Every experienced hunter was a beginner once. And being a beginner in anything makes a spinning head because there is so much to learn and master. It’s great if you have acquaintances that can share some knowledge on hunting gear and skills. But when you lack such personified guidance, the only thing left is browsing the internet.
Fortunately, there is plenty of information on numerous hunting topics. How to start hunting, What is the best hunting clothing, How to choose the best hunting ammo? – you can find the answers to any of your beginner questions. But as long as you are here, you are a complete beginner who doesn’t quite know where to start.
But that’s OK. We gladly provide you with recommendations on hunting gear must-haves and prepare you for your first hunts.
If you’re still on the fence about the weapon and hunting method, let us help you with the decision.
Hunting Weapon for a Beginner
There are two options: a firearm and a bow. Your weapon defines your hunting method, and these two options offer different experiences like apples and oranges. If you need a short answer, then pick a firearm. Here is why.
At first glance, choosing a firearm as a beginner’s weapon may seem counterintuitive because firearms look more serious. The idea of learning to handle a rifle or a shotgun may frustrate and even frighten some beginners, but don’t let that feeling overtake you. Compared to bows, firearms have a longer effective range. It means you don’t need to get close to an animal and run the risk of spooking it by movements, sounds, and odor.
Besides, bows require more practice to achieve proficiency. As bows are less powerful, being accurate with them is difficult. Of course, contemporary hunters often use compound bows today. Their construction allows them to be more powerful with less physical strength required from the user.
Also, mind that your weapon determines the season. Archery season for big game hunters is longer than rifle or shotgun season, and it starts during the time of the year when the animals are plentiful and not disturbed by firearm shots yet. In contrast, firearm season is shorter and lasts a couple of weeks. It usually starts during the rut.
As the time for bowhunting is longer, you have more techniques in the book because the behavior of animals changes with higher amplitude than it does within a shorter firearm season.
With firearms, you can hunt more game species. Shotguns are the most versatile firearms because you can shoot different projectiles. You can use birdshot for waterfowl, buckshot for coyotes, rabbits, and deer, and slugs for moose and bears.
Let’s conclude. Rifles and shotguns are better weapons to start hunting because they have longer effective range, more power, and a shorter learning curve. Bowhunting is more challenging and exciting and provides an animal a fair chance at survival, but requires stealth skills at a higher level. Bows are harder to master but shoot quietly.
How to Choose Hunting Clothing
Hunting is a high-output activity, no doubt about that. And if your clothing fails to provide comfort, you can hardly enjoy the process. Moreover, in harsh conditions of extreme cold or hot weather, you risk getting a cold or a heat stroke.
Hunting clothing and footwear are designed to protect you from the weather conditions and elements, keeping you comfortable for longer. And if you choose hunting apparel only by camo patterns and neglect its comfort-ensuring properties, you miss lots of things worth your attention.
Layers play an essential role in keeping you warm. Several layers of clothing trap air, which means better heat management. They also allow for more effective adaptability to changing weather conditions. As most animals are more active at dawn and dusk, hunting often takes place on the edge of day and night. As the day progresses, the temperature rises or falls. And to make yourself more comfortable in such conditions, you may want to lose or put on a layer of clothing.
The base layer should possess moisture-wicking properties. Your body sweats to chill itself through subsequent evaporation. So when your inner-layer T-shirt or long-sleeve shirt doesn’t wick sweat, your body stays wet, which compromises the work of the cooling mechanism. Cotton fabric is considered a bad choice for hunters because it absorbs moisture fast and dries long. Synthetic garments manage moisture better because they dry quickly. If you need additional insulation to hunt in colder environments, merino wool is your best choice.
The middle layer serves to provide better insulation. Stick to the materials mentioned above.
The outer layer includes hunting jackets, pants, bibs, and other garments that contact the ambient environment. Water-resistant or waterproof fabrics will keep you dry, whereas wind-resistant membranes and insulation will keep you warm and comfortable. Pay attention to the quietness of the fabric.
Boots are a critical item of your system as feet are where most problems can start. Quality hunting boots provide support and traction, protect your feet from the elements, and keep them warm and dry. Choose stiffer footwear if you hunt in rugged terrain with a lot of weight on your shoulder. A lighter pair of boots will do if you travel light and in a flat country.
Must-Have Hunting Gear – Beginner’s List
The species you plan to hunt determines the hunting supplies you’ll need in the field. The list of deer hunting gear will obviously lack the equipment designed for waterfowl hunting, such as decoys. And if you want to harvest small game species, you hardly need tools for field-dressing.
Nonetheless, there are hunting accessories and equipment of universal application. You can get along without them equipped only with a weapon and ammo/arrows, but your experience may not be as rich, dynamic, and safe as it can be. So make sure you have the hunting gear mentioned below.
Knife
A knife should always be on your hunting packing list. The applications are plentiful: slicing food, cutting down branches to create shelter, skinning and gutting a killed animal, digging small holes for setting stakes, cutting ropes, and self-defense. A fixed-blade knife is less compact but easy to maintain and durable. A folding knife is lightweight and easy to pack, but less robust and hard to clean.
Binoculars
The necessity is kind of obvious. With binoculars, your eyesight can reach farther. You can scan the open field and check the legality of an animal in thickly grown areas. Usually, hunters choose a magnification power of up to 10x. It’s the highest magnification you can handle without a tripod because the farther you see, the more sensible is the hand shake. For a brighter picture, choose a larger objective lens diameter. Multi-coated lenses allow even more light. Nitrogen-purged binoculars are pricier but are water- and fogproof.
Rangefinder
A rangefinder is a device that measures the accurate distance between you and the target. Hunting rangefinders often have an angle compensation feature that calculates the exact yardage to the target accounting for elevation changes. Thanks to this feature, your odds of taking a precise and ethical shot increase.
Headlamp
As we’ve mentioned, most hunting scenarios take place in low-light conditions, at the beginning or end of the day. You need to illuminate your way as you stalk animals or return from the field. Red light mode will less likely alert animals of your presence and won’t mess up your night vision.
Rain Gear
Rain gear never goes amiss. Pack a rain cover for your backpack to prevent your hunting gear from getting wet, and put on waterproof hunting clothing. Again, choose fabrics that dampen the sound of raindrops.
Calls
Game calls are gear that every hunter should have, whether they harvest rabbits, ducks, geese, deer, or coyotes. Their purpose is to imitate the sounds of animals attracting individuals into your range. Close-reed calls are great to start, but they lack versatility. In contrast, open-reed calls can produce a broader range of sounds. Mouth calls are hard to master, but they are extremely portable. Electronic calls don’t require any skills for operation, and hunters benefit from taking the sound source away.
Survival kit
You never know what can happen on your hunting trip. You’d better have all the necessary survival gear to make it through a couple of days in the woods. Your survival kit should include fire-starter sticks, a lighter, first aid kit, iodine pills, rope/paracord, and bear spray.
Deer hunting must-haves include a bone saw, game bags, rubber gloves, harness deer drag, and scent killer.
We hope now you feel less frustrated about starting as a hunter. You don’t need to rush into things. Purchase item after item, moving from the essential equipment to nice-to-have hunting accessories.
