Top 5 Hunting Gear Ranking

[madcalfe]

#1 understanding wife (without this one none below matters lmao)
#2 boots
#3 backpack
#4 sleep system
#5 reliable rifle

optics defiantly aren't a must have piece, their a luxury. they save walking and make the hunt easier. A lot of people have successfully hunted over the years with low end optics or even none.

 

[yycyak]

Oh man, it hurts having this conversation with my "Younger Self." So much waste.

Dear 23 year old idiot. Focus on these things, and your life will be way better:

• 1. Optics.
• 2. Repeat: Optics. Yes, dummy, optics. Get good binos. Blow 90% of your budget on binos. This is a leap of faith, but trust me.
• 3. Good boots.
• 4. Truck with topper. Stores gear safely, stores dogs safely, sleep in it as a psuedo basecamp, etc. Get a topper.
• 5. Calendar and a red sharpie. Physically "X" dates off on that calendar. No work, no spouse, no drama, can bug you during this time. Block some days off, and commit. Don't change those plans for anything.

Honourable mention: Don't waste time on forums, (I see the irony here) just get out to the woods more. More hiking and doing, less reading of posts. Field time has a knack for cutting through BS.

All the other stuff is just gear-slut stuff. It's fun, but not needed. I've hauled moose quarters with a legit trapper nelson pack frame. It sucked, but you can do a lot of stuff with average gear. You can't do jack all if you're not in the woods and seeing game. When it comes to gear, focus on the concept of Marginal Returns. It'll help focus your gear purchases.

Marginal return - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

I wasted so much time and money from about 2007 to 2018 focusing on stupid and inconsequential nonsense that the gunrags and forums said I needed to.

 

[Bighorner]

1. Time
2. Time
3. Time
4. Time
5. Time
Had allot of cheap gear when I was younger that worked. Never had enough time.

Sent from my SM-N986U using Tapatalk

That's the words of experience.

 

[JD Jones]

Time (not gear but cost money)
Optics
Foot comfort
Sleep comfort
Weapon

 

[Bighorner]

If I had waited to have good gear before I started I would have never started. If you are a young man, wear a crap pack for a couple pack outs. You will see your good gear differently after suffering poor gear. That's where the toughness starts, you then build on it with better gear and confidence. Kifaru dosent sell tough and crispi dosen't see confidence.

1) begged, barrowed or stolen gun or bow
2) target and ammo to get proficient
3) boots good enough to keep your feet dryish
4) warm enough close to last the day and get you home
5) a knife sharp enough to not cut you cleaning animals.

Now I suppose it's time to change my name to GeT oFF my GRaSs

 

[Newtosavage]

1. Boots
2. Weapon
3. Optics
4. Clothing
5. Place to get a good night's sleep.

 

[Wassid82]

optics
boots
pack
clothing
rifle

 

[roosiebull]

understanding wife
pack
optics
boots
weapon

 

[Jazzbo66]

Optics
Base layers
Boots
Pack
Range finder

 

[BluMtn]

1) Footwear- Boots that fit and socks that do not wad up in the bottom of your boots after 4 or 5 miles.
2) Optics- A good set of Bino's, you don't need swaro's right off, but still need quality bino's.
3) Firearm,Bow what ever you are using- Practice with it until you are comfortable hitting your target at whatever range you are comfortable at.
4) Decent clothing- You don't need Multi thousand dollar matching Camo to start. Good longs and if nothing else military surplus or Wal-Mart.
5) Decent Pack- I started out with an old military pack and when it came time to pack meat out we tied rope on the quarters and slung them over our shoulders and packed the meat. It sucked but 55 years ago we did not know any different. You don't need to have a $700 pack until you know what you are getting into.

The other stuff are items that you will upgrade or add on as the years go by and you learn what works for the type of hunting you enjoy doing. You will add stuff only to find out that you either don't need it or it doesn't do anything but add weight to your pack. Never be afraid to add or lose stuff that you think will help you in your time in the field.

 

[Rifleman86]

I’m going with what you need to spend money on.

