Out in my woods we wore Big Ben jeans, black, and long sleeve work shirts. Long underwear undoubtedly had some wool in it. Coats were red and black wool or lined Levi. The boots were typically logging boots or packs, even corks on a few trips. Filson was/is a quality product and I still have one pair of their wool pants. We had what was called "tin" pants and coats for rain gear. It was heavy, didn't breath and was exceedingly hot specially when moving. More like a sauna than rain gear. I didn't start wearing camo until after the military and then only the tops. Now I have goretex rain gear, lots of wool, and camo pants, hats and the like. Still have those Filson Wool pants for the cold days however. I love the camo, I can disappear in the shadows.
Cultual Changes & Dressing For the Hunt
- Thread starter roysclockgun
- Start date
DrMike
Ballistician
- Nov 8, 2006
- 37,402
- 6,213
I still wear a fair amount of wool for hunting. It is comfortable and still works as good as ever.
Most of the time deer hunting here in Arizona heavy winter clothing isn't necessary. The last kaibab hunt I di it was mayne 32 degrees at sun up but by 9 or 10 in the AM is was starting to get hot and could reach 70 to 75 degrees by late afternoon. The last hunt I did in southern AZ over in Redigton pass which is just a bit southeast of Tucson, you carried several bottles of water in your day pack as it commonly hit into the low 80s by mid afternoon. Two things for sure, one you had to get the innards out and the hide ripped off on one hell of a hurry if you didn't want your meat to spoil.
I don't hunt southern AZ anymore since I ripped my right knee out on a hunt. between that and sometimes having to dodge smugglers has made hunting in the southern part of the state not much fun.
Still, I would like to get a crack at a Coues Deer. I've always gone after the Desert Mule Deer because they were the larger animal. Dunno if that knee will allow it though.
Paul B.
I don't hunt southern AZ anymore since I ripped my right knee out on a hunt. between that and sometimes having to dodge smugglers has made hunting in the southern part of the state not much fun.
Still, I would like to get a crack at a Coues Deer. I've always gone after the Desert Mule Deer because they were the larger animal. Dunno if that knee will allow it though.Paul B.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
I do not think that it is a good idea for me to hunt in southern Arizona (Nogales) area. I would probably get myself killed in a gunfight with just my Number One Ruger and a Colt SAA against fully auto AK's? Probably good that I hunt in Washington with just the occasional border jumper (mostly unarmed East Indians).
My good old days began in the early 80's when I got to tag along at deer camp packing the Daisy BB gun. I still remember when the blaze orange law was enacted in MN and many an old hunter was POd that they had to relegate their prized Red/Black mackinaws to barn coat duty. They still turn up at the occasional yard sale but never in my size. MN tends to be wet/cold during deer season so wool was a must. The typical hunter had a couple of pairs of military surplus wool pants and a threadbare norwegian style sweater that Grandma knit sometime around the war. A plain red canvas farm store or red/black wool coat went over the top. The dandy crowd might have Filson or Woolrich. A stormy cromer or knit wool orange cap was common. Since they make cromers in blaze, you still see one once in awhile. A 30-30 or 35 rem lever gun was standard fare, with the odd Savage 99 or milsurp sporter. Bolt actions were almost unheard of in MN in the 80's outside of the military guns. If you saw a guy using one, you knew he was a marksman. You saw the odd Rem pump or auto in 30-06 too, those were the designated drivers because they couldn't shoot. A pair of Sorel pack boots and insulated leather work gloves topped off the ensemble.
I still go pretty much the same route. I discovered milsurp wool in the 80's because Dad was cheap. I still wear it because I'm cheap and you can get some really high quality stuff for not much money. Swiss and Swedish wool is as good as Filson for a fraction of the cost. When it's really cold I break out the Swedish M59 parka with the required blaze orange field vest over the top. These are also my winter work clothes. I've upgraded the boots with Baffin rubber/felt/space age stuff. Much warmer and drier than the old Sorels but still cheap. I still hunt with mostly one rifle although I own many. It's a bolt action mauser rebarrel in .280 with a fancy stock. Would have been a Dandy's rifle back in the day, but I did most of the work myself so the cost really wasn't that high. I do not own gore tex, just don't like the stuff. The oldsters were on to something. Although modern hunting clothes are lighter, when it gets wet and windy, the old stuff will keep you warmer. And milsurp camo still works great for ducks, especially the new digital woodland pattern.
