Has western hunting become a wealthy man's sport?

[winter]

After a quick browse of this site, it becomes obvious that if you want to play this game you better be able to pay this game.

When I moved from the midwest to colorado, it was evident, that the sport I loved was about to become more expensive. In my home state of WI, any ol smuck could pick up a used bow for around $150. A trip to fleet farm got you a half dozen mid range carbon arrows and a 35$ truglo site. Your buddy gave you his simms stabilizer he never used and you found an ameristep treestand for sale at walmart for $35. That's it. You were set. Things were simple. No need for a rangefinder since you can only see 23 yards and the avg shot was under 15 yards.

Then you have the backpack western hunter - Boots, bino's, pack, tent, rangefinder, spotting scope, a reliable truck to get you there, gas for scouting, sleeping pads, new fast bow, 5 pin slider site, arrows wrapped in different alloys or carbon, side bar to balance out that huge 5 pin slider site. Then you have to buy stuff to keep you going. Trips to the gym, trail running shoes, protein powder, trip to the orthopedic to fix your knee, cortisone shots, fancy hiking pants. Then all the ultra light clothing. Your wife starts doing the math and wonders why she only got a $800 ring and you got 10 grand worth of hunting stuff for 1 month of hunting on a good year.

Now some might say that you don't NEED all that stuff. True. But the difference between an enjoyable hunt and a real pain in the butt is some of these items.

After all that, here is my poor mans 7 day gear list for guys that don't want to sell the farm - in order of most important (to me). This is in no way the end all be all, but it might help someone who is overwhelmed with all the options to get started:

Boots - spend the money here $200+
pack - Make sure it fits you. Kuiu stuff is okay. Kifaru stuff is awesome. find some used stuff for $450 or less.
Tent - For $300 ish you can get a pyramid tipi type shelter. Its roomy, light, and can shed a good alpine wind. Oware, MLD, Bear Paw
sleeping bag - this is your comfort item. Get a mid range 20 degree down bag and stuff that baby in a water proof stuff sack. marmot helium $350
sleeping pad - closed cell foam - not the most comfy, but you're poor so stop complaining
clothes - kuiu is phasing stuff out every other day - black friday sales are great too. Cabelas microtex is great for the money. Gotta have merino base layer.
Binos - nikon monarch = good enough for elk and deer if you don't get eye strain. If doing a lot of glassing then high end vortex. $350 ~$800
Bow - hit the classifieds or proshops. Get a used Hoyt or Elite $350-500. hoyt maxis, alphamax, spyder. Elite answer, energy series. All good.
release- truball short and sweet $100. Just please don't get a cheapy release. They have so much creep and are so light it'll give anyone target panic.
broadheads - 80$ for broadheads is insanity. Get some magnus stingers for $25. They are super straight and sharp. Easy to resharpen and come with a lifetime warranty. Can't beat them. For a long traditional looking head they fly quite well. I've had no issues shooting them at 60 yards.

arrows - anything tough and consistent. Easton axis, gold tip kinetic (with easton components) will do anything you need. $120/doz
sight - 5 pin sight that is tough with a good level. Use the level for 70 yard mark. 99% of guys have no business shooting past 70 anyways. Spott hogg right on $150. You don't need 3rd axis built in. You can shim the sight mount.

rangefinder - find one used for cheap - be nice if it was angle compensating. Nikon rifleman's are accurate and easy to use. change the battery before season
spotting scope - luxury item - you don't need it unless you're a trophy hunter
tripod - get a cheapo light slick tripod to rest your bino's on.
cook stove - lots of cheap ones that aren't terribly heavy. $50 with fuel canister.

By spending some money in the right places you don't have to continuously upgrade every year either. Spend the money on gas for scouting or on shooting lessons (if applicable). Burn a few saturdays in spring time to shoot some 3d's. There's snow in the high country anyway that time of year.

For significantly more money you could probably cut a few pounds off this list. But if you're anything like me you could also put down the donut and lose a few pounds below the ribs as well. Get out there and have fun.

This list comes from my experiences. i have most of the "best" stuff. So I can look back and think about what I do need and what I don't. Thought it'd be fun to come up with a list. Hope someone finds it valuable.

Jason

 

[WyoBowhunter21]

I often wonder this myself. I am in the sleeping bag market right now and it's hard to drop that much cash for a couple weeks a year. I can relate to the wife's ring. I get asked that too. I just say well we had a nice wedding.

 

[Jason Snyder]

Very sound advice. One can save a lot of money by shopping the classifieds and the sales at various gear stores. Mountain Archery had some GREAT prices on Carbon Express arrow shafts last year, and in the late winter you can find boots galore on 30% or more closeout prices.

Edit: I saved 1500 bucks on a $3200 mountain bike last year so that I could be in shape for elk season. If you're shopping for a bike, make Craigslist your friend!

