Must have gear for beginner

[unfazed]

Aside from lots of range time, what gear is a must have? I’m just gearing up for next season as a beginner hunter. I have my rifle, scope, knife, bino’s, and rangefinder. I plan to grab some shooting sticks, base and outterlayers, a pack, aswell as some quality boots. Anything else you’d recommend? I don’t plan to hunt multiple days just yet.

Located in Southern Utah, will be after Deer & Elk.

 

[WeiserBucks]

Your starter list looks solid. Go hunt and reevaluate gear that works vs stuff that sucks and determine if you need anything additional or different.

 

[SuperDUECE22]

ankle gaiters
and get zip off boot height bottoms for your base layers
puffy coat and possibly pants depending on season

 

[NealS02]

Prioritize the best optics you can afford, quality boots, and an accurate (not necessarily expensive) rifle. You have a good list started out though.

 

[Bugger]

Tripod is a must. Makes glassing 10x more effective and is super stable to use for kneeling/sitting shots above the brush.

 

[Taudisio]

In order of importance, tag for the species you are hunting, knowledge of regulations and area you can hunt with that tag, a weapon (rangefinder is a must if you are bow hunting), sharp knife (knowledge of how to gut a deer if you’re solo, how to quarter an elk), boots, pack, game bags, binos, food and water, optional accessories are after this like camo. Little extra conveniences here and there, but I hunted for 20+ years and was more successful than most just using the above list. When I take a new hunter out, they better have the above list. Anything else they bring is on them.
I would highly recommend you have an experienced person go with you on an elk hunt. Killing your first deer will teach you a lot, and you could do this by yourself. An elk is a lot to move, and you will be wasteful if you are trying to move one by yourself without prior knowledge of how to gut/quarter and cool the meat.

 

[FranklinBluth]

Take care of your feet first. Nothing else will matter if you're dealing with blisters or other soreness from cheap boots. Lots of places to cut corners, but footwear is not one of them.