My $0.02: There are plenty of people who were or are successful bow hunting with only a bow, arrows, a knife to gut a deer with and a little pack to carry some water and snacks and headlamp in, and rudimentary clothing. NOTHING more. I bow hunted for over a decade without most of the stuff I carry around now. You dont need scent killers. You dont need fancy boots. You also dont need expensive camo. You dont need a rangefinder. You dont need 95% of all the crap people (including me) carry around. Use what makes sense to you, practice so you know what it and you are capable of, and go have fun. You have plenty of time to accumulate all the excessive crap in the future, dont worry about doing it all at once. IMO 95% of it is time in the woods scouting so you know where to go, time spent shooting your bow so you can execute a shot when you are shaking like a leaf, and a dose of luck. The "crap" makes up MAYBE the other 5%.
*a rangefinder is nice to make sure you are aiming where you need to be--wounding a deer is easy to do and it sucks. but you dont need one--if you are using a fixed stand just pace off 15 yards or 20 yards in a couple directions from your stand and tie a tiny piece of surveyors tape to a branch--presto, you have a range marker (do this ahead of season so you dont leave your scent all over). If you are capable of making longer shots, a short and a long marker to show your max range can help you from wounding. Also when you are scouting or hiking, practice estimating range to a tree, stump or rock, then pace it off to check yourself. Most people can pretty quickly get good at estimating range pretty well out to 30 yards or so, which is more than enough for most people to be successful bow hunting--This lets you make successful shots when hunting from the ground or at an unprepared stand site. I know a number of successful bowhunters who still dont use a rangefinder becasue they practice this skill and dont see the point.
*camo...eh, read up, its scientifically debatable whether camo actually works on deer anyway. deer see movement though. simply making sure you have a screen behind you to break up your sillouette and covering up your hands and face goes a long way toward not being seen. I'll show you half a dozen videos of deer walking right up to within 5 or 10 yards of me on the ground, and that's wearing an orange hat and not wearing a stitch of camo--those are public land deer on state wma's in many cases, too.
*scent killer--for every hunter I know that swears by scent killer, I know 2 that swear it doesnt work. This stuff literally didnt even exist not that long ago anyway, and people got along just fine. Scent is the hardest thing anyway. Just learn to watch your wind and plan your hunts around the wind. Milkweed is the best windchecker on earth, and it's free.
If you are going to hunt from a tree, you do need a way up the tree (sticks, etc) something to stand on (platform or stand), a harness (saddle or harness), as well as a tether of some sort (short for hang and hunt or full length for a fixed stand) and a way to attach yourself to the tether. Not much else that you probably dont already have except maybe something to carry it in.
Once you get addicted and start refining this, optimizing that, trying to cut weight, etc, then you can start adding more or better gear.
in the tree
