elkyinzer
WKR
Helping out a friend I took mentored hunting last fall for the first time. He loved it and is interested in his own gear. I supplied pretty much everything last year.
Let's say budget is $1,000
Obviously this is going to vary with locality and plans. He's in SE PA, is interested in deer (purely for meat hunting) and small game, for now.
Decent pair of lightly insulated hiking boots in $150-$200 range
Remington 870 w/ slug barrel - not sure, but I think used $400 is reasonableish?
Shells, targets, basic range supplies - $50
Summit climbing treestand + harness - $200
Cheap pair of 8x32 binos - $100
Clothes - minimal, required orange and some accessory pieces (some of which I am giving him). Like most normal adults in this part of the country he can piece together some basic cold weather gear (even if most of it is Eagles gear unfortunately)
He has a Buck 110 (groomsman gift from yours truly)
I gave him some game bags
He has coolers
Some other pack basics (rope, flashlight, first aid, knife, backpack), I mean come on, who doesn't have that stuff?
I believe we're on budget, potentially under if shopping used.
It's crazy how minimalist you can get and still go out and hunt successfully. You could easily drop treestand and binos and still kill deer. Maybe that would even improve his woodsman skills at first. But they are so foundational to success in our environment that I can't imagine not teaching him the ropes using them.
Obviously the knowledge carries the most weight, more than any gear a multi-millionare could buy, and for him, will be hard to come by not growing up a hunter. I'm willing to guide him a long for a few years and hopefully launch him off on his own.
I won't tell him yet how much I spend a year on gas, hotels, campgrounds, gear I don't "need", and keeping the wife happy. We'll let him figure that stuff out once he's a full on huntin' addict.
Any other suggestions, things I am missing, other comments?
Let's say budget is $1,000
Obviously this is going to vary with locality and plans. He's in SE PA, is interested in deer (purely for meat hunting) and small game, for now.
Decent pair of lightly insulated hiking boots in $150-$200 range
Remington 870 w/ slug barrel - not sure, but I think used $400 is reasonableish?
Shells, targets, basic range supplies - $50
Summit climbing treestand + harness - $200
Cheap pair of 8x32 binos - $100
Clothes - minimal, required orange and some accessory pieces (some of which I am giving him). Like most normal adults in this part of the country he can piece together some basic cold weather gear (even if most of it is Eagles gear unfortunately)
He has a Buck 110 (groomsman gift from yours truly)
I gave him some game bags
He has coolers
Some other pack basics (rope, flashlight, first aid, knife, backpack), I mean come on, who doesn't have that stuff?
I believe we're on budget, potentially under if shopping used.
It's crazy how minimalist you can get and still go out and hunt successfully. You could easily drop treestand and binos and still kill deer. Maybe that would even improve his woodsman skills at first. But they are so foundational to success in our environment that I can't imagine not teaching him the ropes using them.
Obviously the knowledge carries the most weight, more than any gear a multi-millionare could buy, and for him, will be hard to come by not growing up a hunter. I'm willing to guide him a long for a few years and hopefully launch him off on his own.
I won't tell him yet how much I spend a year on gas, hotels, campgrounds, gear I don't "need", and keeping the wife happy. We'll let him figure that stuff out once he's a full on huntin' addict.
Any other suggestions, things I am missing, other comments?