Share your "Hunting Items I've overspent on with no advantage"

[z987k]

I've thought about this a lot lately, the older I get the lighter/more casual I dress or approach a hunt. Lot of money wasted. Some of my most successful hunts have been in jeans and a flannel. Same way they did it years ago. I think if I never hunted in camo again I wouldn't kill one less animal bowhunting or rifle hunting for instance. Ymmv.

Took my boss duck hunting last year he was all nervous cuz his camo didnt match. Told him dont worry the ducks dont care if the guy who shoots em matches.

So far, in my experience hunting. Animals are going to smell or hear you miles before they see you. If not wearing camo caused you to be unsuccessful, you weren't going to be successful in the first place.

 

[GoferDog]

Matching insulated boots

Nothing will beat my favorite uninsulated hikers plus a 30 dollar pair of boot blankets

Could never bring myself to be hiking boots, just wear my work boots seeing as I wear them everyday anyway.

 

[Mojave]

Kuiu is kind of cheap compared to other brands. So eh.....

Custom rifles are a BS problem. I have custom rifles and I have Blasers that cost the same.

Buy a mid-grade rifle that shoots, and put a decent scope on it and be done. You can easily spend $1500-2200 and have everything you would ever need for 99% of the hunting you will ever do in your life. $750 Tikka and a $750 Leupold VX-III 30mm 4.5-14. Get a flat shooting caliber like 280, 270, 7mm, 30-06 or 300 and go kill stuff. If you are recoil sensitive get a 7mm-08, 308, 6.5 creedmoor and do the same.

Binos are more important than anything else and I still see dudes with cheap opera glasses in the woods. These blister pack Tasco 7x25 or 8x32. Sell all your guns and get a pair of binos in the $1000 range plus.

Boots are the second most important thing. You don't need a $600 pair, but you need a pair that works for you.

Rangefinder just needs to be accurate $250 Leupold or similar 1000 yard model, 1600 is nicer.

Spend the rest on tags and gas.

Taxidermy is also BS, use the rotting method to clean your skulls in the backyard in a $15 plastic tub.

Or buy a souvide machine and dunk it into a old plastic tub to speed things up $80.

 

[JeffRaines]

So far, in my experience hunting. Animals are going to smell or hear you miles before they see you. If not wearing camo caused you to be unsuccessful, you weren't going to be successful in the first place.

Funny you bring this up - IME I’ve seen more animals turned by guys wearing camo. I have no doubt that it probably works to some extent - but I think it looks unique - maybe it’s blurry to them, and they get wise to it fast. A guy wearing khakis and a earthly colored shirt? They’re stupid as hell to those guys, they’re still cagey but stupid in comparison. They see a full guy in full Sitka/Kuiu/FL whatever? They’re gone fast.

 

[elliotsil]

kinda a dumb one, but I saved tons of money buying used sitka off Facebook groups instead of the store

 

[FLAK]

WBY MK V. in 7mm WBY. and the Leupy 4.5 - 14 x 50 I put on it.
My Remmy 700's all shoot better.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

30-60 x 80 mm divorski spotting scope.

A 60mm objective would be lighter and fit in the pack better and therefore would have been used more for hunting instead of show Jupiter to the kids.

 

[30338]

I've willingly spent quite a bit on lefthanded custom rifle builds over the years. And even now I sometimes use my Rem 700 B series 30-06 that I had bedded into a Mcmillan classic. Super accurate and have around $600 total in it.

For a new guy, I'd day buy the best pack, boots, sleeping bag and be content with a solid Rem 700, Ruger 77, Kimber Montana, Tikka, Savage etc.

 

[MadMax2021]

Katadyn micro filter pump

Spent $350+ and now there are lighter, more compact and easier to operate filters out there for as low as $50.

 

[DawnPatrol]

Great thread. Good to bear mind as I drool over the classified sections.

Like others have said, the answer to what gear is a “bad investment” is gonna be different for everyone and depends on how you define success as well as how/where hunt.

For the most part, it seems like it’s what you know that kills critters, not what you are carrying or wearing.

But hunting is supposed to be enjoyable and fun, right? I’m perfectly happy in my cheap nylon pants and a thrift store fleece while looking for bears in the late May sunshine. But when I’m glassing for elk in the middle of November and it’s 33 F and raining sideways, high quality clothing helps me enjoy hunting more. And keeps me glassing longer, which can impact how many animals I see.

This has been a lifesaver for me:

A guy that sets up camp by his truck and returns there each evening has different gear requirements than a guy that loads all his gear in a backpack, and doesn’t return for 10 days.

I don’t backpack hunt (doesn’t sound like fun and there’s basically nowhere in Oregon where you can get more than 3 miles from a road anyway) so I haven’t been tempted to spend hella money shaving ounces.

