Is it YOU or your GEAR?

[ForkWest]

I saw this in the most recent Cabela?s catalog and it sparked a good conversation with the guys at work. It's interesting that Cabela?s marketing put the very top of the line Swarovski Bino/Range finder ($3,000) right next to the very bottom end (what most would consider minimally acceptable) Bushnell Bino and Range finder combo ($250).

So here?s the question, is the primary factor in the success of your hunts YOU? or YOUR GEAR? In other words, for the high end guys, could you get it done if you were forced to use the Bushnell package? Or vice versa for the guys using low or mid range gear and given top end gear, would it make a difference in the OUTCOME of your hunt?

There?s no question about quality and benefits between the two (durability, low light, eye relief, ergonomics etc, etc...) That's not what I'm asking? Simply, do YOU get it done regardless of your gear or because of your gear?

 

[Zeke]

It's the gear!
I'd hate to walk naked into the hunting area with only a 2 lbs stone! Gawd it would be cold hunting the end of October without clothes!

Really, to a degree it's both. I could get things done with a minimum amount of inexpensive gear.... but I choose not to. I want the best, for me, that MY money can buy because of my love for the sport. (it isn't always the top-end stuff for me because I'm talking about MY money)

Speaking of range finders, if you want to range 500 yards don't try to do ot with a 300 yard range finder! Pretty simple.

Zeke

 

[NVBighorn]

It's neither. Its all about the LUCK.

I killed my best bucks and two sheep with a $217 rifle, $39 scope, $49 binos and a $89 dollar spotter driving a $2500 rig. Killed my best archery buck with a $99 bow and a hodge podge of arrows.

Would I want to go back there again? Heck no! Am I a "top end" guy? Not like some. Does better gear make me LUCKY? To an extent, yes it does.

 

[HorseCreek]

Is there another brand of glass other than swarovski??? If so I wouldn't be caught dead hunting with it. You peasants and simpletons would be much better off quitting or at least getting a 2nd,3rd,4th or 5th job to afford my gear. You can't call yourself a true hunter unless you have top end gear.
Everyone knows there was never a 200" deer or 400" bull shot before swaro, Sitka, 300fps+ bows, and 1000yard rifles.
(Sarcasm for the guys wearing their wifes panties)

Traditional >>>------->

 

[bullskin]

To the extent that my gear gets me to the field, and keeps me there longer, it must certainly count for something. As for the "best" binoculars, I own them (and not much else), but I am not sure if seeing a buck twice as well really helps me kill him twice as dead. More than anything else, success in the woods depends on familiarity with the game and terrain, and determination. Those who love it will become successful.

 

[Deerlove]

All I know is that bucks started getting ALOT smaller after I bought swaro products????

 

[hhunter23]

your gear cant think for you, or see for you, or make the shot for you (although some electronics and systems are getting pretty darn close). you still have to make the decision to "make the stalk", "crawl closer", wait for the broadside shot, etc etc. BUT, i know for me that, good glass is a huge part in picking apart the brush to find a horn or a leg or some body part or movement. also camo pants are unnecessary, but the comfort and performance of the material is what gets me to purchase high-end gear.


"Shoot Straight"

 

[Ozzman]

I think its a very subjective question without a cut and dry answer... I also think that the answer could go either way depending on your circumstance, and even individual hunts circumstances.

There are those out there who swear by their gear, and that its the gear that makes them a 'good hunter'. Others will make the argument that as long as they have a weapon in hand they will get it done. You can't disagree with either. The reason you can't disagree with either is because both have been proven.

Examples... Say you make a not so great shot on an animal with your bow, but recover the animal without meat loss etc... In that instance, YOU messed up (making YOU unreliable in that instance). Perhaps your bullet or broadhead saved your bacon and did enough damage despite your mistake. Chalk one up for the gear...

Another example would be the guy that goes out in his not fancy sitka gear, say jeans and flannel. Using his Wal Mart gun that hasn't been specially calibrated by space craft engineers that is loaded with an off the shelf, low end bullet. They can kill big bucks to, even though they aren't a walking advertisement...

I guess the point is that while its a fun question to think about, it simply cannot be debated because both sides can be argued perfectly leaving no right, or wrong answer.

 

[elkun]

gear?/ I thought it was better beer like bud over buckhorn,,,//???

 

[ForkWest]

I disagree Ozz, while there are alot of "what ifs" I think there is a farily straight forward answer. I didn't state it up front to keep any intial bias out.

Let me ask it this way, with your current tags and knowldege could Ozzman get it done with a $350 rifle/scope combo, $250 worth of optics and maybe $200 for boots and outer wear?

 

[Zeke]

IF we're serious about our sport AND care about the animals that we hunt, we should use the best gear that WE can comfortably afford.

I just helped a son-in-law sight in a rifle with a $30 scope on it. That's not something that any guy should ever have to do! lol
He'll need to get within 100 yards to hit a deer...maybe. The thing is just not good enough!

There is a point where good enough is good enough and spending more money just won't help but my opinion is that IF you're serious about the sport, you have to, at least, spend enough to get good enough or you're not serious enough to care or too dumb to know.

Could I kill a deer at 300 yards with a crappy scope? Not so sure any more. Could I get closer? Probably. Does enough-quality gear help? You bet it does!

Zeke

 

[elkun]

most gear is just like beer , the more they spend on ads. the more you pay. middle ground is where you get what you pay for with out the b, s, ,

 

[nfh]

Success has been getting done before this fancy stuff.

