Cultual Changes & Dressing For the Hunt

[roysclockgun]

When three of my uncles and my dad returned from WWII, I began tagging along behind them at age 5. This, in 1947. What strikes me now are two issues. One; they had no hunting clothes, as we know them today. And two, none of them owned more than one rifle and one shotgun. Today, all who are "serious" hunters know that we *must have* a battery of firearms to be *respectable hunters!* I am not knocking this, for I too own too many firearms. My point is that in those days when the hunters in my family were far from rich, or even retained a healthy amount of disposable income, after paying for the basics of life, they simply put on the same clothes to go hunting, as they would have donned to shovel snow, or in my dad's situation, to deliver home heating oil. None of them hunted in camo or hunter orange, for that had not been demanded by the state yet.
From the time that they were small boys, they had learned about game and game habits, not from sport, but from needing to hunt and trap in order to put food on the table. They made it their duty to kill with one shot, not particularly out of pride, but because shotgun shells and rifle cartridges were *expensive!*
This all seems so quaint now, as I browse catalogs and see that a novice hunter can easily go into thousands of dollars before he ever steps into the hunting fields.
Of course, today, we enjoy those toys, and why not? However, there is something to be said for my dad's generation, who while they had gone from hunting as a form of subsistance to a form of sport, their clothing and equipment was, by today's standards, incredibly meager.
The only two things that they required were; lots of knowledge regarding the game that they hunted. And two, much familiarization and skill with the few firearms that they owned.
These needs led to innovations that in those days were considered to be marvels. While today they are much maligned. For example the "Poly-Choke". But that story is for another day.
Best,
Steven L. Ashe

 

[DrMike]

Good observations, Steven. We are becoming shooters, rather than hunters. It has benefits; but there are some decided deficits that accompany the contemporary situation.

 

[Guy Miner]

Good observations indeed.

Dad, his brother and their father all hunted more than me. Small town, and it wasn't unusual for them to just walk a bit out of town, and hunt. Mostly they were bird hunters. Ducks, geese, doves, pheasant and quail. Dad at 85 still gets out for pheasant. Still one heck of a shotgunner. I've never reached his skill level with a shotgun.

My family seems to have always had quite an inventory of firearms. I think that's mostly my grandfather's doing. He was a handloader, a rifle competitor, and a hunter way back in the 1940's, and earlier. I don't think I have any photos of him shooting or hunting before the 1940's though.

Dad had two "big game" rifles, a pair of sporterized .30-06 rifles. One was the Model of 1917 that shows up from time to time here, usually in the hands of my youngest son, who seems to have laid claim to that grand old rifle. The other is a Springfield, with a full-length mannlicher style stock. That's still Dad's rifle, though he seldom shoots it anymore. It's a honey. With those two rifles, and a .22 Marlin, Dad felt well equipped for any hunting. We'd bang away at rockchucks with the old handloaded 130 gr Speer hollow point. He kept a box of 220 grain Winchester Silvertips for serious hunting. I think that box of factory ammo lasted him nearly 20 years as he seldom dipped into it.

Grandpa... He had some fun with his rifles! Got into varmint shooting in Northern California and had several rifles for it. A .219 Zipper on a Winchester single-shot action. I don't remember if it was a low wall or a high wall, haven't seen it in decades. I think one of my cousins had it and sold it. Doggone. Also had one of the early .257 Weatherby rifles, built on a Mauser action. That one may well make a re-appearance in the hunting fields this season. It's been tougher to get it back into action than I anticipated.

Mostly though, the older generation seemed to have; a .22 rifle, a hunting rifle and a shotgun...

Something to be said for that.

Guy

 

[gerry]

I have to admit I don't like putting on the "hunting outfit", you know head to toe camo. Why on earth would we need camo underwear and things like that

 

[Guy Miner]

BTW - I remember some of the old hunting clothing.

Boots, sometimes the same as work boots, but Dad treasured his bird hunting boots.

Waders, we always had waders hanging in the garage for duck hunting and fishing.

Wool gloves. Felt real fancy when we got the ones with a leather tip for the shooting finger!

Heavy coat. Usually whatever drab colored heavy coat was worn in the winter. Did double duty in the duck blind.

Vests - everyone had a bird vest with a pocket for shells and a game pocket in which to stuff a pheasant.

Hats - I liked the stocking caps to keep my head warm, but Dad & grandpa liked brimmed hats. No, not the ubiquitous ball cap worn by seemingly everyone anymore. Don't remember any of those from the old days. I think only ball players wore them "back then."

Hunter orange? I don't think I even had any until about 20 years ago... Don't recall it being a requirement for anything we did.

