the most important thing to buy

[unluckyman]

What in your opinion is the most important thing to buy. the most important thing in your equipment??? Not things you can go with out but what is something you can go cheaper on??? like buying a generic brand of camo or attractant scent??

[TIP]

The most important thing to me is confidence in my equipment and myself. Priceless.

[unluckyman]

I know this. the point i was tring to get is....could you have confidence in something that costs less.. i see all these hunting shows putting the info out there about how great there product is i was wondering how many people buy this stuff

[MUZZY MAN]

With the way things are. I will skimp on anything except: Bow, Equipment on bow, Arrows and Broadheads. Walmart cammo. The less expensive scents, all of that stuff.

[tuffshot]

A well tuned bow with matching arrows and old military camo, 10 year old tree stand and I seem to kill deer every year.

Todays "stuff" is like fishing lures they catch a lot of hunters.;)

[MUZZY MAN]

Well put tuffshot.

[OUBeerman]

I would have to rate the weapon you are using, either gun or bow as your most important equipment. But every gun and bow made was made with one goal in mind, to take down some kind of mammal. I think the most important things are practice, patience,and common sense. Some people might be lacking in every one of these categories, maybe thats why they don't kill deer or live in Michigan. GO BUCKS!!!

[coonskinner]

cold weather hunting clothes.i would rather pay more for good hunting clothes including boots.a 5$ bow will kill a deer.i have around 60-70 recurve bows.from 5$ to 600$...no matter which bow i use i can still get 5 yds. from a deer and kill it...but if i do not have good enough clothes to keep me out there on cold mornings i wont even see a deer...also i pick arrows as more important than a bow.

["J"]

It's a close one on the camo/weapon issue, I voted for the weapon like it was stated for most people the weapon must be fine tuned and shooting as accurate as possible, the clothing issue usually only comes in colder temps but warm weather hunting I've worn just about everything but shorts while in a stand. So that's why I voted weapon. "J"

[SP Scout]

I have to go with scent eliminator. I could wear the cheap walmart clothes, do actually. Could use the cheap bow, have. Could kill deer without my stand if need be, have more than once. And I have never had an attractant work, unless you consider calls attractants. I dont think I could walk into the woods smelling rank with human odor and take a deer though.

[Caribou Dreamer2]

Hmm i guess out of the choice i have i would go with the camo you need good clothing to stay out in the cold and to stay in your tree,
Any gun or bow can kill(Thats what they are made to do)If put in the right hands from a 5 buck bow to a 1000.00 rifle they all will perform.

[noboatdave]

Flashlight batteries and a decent knife. I can and have killed a deer with a cheap gun, while wearing blue jeans, standing on the ground, without scent eliminator. But when you forget your knife in your other pants and your buddy hands you his Meijer Bushmaster skinning knife you will want to do him a favor and leave it in the gutpile.

[Caribou Dreamer2]

Noboat sounds like you are speaking from experience!!!!!!!!!:D
Very true though.

[tuffshot]

I guess I did leave out the need for a quaility knife along with the flashlight and batteries. but also some of the simpler things like a piece of rope or webbing to help with dragging the deer, an ink pen and a piece of string to tie on the temporary tag as it is described in the regs booklet...;)

But I think unluckyman is really trying to see if buying all the hyped up products of todays market really justifyable or really needed.

[Buckmaster]

Speaking of a bad experience...ever deer hunt in tennis shoes?
Might comfortable and quiet.....talk about cold feet....I forgot my boots that day :)

[coonskinner]

i use tennies sometimes on nice days when hiking a ways back in...

[OHBOW76]

Here is how I look at it, the most important piece of equipment you can buy is the bow that delivers the arrow, or the gun that delivers the bullet. If you cant put it where it counts nothing else matters. You can do without expensive camo, many deer have been shot by guys wearang army surplus, jeans, wool, drab coveralls. Scents and scent eliminators, all you need is some baking soda, can wash with it, and dust yourself with it. As far as attractnats, don't necessarily have to use them, but a cheap alternative is Vanilla, or peanut butter. Dont even have to use a treestnad, and you can make a free ground blind by using natural deadfalls and vegetation. You can drive to your hunt in a real beater of a vehicle and walk instead of using a quad to drive in with. I would spend some money on a good pair of boots though. You can gut a deer with a pocket knife if you have to, you dont need a $100 knife with a 12" blade. We make huntign more complicated than it needs to be...........the one item that is priceless though is woodsmanship, and knowledge.