When I started hunting about 15 years ago, so bought 3 things: a cheap factory CZ .30-06, Alaska game bags, and an orange hat. Hat and rifle still work great. Other than that, I’ve just used the camping/hiking/birdwatching gear I already had. But when something wears out and need to be replaced, I’ll occasionally spring for a replacement that’s a little more pricey and geared towards hunting. It’s been a good compromise between buying a bunch of expensive crap and making due with marginal gear forever. Kinda looking forward to the day my 3-year-old son breaks my vintage mid-range binos.

 

[dreamingbig]

For me it has to be camo pants. For elk and deer you can get by with solid color pants.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[CorbLand]

Tags. I have found that the actual purchasing of tags decreases my ability to find animals and provides no advantage.

 

[Nick Muche]

Pretty much all of my gear.

The guy that lives down the road from me would probably be considered “poor” by most folks here on rokslide, his snow Machine must be from 1996, his boat is a smashed up 1980s lund with a 2 stroke Johnson and he has one rifle which is just a beat up old Ruger 300wm.

Each year that guy is adding another 60” moose rack to the pile and bringing back a pile of great caribou. The guy dosent even have camp, just this big blue jacket that might actually be a float coat. The guy also is successful at trapping wolves, lynxes and wolverines.

Take some notes!!

 

[Pilarczyk85]

luckily places like this have saved me oodles of money. I always used hand me downs till I got better jobs over the years. Now since I don't drink or anything anymore I don't feel so bad splurging on some expensive I probably don't need.

 

[Fullfan]

Iron Will heads. Way over priced, have discovered the lifetime warntee is useless. But I got caught up in all the BS about them .

 

[williaada]

After having read through all of the comments. I think everyone wastes money on equipment for hunting and fishing. I have purchased more specific fishing poles for fishing than I can take on one fishing trip. I have also spent a bunch of money on hunting and fishing clothes. These purchases have all been due to past experiences. If I am spending 1k on a hunting or fishing trip I want to be comfortable and prepared. There is nothing worse than going out and being cold and wet while hunting and fishing. That being said when the gear fails I will tough it out, but will upgrade or replace the item that fails.

none of my hunting gear matches camo and is mixed variety.

 

[lyle_destroys]

Kuiu is kind of cheap compared to other brands. So eh.....

Ive been thinking about getting a nice down puffy and I saw Kuiu's new one. Turns out its 800 bucks. No f'n way. I'll just go with rab or some mountaineering company.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

After having read through all of the comments. I think everyone wastes money on equipment for hunting and fishing. I have purchased more specific fishing poles for fishing than I can take on one fishing trip. I have also spent a bunch of money on hunting and fishing clothes. These purchases have all been due to past experiences. If I am spending 1k on a hunting or fishing trip I want to be comfortable and prepared. There is nothing worse than going out and being cold and wet while hunting and fishing. That being said when the gear fails I will tough it out, but will upgrade or replace the item that fails.

none of my hunting gear matches camo and is mixed variety.

Other than waders which I also use for hunting and pack rafting, I can honestly say that I have never purchased “fishing clothes”.

 

[JeffRaines]

Kuiu is kind of cheap compared to other brands. So eh.....

Custom rifles are a BS problem. I have custom rifles and I have Blasers that cost the same.

Buy a mid-grade rifle that shoots, and put a decent scope on it and be done. You can easily spend $1500-2200 and have everything you would ever need for 99% of the hunting you will ever do in your life. $750 Tikka and a $750 Leupold VX-III 30mm 4.5-14. Get a flat shooting caliber like 280, 270, 7mm, 30-06 or 300 and go kill stuff. If you are recoil sensitive get a 7mm-08, 308, 6.5 creedmoor and do the same.

Binos are more important than anything else and I still see dudes with cheap opera glasses in the woods. These blister pack Tasco 7x25 or 8x32. Sell all your guns and get a pair of binos in the $1000 range plus.

Boots are the second most important thing. You don't need a $600 pair, but you need a pair that works for you.

Rangefinder just needs to be accurate $250 Leupold or similar 1000 yard model, 1600 is nicer.

Spend the rest on tags and gas.

Taxidermy is also BS, use the rotting method to clean your skulls in the backyard in a $15 plastic tub.

Or buy a souvide machine and dunk it into a old plastic tub to speed things up $80.

Listen to this guy.

 

[JeffRaines]

Ive been thinking about getting a nice down puffy and I saw Kuiu's new one. Turns out its 800 bucks. No f'n way. I'll just go with rab or some mountaineering company.

Yep WM makes a comparable coat for about 200 cheaper. Another pro - its made in the USA.

Feathered Friends also makes one.

If you don't need a parka and just a regular puffy both make those that are about the same price as the Kuiu coats. Again, all made in the USA. Ive had good luck with my SG Grumman, but if I had to do it over again I'd go with a made in USA coat for about the same cost.