I still hunt a lot in just my daily wear jeans, boots and shirts. But it's nice to have that fancy gore-tex & fleece when the weather gets bad!

FWIW, Guy

 

[DrMike]

Why on earth would we need camo underwear and things like that

Uh, because we need to hide when we care for the call of nature in the nighttime hours? :shock:

 

[PJGunner]

I bought my first set of cammies in 2009 when I booked for an antelope hunt. Before that just a pair of jeans whatever long sleeved shirt and a coat if it was cold enough to wear one. About the only times I've worn them since was on my two elk hunts and really didn't need to wear then at those times. My last hunt was in snow and with those cammies, I stuck out like rat sign in the sugar bowl. :lol: Any otime they just stay neatly folded in a dresser drawer. :lol: :lol:
Paul B.

 

[Kodiak]

Steven and Guy,

you guys really know how to stir-up old hunting memories. Times from the mid 1950s and later, when a hunting outfit consisted of a heavy-wt. long-sleeve shirt, Levis, a pair of lace-up work boots soaked with Snow-seal gunk and a big ol' cowboy hat. My hunting rifle was an 03-A3 Springfied, sporterized and scoped. No camo, no binoculars or rangefinders.

We were hunters,

 

[velvetant]

Why on earth would we need camo underwear and things like that

Because I look pretty darn sexy in camo undies

 

[gerry]

The mental pictures, remember the mental pictures

 

[Oldtrader3]

In Maine, in the 1940's and 1950's, we had a Maine hunting coat made by Woolrich. I wore out mine 30 years ago but it lasted a long time! These were heavy wool, red and black plaid coats which everyone wore to deer hunt since deer hunting which did not open back then until the end of October and there was snow in the hills. The season was open until January 1st, by which time you needed snow shoes and heavy clothes to hunt in Maine.

These coats would not even be legal now because you can not see them well enough in the woods. We also wore felt lined rubber pacs with leather tops on our feet. The felt pads were to help keep feet from freezing in the later season weather because it was below zero by mid-December. One thing that I am very thankful for is the progression of hunting clothes, including Goretex, and warm boots that we have today. I remember well how cold my feet used to get in both Washington and Utah Mountains and in Maine during late seasons in December, on snowshoes.

I was born in 1943 and my dad in 1922. My dad was mostly a bird and rabbit or snowshoe hare hunter with a shotgun. He owned a couple of good shotguns (a Lefever and a good grade Fox) but only one rifle a bolt action, (butter knife handled) Oberndorf, sporter in 7x57mm Mauser. This rifle he hunted both deer and moose with. He was mostly a moose hunter while he lived in Quebec (35 years). I always shot more deer than dad did probably because of interest level, I suspect. He was a crack shot with either of his side by side 12 or 20 gauge shotguns and I have never, because of eye dominance problems, equaled his shotgun prowess with my O/U Berettas, but I shoot a rifle and pistol better than he did.

His Mauser rifle was stolen while he was in Florida one winter recovering from a bypass operation. I am probably more upset than even he was about this theft because I coveted inheriting that rifle. He bought a Remington 700, .30-06 to replace it and my half-brother in Montreal, who doesn't hunt, took. My dad has been dead since 1988. He was younger than I am now when he died.

 

[Wincheringen]

I still hunt in blue jeans or green carhartt bibs when its cold. I've had numerous occasions where whitetails have walked right by me. My dad got into the camo craze about 10 years ago. I never got to hunt with my grandpa but he was always in his 'green suit' as we called it, whether working in his shop, sitting in his recliner, or hunting.

 

[lefty315]

I think there is a lot to be said for simplicity when it comes to hunting gear and weapons. Not that it's better, it just reminds you why you're in the woods. Admittedly technology has improved a hunters ability to harvest an animal though. Telescopic sights have given people the ability to shoot more accurately at longer ranges. I still have a limit of about 350 yards max(because i want to get closer to experience a hunt rather than shooting)but I can do it better with a scope than iron sights. My trip to Africa last May resulted in 8 animals taken with 8 shots. Everything was inside 150 yards, definitely doable with a good peep sight. I could have sat back at twice the distance and taken the shots but I would have missed all the stalking I did.

Range finders have also helped by giving a hunter a true distance to their target. I would like to think this has also caused fewer animals to be wounded which is a good thing. I've used mine for 12 years and rarely leave it behind. I mostly range various objects in the area and then put it away. I don't necessarily use it to tell me how far the animal is but more often how much territory I need to cover to get a shot.

