Blaze & Budget

Where to Buy Cheap Hunting Gear

The discount is rarely a sale. It is usually last year's model, the wrong season, or somebody else's upgrade — and knowing which is which is most of the saving.

By Stephen V.Last updated How we rank

There is a version of budget hunting that means buying bad gear, and it is the wrong version. The better version is buying the same gear everybody else buys, at a different time, through a different channel, one generation behind. The saving from doing that consistently is far larger than the saving from buying cheaper things.

Here is where the discounts actually live, roughly in order of how much they are worth.

1. Last year’s model

This is the biggest, most reliable and least-used discount in hunting gear, and the reason it works is that hunting equipment changes slowly.

Look at what actually changes in an annual update across most categories. A new camo pattern. A new colorway. A pocket moved. A logo refreshed. The boot is the same last, the same leather and the same membrane. The scope is the same glass in the same tube. The pack is the same fabric with a different zip pull.

When the new model lands, the old one gets discontinued and discounted, and the manufacturer warranty still applies to it. You are buying the same object at a lower number.

Where this does not hold:genuinely fast-moving technology. Trail cameras have improved substantially between generations in trigger speed and infrared quality; rangefinders have improved in acquisition speed and display legibility. In those two categories a one-generation discount has to be large to be worth taking. Everywhere else — boots, packs, clothing, stands, knives, calls, bows — take the old model without hesitating.

2. Buying in the wrong season

Retailers clear hunting inventory when the seasons close. Late winter through early spring — roughly January to March — is when clothing, boots, stands, blinds and accessories hit their lowest prices, because the shelf space is wanted for fishing and camping.

Buying in September, alongside everybody else, is the most expensive possible timing. The discipline this requires is buying a season ahead, which means knowing what you needed — and you only learn that by hunting a season first. That is not a problem; it is the correct order. Hunt with what you have, note what failed, buy it in February.

The same logic applies within a year: buy insulated gear in spring, buy early-season gear in late autumn.

3. The used market

Hunting has a strong upgrade culture, which is excellent news for anybody buying second-hand. Last season’s flagship bow, the scope somebody replaced with a better one, the treestand from a hunter who moved to a saddle — all of it sells for a fraction of retail.

Genuinely underpriced on the used market:

  • Compound bows. Archery upgrades constantly. Factor in replacement strings and cables, which are consumables with a two-to-three year life, and have a shop check the limbs. Our compound bow buying guide covers what to inspect.
  • Optics.Scopes and binoculars have no consumable parts. Check the glass for fungus and scratches, work the focus and turrets, and confirm whether the warranty transfers — Vortex’s VIP terms do, which makes a used Vortex unusually good value.
  • Golf rangefinders.A specific arbitrage worth knowing about. Golf is a larger market than hunting, units turn over quickly, and a used golf rangefinder with slope does most of what a hunting unit does — with one important caveat about how it picks targets, covered in hunting vs golf rangefinder.
  • Packs, stands, sticks and knives.Inspect welds, straps and stitching. Replace any strap that shows UV damage — straps are cheap and they fail first.
  • Shotguns and rifles. Firearms hold value and used ones are frequently barely shot. Buy through a licensed dealer, follow all applicable law, and have a gunsmith look at anything you are unsure of.

What we would never buy used:anything that arrests a fall. Safety harnesses, tethers, lineman’s ropes and lifelines. Webbing degrades invisibly under UV, a harness that has already caught a fall is finished while looking perfect, and the seller has no incentive to mention either. This is the only category on this entire site where we say buy new regardless of budget, and our budget safety harness roundup exists partly to show how little new costs.

4. Army surplus

Surplus is the cheapest durable field clothing on earth and the most under-used channel by hunters. Field jackets, trousers, wool blankets, poncho liners, packs, gaiters, ammunition pouches and sleeping mats are all built to survive people who do not own them.

Two things to check. Cotton content— a lot of surplus is heavy cotton, which holds water against you and stops insulating when wet, so it belongs over a proper base layer rather than against your skin in November. And noise— heavy ripstop rasps against brush in a way fleece does not, which matters at bow range and not at all at rifle range.

Whether the pattern works on deer is a separate question with a real answer, and it is more favorable to surplus than most hunters assume — see hunting camo vs military camo.

5. Manufacturer outlets and factory seconds

Most established gear makers run an outlet or clearance section carrying discontinued lines, returned stock and occasionally cosmetic seconds. This is where you find last year’s model directly, at the source, with the warranty intact.

It is worth checking these before the big retailers, because manufacturers clear their own inventory earlier and more aggressively than retailers clear theirs.

6. The things that are free

Worth saying plainly, because the cheapest gear is the gear you do not buy.

