3 Military Skills That Made Me a Better Hunter

People very often try to apply their background to places where it doesn’t really fit, especially in conversation. This isn’t that. This is me looking back at my current abilities as a hunter and asking a pretty simple question: Where did I actually learn some of these skills?

I spent 10 years in the United States Marine Corps, primarily as an infantry rifleman and later as an instructor teaching infantry skills. Obviously, a tremendous amount of what I learned during that career has absolutely nothing to do with hunting. But some of it transferred almost perfectly.

After nearly two decades of hunting, I’ve identified three military skills that I probably use more than any others in the field. Interestingly, shooting isn’t one of them.

Bottom Line

The three most valuable infantry skills I’ve carried into hunting are establishing a position before an animal appears, packing and carrying equipment efficiently, and mastering fundamental skills before relying on technology. These lessons make hunters more prepared, more efficient in the field, and better equipped to handle unexpected situations. After nearly 20 years of hunting, I use all three on practically every trip.

How Can Military Position Planning Make You a Better Hunter?

When establishing a defensive position during combat operations, one of the first things we might do is dig a fighting position. I can tell you firsthand that this is no fun. Fortunately, I’m not recommending that you start digging fighting holes on your next deer hunt. What happened after the fighting position was established is much more applicable.

We would develop a range card, sometimes called a range sketch. A range card visually represents the terrain in front of a position, identifying known distances, prominent terrain features, and reference points. The purpose is to establish a working understanding of the surrounding environment before something happens, particularly when visibility is limited or time is critical.

I’ve found this process applies incredibly well to a deer-glassing position or a predator stand. If I’m going to sit down for a while, I deploy my equipment. My tripod comes out, my binoculars are ready, and my rifle comes out of the pack and gets placed nearby on its bipod. Now, if I transition from binoculars to rifle, everything is ready. And if I’m already going to prepare my equipment, I might as well prepare my brain. That’s when I begin creating a mental version of a range sketch.

Preparation doesn’t end with understanding the terrain. In my article, Pre-Hunt Checklist for Your Rifle, I discuss the importance of practicing with your equipment before heading into the field. Knowing where everything is, how quickly I can deploy it, and how the equipment works together makes an enormous difference when an opportunity presents itself. The last thing I want to do when an animal appears is figure out how to organize my equipment.

Why Should Hunters Establish Tactical Reference Points?

When my buddy and I start glassing for deer, we’ll establish tactical reference points, or TRPs. A TRP is an easily identifiable terrain feature or object that serves as a common reference for communicating locations and directions. These don’t need to be complicated. In fact, they don’t even need to make sense to anyone except the people sitting next to you.

Maybe there’s a giant jagged rock. That’s Jagged Rock. Maybe there’s a distinctive dead tree. That’s Dead Tree. Maybe there’s a weird-looking cactus that earns a name I probably shouldn’t put into an MDT article. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that we both know what we’re talking about.

Now my buddy spots a deer. Instead of going through the familiar exchange of “There’s a deer over there,” followed by “Where?” and “By the tree,” followed by “Which tree?” we’re starting from a reference point we both already know. I can tell him, “Go to Jagged Rock. Come 10 mils left. See Dead Tree? The deer is bedded just below it.” Now we’re communicating.

A mil, short for milliradian, is an angular unit of measurement commonly used in riflescopes and observation optics. One mil subtends approximately 3.6 inches at 100 yards or 36 inches at 1,000 yards. A mil-based reticle lets hunters communicate precise angular directions from a known reference point rather than relying on vague descriptions.

The key is to establish these TRPs before we see the animal. We’ll also use our laser rangefinders early to establish distances to prominent terrain features. For example, Jagged Rock might be 620 yards away, the water hole 410 yards, and the far saddle 780 yards. These are illustrative distances, but the principle remains the same. When something appears, we already have a general understanding of the environment instead of starting from scratch.

