First hunt. Gear needed.

[Tbaxl]

I am graduating college this May and I am now getting in to hunting out west. My brother has been doing for the past 3 years since he graduated. He has given me a basic list of equipment needed and I will have most all of that equipment gathered by next hunting season. But are there any small things that you wish you had brought over your years of hunting that would have made a great contribution to your pack. I appreciate any suggestions. Thanks.

 

[S.Clancy]

If you have gmail I'll share a google doc of my list

 

[Netherman]

Archery, Rifle, Backpack, Base Camp, Season? Posting your planned list and hunt would help others find what you may be overlooking. If you've done some searching on gear lists for similar hunts you're probably already in a really good place.

If this is your first hunt I'd guess that you're bringing too much rather than too little. My advice would be to take a backpacking trip to your local wilderness/NF and see what gear you need to live outdoors. After your hunt make a list of what you didn't use and decide if you'd be comfortable dropping those items. In 1-2 years I bet you drop 10-20% of your "essential" items (I know I did).

 

[Tbaxl]

Archery, Rifle, Backpack, Base Camp, Season? Posting your planned list and hunt would help others find what you may be overlooking. If you've done some searching on gear lists for similar hunts you're probably already in a really good place.

If this is your first hunt I'd guess that you're bringing too much rather than too little. My advice would be to take a backpacking trip to your local wilderness/NF and see what gear you need to live outdoors. After your hunt make a list of what you didn't use and decide if you'd be comfortable dropping those items. In 1-2 years I bet you drop 10-20% of your "essential" items (I know I did).

About the only thing I can narrow down on your list is base camp. Everything else is up in the air as I have to hope to get a tag and I don’t know where it might be or whether or archery or rifle. So a generalized list is the best I can hope for and to learn as I hunt what I need and don’t need

 

[A.M.O]

Baby wipes ( or something similar) are a must. It seems that most guys pack way more than they need, depending on what type of hunt you're doing ( base camp, bivy, day hunt from the truck) it will really dictate what you need to bring.

 

[Netherman]

Here's my typical day hunt list

Pack	Model
Frame Pack	Exo K2 Frame with 4800 Bag
Trekking Poles	Black Diamond Carbon Cork
Headlamp	Black Diamond Revolt
Camera	Olympus TG4 and ClipShot Adapter
Kill Kit	TAG/Allen Game Bags, Havalon, 1.8 mm cord, bandaids/alcohol pads
Medical Kit (Quick Access)	Homemade Trauma Pack
Repair Kit	Bow/Rifle Tools, Small Injury Kit, Extra Wipes, Tape, and Fire Starting
Extras Kit	Extra Release, Extra Headlamp, Battery Pack and Cord
Sit Pad	Thermarest
Lunch/Snacks	Quart Ziplock Bag of Food
Water Bottle on Belt	Nalgene in Pods8 Holder
Pack (TBD Based on Hunt)	Model
Rain Gear	Cabelas space rain
Puffy Layers	First Lite Jacket and Pants
Tripod	Slik 624 with Benro S2
Spotting Scope	Vanguard 65A
Tarp	Seekoutside DST
Water Purification	Steripen, Tablets, Gravity Filter
Bino Harness	Model
Binos	Vortex Diamondback 10x42
Rangefinder	Leupold 1000TBR
Tripod Adapter	Field Optics Research
Wind Check	Mocassin Joe
Papers	Tag(s), Old Driver's License, Notebook, Pen, Cash
Lens Cloth	small square
Wipes	Cottonell Flushable
Satellite Messenger / PLB	Garmin Inreach Mini
Extra Bullets	4 (full reload + 1)

 

[Tbaxl]

If you have gmail I'll share a google doc of my list

Sorry for just seeing this but my gmail is [email protected] if you don’t mind sharing it. Thanks.

 

[Tbaxl]

Here's my typical day hunt list

Pack	Model
Frame Pack	Exo K2 Frame with 4800 Bag
Trekking Poles	Black Diamond Carbon Cork
Headlamp	Black Diamond Revolt
Camera	Olympus TG4 and ClipShot Adapter
Kill Kit	TAG/Allen Game Bags, Havalon, 1.8 mm cord, bandaids/alcohol pads
Medical Kit (Quick Access)	Homemade Trauma Pack
Repair Kit	Bow/Rifle Tools, Small Injury Kit, Extra Wipes, Tape, and Fire Starting
Extras Kit	Extra Release, Extra Headlamp, Battery Pack and Cord
Sit Pad	Thermarest
Lunch/Snacks	Quart Ziplock Bag of Food
Water Bottle on Belt	Nalgene in Pods8 Holder
Pack (TBD Based on Hunt)	Model
Rain Gear	Cabelas space rain
Puffy Layers	First Lite Jacket and Pants
Tripod	Slik 624 with Benro S2
Spotting Scope	Vanguard 65A
Tarp	Seekoutside DST
Water Purification	Steripen, Tablets, Gravity Filter
Bino Harness	Model
Binos	Vortex Diamondback 10x42
Rangefinder	Leupold 1000TBR
Tripod Adapter	Field Optics Research
Wind Check	Mocassin Joe
Papers	Tag(s), Old Driver's License, Notebook, Pen, Cash
Lens Cloth	small square
Wipes	Cottonell Flushable
Satellite Messenger / PLB	Garmin Inreach Mini
Extra Bullets	4 (full reload + 1)

I appreciate the response, I need to get a kill kit and a med kit made up. Do you have anything in the med kit that you consider a must have. For the moment I have just basic stuff like Advil and other medicine, gauze, and stuff for stitches if necessary.

