Wasting money on useless gear

[Matagorda]

I heard a guy say the other day the majority of your hunting money should go towards tags and time off.

The thing with gear is we can play with it more than we can hunt, so often spend on things you dont need.   

So in that line of thinking, what hunting gear do you think is the biggest waste of money?  What trad gear do you think is unnecessary?

[Pat B]

Only real necessity is a bow you shoot well, arrows that shoot well from that bow and a scary sharp arrowhead that works well with those arrows. Everything else is maybe not useless but not necessary. 

[woodchucker]

"Scent Killer"

A very good friend of mine used to be a K-9 cop, before he retired.
Many times I helped him with "Hudson's" training. The first time I put the "big sleeve" on, was a real eye opener!!
My arm was black&blue for 3 weeks!!!

I'd often help him with "tracking" and drug detection training..... The subject of "Scent Killer" spay came up??
A wager was made, and a bottle purchased....

We drove (in seperate vehicles) to a section of state land we had not trained in before. I had a 1 hour head start.
The training "Op" was a car stop/abandoned vehicle. I parked my truck, sprayed myself down, and headed into the woods. After about a half hour, and about a 2 mile trail, I found a hiding spot in the corner of a stone wall fence.
I sat down tight in the corner to wait... Maybe 10-15 minutes later, Hudson had me "cornered"

[beendare]

Those expensive insert/collar systems that are many times more expensive than a dozen shafts- a waste of $$.

Take the time to assemble those carbon shafts correctly and those systems are not necessary.


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[Todd Cook]

High dollar broadheads that cost three times what Zwickeys or ace do. They don't die any deader. You're friend is a smart fella. The biggest key to killing lots of stuff is hunting a lot.

[Deno]

High $ brand name logo camo


Deno   

[Dave Lay]

Mine is Bows. If I had any sense I’d stick with one bow and spend the money I’d normally bought a new bow with on Tags and fuel to hunt.  I have to agree with the scent products. I watched a video similar to what woodchucker described. The police dog went directly to the person every time no matter how hard they tried to mask his scent .

[Bowguy67]

Only real necessity is a bow you shoot well, arrows that shoot well from that bow and a scary sharp arrowhead that works well with those arrows. Everything else is maybe not useless but not necessary. 

License as well

[Gdpolk]

Just to name a few:

• Scent killer or scent control products in general, regardless of the species
• Except when hunting birds, camo.  Breaking up the outline is important but designer brand this and that makes no difference what so ever
• Trail cameras...pft
• high end coolers for weekend and day trips
• wind indicators...have you ever noticed that you can FEEL the wind and see the leaves/grass move?  Ever heard of cattails or milkweed fluff?
• Cheap, ineffective binoculars...just wait and save, you'll be happy you did
• disposable blade knives...get yourself a quality fixed blade, make memories, and hand it down to your kin when your too old to hunt
• leases in areas with quality public land available...just learn to hunt and spend more money on time off work
• ...I could go on

[GCook]

Only real necessity is a bow you shoot well, arrows that shoot well from that bow and a scary sharp arrowhead that works well with those arrows. Everything else is maybe not useless but not necessary. 

Well put.
One mans trash is another mans treasure. 

[beendare]

High $ brand name logo camo   

I dunno...I have a pair of Sitka pants [before Hairston sold the company] and a traverse [I think it was called ] stretchy sweat shirt from back in 2006 the year I hunted Australia.......and I still wear them about 10 times a year on hunts. A couple snags....and a campfire ember hole or two...but otherwise I can't kill them.

I've had good luck with the Sitka and Kuiu gear I own- quality built.

The only piece of clothing I own thats older is a Carhardt jacket...thats going on 30 yrs plus.

>

[Sam McMichael]

I agree that most of what I have is unnecessary, but I like a full toy box. Calls and scents have never been especially effective for me. I have more bows than I can use. But jackets and head coverings are my total downfall. If I see it, I "need" it. I own a few knives as well. The one item I have tons of but have never been satisfied with is a really good flashlight that doesn't require a bank loan. My night vision is not the best, so I need a strong, wide beam. I'm still searching for it. However, as much as I don't need all this stuff, I will continue to accumulate it.

[GCook]

High $ brand name logo camo   

I dunno...I have a pair of Sitka pants [before Hairston sold the company] and a traverse [I think it was called ] stretchy sweat shirt from back in 2006 the year I hunted Australia.......and I still wear them about 10 times a year on hunts. A couple snags....and a campfire ember hole or two...but otherwise I can't kill them.

I've had good luck with the Sitka and Kuiu gear I own- quality built.

The only piece of clothing I own thats older is a Carhardt jacket...thats going on 30 yrs plus.

>

Thing about Sitka gear isn't the "brand camo".  The camo pattern ain't squat.  But the quality of the gear and the warmth it gives without bulk is what sold me.
Though I bought mine second hand.

[Whiteoak63]

When I start applying this to the rest of my life I might get better at applying it to my hunting gear.
I do find that the older I get the less stuff I need to hunt. 

