[Laura Zone 5]

I have been invited to go deer hunting during bow season this year!!

I own 1 hunters orange jacket.
That's it.

What do I need to get (outfit / clothing wise) so that I am prepared for all weather, and long hours laying in the ground or up in a stand?

I am TOTALLY pumped about this!!!!

 

[sassafras manor]

Warm boots, warm boots, warm boots. Get the drift? Regardless of how warm the rest of your body is, if your feet are cold you will be miserable. Plus it makes it difficult to climb back down out of your stand with frozen feet. I prefer to dress in layers with the outer 2 being camo in case I need to shed a layer. In Illinois we do not have to wear blaze orange while bow hunting and are able to completely dress head to toe in camo.

 

[1shotwade]

Noy hunter orange for bow season! Check your state laws!

Wade

 

[Laura Zone 5]

Sorry, my 'tongue in cheek' comment about the jacket meaning, I have nothing to go hunting in.....

 

[Bret]

Hand warmers. Usually a buck. I saw them at a farm store for fifty cents. Gives me a place to focus when I start getting cold and want to quit too soon. I always have lots so I don't run out and can take care of guests who don't have them. You are right. No fun to be cold even when you are doing what you like. Safety harness please, whenever your feet leave the ground.

 

[Twp.Tom]

That is awesome Laura-some good suggestions above!, Get Your States rules and regulations handbook, and learn all that You can from Your hunting Mentor*. Be careful, and Good Luck*

 

[Oxankle]

Do you intend to hunt, or just go along to carry gear and fidget in the stand? Ground blind or tree stand?

Gotta know that before we can suggest things you will need. Certainly the warm boots, clothing, hand warmers and some rain gear will be useful. I take it that your host will have his knife, a bone breaking saw or hatchet for field dressing, some way to get the game out of the woods.

Can you handle a bow?
Ox

 

[L.A.]

Beef jerky

 

[Laura Zone 5]

Yes, I plan to hunt.
I am going w my friend to stake out the property we are going to hunt on (my gf's property; 10 acres)
He's gonna show me how to hunt. From figuring out where the right spot to set up a 'blind' or a stand...how to use a bow; etc.
Once we kill one he will show me how to field dress, and break down the carcass.
He's a super cool dude!!

So I went to Gander......boots, socks, cover all's (had to buy them in the kids department....they didn't have anything small enough to fit me in adults) long sleeve camo shirt and a jacket. I was told by a random shopper man that I need to think "layers". To buy my jacket and pants a bit big to accommodate the layers!

Then my daughter said: Let's go to the gun counter.....I know the guy working back there......
Dang, this was not a cheap day off!!

 

[Twp.Tom]

Awww Laura*, You are adorable!-I so Hope that You harvest a deer!

 

[moonwolf]

Bow hunters insist on scent killers for clothing and look
into something like 'vanish' products to mask human scent.
Deer are very sensitive to being spooked . As a bow hunter
you want to get as close as possible for the killing shot. Thus,
eliminate as much as possible odors they are not familiar with.

 

[Ramblin Wreck]

Kinda' like Vogue meets Field and Stream. Good luck on your hunt, and be safe.

 

[CajunSunshine]

Practice, practice and practice some more! What helped me the most is participation in as many 3-D shoots (club/tournament/own-time) during the year as I can muster. Try it, it's fun!

Practice in full hunting gear, so you get used to the difference between that and street clothes will make on your shots.

And, get a lil' armguard. Sometimes, in the heat of the moment, your arm will take the punishment of not lining up just right with the planets, lol.

Be safe, and have fun with them pointy things!:happy2:

Btw, you look just like I expected: adorable! (Tom had it right!)


.

 

[littlejoe]

Like Sharon said, practice practice practice and then some! Everything else is secondary to being able to make a good shot. And I've never as yet poked a deer with an arrow. Gave my last recurve to a member on here that was in Iowa.

 

[Laura Zone 5]

The tags on the gear says 'scent blocker'.......

Is there a particular soap that I need to wash me and my hair with?
I use a pacchouli goats milk soap, and I am sure that will scare 'em 4 counties away!!

I have plenty of room here to practice, just need a hay bale and a paper plate, and wa la! Practice range.

I'm gonna get my license today!!

 

[Bret]

It took me a year just to hit the bale. You will also need to camo the grin and pearly white teeth. Even the deer will make those out.

 

[Oxankle]

Laura; Practice--You will need the arm guard to pull your sleeve in close so that the bowstring does not hit the sleeve and throw your arrow off target. As a beginner you'll shoot better with a bowstring trigger release---We are going to trust your host to show you all that. Compound or recurve bow?

You will want to bathe and wash your hair with an unscented soap, and if you are going into a tree stand the safety harness is imperative---I've gone to sleep forty feet up in a sycamore tree--safely strapped to the tree, thank goodness.

You'll have a grand time in the woods even if there are no deer to be seen. Be sure to take lunch.

 

[doingitmyself]

Old bow hunter here, if your in a tree stand forget about cover scent blockers you won't need them, just use ivory soap to showerand shampoo off any perfumes. What you MUST use is a UV brightener remover soap. It removes the UV brighteners from you clothing so you don't glow like a neon sign, animals eyesight ranges into the UV range, this is very important. Tight fitting outer clothing on top to facilitate a clean arrow release. Harness to keep you from falling out of tree. Practice at 20 yards, you should not shoot further than that unless you a a very good well seasoned archer. Dress in layers, heavier on the bottom than the top, you cant shoot a bow with a snowmobile suit on, or well i can't maybe you can. Must have a warm hat, mitts. I use the Thinsulate brand top coats with Under Amour wicking, base, heat layer followed by thn wood sweater then the jacket.

I prefer early season hunting as it warmer and the clothing issue vs bowstring crash is less likely. I still will hunt late season but the successful launching of an arrow vs clothing is always an issue.

 

[1shotwade]

Are awestruck at the learning curve yet? There's a bunch more but you can do it.
Since the 60's companies have added"UV brighteners". I use the old time borateen which doesn't have that. Works for me.
I wanted to add that the reason you should practice dresses EXACTLY as you will while hunting is to know all things are "right". You should learn to listen for any , and I mean any sound while you are drawing your bow etc. You can't believe how well deer can distinguish sounds.I have had them turn their head and look straight at me as I was drawing and to this day I can't figure out what they heard.Once I had 3 deer 130 yards upwind in 15 mph winds. I opened a peice of candy(The hard kind that has the ends twisted) and they all heard that.There is much to this bow hunting thing but it can be very rewarding! Good luck.

Wade

 

[simi-steading]

I'd not get dressed the morning you head out around that glade plug-in that's on the wall behind you...


HOWEVER, I've found the deal about scent to not be as worry some as you might think... Just the other night I had a deer walk up behind me while standing on my neighbors porch... I scratched it's head while I asked if the neighbor had a knife handy... Deer aren't as spooked as you might think... The bucks are more timid than the does, but I've had a buck walk up to me too..

I think some times hunters (which I am too) like to make things seem harder than they really are.... They have to be able to justify the hundreds and thousands they spend on the gear they are snookered into buying.... I never spend tons of money on gear.. I put on layers of regular clothes and go hunting, and successfully at that.. We're taught to be good consumers, but you don't have to consume anything more tan deer if you really want to hunt..