Women’s Hunting Clothes

Women’s hunting clothing has come a long way over the last 20 years or so. There were basically no options to a quite large collection of styles and patterns of hunting wear designed especially for female hunters.

Yet, when looking for hunting clothing, many women still ask, “How do start?” Whether you’re a veteran hunter or looking forward to your first day in the woods, you need to ponder the following questions, because if you really do ask these questions and have some forethought, you hunting experience will be a pleasurable one.

What Are You Going to be Hunting?

When choosing hunting clothing for women it depends on what kind of game your are hunting. Consider all the game you might hunt. Will you be pursuing deer, elk, moose, bear or a combination of these animals? Are hunting foul, like pheasant, duck or turkey?

Another factor in picking the right clothing for women hunters’ is the fit, traditionally hunting clothes do not fit their female form. You need clothes that isn’t to baggy or doesn’t sag. You need clothing interfere with shooting their weapons.

Think about what strategies you’ll use for the different animals you’ll be going after. You need to dress differently when bowhunting bear or deer from an higher positions like a treestand as opposed to shooting ducks from a swampish duck blind.

Another important factor to consider are camouflage patterns. These patterns should be different because you need to match your environment. Here are just 2 scenarios to consider…

It is fall and the game you are looking for are mule deer and you are in the heart Colorado, you might decide on a combination pattern of leaves and branches.

It is fall time again, and you are hunting duck in Vermont, you would want to wear a marsh grass / wetland pattern.

There are many more scenarios to consider.

Use your answers to the following questions as your criteria when it comes time to search for hunting clothes.

Do you need clothing that protects your legs when walking through heavy brush and thickets?
Do you need clothing that “breathes” as you continually move throughout the day?
Will you spend several hours motionless in a treestand?

If you are going to spend several hour sitting still be might require insulated clothing to retain your body heat. The great thing is that some clothing manufacturers already have many of the features you will need into one versatile garment.

What Kind of Hunting Will You Do?

Will you be bowhunting, gun hunting or both? Will you hunt with a handgun, crossbow, muzzleloader or shotgun?

These factors need to be pondered when deciding on your women’s hunting clothing.

For instance…

Bowhunters “lighter” clothing, especially in the front. features like snaps and storm flaps will diminish accuracy, because drawing back a bow will be harder. Also a bowhunter needs the clothing to have a better range of motion, I know this sound silly, but a more radial arm and shoulder movement for pulling back their bows is neccesary. The other thing is that sleeves need fit snug so as not to interfere with bowstrings when released.

Rifle hunters, have different needs. They need jackets and shirts that don’t bind, but can accomodate a comfortable shoulder mount. Hunting Jackets and shirts that encompass gusseted arm seams are great for easy and fast manuvabilty.

Tree climbing is another huge factor. Are you going to be a treestand hunter? Obviously you will want pants that are made light, but insulated and be resistant to pulling of tree limbs. You want to choose pants that won’t ride up on you when climbing up and down trees. Another feature you will need is reinforced knees and rear-ends and double-stitched seams. These really are important because women are just has hard on thier hunting clothing as as men.

Is blaze orange required? Do your research, obviously you know which state your hunting in, but there are rules at a county level too, be sure you check.

Where Will You Hunt?

The time of year should be taken into consideration, This really decide whether you will need insulated or non-insulated clothing. Some garments, such as an “All-Season” hunting jacket, will work in just about all weather conditions.

Just like opening a business, it is all about location, location and location. This will help you determine where your hunts will take place. Just like our scenarios above, you need ask questions about where you will be hunting. There are other factor other than camoflouge patterns to think about. Fabris choice is a biggy. Fabric choices can range from 100-percent brushed cotton or poly-cotton blends, to fleece, scent control or waterproof finishes.

Do you hunt in the hardwoods or along fencerows beside a cornfield? Maybe you prefer river bottoms or marshes? While the patterns available are as varied as the terrain around the world, women’s clothing options still aren’t nearly as numerous as the men’s. But the camouflage patterns that are available are researched and developed to be used in specific cover — whether it’s the desert southwest, the cornfields of the Midwest or in the northern forest. You need to be smart and choose the pattern that best matches your hunting environment.

What will the climate be while you are hunting?

This is obvious, but needs to be talked about. What time of year will you be hunting? Winter can be brutally cold, while spring can be extremely warm in some parts of the country. There are places like Vermont where the hunting seasons are very short and only happen at certain parts of the year, this sort of dictates what you will wear.

The time of year you’ll find yourself in the woods will determine if you need insulated or non-insulated clothing, a single layer or several layers, waterproof or windproof features and brown camouflage or green. Research the geography and weather conditions in your hunting zone to better educate yourself on the type of clothing and camouflage you’ll need. Staying warm and dry is key. Regardless of the climate, consider waterproof clothing or waterproof finishes for your outerwear and footwear — you can’t go wrong guaranteeing you’ll stay dry in unpredictable weather.

Can I just get Men’s Hunting Clothes?

The short answer is…

You can, But…

Will the clothes fit?

Since Men and women have different physically forms, most likely men’s clothing will not fit. Consider that the average man is approximately 5’10″ tall and 190 pounds. On the other hand, the average woman is 5’4″ tall, 135 lbs.

These are huge differences, there is much more fabric used to make men’s clothing than the female’s that’s extra fabric you don’t need.

Other reasons… A man’s chest and waist sizes are nearly 2 to 3 inches larger than the typical woman’s. Men tend to have a straighter hip, while a woman’s hips are curvy and are on average 2 to 3 inches wider than a man’s. There are big differences in each gender’s shape.

Every woman hunter I know wants to hunt and still be comfortable…

- They want clothes that fit their female form.
- They want clothes that don’t bag or sag or interfere with shooting their weapons.
- They don’t want jackets and vests that hit below our waist or hang down to our knees.
- Theydon’t want to purchase pants that need hemming or to be held onto our bodies by a tightly cinched belt.
- They want clothes that eliminate bulk where we don’t want it, but “give” where we do need it.

Over the years manufacturers of women’s hunting wear often sacrificed function for style. Yes, they acknowledged our desire to look good in the field, but they often underestimated our love of hunting and our dedication to the sport by leaving off essential features needed in quality hunting wear. In recent years women’s clothing has improved and we’re now seeing features included that have been requested for a long time.

Below are some great choices for Women’s Hunting clothes…