I’ve discussed a similar approach in my article, Beyond Rifles and Optics: Four Predator Hunting Essentials, where I explain how modern GPS-capable rangefinders can help identify terrain features, establish reference points, and locate downed animals. It’s a perfect example of combining traditional fieldcraft with modern technology. The equipment has improved considerably since my infantry days, but the underlying thought process hasn’t changed.

How Does the Military SAFE Principle Apply to Hunting?

I’ve carried an acronym for establishing a defensive position with me: SAFE. In my infantry training, it stands for Security, Avenues of Approach, Fields of Fire, and Egress. The military application obviously isn’t identical to hunting, but the planning process transfers surprisingly well.

Security is the first consideration. In a hunting environment, I interpret this as maintaining observation of the surrounding terrain. Someone should always be watching. If I’m eating a piece of beef jerky, messing with equipment, drawing something, or taking a break from the binoculars, my buddy is still observing. Then we switch. The hunting application isn’t about protecting a fighting position. It’s about not missing the animal that appears during the 30 seconds when everyone decides to look down at the same time.

Avenues of Approach are the natural routes an animal might use to move through an area. In the military, identifying these routes helps you understand how a threat might approach a position. Obviously, we’re not worried about a vehicle-borne explosive device while deer hunting, but we absolutely care about where animals are likely to travel. Where are the game trails? Where’s the water? Where are the saddles? Where does the terrain naturally funnel animals? If I’m predator hunting, where is the coyote most likely to appear? Those areas deserve additional attention. I’ll range them beforehand, make sure my rifle can naturally cover them, and spend more time looking there; same thought process, different application.

Fields of Fire are the areas in which a shooter can safely engage a target. This becomes especially important when predator hunting with another person. Can both shooters cover the same general area? Where does my safe field of fire stop? How far can I rotate my rifle before creating a safety problem for the person beside me? If something appears outside that established field of fire, maybe I don’t simply rotate 180 degrees with a loaded rifle. Maybe we reposition. Establishing those boundaries beforehand eliminates unnecessary decisions when everything suddenly starts happening quickly. A safe backstop and awareness of what lies beyond the target remain essential.

Egress means the route used to leave an area. In the military, that question had obvious tactical importance. In hunting, it’s considerably more mundane, but still important. What’s our route back? Where’s the truck? If we kill an animal across the canyon, how are we getting to it? More importantly, how are we getting it back out? Thinking about recovery routes before an animal is down can keep a difficult situation from getting much worse.

Again, I’m not pretending a deer-glassing position is a combat position. It’s the planning process that transferred. Instead of sitting down and waiting for something to happen, set up the environment before it does.

How Does Proper Pack Weight Distribution Improve Hunting Performance?

The second major lesson came from hiking. As a young Marine, I was constantly told what to put in my pack. What I wasn’t initially taught nearly as well was how to put it in there. There’s a huge difference. Later, when I became a Marine instructor, I made it a point to teach both.

Obviously, being physically capable of hiking is important for Western hunting. You need to get in, you need to get out, and if everything goes right, you’ll need to carry meat out with you. But packing equipment correctly can make an enormous difference in how difficult that hike becomes.

A poorly packed 20-pound pack can feel much heavier than its actual weight because load placement affects balance, stability, and the effort required to carry it. The lesson I learned in the infantry was that pack weight alone doesn’t tell the entire story; how that weight is distributed matters just as much.

Where Should Heavy Equipment Go in a Hunting Pack?

The basic lesson is simple: keep your heavier equipment close to your body and generally higher in the pack, adjusting placement for terrain and stability.

Water is heavy. Rifles are heavy. Dense equipment is heavy. If I put all of that weight toward the outside of the pack, I’ve created leverage. That weight pulls away from my body with every step, and my shoulders and core constantly fight it. Bringing the weight closer to my back reduces that leverage and makes the pack easier to control.

Lighter, bulkier equipment can occupy the areas farther away from the body. Clothing, insulation, and other lightweight items are ideal for filling those spaces. On steep or technical terrain, keeping the heaviest items closer to the middle of the back can also improve balance by preventing the load from becoming excessively top-heavy.

