Gear for Hunters !!! Experiences good & bad

[BlacktailStalker]

Seems to be a lot of threads on gear, what to use what not to use, expensive gear that didnt last, cheap gear that more than out lived its expectations.
Post up some gear you would/will likely buy again in a heartbeat and some to steer clear of and why.


I'll start.

Picked up a Jim White tripod head before my sheep hunt this year, its machined aluminum, supposedly one of the best ones around.
Small company, only sold on 2 sites but big reviews.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f314/BlacktailStalker/tripodhead.jpg
I Snapped the aluminum handle on my trip, I was pretty choked as I thought a $200+ item like this would hold up better than that.
I kinda forgot about it til early this month so I emailed them and told them about how it broke, how I think it was my fault for cinching my bag too tight and I needed it fixed (yeah sounds weird for aluminum but its all I can think of)

Their reply

"Hello Andy,
Just send the head to the address below complete with your contact
information and we will get this matter taken care of right away. I
apologize for the troubles you are having with the head. They are one of
our best sellers and we don't experience many problems with them. Again we will resolve as soon as possible.

Tom McKenna
Asst. Manager"

I expected a $50-$75 bill for this.
I got it back 2 weeks later, new machined arm, free of charge !
Top notch customer service !!
Made spending a bit more well worth while as if this was a cheapy, i would have had to buy a second tripod head.. equaling what I already paid.


- Another crucial item I've favored thats cheap ($20) and functional is a bino harness from Crooked Horn Outfitters.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f314/BlacktailStalker/binosystem_black_N_200x200.jpg
Keeps the weight off your neck that a regular bino strap doesnt and having the binos right there makes you use them a lot more= more game spotted !

[Ron.C]

A couple items that are inexpensive, but great products.

1. MSR Pocket Rocket Stove, I picked one of these up before a canoe trip on the Bowron Lakes a few years back. Great little stove, fuel efficient,very light and compact, and reliable and they still retail for under $40.

2. Freighter Frame Pack frame, I have had mine now for 8 years. It's hauled lots of treestands, blacktail deer, whitetail deer, a few elk, the last load being a Rear and Front quarter, and all my gear on my goat trip last year" but no goat :sad:". I load this pack up with 100# in the summer for training. Great packframe retailing just over $100.

3. Military Green Magot, the old army military down sleeping bags. I've have two of these for over 20 years. One I took the elastic out of at the top and sewed in drawstring. I find it's alittle roomier on the shoulders. I have a light fleece bag liner for inside and it's toasty. You can pick these up at surplus stores for not too much.

4. SPOT satelite messanger, I got one of these before my goat trip last year because I was going solo and was in a very remote area. My wife new twice a day where I was and that I was OK. For me, it gave me alot of peice of mind knowing if I got myself into some trouble where I need emergency help, I could still get it. These are the same price wherever you buy them.

6. My Badlands 2200 pack. Love this thing. Had it 5 years now. With just with a lunch and a little hunting gear inside, you don't even know its on, but it can be loaded up to carry alot of kit. I used this pack on my 8 day canoe trip to carry all my gear and it performed great. You can get these for under $200 now.

5. My silva ranger compass. Had it since I was 12 and still use it while hunting every year.

I don't really have much gear that I wouldn't recommend. I am kind of compulsive when it comes to researching things before I buy them. One item I have that I wouldn't recommend is a gut hook. It is just a plain gut hook. I used it before and it works, but so does a knife so why carry something you don't need.

I did buy a trail camera a while back while in the states. It was a Wildview Tail Cam. A complete peice of crap that I couldn't get a decent picture with even under controlled tests.

Lastly my quad. I had a 2006 Yamaha Bruin 350, A good machine, and never had any failures mechanically but it didn't have the Diff Lock that the Kodiaks/Grizz have. This was definitely a set back when in deep or trying to crawl up an incline or tow something. For a hunter wanting to tow out a moose/elk, the DIFF Lock is a must and the lack of it was the only downside of the quad.

[dime]

- Another crucial item I've favored thats cheap ($20) and functional is a bino harness from Crooked Horn Outfitters.
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f314/BlacktailStalker/binosystem_black_N_200x200.jpg
Keeps the weight off your neck that a regular bino strap doesnt and having the binos right there makes you use them a lot more= more game spotted !

