Beating the Whitetail Shivers

 by Roland Wells

email: Roland Wells website: Roland Wells

Underwear and Outerwear - Part 2

of 3

The right underwear is the most basic and important acquisition you must make. Underwear is the place to spend a few extra dollars. The wrong type will guarantee you will get cold. Also, only a couple of pairs are needed, at most. Avoid kneeling in animal body fluids, wear a clean pair of briefs daily, and your 'longies' will last longer than your vacation time. A little salt shaker of cornstarch used to daily dust chafe- prone tender areas will also prolong your comfort. So does keeping clean. If you start getting sore, a little bit of Micatin cream will stop things from getting out of control.

The Shirt/Pants Layer:

Here, one word explains it all - Wool. There still seems to be no other fiber that does such a good job in so many areas important to deer hunters as wool. It both breathes and is tremendously warm. It stays warm as it gets wet. It's also the most silent as you move about. A twig rubbing against wool makes no audible sound. We'll talk about the noiseless properties of wool a bit further on. Wool can be expensive, but will easily last you 20-25 years. Shop the used clothing stores and garage sales for old red wool. Often it can be found at very good prices. If your state demands blaze orange, here you may find a problem. There isn't much old blaze orange wool to find bargains in. Perhaps go with a nylon blaze orange vest over red wool, or shop the catalogues. Heavy wool pants of other colors are sometimes available cheaply in surplus stores and the like. Buy them a bit big (for heavy underwear, and you may 'grow' a bit over the years...) and buy them of heavy material for briar protection. A wool shirt does not have to be out of heavy material, and is a good investment. Again, stay away from cotton, even those wonderful chamois cloth shirts! Wear them to the restaurant, not to the stand! Acrylic flannel shirts have appeared at the discount stores, and work very well, although they're not as warm as wool, especially when wet. The synthetic fleece materials hold much promise, but do not seem to have the abrasion resistance of wool. Occasionally you may read some New York writer extolling the virtue of turtleneck sweaters from his typewriter in Manhattan. Certainly they've never tried wearing them in the woods! Turtlenecks are a poor choice as they give you no way to ventilate excess heat.

The Jacket Layer:

Here again, I favor wool, because noise is so important to the hunter. About twenty years ago I was taking a college roommate out on his first morning of deer hunting. We were a bit later getting out to the stand than I wanted, so I boosted him up in the tree and handed him his rifle. I then quickly took out my orange rip-stop down jacket from my pack and made a fateful decision. Instead of taking off my wool coat, I just put the nylon/down one over it. I handed him my rifle and climbed up with him into the stand, built in a clump of scrub white oak. In an hour or so, the largest buck I have ever seen in the woods began to approach our little stand. When he was about fifty yards out, and behind a small pine, I began to slowly raise my carbine. Then it happened. The sleeve of my down coat lightly brushed against the rough oak bark. In the quiet woods, I might have just as well lit a firecracker. The deer swung his head toward us, did a mid-air pirouette, and headed off through the brush in a twinkling. It was a costly lesson in fabric. Wool is tough, abrasion resistant, and sheds a great deal of water as well. The fabric of your pants is of prime consideration. Jeans are horrible. They get wet quickly, make a tremendous amount of noise in a quiet woods and offer almost no protection against briars. Only corduroys or nylon are worse for noise. Some of the synthetic fabrics, especially the more fuzzy ones, are becoming better and better. At the store, rub the cloth together, and run your fingernail across it. If it makes noise, leave it there. One of the best-known "noiseless" fabrics isn't at all. Shop around. One thing our discussions have settled over the years is don't buy a heavy, insulated wool coat. All you need from the outer layer is a little warmth for walking and the noiseless properties of the fabric. If you need to walk any distance to your stand, a heavy jacket will fill your clothes with moisture just as certainly as standing in the shower. Buy a good wool shell, big enough to put your down and synthetic layers under, and you'll have it for life. I strongly suggest carrying your insulating layers in the right kind of pack, and putting them on when you arrive at your stand. This adds a bit of hassle, but makes all the difference. Layers are the key. You want to dress somewhat cool as you walk, as you track a deer or drag one out. A heavy coat cannot be worn in this type of work situation, and if you let your hard-working muscles get chilled - well, tell your hunting buddies to not bother to wake you the next morning. It will be hard for them to dress you, if they can't even unbend you! The trick is to carry your down coat, extra vest, etc. in your pack, and put them on when you get to your stand. You can open and close layers, or add and subtract them as the day goes on, but you'll always be comfortable this way. There is one little piece of equipment that costs little or nothing, yet adds a tremendous amount to your comfort. It's a scarf. Moms, girlfriends or spouses can be enlisted here, or you can make one yourself in a couple of nights in front of the TV. Get some red or orange yarn, a couple skeins, at the sewing counter, and make a simple scarf about 7-9 inches wide, about four feet long. Lay the scarf around the back of your neck with a bit more on the right than the left. Wrap the right side around the other, then bring it through and drop it over. (Sort of like tying a tie, but don't tuck it through the 'tunnel'.) You can then slide the knot up and down to loosen or tighten it around your neck. This technique will allow you to use your scarf like a chimney damper, allowing just the right amount of air to flow through your clothes as you walk or sit. It'll keep your neck warm, and your chest, too. You will be amazed at the difference this will make in your ability to sit for long periods! If it gets very cold, you can also use it as a face mask.

In Between:

Here's where you can be creative, build up all the warmth you need, and save money, too. This is where you can use your down jackets, wool sweaters, and synthetic batting vests to their best advantage, even if they're not red or orange. This is the stuff you keep in your pack, quickly and quietly putting it on as soon as you get to the stand. It is then covered by the wool shell. You may wish to leave necklines or fronts open, so that you can cool a bit from your walk, but change the clothes right away, so the woods can quiet down all at once. Avoid the noise of Velcro and metal buckles, if possible.

Part 1: Fundamentals

Part 3: Hands, Feet and Head