Gearing up a noob

The goal is to stay dry and warm = comfort and longer hunting time. The camo pattern is for us hunters to spend more money to look fashionable. Look at the pics from yrs back they killed big deer with an old lumber coat on and no camo. Wear layers that you can take off or add too depending on the weather and time of yr. study your game and watch what they do at different times of the day. Best of all get out there and have fun and enjoy.
warm dry boots, good gloves, hat and a sack or pack to carry a few supplies in. Not sure if they still make them or not but I have a old bag made by world famous that I bought over 20 yrs ago from CTC and I don't go in the bush with out it

Focus on the things that affect your comfort the most. Your clothing and tree stand. When you're out all day and you're wet, freezing cold, or your butt or back hurts and you're shifting around every second you're just making your life difficult.

If you're looking to get somewhat serious and want to make probably one of the greatest investments in hunting, you should save up this summer for a good jacket and bib set that you won't need to upgrade. Watch for good deals and look at getting something Goretex. Never buy cheap "water resistant" stuff, guiding fishing and hunting has sold me on Goretex, my DWR crap was soaked at the end of the day no matter how much it got retreated. It's expensive but it really is worth it's weight in gold like KC said. You can either buy an all in one parka or just a Goretex shell and layer up underneath it. Wait till its on sale. The outer jacket in my display picture is a Beretta Pack light Shell that I paid about $90 for and still use 7 years later for Early and Mid-Season. If it were a size larger I'd use it into the winter as well.

For base layers check out Mountain Equipment Warehouse. They have Merino Wool tops, bottoms, and socks there, and they usually have 40-60% off sales on them.

For a knife get something reasonably priced for a starter knife. You can buy something nicer later. Here's what I use.

For a treestand get something with a nice seat that you're comfortable in. Whether you want a climber or ladder stand is a whole other topic. Wait till it goes on sale.

For boots I like the rubber insulated Kamik ones from Canadian Tire. Wait till they go on 40% off.

Buy a big box of those instant hand warmers and a big box of those instant toe warmers.

Don't mess around too much with scent remover gimmicks. Learn how to use the wind, and scout areas where the deer don't approach from down wind.

Don't spend a whole lot of money on attractants either. Salt licks in the Spring and Summer are one thing, Cmere Deer, Deer Caine, ect is another.

I'd buy a cheap trail camera or two. Seeing pictures of deer around your spots will keep you going mentally.


Just remember, keep comfort as a very high priority when you're out hunting. No sense being miserable and having to head in early.

Remember this if cost is a limiting factor.

"everything goes on sale"

So plan ahead.
You save hundreds of dollars.

Turkey

Get yourself a box call sooner than later an practice.

I have a buck vanguard and a turkey mouth call that I've been practising with, should've said that too

Boots, Boots, Boots.

If your feet are wet or cold you will be miserable.

This is not to say you need to spend $1000 on boots but get a pair of insulated rubber boots and a pair of insulated waterproof hikers. You will be surprised how cold opener for Turkey can be, not moving for that long after walking in through the cold dew can really suck.

Layers are a good thing too :)

The best and biggest camo raincoat you can find - then wear anything you already have underneath. A foam seat cushion, insulated rubber or neoprene boots, warm hat and gloves and good to go. Then spend as much time on the land as you can.

Good, warm clothes. A waterproof layer. Boots, with good quality socks. I like a wool blend. A good knife, and know how to sharpen it. Keep it like a razor. Seriously, if it can't shave hair off your arm, its not sharp enough.

Instead of a blaze orange jacket I prefer a blaze orange vest with lots of pockets. I can wear it over any other clothing I have, which means you can re-purpose just about anything and not need just a "hunting jacket".

Miscellaneous things I keep on me: About ten feet of twine. About ten feet of 1/4" diameter rope. A jet lighter. Nitrile gloves. Toilet paper. Compass. Pocket knife as well as my sheath knife. Whistle. A small roll of hockey or electrical tape.

best purchase i have made in recent years was a really good pair of hunting boots, paid more for them, then any pair of boots i have ever owned, mind ya i seldom pay more then $20 for shoes at walmart lol but let me tell you, i can walk all day in them and my feet are dry and not soar at the end of the day. quite a few years ago, i got a remington coat and bib overalls on sale at the end of the season, for like 75% off, and they are warm, have worn them down to -30's on a snow machine, with only shorts and a t-shirt underneith and bin nice and warm, which also works out perfect for those december tree stand sits...

A lot of good advice here. I've been at it for a long time and I will repeat the advice of getting really good baselayers. I use polypropylene tops and bottoms. They are not cheap. To replace mine would be about $60 each piece however they will keep you warm even if you sweat on the way in. If you do want to save a little money on camo, particularly for turkey, get a set of "leafey" mesh top and bottoms. You can wear them over anything and they work great! It's worth it in the end to save up for good clothing. I've got hundreds of dollars of cheap camo and boots, underwear, you name it that doesn't get used because it's crap and I now own good stuff. TC