The $1500 challenge

[TJB]

Here goes! Not going to be comfortable but he would be in the field!

Tent: Coleman Sundome 2 man = $50
Pad: Alps Ultralight = $32 with coupon from STP
Bag: Ledge Sports Featherlight 0: $50 Overstock
Boots: Asolo $130 from STP
Cabelas silent weave pants: $32
Closeout Russell Apx Tundra Pullover: $27 Cabelas- I actually got this deal a while back. Shirt is $84 original price
Redram Baselayers from STP: (Top and Bottom) $60
Smartwool Socks from STP: 2 x $8 = $16
Cheap Coleman Rain Gear = $25
Cabelas Switzer Primaloft Jacket = $75
Pack: Badlands 2800 w/ bladder used on ebay: $200
Mora Companion Knife: $16
Game Bags: Cheap Pillowcases: $15
MSR Pocket Rocket with fuel Canister: $50
Cheap Alluminum Campers cup at Walmart: $10
Traditions Buckstalker Black Powder Rifle: $199
Pyrodex Pellets: $30
15 TC Shockwaves: $15

Total: $1035

Not complete and not sure on the weight, but the remainder of the budget should fill in for some things that are left out.

 

[Sunspot]

For archery you would have to get used bow even entry level would eat 30% of your budget

Unless you find a smoking deal like the Ross Cardiac blowout about 2 years ago for under $300.

 

[pawneepredator]

Samick Sage 55# takedown recurve $139.98
6 trad cedar arrows $46.95
6 Zwickey Eskimo broadheads $26.00
Cabelas XPG Ridgeline 60 liter pack $119.99 3.63 lbs
Danner Pronhorn $199.99
Alps Crescent Lake +20 mummy bag $62.99 3 lbs 12 oz
WY Lost and Found small 6 sided tipi $139.00 3.5 lbs
UA heatgear bottoms $37.88
UA heatgear top $26.88
Light My Fire Spork $1.95
Princeton Tec headlamp $17.95 2.7 oz
MSR pocket rocket stove $39.99 3 oz
MSR fuel $4.95 4 oz
Water purifying tablets $7.00
Easton arrow tote $19.99
GSI Glacier Stainless pot $12.99 4.9 oz
Russell APXG L4 Primaloft Jacket $49.99
Russell APXG L5 Pant $114.99
Frogg Toggs UL Rain Suit $19.95
Icebreaker Merino boxers $27.95 x2
Smartwool socks $11.16 x2
Cabelas wool sweater $39.99
Bushnell Scout 1000 Pack $229.99
-10x42 binoculars
-1,000 yd rangfinder
-2 knives and saw
Alaska game bags 4pk $11.04
UCO Stormproof match kit $7.99
Empty aquafina bottle free

$1456.64 total

Not sure on weight but should not be too heavy. Decent gear, pretty sure you could survive comfortably for 7 days with this.

 

[Rick Leathley]

Man I put a lot of thought into this. But I think I got this figured out.

Hoyt Carbon Matrix G3 and I'll just reuse my sight and rest and other accessories from last years bow. Bang! $1400 + tax.....


Wait I think I miss read the OP...

 

[tstowater]

Man I put a lot of thought into this. But I think I got this figured out.

Hoyt Carbon Matrix G3 and I'll just reuse my sight and rest and other accessories from last years bow. Bang! $1400 + tax.....


Wait I think I miss read the OP...

Doesn't that suck? I hadn't bought any archery equipment since the mid 80's until last year when I bought a bow for my son. Holy crap. Good thing I did that so I didn't have a heart attack when I started looking for myself. Gun hunters don't have much on archery when it comes to spending money. I'm sure I'm north of 2 and I need to get some broadhead, maybe some arrows, a bow case, and....

pawneepredator...that looks good. Might want a sleeping pad, but otherwise in pretty good shape. Trad setup, cool idea. More than one way to skin the cat.

TJB.... I like the muzzy setup too. money left to fill in the holes and buy upgrades.

Keep up the good work.

