Using what you got- post it up.

[Beendare]

About 1980....

My typical hunting clothes...a rugby shirt and jeans army surplus belt with my $140 used police return Ruger Security six and Buck General on my left hip........ no pack, didn't need one! I spent many years killing hogs with dogs.......


And my buddies' hunting gear was much the same. For scale, that Black and white pitbull 'Butch' on that boars back was a 90 lb. dog.


BTW, both photos taken with an Instamatic.........the young guys will have to Google that one! Grin

 

[Superkodiak38]

BTW, both photos taken with an Instamatic.........the young guys will have to Google that one! Grin

I have a bunch of Polaroids from the late 70's early 80's around here somewhere !

 

[mfllood3800]

Hahaha I still have the same blaze orange camo reversible polyester vest I used in 1980 I also had the same socks I used to wear too until my wife finally threw them away

I grew up Whitetail hunting in Wisconsin and we had a rule first one back from the deer hunt had to wash the dishes keep in mind we had no running water no hot water it was a miserable for six to seven guys next one back had to do fire watch all night again no electricity just a wood-burning stove in the Northwoods of Wisconsin in November and December third guy back had to cook for everybody with all that said me wearing blue jeans flannel shirt sweatshirt I was never one of the first three back I often froze to death but it made me appreciate the way we hunted and to this day I still hunt and am in my blind two hours before daylight and at least an hour to two after dark before I get home my wife asks me where have you been he he he he he what she doesn't know is I'm still trying to avoid doing dishes

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[skaldugwas]

Cheap "make do" gear excels in two things: it builds character and makes cutting a check for that mind blowingly expensive kifaru pack or hilleberg tent a thousand times easier when you can finally afford one.


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[qwerksc]

I got caught up in the gear thing years ago, I was living out of the stuff 4 to six months a year, backcountry climbing, skiing, fishing and hunting. I ended up buying top of the line stuff, honestly, its lasted years. The North Face, Patagonia, Dana designs. Twenty plus years on some stuff, lots of cross over gear. I had kids late in life, my first forty years were a awesome shred fest of adventure. Now Ill pass these things on to my kids.
I will say, if you live it and shit breaks or fails, upgrade, but getting out there and doing it is the only way you will ever be able to test it. Be budget minded, but dont suffer because of it.

 

[Beendare]

I really like the attitude of the guys that run this site.

Sure if you can afford it spend some dough on gear....heck its our main hobby right?

But as they have stated many times....you don't NEED to have top $$$ gear to be effective.

Its not the bow..........its the indian

 

[robby denning]

Its not the bow..........its the indian

Excellent and thanks!


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[robby denning]

these don't really fall under the category of sub par gear, I just think a lot of guys don't realize how effective these are for hunting in 20 to 35° weather on fairly active hunts. They're warm, breathable, and dry quickly. Best of all they're inexpensive. They come in several different weights, too. I have other more expensive gloves but find myself still wearing these fairly often.


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[Cant hit em]

Heres my progression over the last few years

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[ben h]

Some of us made poor life choices and went to graduate school. Here's our 2008 elk camp.
View attachment 45709

It did result in me getting my shirt bloody though. My friends cow, not mine though.

View attachment 45710

 

[trapperjay]

Robbie, what brand? I have a long section hike coming up and these might be great for it.

these don't really fall under the category of sub par gear, I just think a lot of guys don't realize how effective these are for hunting in 20 to 35° weather on fairly active hunts. They're warm, breathable, and dry quickly. Best of all they're inexpensive. They come in several different weights, too. I have other more expensive gloves but find myself still wearing these fairly often.

.


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[robby denning]

Trapperjay. They are offered by more than one manufacturer. I've seen them in Farm/Ranch stores, ski shops, and you might even find at Wal Mart. Pretty common.


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[trapperjay]

I remember those now that you mention it. TY
Sorry for not spelling your name correctly- I knew better than that.

 

[robby denning]

I remember those now that you mention it. TY
Sorry for not spelling your name correctly- I knew better than that.

Oh no worries on that! Let me know if you find any. I remember even seeing them at truck stops


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[trapperjay]

I sure will, thanks!!

Oh no worries on that! Let me know if you find any. I remember even seeing them at truck stops


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[robtattoo]

I put this....dabacle together for my first real backpack hunt in Colorado in 2014.
I wasn't sure whether elk hunting would really be my thing. Wanted to try it, wanted to love it, but really wasn't sure it'd be something I'd really get into so I didn't want to dump a fortune into gear I may well never use again.
I bought the cheapest frame Cabelas had on sale, sewed up a cotton camo bag to stuff all my gear in (in Wal-Mart dry-bags) & strapped my hi-tech, high dollar Tenzing day pack on top. Along with recurve bow, too many arrows & a bunch of budget stuff I thought I needed. Sixty eight freaking pounds. Parked the truck at 9000, hiked 8 miles up to 12,500.

I can honestly say two things:
1) I loved every miserable second &
2) Dropping a bunch of money on a good sleep system & Exo pack, the day I got home, cost me not one second of hesitation & I didn't bat an eye at the cost!

 

[robby denning]

Robtattoo. That's a good post


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[archer wapiti]

Good thread. I cringe to think of my second elk hunt (and first successful) backpack setup... A Wal-mart aluminum pack frame that I got for free from work. I added various dry bags of clothes, food and bedding lashed to it (Kifaru pullouts had nothing on my system!), then I hung a day pack on top of that and hiked in. 2 days later I was hiking out with backstraps and tenderloins and a heart in it. My arm was numb by the time I hit the trailhead.

I still prefer my beer can alcohol stove and cooking pot from a ca. 1960's Boy Scouts cook kit on moderate elevation early season hunts though. The MSR stays at home.

 

[Scoot]

Nice thread! I also cringe to think of some of the gear I used on my first few elk hunts! I cringe even more to think of how much money I spent trying to save money on cheap gear. I've been able to amass some good stuff now, but I spent many days on the mountain and in the woods with mostly cheap junk and I loved every second of it!

The cost of a guy's gear does not determine the quality of the hunt or the hunter! That's the point of this thread, I think, and a lot of guys definitely lose track of that concept. Occasionally I am one of them! It's easy to somehow come to believe you need the latest and greatest, but it's almost never true. The number one and two determinants of a punched tag is time in the field in areas that have numbers of the critter you're chasing, and experience. The quality of your gear isn't even close in importance to those...

 

[1signguy]

Nice thread! I also cringe to think of some of the gear I used on my first few elk hunts! I cringe even more to think of how much money I spent trying to save money on cheap gear. I've been able to amass some good stuff now, but I spent many days on the mountain and in the woods with mostly cheap junk and I loved every second of it!

The cost of a guy's gear does not determine the quality of the hunt or the hunter! That's the point of this thread, I think, and a lot of guys definitely lose track of that concept. Occasionally I am one of them! It's easy to somehow come to believe you need the latest and greatest, but it's almost never true. The number one and two determinants of a punched tag is time in the field in areas that have numbers of the critter you're chasing, and experience. The quality of your gear isn't even close in importance to those...

Amen to the above. One of the things I also do when buying gear is try to choose things that I can use for Summer back pack trips and not just hunting. Also, I try to buy the best quality gear when it is something I can hand down to my son. For instance- I just made the jump to Swaro 8x30 CT, 15x56 SLC and ATX 65 spotter which will be my sons some day. In the meantime he has my Vortex 10x42 and 11x33x50 Razors which are very good quality and certainly better than anything I had when I was his age.