Now, after saying all that, lately I've been more inclined to grab a rifle with a peep sight and head into the woods. I still take binoculars, mostly because the tags I have are usually species/point restricted so it helps in identification. Back in the day, meat hunters could really care less about racks or no racks so it probably wasn't a necessity. I don't really care for camo, even when bow hunting, but some of the better warm to mild weather and water proof clothing is only made in camo colors. I absolutely love Cabelas Microfleece pants and shirts, but they are only offered in camo. Colder weather finds me in wool.

I know they were hunting for food but there is something nostalgic and romantic about the old photos you see of the north woods deer camps where a lever action Winchester, Marlin or Savage leans against a tree. Or possibly a sporterized Sprinfield or Mauser stretched across the rack of a Moose.

A couple af friends and I have discussed a canoe hunt in Northern Minnesota or thereabouts. The criteria would be something like this:
Older rifle, no scopes.
No rangefinders.
Wool or canvas clothing only.
Leather boots.
Canvas tent.
No GoreTex clothing.
No stoves, lantern ok but must use pourable liquid fuel, no propane tanks.
NOTHING CAMO!!!

I wouldn't care if I shot a doe, spike, two point or anything at all as long as it was legal. I think it would just be a pretty cool way to get back to some basics and enjoy the woods.

If one of you guys are in the process of inventing a time machine, I would love to hunt with my Granddad in Montana and Alaska just after WW II. Maybe even traipse through the Yukon with Fred Bear for a week or two)

 

[CMBTshooter]

I hunt in jeans, combat boots, and a long sleeve underarmor t-shirt just for sun protection. No hunter orange here in CA and the weather is pretty good during daylight. When I hunted in Colorado I just hunted in my issued cold weather gear. Hunting clothing is expensive.

 

[Oldtrader3]

I bought hunting clothing to match hunting opportunities when I retired. I belonged to a hunting ranches consortium club and was able to hunt everyday all year all over California, which I did (hunt) at least once every week. So, I bought jackets, vests overalls and 4 way coats with Gortex canvas brush pants etc, etc. I still have these and wear them around because they are warm. I also have a pair of insulated Pac boots that I used in the Wyoming Bighorn mountains in the snow, below zero, for ten days. Plus a pair of Fiberfill insulated regular boots with 600 grams of Fiberfill, plus, Gorky below-the-knee snake boots, and so on.

Hunting clothing has improved so much since I was a kid that I am taking advantage of the technology as often as I can afford to! I have a mixture of Orvis, Lewis Drake, Kevin's and Cabela's clothing which I use at every opportunity. Spoil me, I like to be dry and warm!

 

[SJB358]

Spoil me, I like to be dry and warm!

Same here Charlie, wet and cold, isn't something I ever look forward too.. Matter of fact, I plan against it as much as possible. Sometimes it happens, but I don't ever look forward to it.

 

[Kodiak]

I must add that last fall our oldest gran-daughter showed-up at deer-season in her complete camo outfit. She has it all!

"Granpa, times are a-changin'",

could be 8) ,

 

[Hegland]

I've used the head-to-toe camo get-ups for waterfowling, turkey hunting, daytime coyotes, stand-hunting black bears, and of course, bow season. I've become a believer in a good upland vest for pheasant hunting. Actually had a rooster escape the pouch on the back of my vest once, but that's another story... Our gun seasons are in December and January, so the vast majority of my deer hunting is done in Carhartt bibs, coat and stocking hat, along with the requisite orange vest. I have taken to the Under-Armor type clothes for base layers to help keep dry. Small game seasons are early enough in the fall and late enough in the spring that a jacket is usually the only necessity.

 

[super-7]

Some great posts so far , my mind often drifts to what it would be like hunting in the old days. Actually around here the wool clothing is making quite a comeback , personally I stil stick with the synthetics. Dad has made the switch from plad to camo but only as recent as 3 years. I have considered a Nostaglia hunt as well , Dads # 94 in 32 win special peep sights back when Lyman made em. 170 gr cil factory ammo. And plad or wool clothes .

 

[Dr. Vette]

My Dad worked with making the Scent Blocker line for several years so yeah, I got camo. 8)
I don't wear jeans if possible for big game because deer allegedly see blue.
And, I hate being cold or wet so I avoid cotton when hunting unless it's upland hunting on a nice day.

The blaze orange law came into effect here in MI about when I started hunting. I have my full orange suits from my younger days, but my kids all have nice camo (see above) for when they go along for turkey or deer.

However, my duck hunts as a wee lad were in Woodland camo, cotton of course. I wore a Jones style cap and those are hard to find any longer. Green boots for Meijer were the footwear with a pair of wool socks.