Hunting gear recommendation?

domyalex

domyalex

Regular
Rating - 100%
25   0   0
Location
Maple Ridge, BC
Hi to all,

new hunter here looking for feedback on hunting gear. I'll be hitting BC's coastal mountains, so hiking up and down, tick stuff and rain are pretty much guaranteed.

I'm specifically interested in recommendations about:

- Jacket / Pants (yes, I know about dressing in layers)
- Gloves
- Backpack: do I really need the $350 hunting backpack, or will the $50 backpacking gear work just as well? Not really sure how to take the game out of the bushes
- Compass: was a boy scout back in the day, so I know a bit about orienteering. Where do I find a quality (metal) compass?
- Hunting / gutting / skinning knife and related stuff.

At the local sporting goods store I saw the Browning jackets/pants; not really a fan of cammo stuff and found it quite a bit pricey...

Thanks!
 
for what you need, please don't go cheap. I have hunted in wet weather with cheap gear... not worth it. Spend good money on good quality, good fitting gore-tex outerwear, good gore-tex boots, ( Meindl come to mind...). Try to go to an actual store and try stuff on if you can. Getting a very comfy fit is critical if your going to be hiking in B.C., or anywhere for that matter. If you are packing your game out on your back, you will need a pack frame. Knife?? I prefer fallkniven knives, but everyone has their preference. Again, try to hold one to see if it fit's your hand. Get a knife with good steel to hold an edge, lots of good reading in the knife forum. Good questions though, and good luck!!;)
 
if you cant afford sitka pants or jackets right now look around at the local marks work wearhouse or similar store for decent fleece sweaters/base layers.

I hunted all last moose season wearing polyester thermal underwear (20$ for top 20$ for bottom) with Marks Work Warehouse Wind River fleece 1/4 zip sweaters I got on sale for 15$ each regular 50$ :cool:.

For pants find a good pair of polyester based (or wool...but its heavier stuff) pants that dont have a #### ton of pockets and garbage like that. You don't need 26-in-1 40 pocketed Michelin man pants...they will tire you right out if you walk anywhere other than to your truck. Make SURE the inseam isn't too big on them...if your pants have a saggy crotch...you will be kicking yourself after you walk over 2 dead felled tree's. If you google "Sitka Gear on sale" you will likely find sites blowing out all sorts of Sitka clothing at around 50-60% off....amazing gear...I'm addicted to them. The 90%'s are a great all round pant.

For socks I used once again Wind River!! I found their "Light hiker" Merino wool socks were excellent with the Wind River "Chilliwak" heavier ones over top in my hunting boots. Also their "Frobisher" holo-fill socks are phenomenal.
The Light Hikers were 2 pair for 14.99$
Frobisher were 1 pair for 14.99$ as well as the Chilliwaks I beleive.

I know little about boots, other than...I need to know more about boots so I'll leave that to the pro's :cool:
 
The coast mountains are rather unique. Mountains so steep and vegitation so thick it makes you shake your head and wonder how the black tail deer can travel there. Snow in the morning rain in the afternoon. Very special gear. Water proof but it must not sweat. I just avoid the rain. I hike it in the snow or clear days. Good luck with the gear. Check out the BC hunting site for gear. Lots of info there.
 
look into fleece at Mountain Equipment Co-op, great stuff for great prices, and they have decent backpacks, as for a knife i personally like my kershaw "alaskan blade trader" with interchangeable blades, you have one handle and can change from regular knife to gut hook/skinning, to a bone saw. If you aren't good at popping ribs off the breast plate and splitting pelvis' its great, just don't get too gung-ho with the saw, make a slip in the pelvic area and you may just pierce a bladder.
 
As for camo there is decent hunting stuff, but try to get it on sale else it is over priced. My fall camo in the prairies when there is no snow i found an army surplus store that was selling desert cad-pat military camo, it was probably the best buy i have ever made for that region. Thinking about getting the greens for spring bear hunt but i will see the conditions this year to see if they are clost enough pattern-wise.
 
I picked up when I went just this last Nov. Wind River merino wool socks at costco they had them cheap, and I can't say enough how great they were to have. My feet in the hunt ended up getting soaked (gortex shoes tore open on one foot) but these socks kept my feet warm and without blisters the entire time. When I got back at the end of the night I let them dry out and was good to go in the morning again.

I also recommend the Wind River light fleece. It's wind resistant and static resistant which I found nice when pealing on and off layers regularly.

I then used skin-fitting polyester for a base layer which helped keep moister from cooling too much on my skin.

Definitely go for quality, but you can price-hunt and get it somewhat cheaper if you look around a bit.

Edit: for pants I just went with cadpat pats and ran them through the washing machine with some wash-in water proofing. Did the trick with fleece pants underneath.
 
domyalex said:
Hi to all,

new hunter here looking for feedback on hunting gear. I'll be hitting BC's coastal mountains, so hiking up and down, tick stuff and rain are pretty much guaranteed.

I'm specifically interested in recommendations about:

- Jacket / Pants (yes, I know about dressing in layers)
- Gloves
- Backpack: do I really need the $350 hunting backpack, or will the $50 backpacking gear work just as well? Not really sure how to take the game out of the bushes
- Compass: was a boy scout back in the day, so I know a bit about orienteering. Where do I find a quality (metal) compass?
- Hunting / gutting / skinning knife and related stuff.

At the local sporting goods store I saw the Browning jackets/pants; not really a fan of cammo stuff and found it quite a bit pricey...

Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your compass should be a plastic Silva Ranger or equivalent with a baseplate. You set the declination based on location of the hunt. You will need maps as well.
 
Your back pack is very important

A comfortable and efficient back pack will make a huge difference.

I have one of these and I love it. Do not skimp on the back pack because it can make the difference between a comfortable trip and one that is not comfortable.


s7_515401_renderset_tsta
 
Instead of spending a small fortune on hunting clothes you could go down to Value Village and buy a synthetic wicking shirt, a thin wool sweater and pants and get a good set of rain gear. Helly Hensen (Marks work wearhouse) makes sympertec rain gear in drab green that is pretty silent and tough as nails. Heck they make it camo too!

I work outside and the above pretty much sums up the clothes I just wore this fall hunting on weekends and monday to friday at work thoughout the winter (at low elevations here on the coast). Start adding some hats, mitts and longies are you are good for the cold days. Add a good outer layer (the Cabelas hunting gear is a great value) and you are ready for the higher altitudes and really cold days.

Fancy high end camo is great and I use it occasionally, but its not essential, so why not start your carreer with more money to hunt more often and worry about the latest in fancy gear for down the road?

A good backpack is essential, but it doesn't have to be a special hunting one. Just dependable and comfortable.

Get a Silva Ranger compass. There is a reason why everyone I have ever worked with has one- they work.

You will find over time that some things work better for whatever animal and style of hunting you adopt. Try stuff and ask everyone you meet what they think of whatever they are using. Who knows what you will end up trying!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom