Gear
mousel
12/13/05 4:16pm
What would you guys say is the first epuipment a guy would need starting out hunting deer and elk. i am planning on hiking in several miles and setting up a tent. I have some of the basics; gun, good boots, tent, good sleeping bag and some decent clothing but I am looking into buying new binos, spotting scope, pack, gps, quiet water proof camo, etc. Up until now I havn't needed much but know hunting the mountains is a different ballgame. What would be some of the necesseties and any suggestions on what you have used and liked.
I have heard 10X binos are needed?
i'm pretty green when it comes to this stuff
any help is appreciated
I have heard 10X binos are needed?
i'm pretty green when it comes to this stuff
any help is appreciated
2,494
I don't think you necessarily need 10x binoculars. I used a pair of Nikon compact 10x for years and they worked OK, but when I got new binocs after drawing a sheep tag I ended up with Swarovski 8x. I think more important than the magnification is the quality of the glasses. You're going to spend lots of time looking through them and cheap glass will give you a headache in short order. Ditto for a spotting scope; however for serious mountain hunting, unless you're using a pack animal, you'll carry that spotting scope only once before you decide it's not worth the weight. Also, if you're going to backpack hunt you need to give serious thought to what happens when you are successful. I generally try to always hunt "up" so the trip out is all downhill. I have passed up chances at elk because I knew it would cause a huge ordeal trying to get an animal out of where I was at. For mountain hunting and spike camping out, you definitely need the best footwear and sleeping bag you can afford. I think Mike Eastman's book "Hunting High Country Mule Deer" is a good reference for the kind of hunting you might get yourself into. I'm on the other side of the mountains from you but like to get up in the high country as much as possible in the summer. I hunted unit 35 this year and took a buck right off the bat, and will probably be spending some time scouting over there next summer if you can't find anybody to hunt with and would like to try hooking up.
Bill
pm