[beendare]

High $ brand name logo camo   

I dunno...I have a pair of Sitka pants [before Hairston sold the company] and a traverse [I think it was called ] stretchy sweat shirt from back in 2006 the year I hunted Australia.......and I still wear them about 10 times a year on hunts. A couple snags....and a campfire ember hole or two...but otherwise I can't kill them.

I've had good luck with the Sitka and Kuiu gear I own- quality built.

The only piece of clothing I own thats older is a Carhardt jacket...thats going on 30 yrs plus.

>

Thing about Sitka gear isn't the "brand camo".  The camo pattern ain't squat.  But the quality of the gear and the warmth it gives without bulk is what sold me.
Though I bought mine second hand.

Agreed. Its great stuff for mountain hunts and hunts where you are active.

If a guy pays attention, you can buy this stuff on sale from 25%-40% off.

I’m a bit of a gear hound as hunting is my passion…so this is probably not the right topic for me- grin.  ( though I am trying to simplify)

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[BAK]

When I started bow hunting I wore my olive green "Key" coveralls, back in the 60's.  I've likely spent thousands on "pretty" camo clothing, and can't say it's done anything to help me get game.  I have to say "hunting" clothing is the biggest waste of money there is.

[Baylee]

We all probably know a gear junky or two. They have 15 tree stands enough designer camo to wear a different outfit everyday and are constantly looking for the next thing the give them an edge. I also know a lot of old school bowhunters that have hunted with the same bows for 15 plus years using wood arrows and have maybe one or two camo shirts. It’s not even a contest between the two. The guys spending all their time buying useless junk have not put in enough time to learn to hunt. They maybe kill A deer every year or so. They are ever optimistic lol next year will always be better.

Anything scent related or anything that claims to make game animals not see you is useless garbage. The list is long and varied ie. Scentloc,Ozonics,UV soaps, HECs suits etcNot to mention the crazy prices of some broadheads. You can tell someone doesn’t shoot at animals much when each broadhead costs 40$ dollars each lol. When you get 15-20 shots at deer and hogs a year not to mention Turkeys your gonna lose some arrows. And if you’ve killed more than 2 animals you’ll see a special super duper broadhead is not needed. I’d say one of the craziest things going is the broadheads( no names, to save the easily offended) that are exactly the same size and shape of a broadhead that has been around for 40 years, yet the new ones cost 50 plus each? What possible reason could there be for that lol.

[Rob5589]

Probably not as fun but, how much more hunting could one do if he didn't have 5-10+ high end custom bows?

[GCook]

I know a lot of guys think scent control is hogwash but I shot a nice 10 in Missouri who came straight up the draw my scent was blowing down.
I don't believe he just missed it.  Maybe he was just so caught up in looking for doe he wasn't as on guard.
I also hunted every weekend I wanted to this year in two states.  I can afford to hunt others but can't convince myself I have the freezer space or need another shoulder mount.
If you're older like me, but not old yet, and have made a good living, paid yourself out of debt and can afford extra, why not?
There are plenty of guys who don't have the luxuries I have.  I'm am so grateful that God has given me opportunity, ability, drive and strength to be successful in my career and now business but also in friendships.
I'm fortunate to own many ladder stands, tree stands, tripod stands, shell blinds and land in two states.
Most of the gear is bought on clearance at years end.  The land by watching and being ready when opportunity presents.  The blind platforms I actually designed and are now manufactured by and aluminum company.
All this on the salary of an industrial mechanic/welder/pipefitter/electrician.  I worked 60 plus hour weeks my whole life.  Bought two bass boats on winnings fishing weekend and week night tournaments.  Money and time I had fun at but see as a waste now.  But back then . . .
We only get one go around in life.  We all do the best we can. 
In hunting some have more opportunities than others.  Live in better hunting areas.  Some are more effective than others.  Some more lucky than others. 
But having a thread belittling others choices and approaches seems pretty petty to me.

[Bowwild]

I have and use many things mentioned in the posts above that are considered a waste, if not unnecessary. I don't regret my clothing (highly functional and comfortable KUIU), bows, arrows, or even my multiple stands (a couple still in boxes).

I believe in keeping clean and being aware of scent movement instead of alleged commercial scent control and clothing products.  Maybe I'm missing the boat on Ozontics?  Who knows what might have winded me that I never knew about?  I have one very good and thoughtful friend who swears by those machines.

I've wasted some money on high-end ladder stands, too big, unwieldy, and expensive (the last two I bought).

By and large however, I have few regrets about gear I've accumulated. None have been so much that I've sacrificed hunting opportunity.  I will admit, contrary to some of the posts above, the jury is still out with me on a set of Swarovski binoculars I bought a couple of years ago. In my 52 years of bowhunting I haven't been much of an eyeglass user.  I spent $2,000 on those Swaros and haven't taken them to the woods more than 2-3 times. I hunt such tight cover with limited viewing range, I haven't realized the utility yet.  I know, I should make them part of my everyday gear and learn to love em.