Where to Spend and Save on Hunting Equipment

There are a lot of hunting things you may buy in order to help you hunt deer. Where should you save money? Where should you spend?

Spend Money On:

1. Land. having a good hunting property can make every aspect of deer hunting better. Spend what you can on acquiring good land. This may be buying a property, leasing a property, or asking a land owner for permission to hunt.

2. Safety. You should do what it takes in order to be safe while hunting. It may cost a bit but you shouldn't be cheap with safety harnesses or replacing tree stand straps.

3. Sights. Think of it this way: every dollar extra you spend on scopes or bow sights may add a minute to the shooting light at the beginning and end of each day. And the big bucks often usually move right at dawn and dusk when all the shooting light you can get is helpful.

4. Projectiles. Your bullets and arrows are what kill the deer. Don't be cheap when you buy your bullets and arrows. These projectiles are expected to travel very fast through the air and hit a specific target. Any irregularity among them can cause them to go off course, and hitting a deer is hard enough as it is.

5. Releases or release aids (archery). My first experience with a release was with a cheap release that would open if you shook it. This scared me away from all releases for quite a few years. My current release from Tru Ball costs about $40 on amazon.com and was $70 when I bought it. I wouldn't use anything else; although I'm sure that other companies make fine releases.

6. Whisker Biscuit arrow rest. Spend on one of my 2 "essential pieces of equipment" of which I think of most highly. They are not particularly expensive but do not get a cheaper arrow rest for hunting.

7. Comfort. For example: my feet get cold easily so I cannot get cheap boots and expect to stay out in the cold. Example 2: a cheap treestand may be small which will result in your discomfort and becoming anxious to end your hunts early.

Save Money On:

1. Gun. A gun needs to put the bullet, or slug, where you want it every time. But they do not need to be really expensive. You could spend $400 to $3000 on a new rifle, but your father's old one probably works fine. You may even buy a quality used one for a couple hundred dollars. It just needs to hit where you aim and rifles are really very simple. Buy an inexpensive bolt action rifle in .270 Win, .30-06, or .308 Win and you should be set for nearly any whitetail deer hunting situation.

2. Camouflage (part 1). You could spend a couple hundred dollars on expensive name brand camouflage (I have), but if you're looking to save money, then buy whatever inexpensive camo that breaks up your outline, and spray it with a UV killer, like this one, and a scent killer, like one from this range of products.   Once you've used UV killer on your camouflage almost anything that is dark in color and has a varied color scheme should work fine.

The purpose of camouflage is to break up your outline and possibly reduce your smell. Use a UV killer and a scent killer on any camouflage. I have even seen those clothing covers with the loose leaf-like cloth worn over dark clothing; this is fine.

3. Camouflage (Part 2). Ideally, perhaps, you'll have a light suit of camo, a medium suit of cammo, and a heavy suit of camo, and an orange suit of camo for when the temperatures, and seasons, change. Instead, you can save money buy buying one light to medium camo suit that is several sizes too big and adding and removing layers underneath. Get it in the standard green /brown colors and merely add a cheap orange vest and an orange hat over the top when the season's laws change.

4. Atv and accessories. Having an atv can be great and add a lot to your hunting, but they are unnecessary and expensive. Don't buy one to save money.

5. Trail cameras. (See: atv and accessories.)

6. Cabins and sheds. (See: atv and accessories.)

7. Treestands. Buy one good climbing treestand per hunter. It may be expensive to buy a climber, Lone Wolf's cheapest is around $380. But that is cheaper than buying several hang-ons or ladder stands, and better than buying only having one hang-on or ladder stand.