You can make one of these from rubber tubing for about fifty cents, just run the tubing through the strap that came with the binos, under each arm and back to the places where the straps hold onto the binoculars. I put a metal key ring on each point make the joint more secure and easy to attach the tubing to.

[SHACK]

Oh boy, another what to buy and not buy thread! Im in! ;)
Im with you RonC. , I tend to research the hell out of the gear I buy, so I dont get the bunk stuff to often. I bought alot of gear in the last year to take in some sheep hunting, and the list is quite large, but a few things I realy liked were:

1. Big Agnes Mystic down bag, now heres something for the "bigger" fellas, lots of shoulder room, great baffling, good to 15 deg F, and a very well thought out pocket for the sleeping pad.
2. Big Agnes Air Core pad, once again a great product, and well made. No more sleeping on them skinny little TR pro lites for me!
3. MSR XGK stove, now this thing is a serious rocket booster, now your not gonna simmer food on it, but if your boiling water...look out she goes like stinky!
4.Spot sat messanger....self explanitory!
5.Badlands 4500....well I loved it, great fit, more than enough room for a well thought out 14 day hunt, built bomb proof, and reasonably priced. Just a tad heavy, but thats what you get for the heavy construction.
6.Snow Peak titanium cookware, need I say more, light as all get out, and tough stuff.


What I didn't like, well my bushnell trophy spotter, but thats where I wound up drawing the line on me budget last year. This year Im gonna step up to something a tad better. It is just a "you get what you pay for" item. I have had it for a few years, and its time to upgrade. Good scope for the buck, but no swaro or zeiss and you notice the difference, in your pocket book, and on your eyes.
I am also going to sell my swaro bino's and step up in power from 7x30's to 10x42's.

[Shooter]

I bought A bino harness last year for my binos. Right now I think thats one of the best pieces of gear I have bought in recent history. I wouldn't be without one now. Mine is about the same as yours Andy, just happens to be a different brand. I agree having them so handy does allow you to use them more often. Another item that I just ordered but haven't recieved yet is this bino cover.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?_DARGS=/cabelas/en/common/catalog/item-link.jsp_A&_DAV=MainCatcat602006-cat601627&id=0027666712048a&navCount=3&podId=0027666&parentId=cat601627&masterpathid=&navAction=push&catalogCode=IK&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat601627&hasJS=true

Its a soft cover that that easily flips off the eyepieces when you need to use them. I always worried that they would interfere with focusing but I ran into a guy last year that had one on his binos and he said he could focus easily with them on and that he wouldn't be without it anymore either. I'll let ya know if it works good or maybe someone on here already has one.

[goatdancer]

A Safari sling for the rifles. You can have the gun in front of you yet the sling drops away when you raise it to your shoulder. No fumbling to get the gun from behind the shoulder like a regular sling. It adjusts to whatever length suits you for carrying. Like it so much I have one on each of my rifles.

[Will]

Love my Bull Pac frame ! Had one small incident with the plastic snap buckle....I carelessly stepped on it in the back of the pickup and it broke...idiot:oops:

Sent a letter to the company...no questions asked they mailed me back a replacement and a spare.

Good service and a Great product ! :cool:

[Brambles]

Slik 613CF tripod and SH-704E Head.

A lot cheaper than most other Carbon Fiber tripods, and lighter too.

The tripod and head weight 2.2lbs IRRC

[mr.280]

Love my Harris Bipod,could'nt live wiyhout it.Had it now for thirteen years and it's sill going strong,just add a little oil after a wet trip.Made many accurate long shots because of it.http://i574.photobucket.com/albums/ss186/frederick280/moosehuntoct2nd07002.jpg

[BlacktailStalker]

I've got the same tripod Brambles... I took the center pole out to shave a bit of weight.

Where do people put their spotter lens cap when spotting?

I thought of drilling a tiny hole and doing the string thing (might get some moisture in there) but today I put a velcro/3m piece on the outside of the cap and another piece on the side of the tripod head...
See how that works.
I figured when its windy the hanging lens cap will twirl/bounce around and make the scope shake... Putting it in your pocket, you might make a quick stalk, forget about it in the excitement and it might fall out.. Putting it down in high winds (all the time in alpine) and kiss it goodbye.

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f314/BlacktailStalker/Jan28004-1.jpg