Share your “Buy once cried once” lesson

[TheBootBowhunting]

Pretty much anything in life, and especially hunting. Youll eventually upgrade, so just go top of the line from jump. Packs, tents, binos, etc. You wont really be satisfied until you own what you will probably eventually own anyway and in the process you bought 2 or 3 levels of the same item.

The only thing I can really think of where buying the top of the line more expensive item isnt the best move, is a carbon bow. Ive owned 2 carbon bows, and that is and will always be the biggest waste of money in my 20something years of bowhunting. If youve got the money to piss away, go for it. But Hoyt carbon is made in China, cost 5-600 more than the aluminum bow, and doesnt actually perform any better. Your hands might be colder with aluminum in late season. An indication of this was the year Hoyt put out the RX-3 and Helix, and by the end of the season nearly all of their influencers were using Helix. At least the PSE carbon bows are made in the USA. But even if a carbon bow cost the same as an aluminum bow, I would still buy the aluminum. I just shoot them better, they feel better and I actually like the slightly heavier weight. Any of the top brands have their flagship aluminum bow at roughly the same price, and at this point all of them get the job done. I dont think you can really go wrong with Hoyt, Mathews, PSE, Prime.

I just dont think you should buy an Axius, and then wish you spent 5-600 more on a RX-4.

 

[Desk Jockey]

I am an adult onset hunter with only a few of seasons of hunting, so my mistakes are fresh in my mind.

Range finder - I bought a first gen vortex rangefinder when i started hunting big animals in 2015. It started getting whacky after 2 seasons. Vortex sent a new one back to me in short order but I was in the middle of the season so I bought a sig kilo to stay in the woods, expecting vortex to take longer on the exchange. By the time the new vortex arrived I was sold on the sig in terms of speed of ranging and reliability. 2x the price but just another level of performance. I sold the vortex without even opening the box.

Rifle - before I knew anything about hunting rifles or what I would want in one, I bought two Remington 700s. one was a 308 with a thick heavy barrel and the other was a 300 AWR. Not bad guns in concept, but they both cost around $1200 and started at over 8#. I added timney triggers and a few other tweaks to them and probably have +$1500 in the 300 and almost $2k in the 308. Knowing what I know now, there is no way i’d go the same route. My primary rifle is a tikka in 6.5 creed with a vx3i. All-in it is cheaper than either of the 700s without glass, while shooting better and weighing less.

 

[archp625]

Off the top of my head Boots and Clothing. I really started to get after the hunting 17 years ago in college. I was on a tight to hardly any money budget. I thought getting cheap boots was a good idea. I went through so many cheap red head or rocky brand boots before I decided to spend some money on a pair of danners. I still have those boots and mainly use them for Whitetail being that they are 1200 grams on insulation. Since them I have owned a couple other pair of danners, one pair of Crispis and settled on a pair of Meindls.

Clothes were the same thing. I bought so many clothes that were cotton to later freeze my but off. Now that I understand layers and different materials I am much warmer. I do think all those days I froze and I was miserable made me tougher. I feel I can outlast a lot of people when it gets super cold now.

I recently got into backpack camping and bought the best items I could get. Made my trip much more enjoyable. I have since sold a Ti pot for a smaller one and sold a spotter to get a better lighter one.

I think everyone needs to go through the growing pains a little or they dont know how good they have it.

 

[archp625]

Vortex Diamondbacks - Vortex Vipers - Meopta Meostar - Swarovski SLC.

Didn’t lose much through it all but you get the gist.

I had 10 x 42 Vortex Diamondbacks. I was about to go the path you took. I was going to get some Maven C1's. Then said screw it and got some SLC's. Best decision of my life.

 

[Ridge Ghost]

Backpacks. Cabelas brand book bag, Dwight Schuh Fieldline w/ plastic external frame, Eberlestock Blue Widow, Eberlestock X2... my shoulders hurt just thinking how uncomfortable all of them were. Of course, I lost money on each one of them trying to sell them on forums or craigslist. There were less options for lightweight, quality packs back then, but I should have just spent the money for a gen1 Kifaru and been done.

 

[Rich M]

I bought an expensive spotter, then realized that I didn't need or want it. Sold it.

Would been better getting a cheaper one and trying it before jumping in.

 

[GreenNDark Timber]

I bought a pair of Swarovski SLC 10x42s in 2005 when I graduated college as a graduation present to myself. They were the best optics I really couldn't afford . 15 yrs later and they're as perfect as the day I got them and with me on almost every single hunt. As a bonus, I could sell them used and get almost what I paid for them brand new if I wanted to, but I think I'll hang on to them for another 15 yrs.