I still go pretty much the same route. I discovered milsurp wool in the 80's because Dad was cheap. I still wear it because I'm cheap and you can get some really high quality stuff for not much money. Swiss and Swedish wool is as good as Filson for a fraction of the cost. When it's really cold I break out the Swedish M59 parka with the required blaze orange field vest over the top. These are also my winter work clothes. I've upgraded the boots with Baffin rubber/felt/space age stuff. Much warmer and drier than the old Sorels but still cheap. I still hunt with mostly one rifle although I own many. It's a bolt action mauser rebarrel in .280 with a fancy stock. Would have been a Dandy's rifle back in the day, but I did most of the work myself so the cost really wasn't that high. I do not own gore tex, just don't like the stuff. The oldsters were on to something. Although modern hunting clothes are lighter, when it gets wet and windy, the old stuff will keep you warmer. And milsurp camo still works great for ducks, especially the new digital woodland pattern.
cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,397
- 1,056
Anything like this:
That hat is Mine. Its been with me on evey worth while expidition for thw last 30 years.
I remember when Blaze came out. It wasnt a Bad thing necessarily. It helped me keep everyone in sight across those bifg fields when pheasant hunting. Dad went out and bought his hat to be legal, but it has style.... That much is still legal back home in SD.
To my way of thinking the Blaze orange thing is a bit over done but I guess its a worthwhile safety thing up here in the "woods" of MN.
Thats all Ill say on that. I am a sucker for the latest camo pattern so I try not to buy it.
That jacket I got from Dad due to closet shrinkage. Its not legal to hunt with anymore but it is among my most prized posessions. I tend go with as little of the Blaze as I can get away with. Depends some on the company Im with. CL
That hat is Mine. Its been with me on evey worth while expidition for thw last 30 years.
I remember when Blaze came out. It wasnt a Bad thing necessarily. It helped me keep everyone in sight across those bifg fields when pheasant hunting. Dad went out and bought his hat to be legal, but it has style.... That much is still legal back home in SD.
To my way of thinking the Blaze orange thing is a bit over done but I guess its a worthwhile safety thing up here in the "woods" of MN.
That jacket I got from Dad due to closet shrinkage. Its not legal to hunt with anymore but it is among my most prized posessions. I tend go with as little of the Blaze as I can get away with. Depends some on the company Im with. CL
pre6422hornet
Handloader
- Jan 24, 2012
- 974
- 12
Being only 38 and not beginning my hunting career until I was 19, I pretty much started right at the beginnig of the camo boom. But I shot my first 3 or 4 whitetails in Ohio wearing a Carhart Upland coat ( with button in wool liner), and Carhart insulated bibs.
I never really bought into scent lok or any of that. Heck, I still use that Carhart coat for pheasants and I just wore those bibs today while plowing snow
I still wear the first camo hunting coat I bought in 1996. Cabelas saddle cloth insulated bowhunting jacket. I liked it so much when they discontinued them in the early 2000's I bought 3 and put them in the attic. They still are in the wrappers. My pants are again Cabelas Super Slam Saddle cloth insulated and and pair of uninsulated ones. I bought two of the insulated pairs, and the first pair finally wore out in 2010.
Now no one in my immediate family hunted when I was a kid, but when I moved from Illinois to Missouri in 2011, I went home to Ohio for a weekend. My grandma gave me a picture that hangs in my reloading room to this day. It is of my great Uncle ( gramps brother). He lived in Northern Michigan and deer hunted. On the is the inscription: " Brother Steve on opening day 1980, 78 years old and his last year hunting". Pretty cool and take a look at that Woolrich Suite... Awesome!!! Not too mention the old boy could still shoot. Looks like right behind the shoulder to me!
