Don’t fall into the trap.
I remember my first elk hunt in Colorado. Gosh, I had so many close encounters. I felt like I was righttt below the success threshold. I found elk. I was so close so many times. What was I missing?
Ah-ha! I know what it is. It didn’t take me long while scrolling through social media to see what all the big name hunting influencers had in common…
It MUST be the gear. These guys are all wearing Sitka. They all have the new bow from brand X that sponsors them. Let me just “bite the bullet” and add a few more tools to my toolkit and I BET that makes the difference.
It didn’t.
Let me preface:
Now I will say, there are a few select pieces of gear that I am not going to skimp out on. Early or late season , I am always going to take a quality puffy jacket. I see this as a “if shit hits the fan” item, this could really save me. Or at the very least, keep me on the mountain and avoid packing out to the truck.
I may have a few more select items. But maybe that will be a post for another time. Here’s the reality of what consumers of the hunting industry are faced with:
Hoyt Carbon RX-9: $2,049 (and don’t forget your accessories and arrow build!). Sitka Thunderhead Pant: $319. Sig Sauer Zulu6 HDX 16x42mm Binoculars: $1,099. Stone Glacier Chilkoot 0 degrees Sleeping Bag: $649.
What are we doing?
Yes, I am aware I picked the “extremes” when it comes to gear. But if you are the type of guy who is beginning his hunting journey- feeling overwhelmed with the marketing content of these items could be very intimidating.
Or even worse, you could feel like “these are the things that are holding me back from success!”. As someone who has been there, let me tell you that this is NOT the difference-maker. I have definitely pulled the trigger while stretching my means for a few of these items (as you can see in my hunt films). I do run a Swarovski spotting scope. Is it nice? Yes. Required? I can honestly say as the regular guy with a regular job trying to hunt as much as possible, no.
So what is my advice?
Instead of buying next years new carbon bow (which we all know they don’t really change much year-to-year), there may be a better option for you to allocate your money.
For me, I have found the things that made the most difference is knowledge. This could come in many different shapes or forms. For example, if you have the time, you may be infinitely better off spending that money on gas for your truck to scout your hunt area.
If you are reading this as a big woods whitetail hunter, use that money to spend multiple Saturdays in the spring time to scout your piece of public or private. Spend some time on a new piece if your old one hasn’t produced for you. Pick up some trail cameras. Whatever you can do to LEARN your hunt area more for the fall.
If you are reading this as a Western hunter or plan to make it out there come September, words cannot describe how much a multi-day scouting trip can help you. Getting boots on the ground in the latter part of the summer to learn access can be so clutch. I can say this as I have done it. I drove all the way from Pennsylvania for a week-long August scouting mission in Colorado for mule deer. I learned access, where deer are, where they might be, and grew my mule deer knowledge just by watching how they move, where they live, what they eat, etc. I was also able to get in a ton of reps with my gear that I would be using later for my hunt. Long story short, this paid off and all that gas money was well worth it. If I would have invest that into a new weapon instead, I would have a hard time believing if that would have actually increased my odds of success.
Put in the work now. Delay your gratification. Avoid the shiny new object if its not necessary for you. That’s usually how success works.
Now wait one last second.
All this said, I have the utmost respect for the man who has worked hard his whole life and has “F*** you” money. If you want to stack all odds in your favor, be the most comfortable, and feel the most badass, freakin’ go for it (not that you need mine or anyone else’s permission). I would too.
The intent of this writing is to offer my two cents for the regular guy who has to scrape together the means just for his $700 nonresident Colorado elk tag. From my experience, that guy does not need the new carbon bow every year. Allocate your time and money wisely.
From the guy that busts his ass off growing his construction company that’s about to go on his guided stone sheep hunt.. to the blue-collar electrician who’s spending his only week off to chase OTC public land elk.. I wish you ALL the best of luck.