The important point is that effective packing isn’t simply about reducing weight. It’s about positioning the weight so that it moves with your body instead of constantly working against it.

Why Is a Hunting Pack’s Hip Belt So Important?

Then there’s the waist belt, more accurately called the hip belt. A properly fitted hunting pack shouldn’t hang entirely from your shoulders. The hip belt transfers a substantial portion of the pack’s weight to your pelvis, allowing your legs and hips to support the load instead of relying primarily on your shoulders.

Proper adjustment makes a huge difference, especially as the miles and elevation add up. A pack that feels manageable during the first mile can become miserable after several hours if the load is poorly distributed or the hip belt isn’t doing its job.

And hopefully, the pack gets considerably heavier on the way out.

Again, I didn’t learn that specifically for hunting. I learned it because carrying heavy equipment over long distances was part of being an infantryman. The mountains don’t particularly care where the lesson came from. They reward you for knowing it.

Why Should Hunters Master Analog Skills Before Relying on Technology?

The final lesson might be the most important: don’t become completely dependent on technology.

Modern hunters have access to incredible equipment. Rangefinding binoculars, ballistic calculators, Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers, digital mapping applications, electronic wind meters, smartphones, smartwatches, and satellite communication devices have changed how we navigate, observe terrain, and make decisions in the field. I use plenty of them.

But the infantry taught me one thing: understand the basics before relying on the advanced tool. Learn the lensatic compass and map before relying entirely on GPS. Learn basic navigation before following a digital arrow. Understand range estimation before becoming completely dependent on a laser rangefinder. Understand your ballistic data before expecting a phone to tell you where to aim.

Ballistic data describes how a projectile behaves in flight, including its trajectory, or the path it follows as gravity and aerodynamic drag affect it. A ballistic calculator uses information such as muzzle velocity, bullet characteristics, distance, and environmental conditions to estimate that trajectory. It’s an incredibly useful tool, but understanding what the calculator is doing makes the information considerably more valuable.

I’ve discussed this in Are You Ready for Your Hunt?, where I emphasize the importance of verifying ballistic data through actual shooting rather than simply trusting the numbers generated by a calculator. A ballistic solution is only as useful as the information going into it, and even the best calculator can’t compensate for incorrect inputs or a lack of understanding. Technology is valuable, but experience and verified data are what give those numbers meaning.

It sounds archaic until the technology doesn’t work.

What Happens When Hunting Electronics Fail?

Technology fails. Extreme heat isn’t friendly to electronics, and extreme cold can reduce battery performance. Arizona can provide plenty of one, and other hunting environments can provide plenty of the other. Equipment gets dropped, batteries die, software freezes, and connections fail.

Anyone who has owned a computer understands another universal truth about technology. Sometimes it makes your life easier. Sometimes it decides today is the day it’s going to make your life considerably harder.

That’s where analog skills become valuable. I absolutely use battery-powered equipment. In many cases, it’s my primary system. I don’t want it to be my only system.

My redundancy isn’t always another battery. Sometimes my redundancy is knowledge.

If my GPS stops working, I still want to understand how to navigate with a map and compass. If my electronic ballistic calculator becomes unavailable, I want verified ballistic data I can reference without a phone. If my rangefinder fails, I want to understand how to estimate distance using terrain features and the angular measurements in my riflescope.

That doesn’t mean analog methods are automatically as accurate as electronic equipment. They aren’t. It means understanding those fundamentals gives me additional options when equipment fails. And when the available information isn’t sufficient to make a safe, ethical shot, the correct decision is to pass.

Can Understanding Ballistics Help When There’s No Time to Use a Rangefinder?

This has paid off repeatedly in the field. I’ve encountered plenty of situations where using a rangefinder beforehand wasn’t an option.

An animal appears, and you have seconds. By the time you find the rangefinder, turn it on, acquire the animal, obtain a distance reading, put the rangefinder down, reacquire the animal through your rifle scope, determine your ballistic solution, and prepare to fire, the animal is gone.

