Tom Bahti: Some thoughts about my favorite hunting gear

Everyone asks me about my favorite pieces and brands of outdoor gear. Well, OK, actually no one has ever asked me that question, but I thought I’d throw out my choices just to get people thinking and maybe stir the pot a bit.

Full disclosure: I have no affiliation with any of the brands or products that I mention in this piece. They are just items of equipment or clothing that I’ve found to be my preference(s) over a long time working and fooling around in the outdoors.

You’ll also note (with an *) that some of the gear is no longer available. Sadly, with those items, I’ve violated my adage that if you find some outdoor equipment or clothing that you really like, buy more than one or two at a time because the company will probably stop making it or go out of business.

Rifle (rimfire): Kimber of Oregon M82 Classic* in .22LR, with a walnut stock, spectacular trigger and superb accuracy. When I purchased it in the early 1980s my wife said the squirrels I shot that fall ran about $60 apiece.

Rifle (centerfire): Cooper Firearms M54 in .260 Remington (6.5mm) with a walnut stock, excellent trigger, and the proven track record of printing small groups with bullets from 120 to 140 grains. With the heavier 6.5mm bullets available from Barnes and Nosler it’s more than enough for animals as large as elk.

Scope: Leupold VXIII 2.5-8X.

This, for me, is the perfect combination of smaller size, light weight and enough range of magnification to handle everything from close stuff in the brush to longer range shots. A very close second would be the Bausch & Lomb Elite 4000 1.5-6X* for the same reasons.

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Knife: Ruana Knife Works 26CD Custom Skinner* is a little bigger than I normally prefer, but this was a gift from my father 35 years ago. It has proven to be a real workhorse. I’ve skinned and boned out an entire elk with no sharpening needed – a testament to the steel. Ruana no longer offers this model, and isn’t taking any new orders at all, as they are working on several years of backorders. Quality stuff.

Shotgun (12 gauge): The Benelli Cordoba is my go-to gun. I’ve shot a lot of sporting clays with it, and have shot enough pheasants, sharp-tailed grouse and waterfowl that a couple of my hunting buddies refer to it as “Black Death.” I don’t know if I want that shotgun named after the bubonic plague, but I suspect the name is more related to shells I’ve expended than any shooting prowess on my part.

Small(er) gauge: Browning Citori Lightening Feather 20/28 two-barrel set.* The 28 is by far my favorite gauge for most hunting and shooting, and this firearm offers me the other option of a 20 gauge, if necessary. Choke tubes add versatility, and make it just about perfect for various grouse, woodcock, doves, and gray partridge.

Boots: Uninsulated Kenetrek Mountain Extreme (affiliate link). A case could be made for 16-inch La Crosse rubber hikers or L.L. Bean Maine Hunting Shoes, but the Kenetreks are at the top. Simply the finest boots I’ve ever owned, I bought them for a muzzleloader elk hunt in western Colorado, and have since abused them on a Coues deer hunt in an Arizona wilderness area and numerous December pheasant hunting trips in South Dakota. They are expensive, but worth every penny.

Pants (deer hunting): L.L. Bean wool bibs.* I grew up hunting deer in the far northern Upper Peninsula of Michigan, where snow during the gun season was almost a constant. As such, I gained an early appreciation of the value of wool garments. Combined with a good base layer (union suit in my case) and fleece wader pants, you can sit for extended periods in some pretty nasty conditions.

My current archery favorite is the merino wool First Lite Sawtooth jacket* and Obsidian pants. With appropriate base layers, these work throughout the season and double as excellent turkey hunting garb.

Upland birds: Katahdin Ironworks* pants combined with L.L. Bean zip chaps* (when necessary). The pants are extremely comfortable and durable, and the chaps have been virtually indestructible. Naturally, Katahdin is out of business, and the chaps are no longer offered by L.L. Bean. Go figure.

Upland vest: Dick’s Field & Stream strap vest.* There are dozens of great upland bird hunting vests out there, some costing nearly as much as a monthly car payment. I stumbled across this one at Dick’s Sporting Goods back when they sold hunting equipment and gear, and it has been my mainstay. Snap closure shell pockets (I hate Velcro), dual water-bottle holders, zippered inside storage, and a couple of small outside enclosures for the E-collar transmitter and a compass – perfect for warm weather or over heavier garments as weather dictates.

There. Maybe these items are not exactly what you want/ need/use, but this stuff has worked for me. These are simply my favorites, and are certainly not applicable for all situations and uses. Take it for what you think it is worth.

Tom Bahti is a retired wildlife biologist and deputy conservation warden from Sobieski. He torture tests his hunting gear each fall in a number of states and provinces.