Quest for Gear

[hunterjmj]

A recent post had me thinking about my quest for more, better, best gear.
Does it ever end?
I kind of feel like I'm pretty well geared up but something new comes out or something better shows up on the market and I sometimes I think I need/want it.

To add to all this, my kids will start hunting in about 4 years and I want them geared up in better stuff than what I had.
I suppose it's a hobby in in and of its self.
Are you all content with what you have or do you have that wish list of gear you're saving for or think you really need/want?

 

[INgunner54]

I think I share your affliction. Every year at the end of season I say that I'm happy with what I've got and I won't need to get anything for next year....... Lo and behold, usually after drawing a tag I miraculously need just a couple more things, or a different thing.

 

[Dinn]

I always tell myself I’ll sell my old gear to get the new stuff but you know that never happens

 

[hunterjmj]

I always tell myself I’ll sell my old gear to get the new stuff but you know that never happens

I've done the same thing. The only thing I've ever sold was a Vortex rifle scope. Usually the old stuff sits in a tote.

 

[WI in the west]

Anything over $100 i try to sell if i have another thing id like to upgrade. Mostly optics but it helps keep the woman off your back when new shot shows up and you can say you covered the cost by selling these other big items. Cheap stuff collects though cause its not worth the effort.
But like said before every year i think im happy then all of a sudden i get some idea that i have to have this new thing (swaros, kowa spotter etc.) but right now i feel like i finally am content across the board now that i bought a kowa 774 last week.
Id bet youll stop wanting your own new things and want to buy your kids the new things now

 

[hunterjmj]

Anything over $100 i try to sell if i have another thing id like to upgrade. Mostly optics but it helps keep the woman off your back when new shot shows up and you can say you covered the cost by selling these other big items. Cheap stuff collects though cause its not worth the effort.
But like said before every year i think im happy then all of a sudden i get some idea that i have to have this new thing (swaros, kowa spotter etc.) but right now i feel like i finally am content across the board now that i bought a kowa 774 last week.
Id bet youll stop wanting your own new things and want to buy your kids the new things now

You're right about that. I have a whole list of camping gear I need to get in the next few years. I got them both Cricket .22's and I just picked up a .243 win in a Weatherby youth model. They still have a ways to go before they shoot it but prices aren't going down anytime soon.
How you liking the Kowa?

 

[WI in the west]

Thats exactly what my dad did for me to got a .22 and a .243 and a 20ga and he used his same old stuff
Way better then my vortex razor i previously had. I dont see wanting to upgrade but if i do it would be for the 884 maybe but its pretty sweet.

 

[hunterjmj]

The first time I heard of Kowa was in SE Oregon deer hunting back in the late 90's and I met an older fella spotting from his pickup window. He was watching a buck on this sage brush flat which felt like 5 miles away. It was the first time I looked through a spotting scope and I was blown away. I couldn't afford the Kowa but I ended up buying a Nikon spotter XL. It changed the way I hunted after that meeting. I still have that scope but it's in a tote now.

 

[WI in the west]

looking through high end glass is the worst thing to do if you are trying to save money for non hunting things. it got me then it got my dad after he looked through my mavens i use to have. and then suddenly those $150 scopes and binos are so unclear you cant hardly see through them anymore

 

[hunterjmj]

Very true.

 

[Dos Perros]

Buy once cry once means holding on to that valued piece of gear for a long time. That's what I try to do. My favorite hunting pants are going on 10 years old (Sitka).

 

[WRM]

If it ended, you'd put a whole market segment that really didn't exist much 25 years or so ago out of business. You are a consumer. You must consume. Just do it! (Can I say that or do I owe Nike money?)

 

[hunterjmj]

If it ended, you'd put a whole market segment that really didn't exist much 25 years or so ago out of business. You are a consumer. You must consume. Just do it! (Can I say that or do I owe Nike money?)

At least I'd have all my gear! When I was a kid I had blue jeans, shitty boots and a wool coat. My dad wore the same and it was fine except I froze my ass off. That's just the way it was and my folks didn't have extra money back then. Seriously though, all the gear is a luxury and easy to take for granted.

 

[Bump79]

Buy once cry once means holding on to that valued piece of gear for a long time. That's what I try to do. My favorite hunting pants are going on 10 years old (Sitka).

Great point. "Buy once cry once" requires some self introspection and if you're the type that is capable of not getting rid of it when the next best thing comes out.

Also, I hate it when people give this advice to a whitetail hunter headed west. They spend a ridiculous amount of money on gear for one trip then it sits in the closet. Their needs for one trip isn't the same as someone who lives out west and uses it heavily.

 

[hunterjmj]

Great point. "Buy once cry once" requires some self introspection and if you're the type that is capable of not getting rid of it when the next best thing comes out.

Also, I hate it when people give this advice to a whitetail hunter headed west. They spend a ridiculous amount of money on gear for one trip then it sits in the closet. Their needs for one trip isn't the same as someone who lives out west and uses it heavily.

That's a good point about eastern hunters. I'm probably guilty of that. My dad always told me to save for what you really want even if it means a couple years. It was good advice but if you're only coming out once every 5-10 years then why spend thousands. Ultimately, it's there money and decision though.

 

[Bump79]

That's a good point about eastern hunters. I'm probably guilty of that. My dad always told me to save for what you really want even if it means a couple years. It was good advice but if you're only coming out once every 5-10 years then why spend thousands. Ultimately, it's there money and decision though.

Agreed. Also, when it's your first trip or you rarely go... gear is not your limiting factor. Experience is

 

[Lcm12594]

I always think I’m content until I dabble in other hunts other than big game such as duck hunting, and the cycle restarts from the beginning. I’ve come to terms that this will be life forever

 

[Hussar]

We live in an age where marketing has changed so much. Now, it's much more advantageous to send a few influencers the latest gear and let them do the marketing. We're constantly hammered with how much better the latest gear/tech/materials are compared to last year.

As others have mentioned, it's experience that really will help you dial in your gear and get comfortable/confident in it. It also points out flaws in your gear so you can pass that to your kids and upgrade to something that fixes those flaws.

Edit to add: I have a lot of gear I'm comfortable with. I'm to the point of saving for some additional items to give me a little more flexibility across seasons.

 

[Mykolaivka887]

I'm content with what I have, because it works great. I don't have a wish list in terms of gear and equipment.