I had the opportunity to hunt with my son and another person yesterday, and to tell the truth I had to chuckle.
His buddy.... Well, this guy looked like he just stepped out of some photo shoot for GQ Turkey Quarterly!
He had on a matching Sitka equinox turkey vest, equinox guard hoody and an equinox guard pair of pants. He might have had a matching Sitka hat as well but who was noticing!
I know he had to drop $700 or $800 for all that stuff. I could have bought a nice used shotgun for the money he spent of styling and looking good.
Anyway, I felt out of place with my 20-year-old scent blocker leafy pants that I have repaired more times than I can count and an old camo jacket I found at some yard sale years ago. Compared to him I looked like some homeless person, and I could surely have fit in on any street corner if I only had a sign!
He missed one and had an opportunity with some other birds with no success.
Bottom line
20 year old leafy pants - $30.00
Garage sale camo jacket - $8.00
Old hat I had laying around in my garage - $ 5.00
Nomad hunting vest - $ 100.00
The look on his face when I shot my bird at 6:10 AM
PRICELESS!
Hahaha - Love it!
I really hate seeing Sitka jump on the turkey bandwagon. All its done is cause more "sick for it" deer and duck hunters to start turkey hunting.
Also wearing my old (20 + ? ) Scent blocker 3d jacket and pants, will have to break down and buy new soon, not much left of pants, to many briars.
Not sure what Sitka does that makes it "worth" the asking price........... But I'm certain I'll never have enough money to find out.
I held my nose and bought a new pair of bibs this spring for $50. Only reason I did that was to make the ticks work harder to get to my skin, so........ I kinda viewed the purchase as a necessity.
;D ;D My choice of camo on any given hunt tends to be whatever is left that is the least likely to stand up by itself in a corner and has the least amount of turkey blood on it. ...Choices become more and more limited as the season goes on. :angel9: :toothy9:
Last 3 birds my son killed , he was wearing cut off bluejeans, white T shirt, and flip flops. Have a good friend that has the best of everything, full gillie, face paint, they hunt the same place, hes not killed one in 2 years.
Nothing screams googan in the Turkey woods more, than a young or middle aged male in high dollar, "mountain goat" camo ;)
Im with ya gobble nut
I usually wear whatever is clean. When I first got out of the Marines, I used to wear my woodland BDU's until I couldn't fit in them anymore. Had to buy more so now I got some that match but still end up mix and matching
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My camo's so old I don't even know what you call it. Except for my vest and thermals I think it's all from a '90's Walmart clearance bin. It's good I bought it all XXL because it fits great now. Every time I think I want to upgrade I realize nothing will ever be more comfortable. Nobody cares what I look like in my hunting clothes, including me. Now I can buy another turkey call I don't need.
Quote from: Yoder409 on May 01, 2022, 08:33:21 AM
Not sure what Sitka does that makes it "worth" the asking price...........
What makes (some of) their gear worth the price is their rain gear... Or if you live in cold temps (which I do not), their cold-weather outer-gear.
I have worn and gotten wet in an awful lot of rain gear, and Sitka is the first jacket that consistently keeps me dry duck hunting in the worst of weather. And, their duck hunting rain jacket is well-designed with duck hunters in mind (as opposed to First Lite or Kuiu which is of equal quality but designed for big game).
Gortex rubbing against a cement blind will wear it out faster, so the only time I wear Sitka is if it is likely to rain... But, when it does rain, it is worth every penny.
Now, I do feel that Sitka has done a wonderful job riding their own branding to up-sell a lot of their other gear... And their marketing is incredible, as so many (young or new) hunters now feel that if you do not wear something identifiably Sitka, you are not a real hunter... But their rain gear is the real deal...
Turkey hunting in California for me... Army fatigues are my favorite pants... Spring-camo polyester shirt, and I have a pull-over I have used for years that is comfortable and the right color for early morning... Nothing matches, and I sorta' look like a camouflage clown. As long as my clothes function to do the two things I want (blend in and stay comfortable), I am good to go.
You can always tell the duck hunters in the parking lot... Often an old beat up 870 or SBE, but often an updated gun as well... Gear is organized well and ready to go, and he is off quickly and quietly... He might have on a Sitka jacket if it is going to rain though... The guy that looks like he is doing a marketing campaign for Sitka, and talkin' it up... Not so much.
My favorite camo that I wear turkey hunting, weather permitting, is a 20+ year old Bug Tamer suit that I've repaired, sewn up, and even replaced the camo mesh with a leafy suit when the old camo got too faded. I've got newer camo, but that is my lucky, go to suit.
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I feel like a lot of us shop at the farm supply and Walmart.
I don't usually get involved in these kinds of threads, but who really cares what somebody wears while hunting. Sure, Sitka is overpriced, but there is no denying that they provide a quality product. If somebody wants to spend their money on higher priced clothing, let them. They are putting their money into the economy and that is a good thing. I think we call all agree that the name or price tag on a piece of clothing, cheap or expensive, really has any impact on if you shoot a turkey. My guess is that many folks that have cheap outfits have spent a crazy amount of money on calls, decoys, guns, etc. Wear what you want without having to worry about fashionistas on both side of the equation!
funny.
but at some point most folks will have to start "breaking in" new duds, boots, vest, ect...
hope all have a great season. good luck, and have FUN
I have an old vest from Cabelas with the tire seat. Suits my needs and so comfortable I just can`t pass it on. They haven`t made them in years. On a hunt a couple years ago my guide was aging my camo clothes he had the latest and greatest. I also had 30years on him. We had a good laugh over it.
IF I ever replace any worn out gear, which I rarely do since I'm a cheap SOB and dang proud of it, I drag it down the road behind my worn out truck before appearing in public. Why, I wore one set of camo so long it faded to white! Almost got shot. ;)
I never owned a pair of camo pants in 27 years of hunting. I have owned camo waders and camo coveralls but those are gone. All my deer/turkey hunting is either insulated or uninsulated bibs in brown or green. FLA and hot weather hunts I just wear my breathable hiking pants that are green. I do wear camo fleece although it is 12 years old and my 20 year old camo walls raincoat for turkey hunting.