This is a guest post from a female hunter I met a few hunting seasons back – I hope you fellow hunters get some value from it!

I grew up in what you would call “the country” where the only things to do were park in the lot of the Piggly Wiggly to hang out, drive down to the dam and make out, or go hunting. And since I didn’t have any sisters or female cousins, I was ALWAYS surrounded by the boys. So, when I would spend summers with my granddaddy, we did the things he did with my boy cousins -fishing, hunting, looking Indian arrowheads and the like.

So, whether I liked it or not, I learned far more than the average girl about things like hunting. And when my cousin Jason decided he needed a new camo backpack for hunting season, I was the one who went with him to the city to visit Cabela’s to shop for a new pack.

We looked through tons of different camo hunting backpacks before narrowing it down and finally making a decision. So, I wanna share the finalists with you in case you, too, need help finding a new pack for hunting season. My reviews are below, but first a look at the top rated Badlands packs for the money.

Photo	Model	Capacity
	Badlands Superday Pack	1950 cubic inch
	Badlands 2200 Backpack	2310 cubic inch
	Badlands Diablo Day Pack	1900 cubic inch
	Badlands 2800 Backpack	2800 cubic inch
	Badlands Kali Day Pack for Women	2500 cubic inch

Why Buy A New Camo Hunting Backpack?

First, you might be wondering just why my cousin needed a new backpack for hunting. Well, honestly, there was absolutely nothing wrong with his old pack. It was camo, it held a decent amount of hunting gear and it was a comfortable fit (or so he says).

He got the pack a few years ago because it was cheap and he didn’t wanna spend a fortune on one of these things. But, after a while he said that he realized that while it was a pretty good pack for hunting, it just did not meet his needs. And that is why he needed a new pack.

Since he basically has a starter pack, it was pretty easy to find some great options for upgrading.

Desired Features In A New Hunting Backpack

Instead of wasting time by checking out packs that didn’t meet his needs, I asked my cousin to tell me what he was looking for so that we could make a list of those features. Doing this enabled us to go into the store with a checklist of the things that he wanted. With that list, we were able to quickly and easily narrow our choices down to just three great Badlands hunting packs.

Top 3 Choices For A New Hunting Backpacks – Narrowed Down To Our Favorite 3 Badlands Packs

And going over our list of must-have features, which you can see below, we looked through all of the options and managed to narrow it down to just three. And, it just so happens that those three are all the same brand – Badlands Packs. You can see the three here, but keep reading to learn more about these three, which one we bought and why.

• Badlands Superday Pack
• Badlands 2200 Backpack
• Badlands 2800 Backpack

If you keep reading, I will give you a review on each of these packs to help you decide for yourself.

Badlands Superday Pack Review

The first camo hunting pack that we looked at was the Badlands Superday Pack. As you can see, it fits the camo design requirement and it looks large enough to hold a decent amount of gear.

After handling the backpack, it is also fairly quiet and has a place for storing a rifle or bow while you are walking through the woods. And, despite being a soft pack, it did seem comfortable to wear. Personally, I use a Kelty backpack with an internal frame for hiking so I advised my cousin against this one just for that reason. In my experience, packs with an internal frame are more comfortable for long hiking treks.

Interested in this pack? Click Here for Price on Amazon

I also want to note that this pack is NOT water resistant. And, all Badlands packs have a lifetime warranty.

Badlands 2800 Backpack Review

The Badlands 2800 Backpack is a great option for the serious hunter. And the features list just goes on and on.

It has the internal frame, which makes it a comfy pack to carry through the forest. And the space – it has TONS of it!

Other boxes it ticked for my cousin: it’s quiet, it has a lifetime warranty, it has a space for carrying his bow or rifle and it has a rain cover.

Interested in this pack? Click Here for Price on Amazon

He also liked the added bonus of the padded waist belt and the designated pockets for game quarters. I say “ick” to that, but he loved that feature. The only real disadvantage for him was the price as it is the most expensive of the three.

Badlands 2200 Backpack Review

Kind of an in between option is the Badlands 2200 Backpack, which was the final hunting pack we compared.

The features it has that met our requirements are: quiet material, durable with lifetime warranty, space for carrying rifle/bow, lots of space, comfy to wear in the forest, camo design.

Interested in this pack? Click Here for Price on Amazon

It does have an internal frame, which is a plus, but it is NOT water resistant and does not come with a rain cover like the 2800.

