First big gear purchase?

[JohnJohnson]

I already had a custom rifle (not that fancy, but shoots amazing) but that wasn't really for backpack hunting at the time due to its weight. Plus I already had suppressors but those aren't a hunting-exclusive thing either. So I'd probably say my Swaro binos were my first big purchase followed shortly by my RRS TFCT-34L tripod. Both worth their weight in gold for me.

 

[ArcherAnthony]

My first time out west I carried a spotter and a pair of 10x42 bins on my chest. I learned real quick when carrying that spotter all day and the extra added weight with all the other gear. Tent,bag etc. First thing I did when I came home was buy a pair of Leupold BX-5 12x50. Ill never carry that spotter again when doing a spike camp.

 

[Huntingfarandwide]

Cabelas Outfitter Tent - Liner - Ground Sheet - Cots.

 

[coyote_out]

What boots you running now? I have some Danner non-insulated boots I wear for upland hunting. Was thinking I could get by with those my first time out.

Switched to Salomon quest 4’s and Selewa Mtn trainers. Get at end of season or with a coupon code for about $160.

 

[repins05]

not counting rifle and scope - my first large purchase was a pair of swaro el bino’s.

 

[TaperPin]

Many early season animals have been taken by guys wearing nothing but jeans and tennis shoes, shooting a borrowed rifle.

With FB Marketplace, Craigslist and eBay it’s relatively easy to go cheap on essentially everything. Boots can be the hardest thing to find used, but just yesterday I only paid $65 for $350 boots, so that’s no longer true.

The first thing someone should spend money on is an accurate .22 lr rifle and a lot of ammo - try to keep enough ammo on hand you never feel the need to ration it. Buy a variety of swinger targets of various shapes and sizes and keep it fun. 1/5 scale silhouette targets shot offhand will teach you better trigger pull - if you’re a good shot, but don’t practice it will be hard to hit 4 out of 10. Regular practice will double that. 9 out 10 makes you competitive locally at matches.

 

[Nwmod39]

My first big purchase was a kifaru pack followed by a solid sleep system!

 

[repins05]

My first big purchase was a kifaru pack followed by a solid sleep system!

Kifaru pack came later for me but that definitely qualifies as a "first big purchase" lol.

 

[RedGreen]

Gun then pack for me.

 

[Luked]

Not including a weapon mine was a Pack system and boots.

 

[Davisjj8]

Mine was a browning x bolt western hunter. Followed by my binos and harness. Then it spiraled out of control shortly after that..


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[JVan]

My first big purchase was a Savage .243 rifle when I was 18 years old. That was 40 years ago and it is still my favorite rifle to this day.

 

[HDwild]

When I started out I made the mistake of prioritizing smaller items like cool-guy camo, the hottest new knife, bino harness, etc and thought I would be just fine going cheap on optics and boots. Fast forward to now having spent thousands and thousands of dollars and countless re-sells of gear, I will tell you if I could start over I'd have hunted in jeans and a flannel with a Jansport backpack if it saved me enough money to buy:

A. Quality optics. I'm not necessarily sold on some of the $3k+ options but a $1,000 pair of binos and a good tripod will absolutely increase your effectiveness.

B. Boots that fit your feet and work for you UNDER LOAD and AT INCLINE! You could have top of the line everything else but if your boots wreck your feet, it's over. I don't care how well you can tough it out. For me this meant lots of trial and error and purchasing 5-6 pairs at a time and returning the ones that didn't work. Don't always assume the most expensive or most heavily marketed boot will be superior. Last year I bought 5 pairs of top-name boots and threw in a pair of Zamberlain Guide Lux's because they were on sale for $200... guess which ones worked best for me...The cheapest option.

 

[peterk123]

Boots. I think footwear makes or breaks a hunt in the mountains.

 

[Hootey]

Boots are definitely toward the top if not at the very top

 

[ND1612]

Having been a flat land Midwest hunter my whole life, the guns and bows and optics were pretty well covered. So first backpacking hunt type of purchase was an Initial Ascent 5k since everything else i had was more whitetail day pack style.

 

[Denimdan]

So does buying a horse to ride into the back country count as first big purchase… which still cost me money everyday. lol But it sure saves a guys back if ya don’t mind horses.

 

[DrBeetleKill]

You can indeed spend a fortune. I try to add 2-4 quality pieces of gear to my kit every year. From my experience, I would say the top priorities are boots, pack, and glass. My first pair of boots were an off brand hiking boot that I thought I got a great deal on. Well one hour into the hike I had hot spots popping up everywhere. After a bit of an incline climb, I think my entire feet were covered in blisters. It was a pretty miserable several days and this was before I found out about Leuko tape. I also thought I found a great deal on some crossfire binos I picked up for $50. Come to find out I really couldn’t clearly identify what I was looking at and horrible eye strain. I say pack because starting out I had a pretty have gear kit. An uncomfortable pack isn’t a deal breaker but it definitely helps when you don’t have the ultralight gear to begin with. I think there are a lot of great options out there and trying to find the best deals is part of the fun. You can find all of this gear on sale or clearance at some point during the year.

 

[StuckoYota99]

My wife makes fun of me for how much I spent on crispi boots.

 

[BigredRusch]

Backpacking and mountain climbing was something I grew up with, so I needed a rifle. First big hunting purchase was a Browning X-bolt speed in 300 Win Mag. Solid it pretty quickly after learning some "stuff", wish I could get that money back... food for thought.