 

[Elkfitness]

Aron snyder wrote a great article a year or so ago in extreme elk magazine about budget items. I'll try to find a link to it. My only expensive item I have is a kifaru frame, and I bought that at the xmas sale. I paid full price for my jetboil. Everything else I have bought on here or have bought on sale. I did pay full price (they were on sale in the stores) for my bow and rifle, but there are great deals here too. Rokslide has let me get more premium gear, but in my price range. I have traded a few things as well to get what I need. Next up are clothes for me. Trying to decide between kryptek and sitka, and then I'll search for deals on them as well.

 

[MuleyFever]

Is western hunting a wealthy mans sport? Nope, not unless you make it that way. You said the difference between an enjoyable hunt and a pain in the but is this expensive gear. Maybe you should ask if we are just becoming soft. If hunting was such a pain in the but without expensive gear would it have been so popular? I grew up hunting whitetails in the Midwest and was wearing crap for clothing through those Wisconsin winters but I had a blast and would not have skipped the chance to be in my stand. Stop playing keeping up with the Jones's and go hunting.

I also would like to say some of your gear list is way more than a guy needs to spend. Like I said, its only expensive if you make it that way. Lots of good packs out there for under $300 or even less. Lots of great tents for under $200. Bows that killed deer 5 years will still kill a deer today. Plenty of good bows for $200 or so. Optics for a beginner can be cheap. If you just getting into it you don't need to spend a lot to get started.

 

[actionshooter]

This just me, but I spend a ton of money on hunting. I'm lucky that I have a good job and can afford to buy the stuff I want. But I will guarantee that if I didn't have a good job I would still hunt just as much, I just wouldn't have all the trinkets you don't really need.

 

[bobhunts]

All I can say is welcome home! We all do it just in increments. Started of as a kid in Montana with an old recurve bow and Army clothing. Things are different now but I have a bigger budget to work with and a better mindset with budgeting my money. Saved for three years for a moose hunt in Alaska and had the time of my life. Planning is key in the whole process. I do know guys that take there kids out and get it done with very basic stuff and it can be done that way. I have done it wearing just cotton from Cabelas and cheap stuff. My first and biggest step forward was boots. Got tired of wet cold feet. Remember buying neoprene socks that would keep your feet dry and warm. I have still not used them! Learning curve for me. The socks will only fit a boot like a wader boot.

 

[tony m]

I dunno, I can hunt from home, wear wools, 25 year old rifle, packboard is 30 years old.horses are old, the gear ancient.Its still an adventure.

 

[gmajor]

I talk with my uncle in the midwest who hunts and it's like we're talking about two completely different pursuits. Getting out in the woods surrounding the farm in a treestand is just a fundamentally different enterprise than western mountain hunting. It's definitely pricey getting the gear for being in the mountains, but I like to backpack and just be in the high country, so I try to justify it by getting out as often as I can. Even if it's not hunting/scouting specific. I definitely have to justify it though...good gear is expensive as heck, although much of it (my wool, for example) will stay with me for ages.

 

[idig4au]

This just me, but I spend a ton of money on hunting. I'm lucky that I have a good job and can afford to buy the stuff I want. But I will guarantee that if I didn't have a good job I would still hunt just as much, I just wouldn't have all the trinkets you don't really need.

What he said. Everyone's circumstances are different. It seems as income increases, the expenses associated with hobbies also increase. But you don't need all the latest and greatest to be successful.

 

[mt100gr.]

^this. For me, hunting is the one thing I spend money on. For perspective, I know guys that "upgrade" their snowmobile every two years to the tune of 15 grand or more. And ski equipment isn't cheap, nor is horse tack or muscle car parts. I feel that as long as your priorities are in line, see bills paid and food on the table, spend it if you got it. That definitely doesn't mean you NEED it but "life ain't no dress rehearsal"...

 

[AXEL]

I guess that "rich" means different things to different people; I started hunting in 1964, a poor high school student and went from there as well as working in the wilderness of BC and Alberta and Canada's north. I started with junk and a 1917 Lee-Enfield .303 borrowed from a neighbour and shot my first deer.

I soon realized that I needed far better gear and started learning about and buying what one could find here in BC in the '60s; I came to understand that properly chosen "carriage trade" gear WILL and DOES make serious wilderness outings both safer and more enjoyable and have always bought the best and still do.

I NEVER buy for any "reason" involved with "keeping up", etc. and seldom pay full retail for anything. I have had the means, due only to hard work, to pretty much buy any gear I wanted and I do now have more than I absolutely require, most of which is being sold, as age and injuries have limited what I can now do and still enjoy.

That said, there are many here, I am one, who can guide novices to sound choices and excellent deals on gear, there is lots of "best" quality stuff out there and careful budgeting can bring surprising results.

1.-BOOTS- DO NOT cut corners here, buy the BEST pair(s) that FIT you and a spare pair is "money in the bank". Lathrop's and REI are places to check out for mountain boots.

2. Your PACK, again, buy the BEST, Mystery Ranch, Paradox/Seek Outside, Stone Glacier, even a custom McHale. Done right, this will last you 20 years or more. I much prefer a dedicated hunting pack, but, most of the above will do it all, as my various packs did for years. BUT, DO NOT "cheap out" on this item.

