Hunting and layering

So I am finally going to figure this out.

I don’t get cold very easy and I sweat a whole lot. Really to the point of extreme sweating. I wear shorts in 50 degree weather and I am happy.

I assume I want a base layer that wicks that sweat away, but then I get to the stand and I want warmth so I can sit for long periods of time.

I assume after researching most hunters where less clothes walking to their stands and then increase their layers after they get there.

Maybe the problem is that I get dressed to go to the stand and instead I should get dressed to walk to my stand and then put on the extra clothes I need.

I picked up some cheaper farm and fleet “under armor” rated for cold weather high activity to wick the sweat away, but I am second guessing that purchase

Just to make it even more of a problem when we gun hunt, I can do long walks and then turn around and the next spot stand for an hour. (I am betting the deer smell me even when I am up wind of them )

What do you guys do/use? Especially you guys that sweat just walking to fridge 

I wear a thin Leaf Cut or Guille Suite. Basically mosquito netting thin – yet fairly durable. Can wear white t-shirt under it and remain entirely camoflauged. Can layer underneath the camo when at the stand. Backpack to carry additional layers.

Play the wind.

I’d avoid sweating before getting out to your stand, unless you’re wearing moisture-wicking base layers. It is a great idea to wear less layers out and then put them on once you’re settled in your stand and cooling down. During firearms season, I usually wear regular ol’ long underwear and many lawyers of cotton sweat pants and shirts. I wear CuddlDuds brand of long underwear. Silly name, but they’re a great material! Thin, but warm. And they come in men’s too. I’ve not invested in any of these fancy moisture-wicking materials, and the only areas I get cold are my feet. If I’m not moving, my feet get cold. I’ve just accepted that as an inevitability.

Wicking, schmicking! When my wife and I were dating, I asked her what she wanted for Christmas and she said she wanted a sweater…So I asked her to marry me.

What the others said about going in near naked then dressing at the stand. BUT, the wind is everything…especially since I smoke while bow/gun hunting. I write off the deer downwind and still arrow a deer or two each year from upwind. My friends hate my success in spite of the smoking. I also spot and stalk like you suggested and still can get to 20 yards provided I am slow (like molasses in the winter time), patient and use cover where you can. But I’m an idiot so don’t listen to me.

Moisture-wicking clothing transports sweat away from the skin so it can evaporate. It helps keep you warm because evaporative cooling doesn’t stop when the heavy activity stops, so as your body cools, the evaporation will continue to cool you when you don’t want it to.

I do what you suggest, I wear lighter clothing on the walk into the stand so that I avoid getting heated up and sweating too much. I carry a heavier “over” layer in my pack or lashed to the outside. This setup also allows me to have cooler, lighter clothing for still hunting or moving from stand to stand.

For most of the firearms season, the light clothing is a moisture wicking base layer and then a polar fleece jacket over the top. I switch between a baseball cap and a beanie depending on the temp.

Then when I get to the stand, I wait a few minutes to cool down and then layer up as needed. Anything from just putting a wind shell on over the top to putting on a full-on parka.

One of the additions that’s really made the layering game easier for me is the addition of a blaze orange “gear vest”. That always goes over the top. This way the shells, binocs, calls, etc all stay in the gear vest pockets and it’s only the “under” layer than gets changed.

Grouse

JD Winston wrote:

the wind is everything…especially since I smoke while bow/gun hunting. I write off the deer downwind

I’m with ya there. Deer will stop dead in their tracks when they get down wind of me…But they don’t detect human.

I’m not against people who do their absolute best to stay scent free…Just seems impossible to me.

On the long walks in i’ll wear tennis shoes, and change into boots or put on boot blankets when i get to the stand. Same goes with the warmer clothings. Sweating makes you COLD…and i swear i sweat just by putting on SOCKS!