Sometimes you need to look through the reticle, estimate the distance, understand roughly what your trajectory is doing, and decide. That decision might be to take a shot when the distance, conditions, and your verified capabilities support it. It might also be to let the animal walk because you can’t establish the information necessary for an ethical shot.

That ability doesn’t come from buying better electronics. It comes from understanding what the electronics normally do for you.

The better I understand the analog process, the more useful the digital tool becomes. Because now the technology isn’t replacing my knowledge. It’s accelerating it.

Which Infantry Skills Should Every Hunter Learn?

Plenty of things from my 10-year infantry career don’t belong anywhere near a hunting article. But these three lessons have served me incredibly well, and I believe they’re useful for hunters, whether or not they’ve ever worn a uniform.

First, establish your position before you need it. Create reference points, range prominent terrain features, understand likely avenues of approach, establish safe fields of fire, and plan your exit. The more you can accomplish before an animal appears, the fewer decisions you’ll need to make when time becomes limited.

Second, learn how to carry your equipment. Pack heavy items close to your body, distribute the load properly, and use your hips instead of forcing your shoulders to carry everything. A well-organized pack makes long hikes more manageable and leaves you better prepared for the difficult work that often follows a successful hunt.

Finally, learn the old-school skill before relying entirely on the new-school tool. Use the GPS. Use the rangefinder. Use the ballistic calculator. I certainly do. Just make sure that when the battery dies, or the animal gives you three seconds instead of 30, you still understand what to do.

My military career gave me plenty of skills that I hope I never need again. But it also taught me some incredibly simple lessons about planning, movement, equipment, and self-reliance.

Almost 20 years into my hunting career, those are still lessons I use every time I step into the field.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Military Skills Are Most Useful for Hunting?

Position planning, efficient equipment management, and fundamental fieldcraft are three of the most useful military skills that transfer directly to hunting. Establishing reference points, understanding terrain, carrying heavy equipment correctly, and maintaining basic navigation skills can improve preparation and efficiency in the field.

What Is a Tactical Reference Point in Hunting?

A tactical reference point (TRP) is a recognizable terrain feature or object that hunters use to communicate locations. A distinctive rock, dead tree, ridge, or saddle can serve as a TRP. Establishing these points before spotting an animal allows hunting partners to communicate quickly and accurately without relying on vague descriptions.

How Should You Distribute Weight in a Hunting Backpack?

Place heavier equipment close to your back, generally around the middle to upper portion of the pack, depending on the terrain and load. Lighter, bulkier items can be positioned farther from the body. Properly adjusting the hip belt helps transfer weight to the pelvis, reducing the burden on the shoulders and improving carrying comfort.

Should Hunters Learn Map and Compass Navigation if They Have GPS?

Yes. GPS is an excellent navigation tool, but basic map and compass skills provide an important backup when batteries fail, devices malfunction, or electronic navigation becomes unavailable. Understanding traditional navigation also improves terrain awareness and makes digital mapping tools more useful.

Why Is Understanding Ballistics Important if You Use a Ballistic Calculator?

Understanding ballistics helps hunters recognize how distance, projectile trajectory, and environmental conditions affect a shot. Ballistic calculators make these calculations faster, but knowing the underlying principles helps hunters interpret the results, spot potential errors, and make better decisions when electronic tools aren’t available.

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About the Author

Rob Orgel enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 2004 as an Infantry Rifleman (0311), serving with 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines in Iraq, including roles as a point man during Operation Iraqi Freedom III and a team leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom VI. He later joined the 1st Marine Regiment, achieved the rank of Sergeant in 2010, and continued his service in Afghanistan. Upon returning, Rob became a Combat Instructor at the School of Infantry West. He subsequently transitioned to private military contracting with Securing Our Country (SOC), where he instructed at the American Embassy in Iraq. In 2018, Rob became Chief Instructor at GPS Defense Sniper School, where he revamped the training program. Today, he owns and leads Emergency Response Tactical, training novice and advanced shooters on the range more than 300 days a year. Rob also hosts the Silencer Analytics YouTube channel.