I'm with you Jim. I started hunting with an old hand-me-down Bear compound bow, aluminum arrows, and old Wasp broadheads. My hunting clothes consisted of an old pair of olive drab surplus duds that my uncle camoflaged by spraypainting the outline of backyard leaves on. Hunting was all from the ground and each trip felt like an adventure.

It wasn't long before I fell into the techno trap as was lugging a decked out bow, treestand, decoys, and backpack full of scents, rangefinder, calls, gizmos, and warmer clothes (I'd sweat to death if I wore them in while lugging that stuff around). It would take me forever just to get everything together and leave the car and an hour to get all set up. Hunting became as much of a chore as recreation.

Now I've reverted back to the slimplistic route, hunting from the ground with a handmade wooden selfbow and wooden arrows, and generally carrying only what can fit in my pockets. Hunting like that is rejuvinating and enjoyable. The irony is that I'm every bit as successful each season as when I hunted with all the "must have its".

I have to admit that after several seasons of thinking about getting a climbing treestand, I broke down and bought a Summit Cobra. I thought it might be nice to sit high and have a decent view once in a while. But after taking it out for the first time recently on a scouting trip, I quickly remembered why I had decided to leave all that stuff behind in the first place. It's heavy, cumbersome, and noisy to carry, won't let me sneak through dense woods without getting snagged on everything, takes about 20 minutes to get set up, and makes no less noise than a demo crew ripping down a tin shed. ;^) The view is at least nice, but I've been kicking myself so far for buying it.