In What Order Should I Buy Gear?

[Theringworm]

I absolutely would not buy my backpack, sleeping bag nor tent at a Cabelas or Sportsman’s Warehouse. Probably not my boots either. They don’t carry the best options IMO. Everything else could definitely be bought there I.e. all optics, ammo, lights, electronics, knife etc.

Don’t need camo. If I had to do it over again I wouldn’t own any camo but would rather buy solid colors in earth tones that way I could also wear some items around town and not look ridiculous. Just focus on buying quality clothes.

 

[Dogone]

Always start from the bottom. Boots/Sox / pants and so on . You can’t hump that high end backpack in running shoes.

 

[FrankieP1988]

Budget will be a big deciding factor, but I'd agree with many others, good binos, pack, boots, tripod... I think you can find some great deals on the classifieds here! Also Black Friday is coming up

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

The season is only open for a short time. You’ll learn way more from scouting day trips and camping/backpacking weekends than you will “hunting”.

Guys who are spending time in the mountains and woods year round are far more successful public land backpack style hunters than those that only go out during “season”.

With the being said. Start with day trips scouting and learning your target areas. For this all you need is boots/shoes and a day pack for water and snacks. You don’t even need “glass” yet. I would always carry a knife or pistol as well depending on your area.

Start with that and work your way up to weekend camping or backpacking trips and learn what gear is working for you. You’ll add in a sleep system, cookware, etc. in doing this. It sort of rolls/flows from there moving forward.

 

[Vaultman]

Scrap the idea of a tripod. They are great, but to many other way more important things. Unless fund$ aren't an issue.

 

[Ross]

A lot of critters are killed with average gear. Quality gear lets you stay comfortable longer in bad conditions. If your feet don’t go you don’t go.
Assuming your scope is solid, 1st I would find a quality boot for your feet. 2nd quality binos, Buy once cry once they will last decades or a lifetime, if taken care of. Likely your biggest expense unless you upgrade the weapon. Also, depending on the country chosen to hunt, they can be one of the biggest items contributing to success. 3rd many pack options and one you can find quality in the classifieds and something you can change easily if not what you want. You can endure using an average pack until you want to drop bigger coin on the high end units. From there prioritize what you don’t have and what will contribute to success and refine things as you go.

 

[ReddingArcher]

I’d start with good boots. Shitty boots can end a hunt quickly. And break them in, learn if and where any hot spots are so you can tape prior to hunting. Boots are probably one spot I wouldn’t buy used.

 

[TaperPin]

I grew up in a hunting family, but got away from it after moving to the city for school. Needless to say, since I’m on Rokslide, I want to get back into it!

I am hoping for some suggestions on the order in which i should prioritize getting gear. I have some basic stuff, like a rifle and a small amount of camo, but that’s basically it. My goal is to have a chance at deer, elk, and bear.

For the sake of this question, consider me as not having anything but a rifle. What are the first things I should buy to get started, then how should I continue to prioritize more gear for future seasons?

Thx in advance

Are you wanting to hunt from the road or backpack in?

Buying used will stretch the budget 2x.

Make a list of what you need, and don’t spend money on anything not on that list. Rank them in priority so you know what to buy first. If you have a mediocre sleeping bag, don’t get a good one if many things are completely missing on the list. Once you have basic heavy cheap gear, you’ll want to upgrade to light weight replacements - your priority list will become what gives you the most weight savings per dollar.

My first backpacking trip in high school was literally a sleeping bag tied onto a book bag, jeans, a garbage bags for rain gear, canned beans and sandwiches - no tent, no stove, no binoculars, no rangefinder, no sleeping pad, not much of anything. We still found a bear, so the main thing is to get out there and just do it.

Only you know what turns your crank - for some, synthetic and waterproof clothes should all be picked up at Goodwill for the biggest bang for the buck, for others maybe used on eBay is more agreeable, and a step up is dedicated hunting brands bought used, and as a last resort get something new. Avoid cotton.

You can’t hunt without boots. A good place to start are fabric boots designed for hiking and light backpacking. Pick a common brand, try them on in a store, then buy a used pair. If they aren’t comfortable sell them for the purchase price and try another. The odds are low that your first choice will work 100%.

You can’t hunt without at least a day pack to carry basic gear around in. Used small backpacks are cheap on eBay. Look at them in person to get a brand that looks good, then buy it used.

There’s no way around picking gear and gaining experience that rounds out the “10 essentials.” It makes sense to google it.

The more cheap gear you can pick up used, the more top end new gear you can afford. You don’t have to own it if you can borrow it from uncle Tony. Buy a few big totes to organize gear - don’t let your stuff get spread all over - a good day pack can be kept packed all the time - simply grab it and go for hiking, fishing, or whatever.

 

[3Esski]

Really a great time of year to start this journey, lots of similar advice in this thread to narrow the list. Lot if good sales happening right now and coming up, plus all the guys who will be offloading gear they didn't like/use this season for newer gear next year.

 

[jimh406]

I am hoping for some suggestions on the order in which i should prioritize getting gear. I have some basic stuff, like a rifle and a small amount of camo, but that’s basically it. My goal is to have a chance at deer, elk, and bear.

Where are you wanting to hunt and what type of hunting?

 

[nobody]

Concentrate on what I call the “4 pillars” of your gear arsenal:

1. Boots/footwear. You don’t need expensive, you just need the right kind that fits well. Don’t buy mountaineering boots if you’ll primarily hunt antelope on the plains, and don’t buy rubber boots if you’ll primarily be hiking in the west. Try lots of them on and buy for the hunts you for sure be doing, not for the one that you might do one day.

