FilmGuyTwo

Simple camo, raccoon scent, a compass, and a recurve with cedar arrows is all I use for deer hunting and I'm successful every year.

Buddies of mine have 1200 dollar bows, gps units, three climbing treestands, scent loc suits, range finders, 2300 binoculars, and get skunked (I would estimate), three out of every four years.

You think hunting products get more hunters then actual deer? Do you think most hunters use these products as a crutch?

kevin1

Yes and yes .
I try to keep it as simple as possible too , but I'll admit to owning a GPS . One of the places I hunt is some real big woods , getting lost there can be fatal . Also , while I despise the thought I bought a hearing enhancer due to age/job related hearing loss . I shoot open sights on guns , and a barebow recurve that has only string silencers , a stabilizer , and Limbsavers added to it .

02bhntn

Absolutely. There is so much junk out there that it is a joke. I have several different camo patterns because I use a different one everyday. I have six sets of clothes, one for each day, then I wash them on Sunday. I am getting ready to buy a gps unit because hunting in the mountains of Virginia one can easily get turned around and lost. Other than that I have a set of binocs and a grunt tube. with this stuff I manage to take on average 9 deer a year.

nybowhunter

A friend of mine, who got me into bowhunting, bought a Mathews MQ1 a 2 years ago. He has not gotten a deer with it yet! He spent over $1000.00 for the complete set up. This was a guy who used the same bow for the last 10 years and got deer every year. He's one of the best hunters I know.

I agree 100+ percent. There is way too much junk out there. Look at Cabela's catalog this year. Everything is scent lok at real high prices. I'm a plain guy who loves the outdoors and enjoys bow hunting. My bow is and older model (sorry guys I used a compound) that I get deer with.

rybohunter

YES & YES
People think if they buy the latest gadget they can bring in that big buck. I buy some quality gear, mostly because I don't like to be cold and wet. I have the newer camos cause that seems to be all they sell. If I hadn't outgrown my woodland camo outfit I wore as a teenager, I'd still be wearing that over 10 years later. Gadgets and gizmos I can do without.

kevin1

You can always find Woodland camo BDUs at Sportsman's Guide for good prices , they even carry MOPP suits all year round . They also carry more recent camo for decent prices .

adams

Yup, you've got a good list started there and I bet we could add to it. The only this I disagree with is the gps and climbing stand. I do lots of scouting year round and my gps is a very important part of that. I can pin point a specific tree in the middle of nowhere and find it again 6 months later. The climber then comes into play. I can get in and hunt a stand with virtually no impact on the forrest. If you've got 6 or 7 of these trees in the middle of nowhere and a climber to hunt from you can shift stand positions easily without burning out your honey holes. Jst my $0.02

Jimmy S

Good woodsmanship and knowledge of the game hunted can never be sustituted. On the other hand, some products today can certainly help. It can become easy to compare your success rate vs others but that doesn't mean those who use these hunting products of today are any less of a hunter. These questions have come up before and using available products to enhance what you alread know ahout hunting can only help. Also, success each year, including great scouting and hunting skills, in my opinion, is directly related to the deer population. Those who have poor skills in areas with very high deer number, will not have much success hunting in areas with a much smaller deer population. Conversly, those who are successful every year with good hunting skills may be humbled when they discover they have to hone all their knowledge and skills (or rely on luck) when hunting areas where you can go days without seeing a deer. Regarding these new fangle "stuff", use them to enhance what you already know, don't rely on them to replace the basic knowledge needed to be a successful hunter.

Sswpriz

The one thing that is really a godsend is the GPS. Without that equipment, we would have never found a nice busk my friend shot a number of years ago.
Otherwise is like I always said about fishing equipment......... Fishing lures catch more fisherman than fish !!!!

Texxan

The hunting and fishing industries are both saturated with usless products. It amazes me how I ever get anything when hunting. According to all the "experts" I shouldn't see a thing since I didn't buy $2000 binoculars, $800 dollar camo.......bla bla bla