[Hoytme2]

I live by the motto: "you get what you pay for". I like to hunt in all conditions so clothing is very important. More so for comfort in cooler weather, so I will pay good money for clothing. As far as equpment, I want a reliable bow and accessories so I will pay good money for that as well. Treestands - Comfort. If you aint on stand, you aint seeing deer.

Leave the scent eliminaters in the store. Get yourself a sealable tub and put about an inch of debris from the ground around your stand (leaves, sticks, etc...) in the bottom of the tub. Throw your hunting gear in the tub for storage when not hunting.

Leave the scents in the stor as well. Just set up on a travel route.

It is all about equipment and comfort and I will have a successful season!

http://www.ohiosportsman.com/photopost/data/500/150s_doe_05-med.JPG?1026

[OHBOW76]

I spend good money on my equipment as well, but I was just answering the poll. Whats most important, like I said its the rifle/bow you use and woodsmanship. But I do love to shop at the sporting goods store.

[coonskinner]

sorry but anybuddy who makes their equip. like bows and arrows know a half butted bow will do a good job but a poor arrow will not.i have killed a deer with a 5$ bow i got at a yardsale.most of my bows are well under 100$ and will perform well in any conditions.my first cp i ever bought was less than 100$ but i killed more with that bow than the guys did with the xpensive stuff.a bow does not have to be xpensive...and if i have my choice in sub zero weather between the best bow or best clothes...and i can only choose one...its going to be the clothes,if i still had that old cheap ben pearson brushmaster compound i know it would perform in sub zero cond...i have a lot of bows i can hunt with,from the 5$ yardsale bow to 5 or 6 that cost over 500$,including customs.i would say i easily have 55 bows in that range to hunt with...and i believe those bows are easily up to the task of shooting a perfect score or killing a deer under any condition.all are way above my capabilities or anybuddies...now clothing can be a life or death situation...and another thing more imp. to me than a bow is treestands,especially climbers...i simply get the best,strongest i can buy.same can be said for my harness.and i still am looking for a better harness.to me safety comes first,and i want the best,no matter the price... :cool:

[OHBOW76]

I buy expensive clothes becuase I dont like to be cold either, but lets face it you can get by in cold weather with good old wool. It doesnt even have to be camo, and if you still hunt instead of huntign out of a stand for eight hours you wont get as cold.Thats what i was thinking when I took my stance. No offense but why would anyone need 55 bows? I could see guns but 55 bows???Lets face it guys, its pretty obvious, you can hunt with out a treestand, can get by in decent clothes (although you may have to hunt differently), but you cant hunt without a gun/bow. As far as making your own bow, of course you can but how many guys will do that, and prcatice enough to kill a deer with it? Not many. I guess you could get somewhat cheap on a gun, could use a single shot shotgun.

[coonskinner]

just my opinion and the poll says most prefer the weapon(gun).but like i say,cheapy or custom a deer comes within 15 yds. and i shoot,good chance its history no matter which i use.as for the 55 bows,thats the ones in huntable weights,counting my self bows i have made,my all fiberglas bows and my pre 1940 wooden bow collection i have around 100 bows.i collect bows.i also use them,shootin and huntin...and i'm still buyin!!!



:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

[Andy Gehle]

I'll be the oddball and say stand and harness. Not that one is required to kill a deer, but if you are going to use one, it'd be the last thing I would skimp on.
If I go down the list, I think you can go cheapo on almost everything to some extent. But if you get an unsafe stand, or use old wooden stands, or skimp on safety harnesses......the rest of the things on the list can become real insignificant when your stand craps out or you fall from 20 feet.

[tuffshot]

Your right Andy,
A friend of mine fell from his tree stand this year, the buckle of his safety belt broke. We had been talking about getting new ones just a few days before he fell.

[Woody Wood]

I myself have had several occations where deer have came in at least 15 yards of me and I didn't even have on any sent blocker. So I would say go cheap on that.

[SP Scout]

Im gonna have to agree with ya Woody, I have too. Gonna change my answer to you can buy everything cheap and still get deer.

[It's Not A Passion..]

I try not to skimp on anything, but I'd say the most important thing is clothing. If you're too cold to stay out there, you're not going to kill any deer, and with bowhunting, having the right clothing so that you get the warmth without the bulk is important and something I'm still trying to get down right.