CJIII

I am wondering what basic gear for a beginner hunter, I know I need to get a hunter license, and got to take the Alabama hunter education course.

Rob in VT

The weapon you will be using (gun, bow) plus ammo or arrows. A knife, good boots, jacket and pants, compass if you don't know the area. Rope to drag out your animal. That should get you started.

Bocajnala

You need whatever you intend to shoot at the animal with. Gun and ammo, Bow and arrow... you need a knife to gut it and a rope to drag it. Those are the only real essentials. An orange vest if required by the law, Good boots, comfortable (warm and dry) clothing helps. Lots of other things help, treestands, a stool to sit on, maps, compass, gps, calls, But the only real essentials are what you need to shoot the game with and what you need to get it out of the woods successfully. A hunter Ed course will teach you allot of good stuff. That's definitely a good place to start.
-Jake

Topgun 3006

My suggestion would be first to get into a club of some sort and try to get some mentoring hands on help, as it sounds like you're getting into hunting cold with no help if you're asking this basic question out on a website.

CJIII

That's my plan is to get with a mentor, some of my coworkers hunt so I may get with on of them.

Topgun 3006

That would be a very good start along with a Hunters Ed Course.

alleyyooper

Clothing & boots to keep you warm and safe during the season in the area you intend to hunt. Sure helps when people at least put the state they live in on their profile. No boggie man has knocked on my door yet!
Clothing in lower SE Michigan is a far cry from what is needed in the far upper Of Michigan's UP during the same fire arm season.

The equipment to dispach the critter during the season you choose to hunt, and a knife to field dress the deer. As for the drag rope that again depends on where you hunt. I myself just go to the house or cabin and get my ATV and trailer to haul the deer from the woods even in the UP.

Sportsman clubs are a good place to find a mentor.

Al

Barefoot Friar

I went to the thrift store and bought some old army camo to start with. It put me back all of $5 and honestly every deer I've asked hasn't cared a bit that I wasn't wearing the latest and greatest designer camo.

Alabama requires the least amount of orange in the eastern US; we can wear either a hat or cap or a vest. I've got both, and use them for different applications. If you're hunting from an enclosed blind or from a stand that's 12' or higher off the ground, no orange is required.

Pretty much the basic things are gun or bow, ammo or arrows, a knife, a rope, an orange hat or vest, and clothes that don't have blue or white in them. If you're hunting from a stand I'd add a safety harness that is in good, working condition -- though you may can borrow this at first, I'd be saving my pennies to buy one as soon as you know you're going to stick with this hunting thing. Also, I wear boots now but I haven't always, and I'm not convinced they're 100% necessary for all situations. If you're not going to be in an area that's muddy or wet, then you can probably get away with some good hiking shoes or trail runners, so long as they're not brightly colored. I basically used my backpacking gear for hunting my first season.

Good luck. What part of Alabama are you hunting? I'm up in the Free State of Winston, and mainly hunt Bankhead NF.

flags

Clothes for the expected weather, good boots, a rifle/bow/muzzleloader, ammo/arrows, a knife and a tag/license would be the basics.

cr422

If you live in Alabama, you already know what to expect from the weather. Of course you'll be doing more than just going from the house to the car. I wear mostly military surplus from around the world. It's good stuff and cheap. The stuff doesn't come in sizes to fit my wife and daughters so I've had to lay out lots of dollars to get them set up.

You don't need to spend a pile of money on equipment. My wife hunts with a Proline youth bow we bought at a yard sale for twenty bucks. She's taken at least one deer a year with it. But if you have lots of money, go for it.

You can learn a lot from books. I really like "Big Bucks the Benoit Way." We spend a whole lot more time in the woods scouting than we do hunting. It's like a year 'round thing.