2. Weapon system: rifle/scope/rangefinder or bow/rangefinder. Your rifle should be optimized for how you’ll hunt now, in a cartridge you can handle and afford to shoot and practice A LOT, with a scope and mounting system that works. Check out the “rifle scope field evaluation” sub-forum on here and buy accordingly.

3. Pack. Buy the pack you need, not the one you’ll think you’ll need. If you’ll never do anything longer than weekend backpacking trips, don’t buy the 6k cubic inch pack. If you’ll only day hunt from a truck camp, same thing. If you’ll only do week long backpacking trips, buy the pack in the size you’ll need. If you’ll only be hunting tree stands in the mid west, you probably don’t need an expedition pack.

4. Chest binos. Buy the best you can afford, put them on a tripod, and SLOW DOWN. If you can only afford $1k, buy a $700 pair of binos, a bino harness, and a tripod and bino adapter. Don’t try to get a chest bino and a big bino and a tripod and spotter in one foul swoop if you can’t afford it.


Get these 4 pieces dialed. You don’t need Kuiu camo, you don’t need multiple packs, you don’t need 15’s and a giant spotter and a small spotter. You can be very successful for a lot of years if you get these 4 “pillars” squared away. After that, then do everything else. The first 2 WILL send you home if they fail, and all 4 will make for miserable hunting if they’re not dialed. Everything else is moot until these 4 things are squared away.

 

[HuntOregon]

Are you wanting to hunt from the road or backpack in?

Buying used will stretch the budget 2x.

Make a list of what you need, and don’t spend money on anything not on that list. Rank them in priority so you know what to buy first. If you have a mediocre sleeping bag, don’t get a good one if many things are completely missing on the list. Once you have basic heavy cheap gear, you’ll want to upgrade to light weight replacements - your priority list will become what gives you the most weight savings per dollar.

My first backpacking trip in high school was literally a sleeping bag tied onto a book bag, jeans, a garbage bags for rain gear, canned beans and sandwiches - no tent, no stove, no binoculars, no rangefinder, no sleeping pad, not much of anything. We still found a bear, so the main thing is to get out there and just do it.

Only you know what turns your crank - for some, synthetic and waterproof clothes should all be picked up at Goodwill for the biggest bang for the buck, for others maybe used on eBay is more agreeable, and a step up is dedicated hunting brands bought used, and as a last resort get something new. Avoid cotton.

You can’t hunt without boots. A good place to start are fabric boots designed for hiking and light backpacking. Pick a common brand, try them on in a store, then buy a used pair. If they aren’t comfortable sell them for the purchase price and try another. The odds are low that your first choice will work 100%.

You can’t hunt without at least a day pack to carry basic gear around in. Used small backpacks are cheap on eBay. Look at them in person to get a brand that looks good, then buy it used.

There’s no way around picking gear and gaining experience that rounds out the “10 essentials.” It makes sense to google it.

The more cheap gear you can pick up used, the more top end new gear you can afford. You don’t have to own it if you can borrow it from uncle Tony. Buy a few big totes to organize gear - don’t let your stuff get spread all over - a good day pack can be kept packed all the time - simply grab it and go for hiking, fishing, or whatever.

Why not cotton?

 

[nobody]

Why not cotton?

Cotton gets wet and takes forever to dry. Can be a killer in the wrong conditions if you can’t get dry and temps are dropping. Backcountry hunts are no place for cotton.

I do wear cotton hunting pants for some certain hunts where I’m busting a ton of brush and I’m not backpacking in and just staying in a base camp where I can change daily if needed. But never in the backcountry.

 

[HuntOregon]

Where are you wanting to hunt and what type of hunting?

Oregon dear and elk

 

[jimh406]

Oregon dear and elk

East or West of the Cascades?

For example, it matters because many people hunt in really thick vegetation in the West and it's relatively close range and wet, and in the East they use spotting scopes and guns that can reach out a bit more and it's relatively dry and cold.

 

[TaperPin]

Why not cotton?

In warm dry weather or if your not far from a truck it’s ok - hunting antelope in jeans is fine, but in the mountains all the water that cotton soaks up can suck a lot of heat out of you. This year in Colorado there has been blowing snow and freezing temps a few days as weather fronts passed through in July and September. The last thing you would want are cold wet jeans, especially if you get turned around and have to spend the night out away from camp.

 

[HuntOregon]

East or West of the Cascades?

For example, it matters because many people hunt in really thick vegetation in the West and it's relatively close range and wet, and in the East they use spotting scopes and guns that can reach out a bit more and it's relatively dry and cold.

West

 

[BRTreedogs]

I had the sleeves of a cotton sweatshirt freeze solid on my body once.

I had to make sure to keep flexing my arms to keep the ice broke off.

And I could only stop long enough for a breath or two and keep moving to keep my body heat pumped up.

Man, them were the days.

 

[jimh406]

I'd prioritize in the following order based on West.

Good durable rain gear (it doesn't have to be camo, and you'll likely need it anyway for other activities in the West.)

Layering system with gloves and hat to keep you warm and dry. Again, doesn't have to be camo and it would be helpful to have for other West activities.

Strong weatherproof boots capable of going up and down wet hills.

I don't think you need a spotter or great glass. Solid 8X binoculars should be mostly fine to start.

I'd go with good rings/bases with a reasonable quality scope as well. If you buy good rings and bases, you can reuse those once you have more money or want to spend more.

 

[jimh406]

Btw, you should consider looking into iFish.net. The guys also hunt, and it's essentially a West Oregon board.