 

[pawneepredator]

I could add a thermarest z light pad for around 40 and still be under 1500 or add a bushnell backtrack gps for about 10 over budget which might be nice for someone new to backpacking.

 

[Manosteel]

I agree 100%. The exercise here is about getting a "buddy" in the field with a low budget and a desire to do it. Yeah, he may wish for something different or better, but he just needs to get out with a reasonable amount of creature comforts. We know from experience that we are better off in the long run spending the money wisely the first time, but others don't have the luxury of the cash flow to go with the best the first time.

That is awesome that you are helping your buddy get into the back country and doing it on a reasonable budget. I am a gear whore like most everyone else here and I am taking one of my long time buddies out into the moutains this year. He has a burning desire to go and texts me every week about some show he saw on OLN about hunting or backpacking in the moutains.

Like most of my long time friends he grew up hunting the thich bush and prairie plains of Saskatchewan and Alberta, but after showing him some pics of my hunts the last few years he can't wait to try it. I have enough gear for two people, so I told him I would provide him everything he needs (my old stuff), all he has to buy is boots (hence my post a while back asking for help on inexpenseive hiking boots) underwear, food, base layer, socks and hygene stuff. The rest I will provide.

I know this is a little off topic but I thought I would post up my first crack at what I will be lending him is as follows; (in red is what he has to buy)

PACK
badlands 4500

SHELTER/SLEEP
Custom made Silnoyon ripstop Tarp 8x10 w bag-spikes
-20 C MEC Hybrid sleeping bag (with its sack)
Therma-rest foam Sleeping pad

CLOTHING
1 Pair Thorlo Cabela’s Trekking Socks - 60% merino wool 20% polyester 18% nylon 2% spandex
Underwear
Gloves – (1 pair)
touque
Remington Wick-a-way long-sleve t-shirt
Hycreek Scent Control Underwear top
Hycreek Scent Control Underwear top

RAIN GEAR
Russell Raintamer II Jacket
Russell Raintamer II Pant

COOKING
MSR thermo cup
1 Large (230g) Jetboil fuel canister
Spork

FOOD
Mnt House Meals 5 Dinners
8 Clif “Builder” Energy/Protein Bars
5 - pop tarts
10 (30g)protein powder servings
10 instant oatmeal packages
Olmpic mix/snacks?
Coffee packets (2 equal + 1 cream)
PB/B/N Bagel Sandwiches (5)
10 Emergen-C Drink Packets
Food bag

Water:
1 - 1liter nalgene (w/carabineer)
1 - 2 liter liquitainer water bladders.
1 - 2 liter Platypus Reservoir

OPTICS
Lepould Majove 8×42 Binoculars
Scorpion Rangefinder
Tripod - small
Bino adapter

SAFETY GEAR
Headlamp w/3 AA batteries
Led flash light - small
Misc – bandages/moleskin etc..

KILL KIT
Silnylon bag
3 inch folding knife
• 4 Game Bags
• Ripstop Meat Baggie
• Roll of marking ribbon
• 26ft section of orange mil rope
• 3 sets of latex gloves

MISC
Shovel –ultralight (4oz)
Leatherman
handheld radios
Small Container Sunscreen
Treking poles
Knee pads
sunglasses
Tobbaco
1 roll tp
2 Industrial Size Black Garbage Bags.
Duck tape
Baby Wipes non-scented (25 sheets)

HYGIENE
Custom Small pullout
Lip Balm
Travel Tooth Brush & Tooth Paste
Contact case & solution
Extra contacts w/case
Glasses/soft case
Dehydrated sea to sumit Soap sheets

GUN
Savage 111 270 win/Burris scope/sling
20- bullets 130 gr.

PACK WEIGHT – 45lbs

On body:
Pair Thorlo Cabela’s Trekking Socks
Hiking Underwear
Micro-fiber t-shirt
Hiking boots
Hycreek Camo Thermal Microfleece top
Hycreek Camo Thermal Microfleece bottom
Camo Ball cap


The list's you guys are providing are awesome as I'm sure he will love the backcountry and start buying up what he needs. He just bought a house and has a new baby on the way so right now he can't buy too much but when he gets settled he will needs lists like this. There are some things on the list I wouldn't bring like the small shovel and handheld radios but I want to make his first outing as enjoyable and safe as possible.