3. Bino.- You ONLY get ONE pair of eyes, buy a Leica, Zeiss or Swaro as soon as you possibly can and look after it. My second Zeiss since 1967, was bought in 1975, shows lots of use, but, is still 100% as new in optics. I also have a Leica 10x42, which is 8-9 years old and as new, the price of these is worth paying.

Buy "used", even a WM bag or Hille. tent or SO shelter can be found in "new" preowned condition for a deal if you search regularly.....and, I would never trade my Microtex for that ridiculously pricey gear made in China by you know who.........

 

[LazyV]

Very cool thread, I was reading the article in extreme elk that elkfitness is talking about tonight and this dovetails nicely with that. Hunting is my one hobby so I don't feel bad about spending money on it at all as I make enough that my family never suffers for it. While sites like this can make it easier to spend money because of all the useful stuff they show, I think they also can make it more cheap for new people to get into through the classifieds.

 

[mt100gr.]

Very cool thread, I was reading the article in extreme elk that elkfitness is talking about tonight and this dovetails nicely with that. Hunting is my one hobby so I don't feel bad about spending money on it at all as I make enough that my family never suffers for it. While sites like this can make it easier to spend money because of all the useful stuff they show, I think they also can make it more cheap for new people to get into through the classifieds.

To expand on this last thought a bit...sites like this definitely make it easy to spend money. BUT the difference I have found is that I spend my money more confidently. The information and discussions here really are a fast track in the trial and error process. Instead of trying to decide from a list of 12 expensive products you can get honest, first hand info to compare not only how good or bad something is but also how they use it, how it fits them and their style, etc.

 

[Jeff Martin]

Great discussion topic. I have found if you look at all sports/Hobbies/Passions a man might care about, they are all really expensive IMO. I have justified this with "living life" so I buy what I will enjoy the passion the best.

Take Golf: $1,000 for good clubs, $50 bucks a round - guys play 10-30 times a year
Take Shooting: $1,000 for a rifle/Shotgun, $$$$$ in shooting cost
Take Beer drinking - $20 a week
Take Mountain Biking: $2000 for a rig,
etc....

It is what it is...but I love your post.

 

[luke moffat]

IMO its a progression. Some get retarded into tweaking gear and such while others make it work. Both are fine. You certainly don't have to buy the latest and greatest and most don't.

Its more of a function of what ones priorities are and where they wish to spend their funds. I can say my gear purchases have gone down actually in the last couple years. I just get to a point where I know what works and any change usually is more of curiosity than a real need.

I also certainly agree with AXEL's list on what and where not to skimp on gear wise. IMO your weapon used to kill the animal should have WAY down the list, as much as we like to think spending more money on a bow or rifle (outside of long range hunting maybe) will make you a better hunter I know that I can pretty much kill just as well with a $300 Ruger American with a $150 Redfield scope in 30-06 than a $1200 Kimber with a $400 scope.

It is always more about the indian than the bow. "Stuff" can often make things more comfortable, but don't let it stop ya from getting in the field just cause you aren't running this pack, or have those binos and what not. Time afield is always far and away the best key to success for me atleast. Can't kill them from work working extra hours to pay for all those things you "need."

 

[Jesse Jaymes]

I like a good rant.......

 

[5MilesBack]

Now some might say that you don't NEED all that stuff. True. But the difference between an enjoyable hunt and a real pain in the butt is some of these items.

I would be one that says that we don't NEED hardly any of this stuff. However, I've been fine-tuning my gear and setups for 35 years. Every single year I find something that I'd like to improve on. I separate my gear into three categories: (1) stuff I absolutely need to get the job done, (2) survival, and (3) luxury items.

One can go crazy with each of those categories, just a matter of how much money you want to spend. You certainly don't need to spend what a lot of people do. Those three categories change depending on the season I'm hunting. Quite frankly, for most CO archery seasons I don't need as much as I "might" need for a late season hunt in the snow and cold.

My first season was quite different than it is now. At 15 I didn't have much of anything, and what I had was so far under par of what was actually really needed.....yet that's what I had, so that's what I used. And we still killed elk and deer every year. I froze my patooty off, and still have cold toes because of it.....but you learn real quick what's a necessity and what's a comfort item, and which you want to carry.

 

[Bighorse]

I will go as far as saying yes! With Access being your biggest cost. Fact is if your out in a target rich environment with time on your hands you are rich. To have the means to wander away from your personal responsibilities with intact health you my friends are rich. Perhaps that's why we gravitate towards hunting?

Really though.... All you have to do is consider European hunting culture a little to realize that it does have the potential to evolve into a wealthy mans pursuit. On a regional and locational basis it already has. It's one thing to say you can go hunting and another thing entirely to be hunting.

 

[Ross]

Fun thread...much of what many purchase will not help achieve the desired outcome. That being said some things are just cool to buy and if in your budget who is anyone to tell you not to buy it. For me I am always looking at things that will help me fill tags as the deciding factor if more than a nominal expenditure. Off to continue my knee rehab as that will help me later.