 

[nobody]

Literally all my gear, but the big ones that stand out are:

Boots: Spents lots on cheap boots hurting my feet before giving in and spending some money on Crispis. Best money spent ever.

Packs: Started cheap with a Camelback, then a Voodoo Tactical, then a Badlands Superday, now a Stone Glacier Avail 2200 on an X-Curve frame. Funny thing is the Badlands is still a really nice pack, it just doesn't fill the niche I thought it would. If I lived in Texas or down south and didn't ever pack out an animal, it would still be my primary day pack.

Spotting scope: I do believe you should spend as much as possible, but I don't think most people need to buy the Swarovski. But I'm seriously regretting my Vortex Diamondback, like it's almost not worth packing on my hunts.

 

[ShakeDown]

On the other hand... listen to this:

Purchased used Cabelas brand Meostar 15x56, beat up and out of collimation for $600. Talk sales clerk into warranty return for store credit at local Cabelas. (BEWARE: THIS NEARLY BACKFIRED AS THEY DID NOT WANT TO HONOR WARRANTY)

Buy a few hundred more dollars of discounted Cabelas gift cards.

Purchase brand new Swarovski SLC 15x56 online using store credit, gift cards and Active Junky. AJ rebate was $227.10

Final cost after rebate: ~$1150

 

[MThuntr]

I grew up in Nebraska. At the time you could buy a Lifetime Hunt and Fish License for like $550 (it may have been more but that's the number I remember). This would be valid for small game even if you became a non-resident. Man I wish I would have bought that so I could hunt pheasants and do a bit of fishing when I'm home.

 

[207-12A]

Trucks. Buying a low miles reliable vehicle with a documented maintenance record will save a lot of money and heartache over that deal on Craigslist.

 

[CorbLand]

I bought a pair of Swarovski SLC 10x42s in 2005 when I graduated college as a graduation present to myself. They were the best optics I really couldn't afford . 15 yrs later and they're as perfect as the day I got them and with me on almost every single hunt. As a bonus, I could sell them used and get almost what I paid for them brand new if I wanted to, but I think I'll hang on to them for another 15 yrs.

I ordered an ATS 65 the day I took my last final.

Binoculars are one that I think is a buy once, cry once game. Get yourself a decent cheaper set (300-500) and then save for one of the high end pairs. Dont buy 4 pairs over your lifetime.

 

[ODB]

I once made the mistake of listening to the online endorsements of a gunsmith. Figured if that many people on a reputable forum thought he was good, he should be. Nope. A year and a half later and a trip dragging the rifle to my pal DArcy Echols to correct feeding (and other things) made that one expensive rifle.

 

[Bear_Hunter]

Meat processing equipment (grinder, vac sealer, sausage stuffer). It sucks having one of those items fail while you're in the middle of processing hundreds of pounds of fish/game.

 

[MattB]

Vortex Diamondbacks - Vortex Vipers - Meopta Meostar - Swarovski SLC.

Didn’t lose much through it all but you get the gist.

This mirrors my experience. Buying quality optics is probably the #1 for serious hunters.

 

[Aaron Warpony]

Glass for sure

 

[d_rek]

Mostly clothing - started with hand me down BDUs and items from thrift stores. All fell apart within a season or two. Upgraded to scentlok, scentblocker, cabelas, and various other cheap store brands - all last only a season or two. Went all in First Lite a couple years ago and most is holding up great to hard hunting.

Still haven't purchased a truly high-end pack, but am working my way there. Had a couple cheap alps, scentlok, and walmart ones. Currently have a horn hunter which is miles above those, but also not without it's issues.

Guns - Started with some cheaper deer shotguns, have a couple budget rifles, and am now starting to get into higher end rifles. Definitely a noticeable increase in polish between a $1000 rifle and a $250 one.

Optics - Used cheap nikon for years and now vortex. Vortex is better for sure but also not without issues. Can't bring myself to spend $1k on optics yet though.

 

[Titan_Bow]

There are things that are worth it, and then there are things that have "value" that aren't always the most expensive. I have always hated the "buy once, cry once" mantra, because I am a cheapskate at heart. I see a lot of guys justifying to their dying breathe that the thing they spent so much money on was "the best" mainly because they spent so much money on it!.
For me, things that are truly "worth" it..

A quality, designed-to-haul-heavy-loads backpack (ie. Kifaru, EXO, Stone Glacier) For any hunter, especially out here in the Rocky Mountains, this should be priority number 1.

Full subscription to Onx. I put this off for a long time, messed with other sites, or only a state at a time, etc. Its nice to be able to plan (or day dream) about hunts in other states and really be able to plan and mark up interesting access points and potentially overlooked spots that I might get to some day!

Good binos! I too started with the cheap binos, and eventually ended up with Mavens. Wish I would have just done that to start.

