New to Hunting

Scottr479

FNG
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Messages
12
Location
Tacoma, Wa
I'm new to hunting and took it up for my son. He's hunted with other friends and dads and finally decided to get involved as an active hunter. Struggling on learning equipment and costs to get into the sport. Everyone has an opinion on what I need to do first and I struggle on what equipment I need first. I've spent most of my time reading the Washington Big Game Hunting Regulations book and still needing equipment. Scoping out sites for Archery locations with lots of road trips and joined OnX. Any help from Washington hunters (western) would be great. Already bought deer and elk tags for my son for his first set of tags. Excited for the hunt!
 

pk_

WKR
Joined
Jul 30, 2017
Messages
368
Location
Florida
That’s awesome to hear!

don’t be intimidated just get out there and do it. You don’t need a bunch of gear or fancy camo.

For bow hunting the best thing you can do is learn about wind and thermals in the area you hunt. These animals live and die by their nose.

Good luck!
 

Jaker_cc

WKR
Joined
Feb 24, 2016
Messages
611
Location
San Antonio, TX
Spend your money on tags before gear!! The more you hunt the more you will figure out what gear is essential and what is just window dressing. Get good boots, your feet take you everywhere. Enjoy the time and experiences with your son, congrats on diving in with him.
 

tjihrig

FNG
Joined
Jun 26, 2019
Messages
66
Way to go dad, good for you. Don’t get in the weeds with gear. If you hunt a lifetime your never have all the gear you think you need. Find a friend that hunts, and get lined out. Some of the best hunters I know use old school gear because it’s what they’ve always used. Best advise I ever got- enjoy your time out there and every hunt is a success. Welcome brother


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Troutnut

FNG
Joined
Sep 14, 2016
Messages
82
Good for you and welcome to a fantastic sport.

One thing you should know is that you're making things more difficult if you're starting out with bowhunting. Usually people will start with rifle and then build up the skills to eventually be successful with a bow.

It also might help to focus on a single animal (elk, mule deer, or blacktail) and a single general area and learn both of them well before branching out.

Then again, first and foremost, the point is to have fun. So if you enjoy the diving into everything at once, go right ahead--just be aware that it's optional, and your chance of putting meat in the freezer (or even seeing animals) will be higher if you focus your efforts at first.
 

280Ackley

WKR
Joined
Jun 4, 2014
Messages
812
Location
Idaho
Check out the classified section. You can pick up great gear for next to nothing. I’ve seen multiple threads where people freely give gear away to help out new hunters. You can also find a couple year old bow for a fraction of the original cost. The only thing I would recommend not going cheap on is boots. Good luck and have fun making memories!!
 
OP
S

Scottr479

FNG
Joined
Jun 5, 2020
Messages
12
Location
Tacoma, Wa
Boots i would guess would be something to spend some money on since I'm going to be on my feet for most of the day. Good advice thank you.
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2019
Messages
337
Location
Washington State
Welcome to hunting! Scott Haugen is a local Washington author who has written several books that could be good resources. Author Steven Rinella has written a couple of guide books for hunting, butchering and cooking wild game also. As others have said, don’t fixate on the equipment too much. Gain experience first and upgrade equipment as you need to. Buy used in the classified section where you can.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Dec 3, 2018
Messages
307
Western wa guy here. I agree with what everyone’s saying, you don’t need to spend a ton of money to get going. Especially in western wa. Find some public land or timber company land near by. Park at a gate and walk/bicycle in. Stop at every clear cut and glass a bit, and move on unless you find a spot you really want to sit and watch for a morning/evening. You will turn the most black tails up in the hours closest to dark but they could be out and about mid day randomly too. The good news is in almost all the western GMU’s you can shoot a doe with your bow and there’s no shame in that.
 

Rich M

WKR
Joined
Jun 14, 2017
Messages
5,103
Location
Orlando
That's a good comment - in today's day & age, folks are "trophy" hunting a lot and present a skewed image of what happens. Most trophy hunters who tell folks it has to be mature with such & such horns have shot a slew of smaller animals.

Shoot the first legal animal to walk in front of you and your son. No shame in a doe or small buck, smile and figure out how to do home processing. Be good times figuring stuff out together.
 

Raberd14

FNG
Joined
Aug 21, 2019
Messages
33
Location
Ohio
Welcome to the family, some great advice in the comments above. Just have fun; don't break the bank, there's nothing wrong with cheap gear. And kill the 1st legal animal you get a crack at. If you get addicted, then look at spending money on better gear, and being a more selective hunter. Good Luck!
 

Ddog

WKR
Joined
Dec 2, 2018
Messages
330
Location
MI
These guys gave some great advice. I just want to say welcome, and that's awesome!
 
Joined
Jan 21, 2020
Messages
82
There's not enough information. What style hunting are you going to do? Backpack, slike camp, or truck/camper camp?
That said all you really need is a warm place to sleep and something to kill with. The rest is nice to have. Also you can't buy a trophy on public land, many of us have tried.
 
Joined
Jul 22, 2019
Messages
685
Location
Idaho
If we are talking absolute basics all you need is a rifle/bow and a knife. Everything else you will figure out with time in the field. Get good boots first.
 

stonewall

WKR
Joined
Jul 29, 2016
Messages
715
Location
TX - Texas
Lots of good info here already.
My thoughts:
Gun vs bow - gun probably easier start. Idk about setups to buy. I’m pretty ignorant on rifles
Archery - you can get decent starter packages at bass pro type store. You’d have to upgrade components. The staff at such stores generally don’t know much. You might be better off going to an actual archery shop so as to glean their knowledge but buy from them. Don’t show up having bought elsewhere

boots: I suffered two years in Colorado with wet feet using waterproof basspro boots. Then bought Crispi boots. That was money well spent. I also choose to wear gaiters. Not everyone does

clothes:
I use synthetic mostly. And some merino. I like that synthetic dries faster. But the merino is good for scent control. This is September elk hunting I’m referring to in nm, co, wy. I start with a light base layer and light pants and shirt. Often will take off a shirt and pant base layer as day progresses. In pack is puffy jacket and rain gear for as needed. Western wa, I’m sure rain gear is more important. For pronghorn I wear Walmart clothes so I don’t mind ruining them crawling through the dirt and cactus. For years I hunted in my Walmart cotton clothes. But in the warm Texas weather and the fact I was mostly sitting in a tree stand it didn’t matter. The first couple elk hunts in such clothes had moments of misery

Aron Snyder has a great quote, “someone always gets paid.” Meaning You can spend more and have morecomfort or spend less and suffer a little. So weigh out as you think best works for you

classifieds here and camofire are great places to get some deals

for game bags: I like the blackovis synthetic bags. Watch camofire for best price

hope that helps
 
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