  • Public land.National forests, wildlife management areas, state forests and other public ground offer access for the price of a license. This is by far the largest single saving available to a hunter — a lease or an outfitter costs more than an entire kit.
  • Scouting. Boot leather and free agency mapping beat every gadget in the store. A hunter who knows where deer are with cheap gear outperforms one who does not with expensive gear, every season.
  • Hunter education and mentored hunts. State agencies and conservation organizations run learn-to-hunt programs, and many include equipment loans. If you are starting from nothing, this is the cheapest possible entry.
  • Maintenance. Re-waterproofing boots, sharpening a knife and waxing bowstrings extend the life of gear you already own. Our boot waterproofing guide is a few dollars and twenty minutes for another season out of a pair you were about to replace.

Two places we would not shop

Deep-discount listings with no stated specifications

A listing that describes a binocular as “high powered HD professional” without naming the prism material, or a trail camera that claims a resolution but no trigger speed, is not cheap — it is unverifiable. Our position throughout this site is that a maker who states a checkable number has committed to something and a maker who publishes adjectives has not. Price without specification is not a bargain.

Anything safety-critical from an unknown seller

Harnesses, tethers, ropes, climbing sticks and treestands from sellers with no traceable manufacturer are the wrong place to save money. The failure mode is not disappointment. Buy those from makers with a track record, and read our treestand safety guide before you buy any of it.

The order to buy in

The cheapest possible first season looks like this, and it is worth following even if you can afford more:

  1. License and tag. Non-negotiable, and it funds the public land you are about to hunt.
  2. Boots that let you walk. The one place we would not buy the cheapest option, because distance from the parking lot is the best predictor of hunting quality.
  3. A way to stay warm and dry.Base layers first, outer layers from surplus or last year’s clearance.
  4. A weapon you can shoot well, used if possible.
  5. A safety harness, new, if you are hunting from elevation.
  6. Then hunt a season before buying anything else.

That last step is the one that saves the most money, and it is the one nobody follows. A season teaches you what you actually lack, which is almost never what the store told you in September. The full category-by-category argument is in our complete guide to hunting on a budget, and the itemized numbers are in how much it costs to start hunting.

One piece of context for how much marketing you are up against: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s 2022 National Survey counted 14.4 million American hunters — about 6% of residents aged 16 and over — inside $394 billion of total spending across hunting, fishing and wildlife watching. That is a large consumer market with substantial advertising budgets pointed at it, and most first-year gear regret comes from buying ahead of experience rather than from buying cheap.

Frequently asked questions

When is the best time to buy hunting gear?

Late winter through spring, for almost everything. Retailers clear seasonal hunting inventory once the seasons close, roughly January through March, and that is when clothing, boots, stands and blinds are cheapest. Buying in September, when everyone else is buying, is the most expensive way to equip yourself. The practical discipline is to buy next season's gear at the end of this one, which requires knowing what you needed — which you only know after a season of hunting.

Is it safe to buy used hunting gear?

For most categories, yes, and it is the largest discount available. Optics, packs, clothing, knives, calls, stands and bows all trade actively second-hand and can be inspected before you commit. The exception is anything that arrests a fall — safety harnesses, tethers, lineman's ropes and lifelines. Webbing degrades invisibly with UV exposure, a harness that has already arrested a fall is finished even though it looks fine, and a seller has no reason to tell you. Buy that new, always.

Is army surplus good for hunting?

For outer layers and general field equipment, often yes, and it is the cheapest durable clothing available. Surplus field jackets, trousers, wool blankets, poncho liners and packs are built to survive abuse and cost a fraction of hunting-branded equivalents. Two cautions: check the cotton content, because cotton holds water against you and stops insulating when wet, and expect heavy ripstop to be noisier against brush than fleece or brushed cotton.

Should I buy last year's model of hunting gear?

In most categories it is the single most reliable discount there is. Hunting gear changes slowly and an annual model update is frequently a new camo pattern, a new colorway and a minor feature. A discontinued boot, scope or pack is often the identical product at a substantial reduction, with the manufacturer warranty still applying. The exception is genuinely fast-moving technology — trail cameras and rangefinders have improved meaningfully between generations, so the discount has to be large to justify going back one.

Where do you find hunting gear deals online?

The most consistent sources are manufacturer outlet and clearance sections, retailer end-of-season clearance from January through March, and the second-hand market on hunting forums and classifieds where the seller can answer questions about the item's history. Price-tracking on a specific item beats browsing for sales, because gear prices in this market move continuously rather than only during advertised events — which is why every price on this site is pulled live rather than typed in.

How much should a beginner spend on hunting gear?

Less than the marketing implies, and in a specific order. Buy the license and tag, boots that let you walk, a way to stay warm and dry, and a weapon you can shoot well. Then hunt a season before buying anything else, because a season teaches you what you actually lack. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service counted 14.4 million American hunters in 2022 within $394 billion of total wildlife-associated spending — this is a large consumer market with real marketing budgets, and most first-year gear regret comes from buying ahead of experience.

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