Hello, I'm fairly new to archery (traditional) and once I am accurate enough I would like to start hunting. I'd like to avoid the hype and thousands of dollars of supposedly "must have" equipment and accessories. Assuming I'm just hunting from the ground, what basic equipment do I truly need? I assume boots - what kind? Special socks? What kind of gloves? (Need to keep warm but also pull & release the string!) Is a Gore-Tex jacket a must? Anything special underneath? Hat? Backpack - how big do you recommend? Type of fabric? Thanks for any suggestions, both general and specific!
Man, a lot of that is just personal choice. My uncle uses no scent protection other then the wind and doesn't wear any camo. Just some browning jeans with canvas on the legs and an orange jacket. He kills deer every year. For me, I wear a base layer of thermals, then i layer sweat pants/ sweat shirts on according to how cold it is. and put on a large camo shirt. (in my avatar you can kind of see what i am talking about, i would just put a camo shirt on over the blue sweat shirt.) Other then that, I have a beanie to keep my ears warm and gloves (most of the time i don't wear them, just put my hands in my pockets with hand warmers. Then i have my hunting boots. Before i had my hunting boots now, my grandfather bought me steel toed boots to hunt in. Bad idea! Super cold. I paid 100 dollars for some wolverine 1000 gram insulated boots. super comfortable and warm. but a cheaper pair with two pairs of wool socks would be just fine. So wool socks are nice and warm, but could be used without them. A lot of this is just based on personal preference. Backpack, i have a small one but honestly don't really need it. Just my bow, release and rangefinder and i am good to go. If you needed to pack stuff in a back pack for food water and other supplies, there are several small camo backpacks. All i can say is find what works for you, wear enough to keep you warm, be able to shoot, don't move, and make any sounds. always be downwind of where the deer will be and your set.
Plenty of pictures out there of guys in flannel shirts and blue jeans sitting next to big deer. So really it all depends on where your at, how long are you going to be out, the weather and a ton of other personal variables. Me personally, I can't stand being cold and despise being wet. Wet equals cold.
My must haves are kind of basic, a good camo pattern long shelve shirt for early season, a good warm jacket for late season and same for pants. As for boots Muck boots are my favorite they are super warm and comparable and waterproof too which is a huge plus. I personally look for the cheaper unscented laundry detergent and also body wash, shampoo, and also scent elimination spray. Those are big too. Mostly being warm comfortable in the weather is big for me and being scent free with good camo, and ofcourse gear I am comfortable and confident with such as my bow and release and arrow and broadhead. One more good idea is for those cold day those hand and feet warmers you can buy about anywhere that are little pouches, those are saviors for those cold days
There is a product that is specifically for cold weather called the Hunter's Apron. It has a number of features built in to it that will keep you from having to spend a lot of money on accessories. You can get more info here: The Hunter's Apron As for keeping warm, try putting baby powder on your feet before you go out and loosen up your boots after you get to the stand. I always wear rubber boots to keep the scent to a minimum. Beyond that, the other posters are right - layer as much as possible but carry your outer wear to the stand and then put it on.
