How do you pay for your gear?

[Birdybird]

save save and save lol

 

[Yoder]

Best thing I've done to get new gear is get my wife into hunting. So far, I got a new crossbow, scope and tree stand. She's gone maybe three times.

 

[Backpackeb]

The cool thing about capitalism and a competitive market place is that we as consumers are rewarded with amazing products. Hunters are no exception as we have more access to quality gear than ever before...the down side is that we have to pay for it. I am curious how everyone has gone about building their kit and what advice would they give to folks just starting out.

I'll start. My advice as a young father with two small kids is to be realistic and play the "want vs. need" game with all gear purchases. As obvious as that may sound, I always catch myself drooling over some new piece of gear that really doesn't fit my hunting style or would replace something that is perfectly functional and already living in my garage. Develop your own hunting style, research gear that fits your needs and try to buy stuff that is either used, on sale, or a few model years old.

...So are you a hardcore budgeter still wearing dad's old mossy oak bibs? Independently wealthy? Rolling the dice and racking up the CC debt? Side hustling to pay for the toys? Or some combination of the above?

If you want a certain item, figure out how much and divide it by how many months until you will need it. Than I take that amount out when I get my paychecks. Advertising is driven to make you think you have to have every new thing, but in reality we don't usually need it in order to have a great hunt. I always try to sell something that I'm not using to put that money toward something else.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

I spent 20 years raising kids and another 10 helping them get started in life. I always sacrificed things I wanted to do it the best I could. Meaning if it took missing money to be somewhere that money coolant buy, I did. Which meant the extra hustle money was more limited.


I’m spoiling grandkids now. And, I buy what I want for the most part. I’ve perfected my gear collection in doing so by finding what works best. It’s a function of life and security.