Are you on a budget? Here are some inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials.
While having good equipment can sometimes make the difference between success and failure on a hunt, it’s really easy to spend a bunch of money on gear these days. However, it’s not necessary to spend a fortune on deer hunting gear in order to have a successful deer season. Fortunately, there are some good pieces of deer hunting gear available for a reasonable amount of money that can really make your life easier on a deer hunt. Read on to learn about 5 inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials that you need to have for this deer season.
Butt Out
Made by Hunter’s Specialties, the Butt Out tool is a simple, lightweight, inexpensive, and effective tool for helping you field dress your deer. By inserting it into the animal’s anus and twisting, the Butt Out tool enables the hunter to quickly detach the anal alimentary canal from a deer. This eliminates the need for the tedious and difficult chore of removing it from the animal by cutting around it with a knife. Used properly, it not only makes the process much easier and simpler, but it also greatly reduces your chances of contaminating the animal’s meat with its waste as well.
ThermaCell
For those who hunt in areas with lots of mosquitoes, especially early season deer hunters down south, the ThermaCell is a must have item on this list of inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials. I’ve spent a lot of time hunting in the Georgia swamps and I have never found another piece of gear that works as well against mosquitoes as the ThermaCell.
It is very reasonably priced, lightweight, and is extremely effective against mosquitoes and other biting insects. It is also odor free and I’ve used it extensively on hunting trips without it disturbing deer or other wildlife. The only downside of the ThermaCell is the fact that it works best if you are stationary, making it less ideally suited for still hunting.
Paracord
Also known as Parachute Cord or 550 cord, paracord was originally used as the suspension lines for military parachutes. However, paracord is now extensively used in the hunting and outdoor communities. It is an extremely versatile piece of hunting gear that can be used for a wide variety of applications including, but not limited to securing cargo, replacing boot or shoe laces, serving as emergency fishing line, or hoisting game for skinning.
Paracord is inexpensive, lightweight, and easy to carry. It is also an item on this list of inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials that you should carry on every hunting trip. Fortunately, there are even bracelets made out of woven paracord that you can wear so you will always have some with you.
The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game
No matter how experienced you are, or how much you may know about hunting, I can virtually guarantee that Steve Rinella’s book The Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game has some useful information for you. It’s a very well written and comprehensive book that has some great information about hunting just about every species of game in North America as well as various hunting tactics, gear recommendations, how to butcher game, and a bunch of tasty wild game recipes. Volume 1 focuses on big game and Volume 2 provides the same type of information for small game and fowl.
Neither book is very expensive and trust me: this is some money well spent regardless of your current hunting knowledge base. In fact, if you only had enough money to buy one thing on this list of inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials, I’d say you should buy Volume 1 of the Complete Guide to Hunting, Butchering, and Cooking Wild Game before you buy anything else. That’s how useful I’ve found this book to be.
Sheet of Plywood
Loading a deer into the back of a pickup truck, especially without help from another person, can be extremely difficult. However, something as simple as a single sheet of plywood can make loading that deer much easier on your back. Not only is a sheet of plywood useful and relatively inexpensive, but it also doesn’t take up much space in the bed of your truck, making it a perfect addition to this list of inexpensive deer hunting gear essentials.
Simply drop the truck’s tailgate and use the plywood to make a ramp between the tailgate and the ground. Slide the deer (or hog, bear, etc.) as far up the plywood as you can. Then, using your legs, lift up the lower end of the plywood and slide it into the truck.
Most of these items also made cut for my 2019 holiday gift recommendations. To see what other stuff is on the list, check out the following article:
Awesome Holiday Gifts For Hunters In 2019
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NEXT: BEST HUNTING EAR PROTECTION FOR SPORTSMEN IN 2021
John McAdams is a proficient blogger, experienced shooter, and long time hunter who has pursued big game in 8 different countries on 3 separate continents. John graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and is a veteran of combat tours with the US Army in Iraq & Afghanistan. In addition to founding and writing for The Big Game Hunting Blog, John has written for outdoor publications like Bear Hunting Magazine, The Texas State Rifle Association newsletter, Texas Wildlife Magazine, & Wide Open Spaces. Learn more about John here, read some of John’s most popular articles, and be sure to subscribe to his show: the Big Game Hunting Podcast.
I have to agree with you, ThermaCell is really important for every hunter. Ointment or anti-mosquito creams just aren’t working. By the way, is ThermaCell the best mosquito-repellent out there?
If there is a better way to repel mosquitoes than the ThermaCell, I haven’t found it yet.
I have been using ThermaCell for about 5 or 6 years now all over the world. They should pay me as a poster child because I have nothing but good to say about it. From the bear woods of Maine to the plains of Botswana, It works on mosquitoes and works well. I have yet to find something better. And the odor does not alarm game.