous articles for people to download and work off of that I also create for every hunt.

My gear list breakdown for a backpack style muzzleloader mule deer hunt

In Conclusion

If anyone has any questions about the gear I brought on this hunt, I'd be more than willing to dive in and explain a few things. If you have an upcoming bear hunt planned or are looking at one down the road in the future, have fun and enjoy the time on the mountain.