#1 Quality sleep system (pad and bag) to include tent if applicable. Bottom line if you aren’t sleeping well, you are miserable.

#2 Quality Boots. This used to be #3, but after watching partners struggle with foot wear it’s jumped to #2. You just can’t get by with cheap boots. Nothing will cut a hunt short quicker than foot problems.

#3 Quality Frame Pack. You can get by with milsurp stuff, but spending some money here can see a real benefit.

#4 Optics… Self explanatory, but my hunting partner has been doing just fine with a $200 pair of vortex 10x42’s for the past few years.

#5 Clothing… Milsurp stuff works, as does normal northface/pategonia/etc stuff most people already own.

Things I tell people they can skimp on and get by? Rifle. My main partner has been getting by with a TC compass in 30-06 and a cheapo BDC 30-06 for the past few years and hasn’t been held back compared to my $4000 custom 7 SAUM. It’s an honest MOA gun with factory ammo and he has no problem hitting elk sized targets to 500 yards. I’m not about to trade rifles, but there are plenty of budget rifles that get the job done just fine.

Don’t be one of the guys I took last year who seemed to ignore the very the email that specified all of the above in great detail and emphasis.

He showed up with a no shit cow hide as a sleep system, a 20 lb rifle, no binoculars, and a bunch of cotton under layers, where I made it very clear we would be backpacking into some remote MT country.

Nice guy, but needless to say he isn’t getting another invite.

 

[S.Clancy]

In order of importance...

1) Time off
2) Great boots
3) Great Pack
4) Great Binos (Sub-Alpha like Meopta or better)
5) Functioning weapon

 

[Shilly21]

1. Boots
2. Good Sleep System
3. Best Optics (including tripod) you can afford
4. Mapping system (Map and Compass/ Phone/ GPS)
5. Good Pair of Hiking Sticks (Easier on the knees and help keep you upright)

I know you said 5 but I would say a good quality pack that fits you and your style of hunting would be 5b.

 

[Missahba]

I’ve done more Eastern big woods whitetail than anything, so I’ll comment from the perspective. (Plenty of backcountry and Western posts already that I agree with.)

1. Layered clothing system for all temps and weather in appropriate camo if bowhunt. Sweat isn’t only a mountain thing.
2. Boots you can move in, that are warm to sit, or have overboots/warmers for sitting if late season.
3. An effective truck camp (tent, cot, bag, stove,food) suited to the season (wood stove + tent for rifle/muzzleloader)
4. Books, not magazine articles, on effective hunting techniques.
5. A reliable quality scope if firearm hunt

Every compound bow, arrow, rifle, slug gun, muzzleloader, ammo, binocular, daypack, chair, camo pattern, clothing brand, rangefinder, scent/control, call, rattle, clothes wash, etc etc, worked (or didn’t) without regard to its vintage, brand, technology level, or age. This stuff is all over hyped (yes including caliber, action, brand, weight, features of your rifle). I think all this is secondary, in the Eastern truck camp scenario, than my top five. I’ll illustrate.

Example. If I had to choose one new and one old setup to go hunting tomorrow, from this list:

1920’s hunting boots/clothes full kit
1920’s sporterized ‘03 Springfield w/peep
2022 boots and technical layered clothing (FL/Kuiu/Sitka etc) full setup
2022 Blaser R8 with Swaro scope

I’ll take the Springfield and Sitka every time.

Prove me wrong!

 

[camelcluch]

Tops is being proficient with whatever weapon you choose. Then it’s the B’s.
Boots
Bags (sleeping and pack)
Binos
No real order but that’s where I spend most of my time, money and efforts.

 

[magtech]

1. Competent vehicle you can sleep in. Not new. Just one that will get you where you need to go
2. Time in the woods wherever you want to hunt.
3. Good pack
4. Decent boots. Pronghorns have done me good enough( guess I dont know what I'm missing) from 13k to sea level.
5. The cheapest, but most useful thing of all. Learn how to be content doing nothing... or learn patience...somehow.

