Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Advising a new hunter: what equipment is essential?

For general Deer hunting but mostly out East. I’ve got to give a buddy a list of essential items to get started and want to make sure my Looney bias doesn’t cost him a bunch of $ unnecessarily.

Give me your list of essential items

Thanks fellas!

I’ve never hunted out East but…

200lbs of scattered corn is a good start!

A 7-08 or 308 with a 2-7 or 3-9 Leupold
8x Vortex bino
Havalon knife and blades
Bic lighter
Headlamp x2
For packing out deer on a budget- Military backpack with the good padded shoulder straps and padded waist belt. Molle II I think? $50
Firstlite merino wool gloves
Smartwool socks
Stan Potts cap (radar cap) 😃
Good boots
6” cushion seat
20’ of 1/4” braided nylon rope
*Note* Always carry TP

Pretty much covered it Gunnut.

But I would pick a 270 bolt action rifle

Add binoculars.

Thermos of coffee and tp at the top of the list.

06, case trapper, thermos, good boots.

The right boots and the right coat. Where back east? If in a swamp, Muck Boots are great. North or south? Makes a difference, especially for clothing. I like bibs but they are too warm at 50 degrees or higher.

In hardwoods I don't use binoculars.

3-9 scope on anything big enough for deer and legal in that state
Get good gloves too, don't have to be expensive, just dry and warm.

A scoped rifle, binos, and a sharp knife. Those are the absolute essentials to go hunting. Anything else is just peripheral stuff that nice but not necessarily always needed.

I started out with my nephews by scaring the crap out of them.

With gear on, rifles ready, I'd then ask them "how far away is the nearest medic?" "how long will it take to get you to a hospital?"

When they all got good and quiet I'd then tell them "those gun safety classes weren't just for jokes. They're designed to save your lives by not needing to save your life. Act accordingly."

Good times.

Hard to say what he'll need withour knowing a little more about how, when, and where he'll be hunting. Will he be doing morning and evening hunts where he can walk back to a cabin or vehicle for lunch, or will he be out all day? Close enough to the vehicle to drag one out whole, or will he have to cut it up and put it in a pack?


Sitting on a stand in cold weather it's hard to stay warm, but harder for some than others. Would he benefit from handwarmers for feet and hands?

Regardless, I'd suggest some kind of pack he can put extra clothes, water, and snacks in. A good knife, headlamp, TP, and a little talc squirt bottle to judge wind direction would be minimum for me. And whatever he needs to get his deer out of the woods, drag rope, plastic sled, or if he has to cut it up to haul it out, a couple of large garbage bags to lay the meat on, some game bags, and a decent pack for load hauling.

TP goes on the list 1st or one dare not drink the coffee........

All good ideas. I'd include a few things:
A little note pad and a pencil to jot down all the things you forgot or want to do differently next time
A rangefinder, not to range specific animals, but to understand what actual distances look like in the woods
Surgical gloves for handling meat
10' of 1" nylon webbing for dragging the deer out
Headlamp in case he has to gut the deer in the dark


Okie John

Good boots
A decent rifle well sighted in.
Spend more on the scope than you did on the rifle.
Good binoculars.
A sharp knife.
Layers of clothing to match the weather.
A good first aid kit.
A good fire starting kit.
A small flashlight.
A day pack
A container of drinking water.

I consider those the bare minimum and you will need them in any type of country. You will add to that list as you hunt farther from your vehicle or further from help.

As most have said, you don't need lots of fancy stuff.

I'm pretty minimalist.

One thing I'd add is a compass. I know everyone has a smart phone now which is great until you loose signal or the battery dies. Pretty easy to get turned around in thick veg. especially in the dark. Just knowing which way the road is can be enough.

Some will laugh at this and that's fine. I hunt in some hella thick swamp and it goes on for a long ways. I'm in no real danger if I get turned around but it's nice to be able to follow a relatively straight line out in the dark.

Thermacell might be advisable.

Good inputs mentioned here.

Your rifle, bullets, and your tag.

I remember one pronghorn antelope hunt that I went on where I got 20 miles from home and remembered that I didn't bring my .257 AI ammo. I got to my hunting area about an hour later than I had planned.

When we lived in western Colorado my wife and I both drew antelope tags in eastern Colorado. It wasn't until we got to our hunting area that she discovered that she had left her tag at home.

Not exactly hunting, but one winter when I lived in NW Montana a friend and I went to Lake Koocanusa, west of Eureka, ice fishing. When we got to the lake, I had my .30-06 and bullets in case we saw any coyotes, but I had forgot my fishing rods. We didn't catch any fish or see any coyotes.

Pretty much goes with out saying, but knowing how to use the compass goes a long way..

Rifle, ammo, knife, and lic/tags. Everything else is gravy.

Good point that I sometimes take for granted.

Don't be that "Butter Bar" that just follows the arrow!

You all have forgotten the most important thing, toilet paper!!!