Good morning Bowhunting folks... as this is my first season of real bow hunting, I wanted to ask the group if there are "Absolute Must Have's" for bow hunting the first season out. I have a recently tuned, re-stringed compound bow, it's draw weight is right for me and the draw length has been adjusted to my 29.5 inch need. I've recently purchased a used Summit Viper climbing Tree stand, I have also purchased a range finder, a warmer weather camo set up form LL Bean and a proper hunting knife as well as a light weight RED LED head lamp. I also just received (as of yesterday) official permission to hunt of some privately owned land around where I live. Any in put is greatly valued and appreciated. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Make sure you have a rope to pull your bow up once you have climbed tour tree. One of the next things would ve a game camera but thats not a must have. I have the same climber. It is a beast to carry in but once your there they are really nice to sit in! I went a long time without rattling antlers and a grunt call but dont enter the woods without them
1. Since you are hunting out of a tree stand a Safety Harness 2. Tags 3. sharp knife 4. Flashlight 5. a plan on what to do after you shoot a deer (getting it out of your hunting area, processing, meat storage etc...)
Eliminate: • Bow Press • Binoculars (nice but not a must) • Bow Sling (never have used one) • Marking Tape (again nice but not a must) • Calls (Nice but I don’t use more than I use) • Drag rope (grab a leg and go) • GPS or Compass (not needed if not huge land) • Lens Cleaner/Cloth (Never have had) • Rattling Antlers (again not a must) • Scents (worse case no scent is still a good scent) • Wax (good to have but can have pro-shop check time to time) • Wind Direction Checker (nice but not a must) • Facemask or facepaint (many guys kill will bareface) • Rain Gear (some just don’t hunt in rains…I do at times so good but not must) • Alarm Clock (phone works) • Pillow • Charger (unless long distance hunting) • Toilet Paper (you know if needed) • Extra Batteries (good to have in truck but not with) • Knife Sharpener (not a must) • Still Camera (not a must) • Zip Ties (not a must)
Add a phone to the list with a FB or instagram account to see all the live updates of what all your buddies are killing. A 20 oz bottle of water to wash down the tag soup and lastly a second job in the off season to pay for all the other things you can't live without in the tree. Good luck
An empty bottle to pee in. You never know when your morning coffee will come back around and peeing at the base of your tree is not good for scents.
Make sure you have a bow holder once you are up in the tree, either one that goes on the stand or preferably one that you screw into the tree, it makes it nice not having to hold the bow your whole sit
Bow set-up, Arrows set-up, tags, knife, flashlight/headlamp, extra underwear for when that booner steps out at 20 yds. Everything else is optional
Good pair of rubber boots. Being able to shoot your bow well consistently and under pressure. Grunt call. Wind checker. You can go a long ways with just these basics. Time has taught me that if you cant make the shots you get count. All the rest does not matter.
To be honest since you have permission for private land and if its in your budget maybe get a hang on stand with sticks to leave up. Less weight when walking in/out and can go right up every hunt then carrying in a stand each time. Plus then you can hit up other spots with the climber.
Thermacell!!!!! My 1st year I was surprised I seen anything with all the moving I did trying to stop me from getting bitten.
Range finder!! I can't go into the woods without my range finder and release. I'm not that old but I can't go without my glasses either lol
Make sure you have a safety harness,most stands come with one. Come up with a plan on what to do with the meat (takeing it to a butcher or doing it yourself) I would suggest getting a high quality LED flashlight for blood trailing after dark. A wind checker is optional but handy. I'm assuming you already bought broadheads and shot them at a target to make sure they fly properly.
Bad advice! All a book will do for you is take your concentration off of why you came to the woods to begin with.
When I get into my car before I go out to hunt I ask myself "do I have everything I need to make a legal kill?". So if I'm bow hunting deer that would be: 1. Bow 2. Arrow w/broadheads 3. Tags Everything else is extra. Yeah if I forgot my pants I'd be uncomfortable, but I'd still legally be able to take a deer.
Came in to post this. Spray clothes down before hand with permathrine and take a Thermacell. I hunt in TN and value both of those thru early Nov. Tick and mosquito born diseases are no joke. I misplaced my Thermacell holder and shot the last 3D of the season without it. First off any insect buzzing right in your ear at full draw is a no go. Ticks rarely get on me whether I treat for them or not but mosquitos LOVE me. At that last 3D in Aug I accumulated around 30-50 mosquito bites and a day or so later both ankles and my right arm swelled and I had shortness of breath. Forgot the scientific name for what I had and whatever they gave me worked pretty quick, but it was from a mosquito bite.
