What Gear is Used for Hunting – Beginners Guide to Hunting

Do you need camouflage to hunt?  The easy answer is no.  If you’ve got clothing that’s quiet and comfortable for the conditions, you can use it to get started as a new hunter.  Your first investment into hunting shouldn’t be hunting clothing that you may only wear a few times per year.  Instead, invest in educating yourself on hunting and the game animals that you hope to pursue.  In time, you can build a clothing system that works for any occasion, but take your time as this can be a major hit to your budget depending on what brand of clothing that you buy.  HuntingGearDeals.com can help you save money on hunting gear all year long, so be sure to subscribe to the Daily Deal email so that you never miss a deal.

Blaze orange is different than camouflage as it is a requirement by law in most states during particular firearm seasons.  For more on blaze orange requirements and why hunters wear blaze orange, check out this blog post.  To save money on blaze orange apparel, just buy a cheap vest and a hat to wear overtop of your traditional hunting clothing.  You do not need a blaze orange coat in most circumstances.

Base Layers:

All hunters should invest in base layers, as dressing in layers will ensure long-term comfort and flexibility for a variety of conditions. Base layers do not have to be camouflage and there are a variety of options available on the market.  Heck, you might have something in your closet right now that you can repurpose into hunting apparel.  This should be a trend for new hunters as you read through this article is to try and find clothing and gear that you already own and use it for help.

For warm weather hunts, look at Merino wool as it does a great job of wicking away moisture and not holding onto unwanted odors as much as synthetic fibers.  As a general rule of thumb, avoid cotton.  As the temperatures drop, you’ll need a base layer that’s designed to keep you warm.  Don’t overdo it on base layers in cold weather as our goal should be to build a system that works together to enhance the hunting experience.

Mid-Layer:  The Insulation Layer

The part of your hunting clothing system is an insulation layer or mid-layer.  Insulation layers are versatile as you may already have something in your closet that you can wear for the time being.  Insulating layers are more forgiving, allowing you to wear sweatshirts, fleece jackets, or even pajamas.  Whatever you’ve got in the closet will keep you warm.

Why do I need to dress in layers when hunting?

It’s recommended to dress in layers to help you regulate body temperatures as conditions and activity levels change during the hunt.  It’s good to have several different layers so you can regulate how warm or cool you want to be. When you get to hot and start to sweat, you can strip down to your base layer.  I shot one of my biggest bucks in below-freezing temperatures while wearing nothing more than my base layers due to the physicality of the hike to get into range of the buck.

As your body temperature cools down again, you can add the layers back on until you’re comfortable. This is especially important when hiking to and from the tree stand or blind.  Strip down and keep yourself from overheating during the hike and you’ll have a much more enjoyable hunt.

Outer Shell Layer

The most important part of your hunting clothing system is the outer layer.  If you’re going to buy one piece of gear to start with, let it be quality outer layers that provide wind protection and a little bit of water repellency.  The more water repellency, the louder the garment, and that can be a hindrance when bow hunting.  Your outer layer will vary depending on the temperatures in which you’re hunting.  If you’re smart, you’ll utilize a base layer top as an outer layer during cooler temperatures and build from there.  The same base layers that I hunt with in the fall are my outer layers during spring turkey season!

Do you need camouflage to hunt?  The easy answer is no.  If you’ve got clothing that’s quiet and comfortable for the conditions, you can use it to get started as a new hunter.  Your first investment into hunting shouldn’t be hunting clothing that you may only wear a few times per year.  Instead, invest in educating yourself on hunting and the game animals that you hope to pursue.  In time, you can build a clothing system that works for any occasion, but take your time as this can be a major hit to your budget depending on what brand of clothing that you buy.  HuntingGearDeals.com can help you save money on hunting gear all year long, so be sure to subscribe to the Daily Deal email so that you never miss a deal.

Blaze orange is different than camouflage as it is a requirement by law in most states during particular firearm seasons.  For more on blaze orange requirements and why hunters wear blaze orange, check out this blog post.  To save money on blaze orange apparel, just buy a cheap vest and a hat to wear overtop of your traditional hunting clothing.  You do not need a blaze orange coat in most circumstances.

Hunting Boots

Hunting boots are critical on your hunting equipment list and you should invest in high-quality boots that match your hunting style.  If you are hunting and hiking in the west, you’ll need a boot built for the rugged terrain of mountains.  If you’re hunting bogs and marshlands, waterproof rubber boots are a must.  For deer hunting, I prefer a 6″lace-up boot that offers comfortability, support, and durability for the hunt.  Hunting boots should be considered an investment and not utilized outside of hunting season if you want to keep them for a long period of time.  However, it’s not uncommon to wear out a pair of boots within the year while performing all of the necessary tasks associated with hunting during various hunting seasons.  The most versatile boot is typically 400 to 800 grams of insulation.

Socks

Since we are talking about footwear, let’s touch on socks.  One of the most overlooked pieces of hunting clothing is quality socks.  Avoid wearing cotton socks and invest in some Darn Tough socks.  They’re expensive but worth it!

Choosing a hunting weapon

Let’s start with a broad topic of discussion, the weapon you’ll need to start hunting.  The first step is to determine what type of animal you’ll be hunting, then you decide what type of weapon you should use.  For small game animals, shotguns are a popular and versatile weapon.  A wide variety of ammo available to shotgun hunters allows you to hunt a variety of game and seasons.  All hunters will need a shotgun at some point in time.  For instance, you can utilize a 12 gauge shotgun to hunt anything from squirrels, rabbits, pheasants, turkeys, and even deer!

There are better options for deer hunting guns including center-fire rifles and straight-wall cartridges.  It’ll depend on your local state rules and regulations, so do your research before buying.  Popular rifle cartridges for big game animals include .308 WIN, .270 Win, .30-06 Springfield, all which you can use to hunt deer, elk, bear, and most big game in North America.  In places that only allow straight-wall cartridges, the .350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster.

If you’re looking to get into archery hunting, a crossbow or compound bow are both great options, but you’ll need to make sure the crossbow is legal in the area that you’ll be hunting.  Compound bows are designed to fit your body type, so go to your local archery pro shop for set-up.

How will you hunt?

The most popular big game animal to hunt in North America is the whitetail deer.  If you plan on hunting deer, you’ll probably need a tree stand or ground blind to conceal you from game animals in the field.  To learn more about treestands and ground blinds, check out our blog post that answers the question:  Which is better for deer hunting:  a tree stand or ground blind?

You don’t have to have a tree stand or ground blind to hunt, you can make your ground blind with natural vegetation or spend your time spot and stalking. Small game hunting allows you to roam the woods and field in search of game, and turkey hunting allows the versatility of run and gun hunting, as well as hunting from a ground blind.  The opportunities are endless and you should incorporate each method of hunting into your repertoire.

Hunting Accessories

• Backpack – to carry all of this gear
• Field Dressing Knife
• Headlamps and/or flashlight
• Sharpen skinning knives or purchase replaceable blades if applicable.
• Field dressing kill kit
• Thermacell – Don’t forget to pick up some extra butane cartridges and repellent mats.
• Game Calls
• Subscribe to the HuntingGearDeals.com Daily Deals email so that you never miss a deal on quality hunting gear.