Last year I called in a bull in steep dark timber. Optics would have been useless. He was less than a half mile off some random 2 track dead end. I could have hiked in there with tennis shoes, a bow, and a knife and been good.... no expensive gear would have helped me get that elk. Knowledge and patience would have, though.

 

[Jack321]

When I think back, to my entrance into hunting, I have to say it was a gradual. I didn't jump straight out west. I started out as early teenage kid who went squirrel hunting and deer hunting with my dad and grandfather. In the Midwest. I mowed lawn for my neighbor for an entire summer for my first gun. I had Cheap clothes, boots that weren't waterproof and cotton long John's. But as a kid I didn't know any better. My dad and grandfather weren't much better and just did it to get out of the house for 1-2 weeks a year for gun season. Again, we didn't know any better.

I also would try to realize that if I'm getting into hunting, I'm not going to spend a ton of $$ because I wouldn't know if I like it or not. In my mind, the average guy is going to think of this like golf. Do they need the best clubs, best clothes, best spikes, best golf balls, best putter, best bag? Are they going to go try and play Agusta or Pebble Beach? Probably not.

They're going to get "good enough" stuff and they're going to find a friend or 2 to take em out, show them some pointers, teach them how to swing, putt and chip. They'll go shag some balls at the driving range and practice at the putting green.

But if I had to do it over.

#1. Find a mentor. A family member or friend who could help mentor me. Who will teach me the ropes.

#2. I'd spend a majority of my budget on quality clothes (aka: baselayers, jacket and pants/bibs, boots, socks and good quality gloves.)

You can have the best scope, best gun, best binos and be in the best spot on earth, but if your cold, miserable, wet and soggy you won't last long out side. You and your high dollar gun, binos and scope will be back at camp or the truck.

#3. I'd then buy a 12 ga and a .30 cal rifle. For the rifle I'd put a $150-200 Leupold 3-9x or 4-16x scope with a BDC retical. This would allow me to hunt anything in North America and 80% of the world.

You can easily get away a $350-$500 gun, $150 scope, $150 pair of binos.

As an example My dad's Savage Axis II in 308 shoots nickle sized groups with 175 gr. Federal Terminal Ascent and enough punch to dump an elk out to 450 yds. He has a simple Vortex scope.

#4. I'd probably buy a .22 LR so I could practice and get some good marksmanship

#5. Buy a $150 pair of binoculars and a $150 rangefinder.

To me, my newbie budget would be about $1,000-$1,500 (if they were buying their own gear and not borrowing anything from anyone.) I'd check for sales and local retailers. Here's how I'd break it down:

$50-70 for merino baselayers
$30 hoodie
$150 waterproof jacket
$30 Eddie Bauer puffy
$150 pants/bibs or various layers for pants
$20 gloves & merino socks
$350 Walmart Savage Axis II .308
$150 Leupold scope
$5 blaze orange hat & vest
$150 boots
$150 Redfield Binos
$150 Halo Rangefinder

 

[mthayr]

I sleep on a foam pillow at home and I have a custom one made out of foam that is about 1/3 size is a king pillow. It weighs about 1 lb but so much better than a blow up pillow. Sleep is king right above taking care of feet for me.

I bought one of these for this year, not custom - but super comfy (once its had a couple days to initially uncompress) and only 7oz. Great sleep? Priceless.

 

[Pdzoller]

1. Appropriate footwear for the area/time of year.
2. Best pack I can afford.
3. Proper clothing. (Layering system)
4. Best glassing setup I can afford (including binoculars and tripod)
5. Time, training and research.

By this point I’m hooked and might as well go all in;
Best rifle setup and scope I can get.
Food dehydrator.
Mapping software/GPS.
Rangefinder.
Bino harness.
Trekking poles.
A fully stocked weight room with a steep incline treadmill.
Ultralight sleeping and shelter setups.
Include wife in plans. (Worth it!)
Multiples of everything listed on this thread and a membership to rokslide.

Should be all a guy needs to get started…