 

[fwafwow]

I appreciate the response, I need to get a kill kit and a med kit made up. Do you have anything in the med kit that you consider a must have. For the moment I have just basic stuff like Advil and other medicine, gauze, and stuff for stitches if necessary.

Some have disagreed on other posts on this topic, but I'd include a tourniquet and know how to use it. See the link in my signature.

Two small items I overlooked - chap stick and saline nasal spray. Hard to overstate how much the latter was important for me.

 

[Silveroddo]

I went through the gear up process last year and depending on what your doing the things I would highly recommend/bring with for just about everything:
Iphone with ONX (I've got a Garmin and have been leaving it home since I got ONX)
10400 MAH Blackweb Power source and cords for charging
Vortex Diamond Back 10x42's
Tripod with Bino Adapter
If your in steep country a quality pair of treking poles
Broken in well fitting boots
Mole skin/Blister Bandages (I didn't need them but they saved my uncles hunt)
There are a ton of other things but from a simple stand point those are the things that made life a little easier and made me more effective.
Nethermans list is pretty close to mine if you want to go through item by item and be fully equipped.

This site is a great source for finding information and quality used gear. If your on a budget you can pick up quite a bit of stuff here if you know what your looking for and keep an eye out. Ebay,Amazon, Camofire, Campsaver, Sunnysport, etc. as well an activejunky account can really stretch your spending power.

 

[Nickb_00]

I'm with Netherman when saying take a trip out into NF with everything you have for your hunt. If you are backpack hunting try and hike in as far as you plan on your hunt to set up camp. Not only will this insure your boots are comfortable but you will get a better idea of the weight you have and if you want to carry it that far. Everyone is different as to what they take for importance. Wet wipes for me are a must! It's a great way to for a "camp shower" if you will at the end of the day.

For me it's about being comfortable. At the end of the day if you are not comfortable you wont spend as much time on the mountain. For me it's a good nights sleep! Get yourself a good pad with a good R-value and keep that ground from sucking the heat out of you. Then you can decide if you want to go with a bag or quilt, synthetic or down? Another thing that is a must everytime I go is tylenol PM. Just enough to help with the soreness and help sleep through the night. Feel free to PM me with any questions.

 

[Netherman]

I appreciate the response, I need to get a kill kit and a med kit made up. Do you have anything in the med kit that you consider a must have. For the moment I have just basic stuff like Advil and other medicine, gauze, and stuff for stitches if necessary.

There are a few threads with more medical knowledge than me. Personally, I'm on the pro tourniquet side. I have the SWAT-T version (heavier than most) and like that I could use it to wrap a sprain as well. I split my medical kit into two pieces. I keep one quickly accessible that contains emergency supplies (gauze, tourniquet, more gauze...). The other is stored in my gear repair kit and contains ouchy type supplies (bandaids, super glue, leukotape (blister), alcohol pads, Neosporin).

 

[ad66216]

There are definitely some essentials like your weapon, jacket, pants, boots, gloves. Honestly, I would follow this article to figure out what you need: https://huntpeak.com/hunting-gear-guide-for-new-hunters/

It outlines all of the different gear needed for most hunters. Some of the stuff is pricey so if you can borrow any gear, that is always going to be a great idea.

One thing I would definitely recommend - make sure there are good reviews for any gear you buy. There is a lot of bad gear out there so you just need to make sure you find stuff that will last. Buying online is going to be safer because of the reviews, but you might want to visit a Bass Pro or outdoor store to get an idea of sizing. For example, I usually wear an L jacket, but I always get an XL for hunting so I can layer underneath. In that article, all of the gear has good reviews.

Good luck!

 

[406unltd]

Hard to say for sure without knowing what you have already and what types of hunts you are doing.

 

[Ridgehunter604]

I’m going to assume you’re already a bit of an outdoor person, as most people don’t just jump into hunting. So I’d say, start using what you have and see what works, you don’t need to have hunting specific stuff.

For a basic list I’d say:
- Get a rifle and scope, there’s some great entry level guns that will out shoot most shooters. Spend the extra on a good scope. Your best chances will be dawn and dusk so low light visibility is key.
- Ammo that your gun likes, shoot it a lot and find what’s reliable and consistent.
A good pair of binos (buy once cry once) optics are key.
- A good pair of waterproof boots. Something sturdy that fits you well and will hold up to abuse.
- Good rain gear, if you’re wet and cold you won’t be hunting well.
- A basic first aid kit, you don’t need to be amuputating soldiers. Pain pills, diarrhea pills, antihistamines, baindaids, gauze, and blister control (leukotape, mole skin etc), tweezers.
- A kill kit. (Game bags, a good knife, flagging tape, ground sheet, gloves. )
- A basic survival kit, just in case. (Space blanket, compass, headlamp, fire starter, lighter, fire steel, paracord etc) and the knowledge how to survive on it if you needed to.
- Jungle money and wet wipes.
- A good day pack to hold it all.

From there get out and start hunting. Find out the style of hunting you like to do, the animals you like to peruse and how much time and energy (and money) you’ll have to keep hunting.

lots of people go out and spend a fortune on gear to find out life gets in the way and you realistically are going to be a weekend warrior. Or you buy a stove to support you and your two hunting buddies to soon realize their family commitments don’t let them get out as much and now you’re stuck solo hunting.

Or you buy the wrong gear because it was on sale but then realize you need something that will stand up to winter mountain storms because you’ve cashed it all in to become a full time guide.

the above list gets you into the woods. From there it’s a matter of figuring out what works for YOU and your type of hunting.