However, it does have a meat shelf, a pocket for your spotting scope and it is considerably cheaper than the 2800. And this this true even after you pay an extra $20 for the rain cover.

Conclusion: Best Badlands Pack For The Money

It was a tough decision, but in the end it was really just between the 2200 and the 2800. While the 2800 had more features (the rain cover) it was also MUCH more expensive. So…..my cousin got the 2200 and bought the rain cover to go with it. In the end, this was a total of $40 cheaper than buying the 2800. And yes, he’s loving it!

Learn More About the 2200 Pack

If you’re also interested in the Badlands 2200 pack, then I suggest you take a quick peek at this video. It is an official video from the Badlands company. As you will see, it touches on how to do some cool stuff with the pack, like stow your rifle for easy carrying as you hike through the forest.

If you have decided that the Badlands packs are not for you, don’t worry. We came across a lot of really great hunting backpacks on our search. You can find one to fit pretty much any budget too. For some more options, I suggest starting your search online on Amazon. I even found Jason’s 2200 pack on there for cheaper than what he paid for it at Cabelas!

Just because you might not have the best eyesight out there does not mean that you cannot use a rifle scope when you’re out hunting. However, even the best rated rifle scope out there might not play nice with your glasses. In fact, if you do a little digging around some hunting forums and message boards, you will find people who wear glasses complaining about problems with depth of field and other issues. The funny thing about it is that as a hunter who wears glasses, you get different experiences from difference scopes. Take this message board thread where the hunter can’t see the target pin when looking through one scope but has no problems with it in a different scope.

Bottom line – your glasses can have a definite effect on what you see when you look through your scope. And people who wear bi-focals have even more of an issue. Some people say that you should never glasses when shooting because it changes what you see. That is bull for the most part. And I say this as someone who wears glasses but can see pretty okay without them. If you don’t believe me, look through your scope with and without glasses and see if there is any difference.

As someone who wears glasses most of the time, I find that my biggest problem as an eyeglass wear is that my lenses fog up when it’s really cold outside.  And foggy lenses makes it real hard to focus through your scope, let alone actually shoot at something. For me, I prefer wearing contacts when I am out hunting, even if they do annoy me more than wearing glasses. At least I do not have to worry about them fogging up on me.

On a related note, if you are shooting while wearing your glasses, then it is very important that you get your eye doc to give you some of those polycarbonate safety lenses instead of normal lenses in your frames. Just a normal safety precaution that we need to take when we wear glasses while shooting.

Any hunter knows that when it comes to comfort and concealment, a layout blind is the ideal option for open crop fields that don’t offer any other type of cover and where a traditional blind is not an option. However, shooting from a layout blind can be challenging. Your range of motion is limited by the horizontal shooting position you are on and safety has to be taken very seriously. Some tips that will help you to shoot well from your layout blind are highlighted here.

Practice from the blind

Besides hunting season, how many times do you actually shoot from a sitting position? Chances are, not too often. If you want to be able to shoot better during hunting season, you need to practice in the off-season by shooting various clay targets while in your sitting position.

Position the blinds with care

When you are sitting, your range of motion will be reduced significantly. If you are a right-handed shooter, it will be more difficult to turn to the right, and the opposite for left-handed individuals. This means that you need to try and position your blinds in a manner that will help to maximize the shots that are taken on the side that offers the largest range of motion.

Dig a hole

If you are a more robust hunter, you might find it rather difficult to sit completely upright when you need to make a shot. A simple fix for this is to dig a hole that is four to six inches deep where your rear end will be. Do this prior to brushing the actual blind. This will let you be in an upright position right away.

Bend your leg

You can increase the range of motion you have when you pull up your leg on the side of your body (almost right under your opposite knee) from where you will shoot. This helps to create a much more stable shooting position.

Call close then move if necessary

The very best way that you can increase the chances of making your shot from your layout blind is to allow the birds to come in as close as they can and then move when the conditions change. If you are willing to change and exercise plenty of patience while in your blind, you will be able to shoot better and improve your hunting skills overall.

Remember, just like any other type of hunting, safety is essential. Be sure that all your shots go forward, the safeties are on your gun prior to mounting, utilize the gun rest, and ensure dogs are kept away from your blind. With all the tips here, you will see a significant improvement in your shooting abilities from your layout blind.