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Essential gear for beginners.

DustOfMan

DustOfMan

Junior Member
24
6
Lebanon, OH
I have a tendency to over-prepare. What are the absolute essentials gear-wise for a complete novice to hunting, for my first whitetail hunt? I'm assuming I'll be going at this solo and hunting on public lands. I've been accruing things over the course of the year and I'm sure I've bought things that are completely unnecessary, and have forgot other things I'll regret.
 
Toilet paper, compass, a couple plastic zip lock baggies, bow/gun hook, small backpack, rope, safety harness, whistle, a lighter, stocking cap and baseball cap.
 
Since you'll be hunting public land I would take these items. A compass, topo map of the area your hunting, flashlight and headlamp, first aid kit.
 
Binoculars are never a bad thing to carry either. A camera will help pass the time and capture memories of your into that type of thing also.

To add to what they have posted already...batteries for the light and a couple extra granola bars and a bag of trail mix always come in handy.
 
dustinb80 said:
Piss bottle. Gatorade bottles seem to be the best. DONT FORGET YOUR RELEASE if you are using a compound bow.
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I'll agree with the release, but tell you to piss out of the stand unless you have a horrible diet. I piss out of the stand and it doesn't bother deer. They smell ammonia, no human piss. Now, if you eat nothing but junk and drink sugary drinks, I'd use the bottle. That type of diet will put lots of toxins in your piss which will carry an unusual order.

Lots of other sound advice. For me, shit paper is crucial.
 
Bigslam51 said:
Leaves
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Just not these ones...
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Knowing what a dead ash tree looks like could save your life also. I keep waiting for that thread to show up on here one day.
 
In my pouch i carry two knives my tags bow hook water GPS zip ties two flashlights markers about 50ft of paracord and a lighter...
We hunt public land a few times a year we always have a general location of where everyone is and set meet times as cell phones wont always work where you are at
If you are not familiar with the area a gps is a lifesaver the second year i went to hunt the hills of southern ohio i went in two ridges(i thought) and got turned around thankfully it was the morning hunt but i spent the rest of the day trying to find the truck
 
I'm only hunting public land this year with a climber so i've slimmed down my list of "essentials" quite a bit. Here's what's going in with me this year. Bino's, Knife, Lighter, mini first aid kit, Ink pen, Tag and license, grunt call (starting in mid October), safety harness, linemans belt, tree strap (I wear this in and dress over top of it so it doesn't affect the load carried much), TP, Water, Map and compass. My bow holder is mounted to my stand, my bow rope also stays wrapped around my platform and for safety reasons if you have service where you're at I usually take a screen shot of my Hunt ONX maps app with my location up, which shows GPS coordinates, and send that to my wife once i get to the tree.
 
Don't know if this is essential or not but I have found it useful over the years.... This is a formula that was derived from cattle folks who needed to come up with a way of guesstimating the weight of animals on the hoof....

The formula is adjusted for deer and the measurement is taken from just behind the shoulders over the back and then underneath.... You can use a fabric tape of a string and then just measure the string.... It's usually pretty accurate....


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