I never really bought into scent lok or any of that. Heck, I still use that Carhart coat for pheasants and I just wore those bibs today while plowing snow
I still wear the first camo hunting coat I bought in 1996. Cabelas saddle cloth insulated bowhunting jacket. I liked it so much when they discontinued them in the early 2000's I bought 3 and put them in the attic. They still are in the wrappers. My pants are again Cabelas Super Slam Saddle cloth insulated and and pair of uninsulated ones. I bought two of the insulated pairs, and the first pair finally wore out in 2010.
Now no one in my immediate family hunted when I was a kid, but when I moved from Illinois to Missouri in 2011, I went home to Ohio for a weekend. My grandma gave me a picture that hangs in my reloading room to this day. It is of my great Uncle ( gramps brother). He lived in Northern Michigan and deer hunted. On the is the inscription: " Brother Steve on opening day 1980, 78 years old and his last year hunting". Pretty cool and take a look at that Woolrich Suite... Awesome!!! Not too mention the old boy could still shoot. Looks like right behind the shoulder to me!
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Beware of old guys with good quality rifles and scope, most of us can shoot!
CL, stupid question, but why is that jacket not legal for hunting, it is here?
CL, stupid question, but why is that jacket not legal for hunting, it is here?
cloverleaf
Handloader
- Sep 10, 2006
- 4,397
- 1,056
Oldtrader3":vdojlrm0 said:
I assume your question is about the red/black plaid? No hunter orange- I think Minnesota has a 50% minimum for orange during small game, pheasant and deer seasons. I think a hat is stilll minumum requirement in SD. Havent looked it up in a while. CL
Dr. Vette
Handloader
- Apr 16, 2012
- 1,480
- 365
Here is a photo from 1978 or 1979.
I'm in the blue jacket with the red plaid pants. My Dad's cousin is behind me and his son is on the left side of the photo. He's just taken his first ever deer, a button buck, up near White Cloud, MI. There was (is) a coat that matched the red pants I was wearing but it was too big for me at the time. Note my orange cap due to the relatively new Hunter Orange law. I upgraded to a full orange suit shortly thereafter as we used to hunt on state owned land and always commented that there was a hunter behind every tree.
I've been deer hunting since I was 10; I might have missed one year since then when I lived in PA but otherwise it's a 35 year streak. 8)
Just don't ask how many deer I've taken. :shock:
I'm in the blue jacket with the red plaid pants. My Dad's cousin is behind me and his son is on the left side of the photo. He's just taken his first ever deer, a button buck, up near White Cloud, MI. There was (is) a coat that matched the red pants I was wearing but it was too big for me at the time. Note my orange cap due to the relatively new Hunter Orange law. I upgraded to a full orange suit shortly thereafter as we used to hunt on state owned land and always commented that there was a hunter behind every tree.
I've been deer hunting since I was 10; I might have missed one year since then when I lived in PA but otherwise it's a 35 year streak. 8)
Just don't ask how many deer I've taken. :shock:
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Patrick, I won't ask because I use to live in Maine and killing branch antlered buck was a miracle, except in Aroostook County until recent years. There were several hundred New York hunters to every native hunter in the 1950's and staying alive was primary strategy while hunting in Maine. That is where I learned that most New Yorker's (city ones) can not read a map and learned to hunt several miles from the nearest road.
Washington is getting to where wardens have killed all elk on private lands and seeing a branched antler Rocky Mountain elk bull anywhere on public land during our loooong 10 day hunting season is as rare as having a Christian Conversion! No offense to Christian's as I am one.
Washington is getting to where wardens have killed all elk on private lands and seeing a branched antler Rocky Mountain elk bull anywhere on public land during our loooong 10 day hunting season is as rare as having a Christian Conversion! No offense to Christian's as I am one.
Guy Miner
Master Loader
- Apr 6, 2006
- 17,789
- 6,036
Ah, the bulls are still out there. These guys made it through hunting season. Just "shot" them with my camera on Saturday when my wife and I were out hiking and driving through the hills above town. Mixed public & private land. We saw elk on both.
But you're right, it wasn't during hunting season!
Regards, Guy
But you're right, it wasn't during hunting season!
