Least you would hunt with

[Newtosavage]

Some of the newbies here could easily get discouraged looking at what a lot of members spend on rifles, packs, optics and boots. And rightly so - we all know quality gear is not cheap!

But here's my question for the veterans. What is the LEAST expensive gear you would actually go hunting with this year? Not that you've hunted with, but that you would hunt with today. As in, anything less and you'd just stay home.

I'll go first:

Rifle: Savage Axis with Burris Fullfield II scope

Pack: Badlands daypack and old Kelty external frame for meat hauling

Optics: Vortex Viper HD (new) or one of the sleepers like the Cabelas Outfitter HD/Sightron Blue Sky II/Bushnell Legend M

Boots: Danner Pronghorns or Oboz Bridger or Vasque Talus or a used pair of Vasque sundowners

If that's all I had, I'd still go and expect to have a good hunt.

What say you?

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I have done two western hunts with a older Savage 110 270, Slumberjack Bounty Backpack, wearing 2nd hand Kryptek i bought off the classifieds section here (or when they actually used to put stuff on clearance), Viper HD binos that i got for doing a review on them, and Rocky boots lol

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Just what I have used for years, with much success. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

 

[87TT]

I'd go barefoot with a sharp stick if that was all I had.

 

[Hnthrdr]

Some of the newbies here could easily get discouraged looking at what a lot of members spend on rifles, packs, optics and boots. And rightly so - we all know quality gear is not cheap!

But here's my question for the veterans. What is the LEAST expensive gear you would actually go hunting with this year? Not that you've hunted with, but that you would hunt with today. As in, anything less and you'd just stay home.

I'll go first:

Rifle: Savage Axis with Burris Fullfield II scope

Pack: Badlands daypack and old Kelty external frame for meat hauling

Optics: Vortex Viper HD (new) or one of the sleepers like the Cabelas Outfitter HD/Sightron Blue Sky II/Bushnell Legend M

Boots: Danner Pronghorns or Oboz Bridger or Vasque Talus or a used pair of Vasque sundowners

If that's all I had, I'd still go and expect to have a good hunt.

What say you?

I would argue a lot of what you described is better than the lions share of hunting gear was past until the early 00’s maybe minus the rifle and some optics. It seems like the last 20 years hunt/outdoor gear and packs and boots have advanced by leaps and bounds. Would not hesitate to hunt with that set up at all

 

[CorbLand]

I draw the line at a loin cloth.

 

[87TT]

Actually any rifle or bow that would kill ethically and shoes that didn't hurt my feet.

 

[bnsafe]

a good gps unit is all I wouldnt go without. Sure, nicer things help, but all I have to have is a gps. I rarely use it, but when I want it I want it

 

[Carr5vols]

I agree people stree to much on gear...Alps Freighter was my first pack $100. Everything else if you hunt whitetail go after it...

 

[nobody]

I've always believed in the "4 pillars of gear" for a guy just getting started:

1. Weapon system. This is either your rifle, scope, and rangefinder combo, or your bow and rangefinder combo. Doesn't matter how cool your matching camo is or how much you spent on the tag. If you show up to hunt and don't have a solid zero, your rifle isn't accurate, you don't shoot it well, your scope fogs up, rangefinder doesn't work, bow is out of tune, etc, you might as well just pack it in and go home.

2. Boots. Bloody, sore, achy feet WILL send you home. People say cotton kills, and while I agree to an extent, I would rather see a guy show up in red and black checked wool and blue jeans and a good pair of broken in, well fitting boots than pretty much anything else. You can be the most he-man hard core dude with good gear, but when your feet hurt, you'll cry like a newborn baby. They don't even have to be expensive, they just need to fit you well and be broken in and fitting for the type of hunting you're doing (IE no Muck Boots on a backcountry western elk hunt)

3. Binos. I love my spotting scope a ton, but I would way rather see a guy spend his entire optic budget on quality binos and a tripod rather than on cheap binos, tripod, and spotter. Even though I have a spotter, it stays home quite often, but I never go anywhere without my binos. You can't kill what you can't find, and quality binos on a tripod make all the difference.

4. Pack. Buy a pack that's big enough that you'll have enough space to do any trip you'll plan on doing in the next few years. Also buy a pack that fits well, and that will function for the type of hunting you're doing. If you're an Eastern Whitetail hunter, you don't need a Stone Glacier Terminus 8700. If you're wanting to backpack in and kill an elk 7 miles from the pickup and pack him out on your back, you'll hate yourself if you bring a Badlands Superday.

Don't cut corners on ANY of these 4 items and you'll be ready to do 80% of the hunting you could ever dream of. Everything else can come later, but I always tell guys to get these 4 items dialed first, then concentrate on the other items (secondary weapon system, spotting scope, camo, etc.).

 

[Hnthrdr]

I've always believed in the "4 pillars of gear" for a guy just getting started:

1. Weapon system. This is either your rifle, scope, and rangefinder combo, or your bow and rangefinder combo. Doesn't matter how cool your matching camo is or how much you spent on the tag. If you show up to hunt and don't have a solid zero, your rifle isn't accurate, you don't shoot it well, your scope fogs up, rangefinder doesn't work, bow is out of tune, etc, you might as well just pack it in and go home.

