Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire expensive hunting clothes

Good point Blackheart.
Similarly I came across a practically brand new oil skin at a garage sale for ten bucks.
I just had to clean of some dog hair from the storage container....then walk around in heavy rain to kill any scent that might have gone with the dog hair...but now I know it works well...

Where I hunt in the South, milsurp from Sportsmans Guide works just fine.

I can say it has made no difference at all in my success rate.


Either you are lying or you are just plan horrible at Math! 20 years 12 Elk, 8 years 6 Elk!

Now I am not saying the new gear made any difference to your Kill rate. But in your statement you are! So clearly you are wrong the new gear did increase your success rate and by a pretty good amount.

I didn’t read all the replies but in my opinion..... NO you don’t NEED expensive hunting clothes! Good quality and climate appropriate clothing doesn’t have to be expensive, although it often is, it needs to be the appropriate material for the conditions encountered.

In this part of the country and up north further where I hunt and fish I don’t wear cotton. When you’re miles and days from the truck or boat it’s important that you don’t make yourself a casualty. Your clothes are your primary protection from the elements and are the most important gear you have.

I’d rather have a $1,000 budget (minimum) for clothes and a $200 budget for binoculars....

Dude,

that's some real Paleo scheidt there.

Now, if you hunted with an Atlatl, tipped with one of them points you fellers find in the fields back there (touch up the edges a bit first) that would really be cave man like.

Be careful though, you might draw some hillbilly beaver from as far away as Arkansas if you be going full bore primitive.

Geno

No. I chuckle at the 'week long hunt' excuse. It might hit 60 degrees this weekend and that's the warmest it's been in almost 5 months - and the weather here isn't that bad. I wear my regular stuff, but a vest or shell of some sort goes on when I'm hunting.

Go spend two weeks in a spike camp in Alaska, then answer yourself that question.

If all you do is go to a blind, then no.

Two areas that you should spend a lot of money on if going deep into the back country that can get cold and wet. Boots and rain gear.

Cotton Kills!!!!!

I have different types of clothing for different places. Wool is my stand-by, but early in the season close to home Duluth Trading or Carhartts work fine. Good rain gear and boots are a must. I'm usually hunting from a boat or 4-wheeler. When I move back up north that'll include a snowmachine. I did enough fahqin' backpacking in the Legions.

no,its not worth it. all a hunter needs these days is 5 gallon bucket full of corn,20 trailcams,5 game calls,atleast 3 bottles of scent control spray. none of which help you a bit if you just pick the right place to hunt and put in some time.

People act like they’ve never been outside.

GMAFB

Didnt read all the replies, but ill add my 2 cents...which isnt worth much.

I never hunted out west, so never thought much of the more expensive clothing/equipment. Illness and age(only 49) made me rethink and ask a lot of questions. Hunting the mountains here in PA can be exhausting....IF you wanna get way back in. There isnt much on the racks at Bass Pro/Cabelas that is lightweight enough to allow you to keep your energy stores built up AND remain warm on those sub freezing days. Layering is key, and buying those $80 bibs and $100 parkas isnt a good start, nor the answer.

Yes, some of the more expensive gear seems prohibitive. Given the lightweight attributes of such which youre not going to find on the rack at the local shop, id say its worth it.

I got the Schnee boots because I can't afford the rest on your list.

As said by others it depends upon the conditions and type of hunting.

Cold temperatures and high wind velocity are hell on lower quality clothing. 30 to 50 mph winds are common in some areas I hunt, pair those winds with temperatures in the -5 to -10 F being a mile plus from the truck and the quality of the gear matters. Weather like that can kill you if you’re not well prepared.

Other parts of the province at other times of the year being able to stay dry in the heavy wet snow is critical.

The ability of the clothes to resist abrasion while crawling through stubble or slithering through willows is another test on clothes.

I started hunting when money was as tight as a ducks backside (that’s water tight boys 😃) I hunted in whatever I had at hand. I was young and able to endure lots of discomfort. As time went by money became more available and I added proper hunting gear.

I now use a hodge podge of surplus wool, codet (a great Canadian brand I can’t find any more) wool, Sitka, Kuiu and various fleece and merino wool mountaineering stuff. The expensive stuff is well worth the money when conditions are extreme. I’m also older and don’t tolerate being miserable as much as I used to.

The key point is in a free market economy folks get to spend their money in whatever manner floats their boat and no one should really GAF what others do.

Just my thoughts. Hope y’all have a great day.

GRF

Good post.

Spending 500 on hunting clothing, let alone a grand, isnt needed for the vast majority of hunting that ANY of us on here do.

That said, since when is any hobby or activity about need? I didnt need another rifle, and neither did you (or you, or you) but here we are!

Everyone's price point is different, and some guys wear stuff to let people know they can afford it, and others do thinking it is worth th einvestment, and still others that its needed for the task.

Its not needed. Period.

If the budgeting comes down to spending a bunch of cake on gear or going on another hunt, pick the latter every time. if the budgeting is such that its not a factor, then go for it.

Did some selective brown and green dyeing on my camo early last fall .
Gave it some new life actually.
Used the RIT dyes at hobby lobby and dye pens from wally world.
Holding up pretty good.
With the pens you can get highllights and shading pretty good and create " depth"
Wash in non uv detergent.

Still gotta break up your human outline with trees.

Cover up that human face with a leafy mask.
Whitetails around here can peg out a human mugg from a long ways off.

Layering up or down is what works for me.
Cutting that Hawk/wind is key.
Improperly covered areas that create cold spots the Hawk gets at really sucks....
Got plenty of light, mid, and heavy weight poly pro under layers from unca suga over the years.
Use camo glommits for my hands.
Lots of times just my forearm hand and keep my bare shooting hand in vest pocket.
Used ta have a full blown 2 peice bear suit back in the day from my 1st tour on the DMZ in Korea.
Those things saved me and my squads azz,s laying in ambush for 3 or 4 hours at a time during that winter.
Fugging temps in the minus 20,s and the nw hawk coming in 30 40 mph from manchuria on scrub tree ridge ambush positions.
Put em on while pulling 50 50 security in the back side slope ORP before moving that last 150 to 200 yards into the ambush position.

To fugging hot and bulky to move around in for any extended amount of time.

To fugging hot for down here in Tn, think I sold that bear suit in a yard sale eventually.



YMMV based on climate......

A certain percentage of hunts will see a small benefit from the expensive clothing, but it still isn’t necessary. Guys get it done on those same hunts without a $400 jacket.

I never have bought expensive camo. I use a mis-matched mix of cheap Army type camo pants, sale rack long sleeve camo shirts and sale rack outer wear. The only thing I have bought the had any price on it was a coat that I only bought because I had discounts on top of it being 30% off. I got it for less than half price. Deer don't care if you are decked out in the latest outdoor show camo gear. What breaks up you form better than wearing 3 different types of camo at the same time? I just make sure I buy stuff big enough so that I can wear as many layers as I need underneath to keep warm.

Yep. Russell Moc boots, LL Beans 16 inch tops and LaCrosse make the many kid years of 3 pairs of cotton socks in a bigger cousins worn out tenner shoes in late Dec a forgotten misery until this post.

Like new $400 cashmere wool sweaters for $35 are hard to beat and retain smell less than Moreno. One of those in double thick under a $120 Eddie Bauer prime northern goose down vest for $50 and a good wool hunting coat can be real nice in cold weather.