Regards, Guy
Dr. Vette
Handloader
- Apr 16, 2012
- 1,480
- 365
Oldtrader3":3hzgjm49 said:
My first branch antlered buck was in Oct 2005 - hit it with my Corvette.
My next one was 2011 in Texas. I had to travel to actually shoot one.
Does and button bucks (oops) along the way.
My Dad seems to find them but no one else in the hunting party even sees them.
truck driver
Ammo Smith
- Mar 11, 2013
- 7,342
- 924
Well now that you guys have discussed my life history I'll add a little more to it.
I was one those guys who's father never owned more guns than he needed to hunt with and I followed suit untill I was teased and tempted into buying an extra one here and there after I got a good paying job and my family was taken care of first.
At the age of 10 I got my first 22 single shot Remington 510 which I still have. Dad would give me 5 shells and tell me to bring home a squirrel for each one or bring back the unfired shell. we wasted noughting and we were allowed to practice but only under his supervision and we learned to track and stalk till we were close enough to get a sure kill. Dad had a Woolrich hunting suit black and red plad but we wore a Brown canvas hunting coat with game pockets except when deer hunting we made sure we had some type of red hat on to keep from being shot by the city slikers who had all the latest clothes and rifles.
I didn't no what camoflage clothing was untill the Army issued me some and still have my field jacket from the 70s and my Class As. They don't fit but I still have them.
I wore out the barrel on my 725 Rem 30-06 which I bought used and rebarrled it to 257 Roberts so I could hunt both deer and varmints which I still have. Bought a Ruger 77 in 30-06 because I had to shoot a 500lb black Bear multiple times with the 257 when it charged me before I stopped it with a brain shot. The Ruger has been used for crop damage work which put more meat on the table and is still my go to gun.
All my hunting and fishing was done to suppliment the meat bill and feed my family, it was a way of life.
And I wouldn't have had it any other way because it tought me respect for the wild life and things that were put here on this earth to harvest.
I was one those guys who's father never owned more guns than he needed to hunt with and I followed suit untill I was teased and tempted into buying an extra one here and there after I got a good paying job and my family was taken care of first.
At the age of 10 I got my first 22 single shot Remington 510 which I still have. Dad would give me 5 shells and tell me to bring home a squirrel for each one or bring back the unfired shell. we wasted noughting and we were allowed to practice but only under his supervision and we learned to track and stalk till we were close enough to get a sure kill. Dad had a Woolrich hunting suit black and red plad but we wore a Brown canvas hunting coat with game pockets except when deer hunting we made sure we had some type of red hat on to keep from being shot by the city slikers who had all the latest clothes and rifles.
I didn't no what camoflage clothing was untill the Army issued me some and still have my field jacket from the 70s and my Class As. They don't fit but I still have them.
I wore out the barrel on my 725 Rem 30-06 which I bought used and rebarrled it to 257 Roberts so I could hunt both deer and varmints which I still have. Bought a Ruger 77 in 30-06 because I had to shoot a 500lb black Bear multiple times with the 257 when it charged me before I stopped it with a brain shot. The Ruger has been used for crop damage work which put more meat on the table and is still my go to gun.
All my hunting and fishing was done to suppliment the meat bill and feed my family, it was a way of life.
And I wouldn't have had it any other way because it tought me respect for the wild life and things that were put here on this earth to harvest.
This post is getting me nostalgic. Local gunshop has a vintage Marlin .35 that looks well used but well cared for. Fortunately I have Gramp's .300 Sav 99 in the gun cabinet so I talked myself out of it. I may have to shop Flea bay for an old Mackinaw though.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
Patrick, I went through a period (18 years) in Utah where I killed about 6-7 deer a year because party hunting was still allowed and all of the older guys and their wives wanted their tags punched. I was the one with the Swarovski scoped 4-12x50 custom .270 WIn that shot sub inch groups to 300 yards and I also had 20/10 vision and saw deer better than anybody but one German guy that I hunted with.
This was mountain hunting in the vine and scrub oak at 8,000-11,000 feet. The average shot was close to 300 yards and the trick was walking 5 miles over a couple of ridge lines before light in the morning and letting the locals on horseback do the work for you. Anyone who tells you that horse do not move deer has never hunted in front of horses at 9,000 feet. By the time the locals got there, I usually had at least two bucks down and dressed.