2. Boots. Bloody, sore, achy feet WILL send you home. People say cotton kills, and while I agree to an extent, I would rather see a guy show up in red and black checked wool and blue jeans and a good pair of broken in, well fitting boots than pretty much anything else. You can be the most he-man hard core dude with good gear, but when your feet hurt, you'll cry like a newborn baby. They don't even have to be expensive, they just need to fit you well and be broken in and fitting for the type of hunting you're doing (IE no Muck Boots on a backcountry western elk hunt)

3. Binos. I love my spotting scope a ton, but I would way rather see a guy spend his entire optic budget on quality binos and a tripod rather than on cheap binos, tripod, and spotter. Even though I have a spotter, it stays home quite often, but I never go anywhere without my binos. You can't kill what you can't find, and quality binos on a tripod make all the difference.

4. Pack. Buy a pack that's big enough that you'll have enough space to do any trip you'll plan on doing in the next few years. Also buy a pack that fits well, and that will function for the type of hunting you're doing. If you're an Eastern Whitetail hunter, you don't need a Stone Glacier Terminus 8700. If you're wanting to backpack in and kill an elk 7 miles from the pickup and pack him out on your back, you'll hate yourself if you bring a Badlands Superday.

Don't cut corners on ANY of these 4 items and you'll be ready to do 80% of the hunting you could ever dream of. Everything else can come later, but I always tell guys to get these 4 items dialed first, then concentrate on the other items (secondary weapon system, spotting scope, camo, etc.).

I actually saw a guy on an archery elk hunt wearing muck boots once… just seeing it made my feet hurt

 

[Oregon]

We're so freaking spoiled now.
Jeans, flannel, 1960's Winchester pump game master, cheap Binos, army backpack, garbage boots.
Rain gear is whatever we wore fishing.
It didn't suck, because we didn't know better. We just hunted and killed deer.
I'm not old at all. This is early 90's.

 

[CorbLand]

I actually saw a guy on an archery elk hunt wearing muck boots once… just seeing it made my feet hurt

Even worse...I was helping a guy move some hay last year and he sold some out of the field. The guy that showed up to help load it was in insulated Muck boots. It was 90 plus degrees and he was going to help load 200 bales of hay. Dude was probably walking on sweat by the end of that.

 

[nobody]

I actually saw a guy on an archery elk hunt wearing muck boots once… just seeing it made my feet hurt

I don't even like them for changing irrigation pipe, let alone for anything that stresses my feet haha

 

[Oregon]

I actually saw a guy on an archery elk hunt wearing muck boots once… just seeing it made my feet hurt

I've done a few Kodiak hunts up to 1500' wearing xtra tuffs. It's what you're used to

 

[nobody]

Even worse...I was helping a guy move some hay last year and he sold some out of the field. The guy that showed up to help load it was in insulated Muck boots. It was 90 plus degrees and he was going to help load 200 bales of hay. Dude was probably walking on sweat by the end of that.

Walking on a sweaty porcupine, I can only imagine how many bales worth of stems and hay leaves got stuck in his socks...

 

[GSPHUNTER]

I know two brothers who look like they just came from a Bass Pro outdoors gear photo shoot. New everything.

 

[Oregon]

These 2 bucks were killed in blue jeans and the brand new fancy gore-Tex duck coats. Mid 90's.

 

[Felix40]

I elk hunted one year in converse tennis shoes I bought from a second hand store, cotton pants I got for free, a homemade recurve, an academy store brand pack, and mostly canned food instead of freeze dried.

I lived in TX at the time. I was sleeping on the floor in my rental house because I didn’t have a bed

I would do it again this year if I had to. This was a great reminder of how much easier things are now.

 

[Ryan Avery]

I've always believed in the "4 pillars of gear" for a guy just getting started:

1. Weapon system. This is either your rifle, scope, and rangefinder combo, or your bow and rangefinder combo. Doesn't matter how cool your matching camo is or how much you spent on the tag. If you show up to hunt and don't have a solid zero, your rifle isn't accurate, you don't shoot it well, your scope fogs up, rangefinder doesn't work, bow is out of tune, etc, you might as well just pack it in and go home.

2. Boots. Bloody, sore, achy feet WILL send you home. People say cotton kills, and while I agree to an extent, I would rather see a guy show up in red and black checked wool and blue jeans and a good pair of broken in, well fitting boots than pretty much anything else. You can be the most he-man hard core dude with good gear, but when your feet hurt, you'll cry like a newborn baby. They don't even have to be expensive, they just need to fit you well and be broken in and fitting for the type of hunting you're doing (IE no Muck Boots on a backcountry western elk hunt)

3. Binos. I love my spotting scope a ton, but I would way rather see a guy spend his entire optic budget on quality binos and a tripod rather than on cheap binos, tripod, and spotter. Even though I have a spotter, it stays home quite often, but I never go anywhere without my binos. You can't kill what you can't find, and quality binos on a tripod make all the difference.

4. Pack. Buy a pack that's big enough that you'll have enough space to do any trip you'll plan on doing in the next few years. Also buy a pack that fits well, and that will function for the type of hunting you're doing. If you're an Eastern Whitetail hunter, you don't need a Stone Glacier Terminus 8700. If you're wanting to backpack in and kill an elk 7 miles from the pickup and pack him out on your back, you'll hate yourself if you bring a Badlands Superday.

Don't cut corners on ANY of these 4 items and you'll be ready to do 80% of the hunting you could ever dream of. Everything else can come later, but I always tell guys to get these 4 items dialed first, then concentrate on the other items (secondary weapon system, spotting scope, camo, etc.).

This is a carbon copy(I'm old) of what I tell people several times weekly. If you get these four right, you can skimp in many other places.