Rifle scope - I have been burned a couple times with cheapo scopes. I dont think you need a thousand dollar scope or top of the line scope, but buy the most scope you can afford. I would much rather have a Savage rifle with a high end scope than a Christenson Arms, Kimber or similar with a mid-range or low end scope.

Other than that stuff, everything else for me is a balancing act of value versus quality. Again, I am jaded and cynical, and above all else, a cheapskate, so I look at everything as "I dont need that" or "no way thats worth that much!" I find there truly are only a few things out there where the quality matches the value for my intended purposes LOL

 

[KHNC]

Back in my 20's, I was thinking about getting married. However, I kept hearing stories about getting divorced and losing half your shit. Had me nervous, but I did it anyway. Had a couple kids, then came home to an empty house and bank account after a hunting trip to Colorado. So, I waited 8 years before trying it again. That one lasted just under 3 years. I threw the bitch out for popping pills and sucking down cheap vodka in secret. Cost me 5-6 thousand to divorce her and not lose my shit. I was thinking, has to be a better way. Went a few more years and decided i would do a mail order bride. Just had to decide from where. Figured Mexico might be a good place to start, since they always tryin to get up the US anyway, save on plane tickets. Met a few no green card hotties, but really didnt work out. They were always tryn to get me to support all their kids, brothers , sisters, parents and grandparents. Kept mumbling about needing a bigger car for hauling everybody around. Next i checked Canada. I mean I was already going up there each spring to bear hunt. Figured i could save on dental work, since most of the native women i saw up there were short on teeth anyway. They already had insurance, since Socialized Medicine and stuff. Problem is, the glaucoma hadnt quite blurred my vision enough to go thru with it. I had to find a better option. What about the Philipines? Old guys do that shit all the time right? Where to start? Headed down to the vfw to ask some of the experienced old timers, maybe see if they were done with some of the 32-33 yr olds that had served their 5 year sentence and were looking for a fresh start. Turns out, this was a lot like to Mexico deal. Not gonna fool me twice! Finally, while in Vegas sampling some of the baseball card ads, I ran into the girl of my dreams! A hot Russian beauty right there in color on a wallet sized business card! What Luck!! And ONLY 25,000 American Dollars! Holy SHIT!! This was too good to be true! If only i had went to Vegas in my 20's. Probably could have gotten her for 10k then I bet! All I have to do is wire 50k for processing, they send me back 25k, and she will be on the way to me! Cant wait! Has to be legit! Im so excited. I just hope she doesnt speak english and isnt too annoying. Also, I dont want her touching my guns either. Im not into AK's much.

 

[TheBootBowhunting]

Back in my 20's, I was thinking about getting married. However, I kept hearing stories about getting divorced and losing half your shit. Had me nervous, but I did it anyway. Had a couple kids, then came home to an empty house and bank account after a hunting trip to Colorado. So, I waited 8 years before trying it again. That one lasted just under 3 years. I threw the bitch out for popping pills and sucking down cheap vodka in secret. Cost me 5-6 thousand to divorce her and not lose my shit. I was thinking, has to be a better way. Went a few more years and decided i would do a mail order bride. Just had to decide from where. Figured Mexico might be a good place to start, since they always tryin to get up the US anyway, save on plane tickets. Met a few no green card hotties, but really didnt work out. They were always tryn to get me to support all their kids, brothers , sisters, parents and grandparents. Kept mumbling about needing a bigger car for hauling everybody around. Next i checked Canada. I mean I was already going up there each spring to bear hunt. Figured i could save on dental work, since most of the native women i saw up there were short on teeth anyway. They already had insurance, since Socialized Medicine and stuff. Problem is, the glaucoma hadnt quite blurred my vision enough to go thru with it. I had to find a better option. What about the Philipines? Old guys do that shit all the time right? Where to start? Headed down to the vfw to ask some of the experienced old timers, maybe see if they were done with some of the 32-33 yr olds that had served their 5 year sentence and were looking for a fresh start. Turns out, this was a lot like to Mexico deal. Not gonna fool me twice! Finally, while in Vegas sampling some of the baseball card ads, I ran into the girl of my dreams! A hot Russian beauty right there in color on a wallet sized business card! What Luck!! And ONLY 25,000 American Dollars! Holy SHIT!! This was too good to be true! If only i had went to Vegas in my 20's. Probably could have gotten her for 10k then I bet! All I have to do is wire 50k for processing, they send me back 25k, and she will be on the way to me! Cant wait! Has to be legit! Im so excited. I just hope she doesnt speak english and isnt too annoying. Also, I dont want her touching my guns either. Im not into AK's much.

I feel like I just read the script for the next season of Eastbound and Down.