This was mountain hunting in the vine and scrub oak at 8,000-11,000 feet. The average shot was close to 300 yards and the trick was walking 5 miles over a couple of ridge lines before light in the morning and letting the locals on horseback do the work for you. Anyone who tells you that horse do not move deer has never hunted in front of horses at 9,000 feet. By the time the locals got there, I usually had at least two bucks down and dressed.
Dr. Vette
Handloader
- Apr 16, 2012
- 1,480
- 365
Polaris":15q8wne4 said:
I bought one of those a few weeks ago as a "brush gun" for deer, black bear and, if I had to, elk.
There's lots of 'em in Da U.P. You need to kill them with your boots or really study your maps and put some wear on your 4X4. My friend near Ironwood gets a nice one on public land every year. He just hunts out of the way "lost" small parcels of public near large tracts of private land. These small lost 40's are typically overlooked by the citiots that drive up to hunt. The 2 years I worked near Newberry I had no problem finding a respectable buck... not trophies but an 8 and a 9 during rifle season. Hunted in the thick cedary stuff where the Detroiters feared to tread. Sav. 99 was with marble's iron sights was the right rig there.Dr. Vette":1t0eyi29 said:
I enjoyed reading this thread and remember my grandfather and father never dressing, as we do now.
I was also hoping that we would hear from Yukon huntress in regards to this thread, as I know that her and her family still live off of the land and they have all her life. She has told me about hunting and trapping most of her life with one 30-06 rifle and a 20 gauge shotgun. Scotty and Aleena probably know more about this than I do, but it was interesting to me that in todays world, some still live, at least somewhat, like our forefathers did.
Scotty and I spoke about this after her Yukon river thread and we both could do it and would enjoy doing so, but neither of us are so sure that our family would be so willing to give up some of todays conveniences and cultural changes.
I was also hoping that we would hear from Yukon huntress in regards to this thread, as I know that her and her family still live off of the land and they have all her life. She has told me about hunting and trapping most of her life with one 30-06 rifle and a 20 gauge shotgun. Scotty and Aleena probably know more about this than I do, but it was interesting to me that in todays world, some still live, at least somewhat, like our forefathers did.
Scotty and I spoke about this after her Yukon river thread and we both could do it and would enjoy doing so, but neither of us are so sure that our family would be so willing to give up some of todays conveniences and cultural changes.
Oldtrader3
Ammo Smith
- Nov 6, 2009
- 8,406
- 6
They will chip in I guess Sean.
I remember hunting on my way to school in the morning. I went to the same two room schoolhouse that my grandmother went to in the 1880's. She was later an teacher there before she got married. Later on in high school I lived in a dormitory with other boys and the girls had their own dorm. The Dean of Boys would check out our rifles or a shotgun to us at night before bedcheck and we would keep them in out rooms until 4:30 or so in the morning, Then we went hunting. There was woods right behind the Dorm in a town of 300 people where we could just walk into the Washington County woods of northern Maine.
We would hunt deer or grouse or whatever season was open until breakfast at 7:30 which we had to attend. As we came back to change our clothes, we would leave our rifle and box of cartridges with the Dean of Boys and go to breakfast. Could you imagine having that level of freedom now in this country, in High School, where many city folks are so scared of guns?
I remember hunting on my way to school in the morning. I went to the same two room schoolhouse that my grandmother went to in the 1880's. She was later an teacher there before she got married. Later on in high school I lived in a dormitory with other boys and the girls had their own dorm. The Dean of Boys would check out our rifles or a shotgun to us at night before bedcheck and we would keep them in out rooms until 4:30 or so in the morning, Then we went hunting. There was woods right behind the Dorm in a town of 300 people where we could just walk into the Washington County woods of northern Maine.
We would hunt deer or grouse or whatever season was open until breakfast at 7:30 which we had to attend. As we came back to change our clothes, we would leave our rifle and box of cartridges with the Dean of Boys and go to breakfast. Could you imagine having that level of freedom now in this country, in High School, where many city folks are so scared of guns?