 

[Morlock]

Interesting challenge. I don't even know what kind of gear is considered required, and I'd be willing to say yes, it could be done under $1500, if one is willing to shop for good deals on milsurp (and thus go fairly heavy).

I'd start with a .22lr pistol for the weapon, though, with the idea being squirrel hunting. Smith & Wesson 22As come with integral rails and can be had from handgunfinderDOTcom right now for $275-300.

Optics seem like the real x factor here. Are they really "required"? Because my God they're expensive.

Edit: I just bought an ILBE + assault pack, an MSS, and pretty much a full set of ECWCS for $420 (shipped) and I wasn't really looking that hard for deals; controlling for my horrendously sh!tty dialup modem (several minutes to load an Amazon.com product page), I'd guess I spent about 30 minutes to an hour shopping for each piece, not counting the research that led me to the product in the first place.

If I had spent a few days/weeks waiting for great deals, I could have shaved that down to $300 at least - maybe less.

Gun, pack, day pack, sleep system, 4 season clothing (sans hats, gloves, socks, footwear, puffy jacket), that's a lot of your big purchases, right there, for $600-650, leaving you $850-900 for everything else.

Edit 2: I'd spend about $5 on a stove (I plan on making one myself, so if it's good enough for me, it's good enough for my buddy):
http://andrewskurka.com/2012/myog-hybrid-alcohol-twig-wood-stove/

 

[tstowater]

Interesting challenge. I don't even know what kind of gear is considered required, and I'd be willing to say yes, it could be done under $1500, if one is willing to shop for good deals on milsurp (and thus go fairly heavy).

I'd start with a .22lr pistol for the weapon, though, with the idea being squirrel hunting. Smith & Wesson 22As come with integral rails and can be had from handgunfinderDOTcom right now for $275-300.

Optics seem like the real x factor here. Are they really "required"? Because my God they're expensive.

Edit: I just bought an ILBE + assault pack, an MSS, and pretty much a full set of ECWCS for $420 (shipped) and I wasn't really looking that hard for deals; controlling for my horrendously sh!tty dialup modem (several minutes to load an Amazon.com product page), I'd guess I spent about 30 minutes to an hour shopping for each piece, not counting the research that led me to the product in the first place.

If I had spent a few days/weeks waiting for great deals, I could have shaved that down to $300 at least - maybe less.

Gun, pack, day pack, sleep system, 4 season clothing (sans hats, gloves, socks, footwear, puffy jacket), that's a lot of your big purchases, right there, for $600-650, leaving you $850-900 for everything else.

Edit 2: I'd spend about $5 on a stove (I plan on making one myself, so if it's good enough for me, it's good enough for my buddy):
http://andrewskurka.com/2012/myog-hybrid-alcohol-twig-wood-stove/

Read the first post. This is a setup for a back country backpack mule deer hunt in the high country. Your choice of bow, rifle or muzzleloader. I've clarified some of the concerns on the posts on the first page. See if that makes a difference for you.

 

[Morlock]

Read the first post. This is a setup for a back country backpack mule deer hunt in the high country. Your choice of bow, rifle or muzzleloader. I've clarified some of the concerns on the posts on the first page. See if that makes a difference for you.

Ah, my mistake, I wasn't paying close enough attention, doing three things at once.

You could just shoot it a lot with a .22, right?

Edit: forgive my ignorance, but what is "AT"?

 

[tstowater]

Edit: forgive my ignorance, but what is "AT"?

Somebody want to answer that one????? Another one of them there acromyns.

 

[weaver]

AT= Archerytalk

 

[White Wizard]

I think a lot of it would depend on how long you had to prepare. If we're talking a few months no way. I wouldn't "cheap" out on stuff that could pose any risk whatsoever to the health/life of me or my traveling companions.
But if your planning a few years in advance you could take your time and hit plenty of "garage sales" and "bargain caves" and probably come out pretty good. Just have to stay on it and get the deals before the other guys reading this

 

[Hunt'nFish]

$1500? 7day hunt?... Piece of cake! This isn't a fashion show.
Imagine Aron's 7day assault pack.