Most of us can kill an elk and deer less than 300 yards. Where Best of the West cant get closer than 6000 yards. I don't get it.

Hunting does take skills. I got medium class grade binos and they do HELP.. I cant count points better on a animal and judge him.

MY 2 cents. So I been getting it done so far!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tristate]

The only gear I have bought that I believe definitely improved my game was my optics. I have never regretted the amount of money I have spent on them. The simple truth is we are in an "intel" heavy game. The better your tools for collecting intel the better you will do. I don't just find more or better deer but now I actually have increased the pace in which I learn about big deer because I am collecting that intel at a faster rate.
I can't say for sure that my weapon has increased my success. I can not say that my other gear has kept me safer while doing this compared to cheaper gear. I believe I have been in a couple of situations where the gear kept me from miserable borderline hypothermic conditions. That doesn't necessarily put deer in the freezer but I can't kill them from a hospital.

 

[mntman]

I think it is mostly me. With that said a good pair of boots and water proof pants/jacket keep me out there all day, every day but I don't buy the most expensive stuff. Just good quality (best bang for my buck).
Optics, average stuff is all, no way am I spending 3k on a spotting scope of binoc's. I'd rather just get closer and inspect him with my $250 binoc's or $300 spotting scope.
Leaves a lot more money for other things when I can simply walk a little closer.

A person could spend a million dollars on the gear and not shoot crap cause he is lazy or doesn't care to learn the animal.
A guy could also wear cotton hand-me-down clothes with no scope on his 30-30 and shoot the biggest bull/buck every year cause he busts his ass scouting and hunting!
Gear basically doesn't mean crap if the hunter is crap!

Mntman

"Hunting is where you prove yourself"


Let me guess, you drive a 1 ton with oak trees for smoke stacks, 12" lift kit and 40" tires to pull a single place lawn mower trailer?

 

[sagebrush]

Gear definitely helps. Having clothing that lets you endure the elements comfortably keeps you in the field longer. Optics let you expend energy to get closer only when you know its an animal you want to take and help you to find game you would otherwise not see. A good rifle and scope combination, backed with practice, allows you to make a shot you would have to pass with lesser gear. A comfortable camp where you can stay warm and dry, and cook good meals lets you recover from a hard day to be able to get up and do it again for days or even weeks at a time. Game can be killed without good gear but good gear will enable you to take game you would otherwise miss out on. Looking back when I was a kid and slept in the back of my truck, eating cold food, wearing Levi's and a jacket the wind blew through with a rifle and scope that was good out to about 150 yards and no binoculars, the success I have enjoyed because of my gear would never had happened.

 

[jarheadhunter]

Could I? YES

Would I want to? NO

 

[Ozzman]

I like the way you posed that Fork, and from that perspective the answer would be yes, I could get it done with gear in that price range. I could also get it done with gear more expensive, and gear that is cheaper. When posed that way, the answer is easy.

One thing to point out is that gear can also fail, and I would go so far as to say that in some cases cheaper gear is more likely to fail that more expensive gear. I get a cheap bow, and it breaks in the middle of a bowhunt, my gear then keeps me from being successful at that moment. I physically cannot get it done at that point and time due to gear failure. If gear failure could be a break it point in a hunt, why then could it not also be the opposite?

I still stand by this as a totally subjective thing, the variables are too numerous, and every outcome on either side can be proven. I love thinking about this kind of thing, cause it generates great discussion. I also fear that it could become an area that creates another unneeded debate in the hunting community overall.

At the end of the day, I like to think the bottom line is that we all do the best we can with the best we can afford. It doesn't have to be the fancy stuff to get it done, but I also think that we owe it to the animals we hunt to give ourselves every possible advantage to make a clean and ethical kill, and there is no denying that now and then the gear can help in that.

 

[cabinfever]

LAST EDITED ON Oct-16-13 AT 10:46AM (MST)[p]Gear is only as good as the guy using it. You could have Danny Devito strap on a pair of Michael Jordan's personal Nikes and he would never play at MJ's level.It's not good enough to own high end gear. You have to know how to hunt, and where to hunt? I have taken a number of trophy animals where my success was either a direct or indirect result of high quality gear.Hunters are now hiking deeper into the back country & staying longer thanks to lighter and more efficent gear. Hunters are glassing further and shooting at longer distances thanks to tecnological advances in optics and firearms.Like it or not, the advancements in gear in the last decade have turned a lot of good hunters into well oiled killing machines.

 

[sageadvice]

I went from a hard hunter to a successful hunter when i saved my nickles back in 1969 and bought my first good accurate rifle, a
Redfield scoped model 700 in 25-06. That was equipment!

I became a better shooter after joining a competitive shooting team of members of our local gun club shooting against other clubs. That was me.

The next big step up wasn't until years later when i bought and learned how to put to good use, a rangefinder. No longer did i have to guess how far and how much to hold over intended impact point out to the distance i felt comfortable taking the shot. Equipment again.

Now i feel comfortable with all the knowledge stacked up in my head from countless thousands of rounds fired and close to a hundred big game animals taken. The shooting of a animal now is a autopilot type thing, no biggie. It's finding one that i want to take that is the hard part. That is Me!

So, 50-50, part me and part my equipment, a dangerous thing to a big buck i may care to shoot.

Joey

"It's all about knowing what your firearms practical limitations are and combining that with your own personal limitations!"