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Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

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Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby WapitiTalk1 » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 1]

Snagged this from another forum and thought I'd give you cats a crack at it. In your opinion, what items in your elk hunting/camping arsenal can be skimped on (save some bucks) if you're building up a gear kit for elk hunting and still serve the mission at hand? Tents, bags, packs, boots, clothing, game bags, even weapons and accompanying factors (arrows, bullets), etc., etc. Yep, some of it depends on the type of hunting you predominately do... Let's hear your thoughts! RJ
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Lefty » 08 08, 2017 •  [Post 2]

What one person may skimp on another can not.
I'm shooting an 06 Switchback.
I can't shoot as good as some arrows can fly.
I'm using a less expensive release, rest and sights.
My pack was well under $100., my boots were less tha $125.00, the most I had ever spen on a tent was $75.00.

Overall, skimp on your transportation

This is my opinion
I have used many items made by Primos.Never top dollar products. But often a great value for the money.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby >>>---WW----> » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 3]

Oh Boy! This could get fun!
Optics: The hi end ones are up close to $2000 - $3000 bucks. I got my Vortex Vipers for $325. I also have a set of new Steiner 10-42 that I fan-dangled for $65 bucks. Back in the 80's I ran into a guy that had a pair of Swarovskis hanging from his neck. So I ask him if I could look at them. I compared his while he looked through mine. We agreed that they were pretty close in quality. He said his cost $750 at the time. I told him I had also paid 750. But my 750 was $7dollars and 50 cents at a yard sale. He grumbled something and went off in another direction.

Clothing: I priced a set of one of the name brand ones once. The full set was way over $1200. I'm old school and also just plain old. So I wear cotton. The only wool pants I ever owned were military surplus ones for $9 bucks. Ya, I know cotton kills. But it only kills if you are to stupid to put your rain gear on!

My bow is 13 years old. My arrows are ICS Hunters. Don't need anything fancier. They kill elk just as dead as the higher priced ones.

$35 - $40 is way too much for an elk bugle when a $6 dollar WalMart plastic wiffleball bat will work just as well. But I won't skimp on diaphragm calls. Find a good one that works for you and stick with it.

I good compass is something else I won't skimp on. But a GPS, not so much. I want it to tell me where I am and how to get back out. All the extra bells and whistles don't mean Jack to me.

I've rambled enough. Got to leave room for everyone else to complain about.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby scubohuntr » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 4]

I've been gearing up this year. I haven't hunted in a decade or so for various reasons, and never really hunted elk seriously. A lot of my gear has mysteriously vanished, been lost in half a dozen moves, or is scaled to whitetails in the Midwest. So I needed pretty much everything except boots, a rifle (and bow) and knives. My philosophy is to go cheap right now, while still getting useable stuff. That gets me out in the woods this year. I already have a rangefinder, binoculars and bear spray. I bought a tent and sleeping bag from Sportsmans Guide, a cheap backpacking stove and cookset online, and just ordered a frame backpack on clearance from Midway. I picked up a couple of heavyweight game bags on clearance at Wally World, and added a few old king size pillow cases and a plastic tarp. I'll be ordering a spotting scope from Champions Choice as soon as I can find a buyer for my Great Plains Rifle, and probably a 150 quart cooler from Cabelas Bargain Cave. I still need a water filtration system, a sleeping pad, and a really good headlight.

I've spent about three hundred bucks so far, and have about five hundred to go to have all my starter equipment. All of it ought to get the job done. None of it is top of the line gear, but I can start upgrading next year, and eventually I'll have all the gear I couldn't afford this year. In the meantime, I'll be able to get out hunting, even if I'm carrying a few more pounds than some other guys. And heavier gear too. When I can afford better stuff, I'll know what really drives me crazy about the cheap gear, what I really didn't need, and have a better basis for comparing the good gear. Besides, I'll still have the cheap gear for backups. By the time I know what I'm doing, I'll have a Cooper Mountain Rifle, Kowa spotting scope, Leica binoculars, Hilleberg tent, Sea to Summit sleeping bag, and all Sitka clothing. Of course, by then I'll be too old and feeble to hump it all up the mountain, but I'll worry about that later.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby pointysticks » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 5]

Knife. get a carbon Mora companion HD, call it good. use the rest of the $$ and buy Apple stock. :)
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Swede » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 6]

Generally I go with things that don't have all the bells and whistles of the high end stuff. i.e. I want my GPS to find where I am quickly. I want it to store waypoints. I don't care if it has a little map or I can play games on it etc.
Quality things I can get second hand will get a strong look.
I want good food, but it does not have to be fancy. A baked potato and a hamburger are fine.
I will scrimp on things that will be used once if they are not critical to the mission.
And I will scrimp on clothes. I can get quality store brand clothes with a lifetime guarantee from Cabelas for a lot less than the big brand names.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby baddaddy » 08 09, 2017 •  [Post 7]

I guess I skimp on my ammo as I handload the ammo and in my pistol I cast my bullets. My broadheads are $6.00 each. My gamebags are the Allen outfitter grade that I picked up at Walmart for $10.00. My scopes vary from Bushnell Banners to Vx-1's to Vortex Diamondbacks so I guess this is where I skimp.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby jmez » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 8]

I think you can skimp on just about everything.