$300 used Rem700 .30-06 (sq. safety) w/ a second hand $150 Leupold Vari-X II 3-9x40mm.
Oh and a box 180gr Core-lokts. No rangefinder, not needed for 250yd shots (use reticle as go/no-go OR upgrade to a newer VXII model w/ ranges for deer etched on magnification ring).

Clothes:
A single $20 pair of mil-surplus BDU's, a matching T-shirt, and a couple pairs of wool socks, a pair of womens ankle high nylon socks, a $60 pair of sale priced Hi-Tec Altitude WIDE boots, 2-3pair of skivys, an old fleece beanie & a free Wilber Ellis camo ball cap, burnt cork for face paint and small pack of scent wipes for daily hygiene.

Rain gear.. this I might invest some dollars in. Lets say a full set of
Helly Hanson's or Grunden's, green of course. (wink, ok that was a joke.)
Maybe a set of Gamehide rain gear. But seriously would spend left-over $$'s here.
IMO rain gear and sleep system are places to spend $$'s. Pack is next place.

Pack & sleep system:
a Mil surplus Gen IV Molle USMC full ruck and sleep system, a Q-Core SL sleep pad,
and 10x10 sil-nylon tarp w/ tie-out loops. Maybe a Mountainsmith LT shelter.
(Add a Wilderness Pack Specialties Handi-Pak meat harness under ruck for hauling meat.
Leave ruck bag in camp. Instead, sew loops on Handi-Pak harness for attaching one of the sustainment pockets from the ruck to use as an UL day pack for lunch/kill kit/etc.)

Kill Kit:
a $15 Old Timer/Schrade "Trapper" folder from Bi-Mart, and free set of old pillow cases robbed from wife. (or beg buddy to borrow a spare set of his TAG bags.)

Cook Kit: MSR Pocket Rocket, fuel canister and an alum cook pot.

Fire & light:
2 sealed Bic Lighters in kill kit and fresh one in pocket. Two cheap budget LED headlamps (waterproof). And a set of back-up batteries.

Water & Filter:
$19 Sawyer Mini, and $15 mil-surplus Hydrostorm bladder. (put filter inline on hose)

Food:
cold cereal & powdered milk for breakfast, Cliff Bars, pepperoni sticks, and trail mix for lunch, Dehydrated DIY meals prepared by hunting buddy for dinner.

Not sure what the total dollar figure of that list would be but I'm sure it falls with in the $1500 limit.
Honestly, what more does a guy REALLY need in order to get the job done?
Hunting doesn't HAVE to be an expensive fashion show. Just get out there.
Hunt'nFish

 

[BCSteel]

This two year old necropost actually really helps me. I'm just getting started and there's some good stuff in here on how to get going from scratch with out breaking the bank. I do have a half decent compliment of hiking gear that will pull double duty but the generic setup suggestions in this thread will surely help me from asking a hundred newb questions.

 

[Jay124]

This is too simple. I have been operating like this for years. I wait for after season sale and time my purchases. I am a veteran and ask about a discount (not demand it, but ask).........sales, sales, sales. I have realized that I can't buy Cadillac gear and thats fine. I shoot a Bowtech Carbon Knight and for a rifle a Remington 700 .308. I put meat in the freezer every season with no issues, as that meat is what my family lives off of, why??? You guessed it ground venison is cheaper than ground beef even if you have someone do it for you. Its all about perspective.

 

[Manosteel]

Yup, this is a great thread, we all started somewhere and it was almost always on the cheap. Hunted since I was child with my pops and until my 20's rubber boots, jeans and a carthart jacket was all I wore, and a .303 enfield and my gramps 30-30 put lots of moose and WT on the table in my teens.

 

[Backpack Hunter]

You guessed it ground venison is cheaper than ground beef even if you have someone do it for you. Its all about perspective.

Very few times is this the case, even going off of this list, and before licenses you are starting $1,500 in the hole.
Having said that, I would rather hunt.