Necessary Hunting Equipment

For those of you who are just beginning to get into the sport of hunting, looking through the catalogs and equipment available can become very overwhelming. However, while there are many pieces that can enhance your hunt, better your gun, improve your aim, and much more; you need to begin by looking only at the essential equipment. As with any other sport, there are many more products available to you than what you truly need. By concentrating on the essentials, you will find it much easier to get out into woods without being overwhelmed.

The most important piece of equipment on any hunt is your weapon. In order to begin hunting the first thing that you will need to purchase is a weapon. Your weapon should be something that you are comfortable with. There are three main categories of weapons to choose from; bows, muzzleloaders, and rifles. Of the three categories, bows are the most difficult to master. While they are indeed harder to use, they also make hunting very fun. For a beginning hunter, if you decide to go with a bow there are a few things that you need to look for. First, you need be sure that the draw length is long enough for you. Next, you need to see how heavy the draw is. The best thing to do when purchasing a bow is to ask for help from a sales associate and ALWAYS shoot the bow before you purchase it to make sure that you can shoot it comfortably. Muzzleloaders are a very classic weapon of choice. The main difference between a muzzleloader and a rifle is the manner in which they are loaded. With a muzzleloader you must “pour” the powder down the barrel of the gun, place your projectile in the barrel, then pack the two down with a ram rod. These weapons bring history into your hunt taking you back to earlier times. While bows and muzzleloaders are fun to shoot and hunt with, a rifle is much easier for a beginner to learn how to hunt with. The reason for this is that rifles are easy to load, fairly accurate, and easy to aim. When selecting a rifle it is important to choose a caliber that you can safely handle. In many cases, you can go to a shooting range and take shots from a variety of guns to see what you are most comfortable with. With any weapon it is important to be confident with your skills to reduce the risk of injury or mishap.

Once you have purchased your weapon, the next crucial piece of equipment is your camouflage. There are many different patterns of camo available. It is important that you choose a pattern that will best match the surrounding that you will be hunting in. Searching for camo in itself can become very overwhelming. In today’s times, you can receive virtually anything in camo. However, the only pieces that you truly need will be a long sleeve shirt and pants. While these are the only things that are necessary, gloves and a facemask can help improve the success of your hunt. Also, you will find that as the weather changes your camo will need to change with it. As you begin to hunt more and more, you will quickly see what additional pieces you may need. For example you may want rain gear, warm coats, or sweaters depending on the conditions in which you are hunting.

Finally, the last thing that you will need to hunt is a pair of boots. Depending on where you plan to hunt will determine what kind of boots you will need. For colder climates you will need to look for boots with more insulation them. In areas where snakes are prominent it is important to look for snake boots. These boots can protect you from snake bites and it is very important to have them in areas where snakes are present. However, regardless of the specific type of boot you need, the boots need to be either camo or dark brown in color.

Once you have these items mentioned above, you are ready to head out into the woods. As you become more involved in the sport you will find yourself wanting additional equipment such as a scope, a tree stand, calls, scents, and much more.