Two things I wouldn't skimp on are sleep system and boots. You need a good quality tent that will handle the conditions you are hunting in and a good sleeping bag. Not only does this increase your comfort but there is a safety factor here. You don't want to get caught in the backcountry in a storm with a shelter that can't handle the weather and be freezing in a cheap sleeping bag.

Boots, sore feet and blisters can and will ruin your hunt. Happened to a buddy of mine third day into a hunt. He spent the next 7 days hobbling, literally, within a mile of where we camped. You don't need to spend a fortune on boots, you simply need a pair that fits you correctly and and doesn't tear up your feet. Check out the picture on the link below. This is exactly what my buddies feet looked like on the third day of the hunt. I don't care how tough you are, this happens your done.

https://lathropandsons.com/custom-boot-systems.html
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby olympushunt » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 9]

Skimp on camo. The animals do NOT care if you have the latest 3D PREDATOR ROCK STAR CAMO!

Skimp on TP. Go from Charmin to the single ply stuff you get at the local truck stop. LOL
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Swede » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 10]

olympushunt wrote:Skimp on TP. Go from Charmin to the single ply stuff you get at the local truck stop. LOL


Oly, do you want to tell them what I use in the woods or should I?
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Kentrek » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 11]

Idk what a guy can really skimp on but when I was on the broke side of life I never in million years thought I was skimping on things....i bought what I could afford and made it happen..if I didn't have somthing I adjusted my style to deal with it, no binos ? Hunt the thick stuff..no rain gear ?? Get wool....no fancy pack ? Get a frame and strap a dry bag to it...having less then the most expensive is the least of your worries in the woods

hunting is what you make it to be
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby olympushunt » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 12]

Swede wrote:
olympushunt wrote:Skimp on TP. Go from Charmin to the single ply stuff you get at the local truck stop. LOL


Oly, do you want to tell them what I use in the woods or should I?


lol...what's that? Is that the "Real men drink turpentine, eat raw onions for breakfast and use neddles for TP."
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Swede » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 13]

No. I have been using the extra napkins that I get at Subway as T.P. for a long time. They are very liberal on their giving out the napkins so I save them for a year and use them in the woods. They will last for more than a season. It is another way to skimp if you can handle the coarse texture.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 14]

I will skimp on everything but TP :o ... no wonder you sit in a stand all day Swede :lol: . When I mean skimp on everything I mean everything. I won't buy it at Walmart until march when it is 50% off the lowest marked price. I bought my wife and daughter nice waterproof jackets last year for around $6-7 that regular were priced over $50. I did decide to brake down and buy me a nice pair of boots a few years back, went to Cabelas and nothing was even close to fitting my feet. You all must have some weird feet because I know mine are normal and not one boot fit me under $150... so back to the old basketball shoes for a few more years. This spring I finally found a pair I wanted (and that fit) for $135 so I decided to buy them. The day I happened to go Sportsmans warehouse had a sidewalk sale and I bought them for around $50 :D. The elk in my freezer over the last several years never stopped to ask me if I paid much for my gear. Some things are a necessity, others are just wants. Get what you can afford and don't buy the wants until you can afford them. I will admit I have bought things on super cheap sales that I didn't need but I bought them because of the price, one day maybe they will come in handy but could of done with out
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Swede » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 15]

Elkhunt real men can skimp on everything. You can skimp and get a stiff bristled toothbrush that will outlast the softer limp bristled ones for one end of your digestive track. In turn you can toughen up the other end of your digestive track with Subway napkins. After awhile it does not matter that it is not Charmin.
My cousin still remembers the time I tricked him into using nettles to wipe out in the woods. That was well over 50 years ago. It may have taken more than a few wipes with nettles you get his anus to accept those leaves. He never again has asked me, in any emergency, what to use for a wipe.
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Elkhunttoo » 08 10, 2017 •  [Post 16]

RJ, be warned that when Swede shows up in Idaho this year that the stack of subway napkins are NOT for your use! :P
I have no desire to prep and toughen up for napkins :lol:

Another thought back on topic. My uncle and cousin both needed new pants a few years back for a hunting trip. My uncle went to Sportsmans warehouse and my cousin went to Walmart. Both ended up in the mountains with the same pair of pants only my uncles cost him over 20 dollars more
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Grousewit » 08 11, 2017 •  [Post 17]

Swede does your cousin still hunt or has he ever hunted with you again?
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Re: Elk Hunting Gear... what can I skimp on?

Postby Swede » 08 11, 2017 •  [Post 18]

Grousewit: The cousin I did the nettles thing too has never been a hunter. He is a devoted fisherman. We are good friends and always have been. I think very highly of him. He is a very good guy that I pulled that kid stunt on. He does know nettles now.
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