If you are about to head off on your first hunt, awesome! Hunting is an amazing pastime, but first, you need to know about the importance of having the proper hunting gear, for both legal reasons and performance reasons. Thankfully, there is plenty of cheap hunting gear available to where you don’t need to spend a fortune. However, make sure you buy quality gear, so your hunting trip isn’t ruined as you freeze in your stand or blind. Here are some requirements and recommendations as to the essentials needed to go hunting.
Hunting Gear & Legal Requirements
- Legal Requirements
- Your Hunter’s Safety License
- Your hunting tags to prove you’re allowed to hunt
- Hunter orange (Each state varies, check your state’s laws here)
- Gear
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- Rifle, muzzleloader, or bow (Obviously…)
- Ammo or Arrows (Obviously…)
- Knife (To skin & process kill for transport)
- Camouflage clothing (Doesn’t need to be the latest or fancy Sitka gear that is advertised in all of the hunting shows, but at least wear neutral tones on your clothes like green, tan, brown, and white (if there’s snow)
- Jacket & Bibs (Hunting season usually occurs in the fall & winter so make sure that you stay warm as being cold is the easiest way to make a hunt miserable)
- Boots (If there is one piece of gear that you need to spend good money on, it’s this as getting blisters and foot aches will kill your motivation)
- Calls (If necessary for your hunt Ex. Waterfowl, Elk, etc…)
- First Aid (From minor cuts to accidental gunshot/arrow wounds)
- Water & food
- Navigation items (GPS, Compass, Map)
- Cooler to keep your meat cool
Hunting can be a great pastime to bond with friends and family and get out into the wild. However, those who are poorly prepared will likely leave with a negative perception that will cause them to never return. Having the right type of hunting vehicle & gear is important for safety & comfort. You don’t need to spend a lot of money, but make sure that you have quality gear otherwise you will regret it when you are shivering in your blind or stand wishing you would have bought a quality jacket and good boots.
