Hi guys, I'm new here, and I need help with hunting clothes. I will hunt in western Montana in the first week of November of this year. I read a lot about woolen clothes for hunting and how many people recommended it for hunting in the mountainous states. My problem is that where I live, I will not wear hunting clothes, because it is not cold here. That's where I have a problem, because I don’t want to invest that kind of money in some clothes that I’ll wear for just one hunt (I already have big fees and tags). I have Russell APXg2 equipment for outdoor use, and I would like to know what you will advise on other wool options. We are waiting for comments.

I know you don't want to invest in it but Cabelas Wooltimate is great. I would recommend some wool thermal underwear and fleece layers combined with your Russel gear. I have a Minus 33 brand wool base layer and have been very happy with the quality for the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Minus33-Merino-W ... 9128600510

Yeah, base layers are your friend. That said, wool isn't just for cold weather. I wear a wool t-shirt hiking in the summer as well. And wool socks all the time.

https://shop.aramarkuniform.com/sc-cata ... ?cat=52450

What's your size?? I have some of the Wearguard -30 deg. and -20 deg. coveralls that I used to wear hunting or on the job and would be interested in finding them a new home. I out "grew" them.

Wool is awesome but not magic. If I may, coming from more of a camping/backpacking background than hunting, you might consider synthetic fleece as a lower cost to wool. It's not as nice to wear for days on end (it stinks when sweat in for days), but it can be found cheap. Just a thought.

What are the color requirements where you will be hunting?

I like Merino wool base layer and mid layers. First Lite makes some great products that are more geared towards hunting, but Smartwool and Icebreaker make similar base layers that are useful for hunting also. Being able to shed and add layers as conditions change is key to staying comfortable. Having some kind of wind stopping outer layer, preferably waterproof, will serve you better than all-wool gear. Also, welcome!

I used to work outside in winter in Minnesota. Layers. Long underwear or even sweat pants (yoga, base) under jeans with a wind and water proof outer shell works well. Good winter socks in boots, maybe a pac style. For late season pheasants, I can wear a Carhart winter jacket with a blaze orange vest over base layer , flannel or wool shirt. If it gets really nasty, I stay home, but would use coveralls if required. My Dad used to just buy painters coveralls and dye them red. Worked well.

If there's a plug nearby, go with electric shears. Something in .308 would work as well, but could be a problem unless you own the sheep.

BTW - welcome to the forum. Please add an intro: viewforum.php?f=37

AndyH wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:11 pm If there's a plug nearby, go with electric shears. Something in .308 would work as well, but could be a problem unless you own the sheep.

BTW - welcome to the forum. Please add an intro: viewforum.php?f=37

Interesting solution, if you own a loom.

Seriously, fleece is a really good (and inexpensive) way to go for a base layer. As wooglin wrote: Base layers are your friend.

Once I found affordable wool socks, I will never go back to anything else in cold weather.

I would go with Merino wool everything if I lived in the cold north, but fleece is also super light, dries fast, and very warm.

Check out sierratradingpost.com. They have a lot of clearance warm stuff for cheap.

I’ve got a shirt from Duckworth: https://www.duckworthco.com/

Pricey, but comfy and made in the USA.

Josh

featureless wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:34 pm Check out sierratradingpost.com. They have a lot of clearance warm stuff for cheap.

Agreed.

K9s wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 4:44 pm

featureless wrote: Thu Jan 24, 2019 2:34 pm Check out sierratradingpost.com. They have a lot of clearance warm stuff for cheap.

Agreed.

I almost always find great jackets there. And smartwool socks. Fortunately, I don't mind "hella orange" and "screaming yellow" quite as much as my wife does. I just suggest she wear sunglasses while standing next to me.

I spent a year living in a survival/outdoor school in Wisconsin. In WI we lived in wig wams, snow caves or just on the ground wrapped in wool blankets. The school didn't allow any synthetic material so we all had to scrounge up wool clothing. After that I worked as a horseback hunting guide in the Uncompaghre Wilderness of CO. Base camp there was 11,000ft and we ran the season from July pack trips through August/Sep archery all the way to getting snowed out in the late rifle seasons. After that hunting season I stayed out there and was a Ski Instructor at Telluride. My Marine Corps Reserve unit specialized in Cold Weather and Mountaineering. We did trips to the Sierras, Minnesota, and Northern Norway above the Arctic Circle. So, I feel like I've had some experience in harsh environments with varying levels of self sufficiency and here are some things I learned from that:
1) Smartwool is expensive as hell but it's the greatest base layer I've ever worn in my life. Much better than any polypro or synthetics that I've warn. It's not too hot, not too cold, it's the Goldilocks of base layers and it's worth every penny. I now work in the oilfield and the only socks I wear year round from Texas to North Dakota are smartwool socks. I'm a zealot for this stuff and encourage it wholeheartedly.
2) Ebay was a great resource for used wool clothing. I got a bunch of Pendleton gear there for low prices.
3) Salvation army, Goodwill etc... are also awesome resources.
4) Old military items are decent especially as an outer layer. Here is a link to the type of trousers I wore all year in WI and Colorado. Only 15$ plus shipping! http://tinyurl.com/y6gblu4p
5) Overall I've found that older plain wool clothes are superior to new synthetics especially when comparing cost, versatility, retaining body odors, and comfort.

Do you have an idea of what the hunting is like? I suppose it will be a mix of stalking and glassing with some days heavy on activity and others (especially towards the end of the week LOL) that are more lazy. The Russel gear looks pretty good. How much of that do you have and how many/what layers?

Your Montana hunt sounds awesome! Hope you have a good one and post some pics afterwards.

"3) Salvation army, Goodwill etc... are also awesome resources"

Since this thread is revived, I'd add Craigslist to #3;
There's nothing that doesn't show up there sooner or later, if you can wait.