Someday, in my dreams, there will be a store full of outdoor
clothing.  Deer hunting, turkey hunting, fishing… a store full of every
possible article of clothing that you could possibly need.  Blaze
orange, camo, base layers and outter layers… it will all be there.  And
the best thing about the whole thing – it will be all women’s clothing
and NOT pink!

I bought my first pieces of camo this spring in preparation of turkey
season.  Nothing crazy, just a head/neck cover and a long-sleeve
shirt.  I had to try and figure out what men’s size I would need that
would do the trick and be usable next year (while covering the baby bump
this season).  I think I did it, but if there were women’s sizes, I
could have easily picked out a size and been done with it.  Instead, I
find myself always negotiating men’s outdoor clothing to make it work
for my hunting wardrobe.

It is important went picking out hunting clothes that they fit.  Too
small and you are dealing with being uncomfortable and cold.  Too big
and there is too much bulk that can get in the way when you are trying
to get a good shot off and you could get cold.  I actually wear ski
clothes for all layers but the top when I go deer hunting.  My top layer
consists of my Dad’s old wool pants (that fit me) and a men’s red/black
plaid wool jacket that is a classic hunting jacket but it would not fit
me if I did not have about 6 layers below it and wanted something big
enough to cover me and keep me warm as I sit for 5-6 hours at a time.

I ended up buying a men’s large camo long-sleeve shirt.  I had to
skower the rack looking for a large because the other sizes were XL,
XXL, XXXL.  Nothing for a medium or small – clearly only large+ men
hunt.   Yes, I know that I could have ordered something from a handful
of online retail places but then you don’t know the real size of what
you are getting, if it is wrong and you need to return it… it is just as
much of a hassle as converting men’s sizes.   Plus, being brand new to
turkey hunting, I might not like it as much as deer hunting and am not
willing to drop $150 or $200 on one piece of clothing right from the
start.

So, I had to settle on, once again, buying men’s hunting clothes for
my hunting needs.  Someday we will have our own hunting clothing store
and I can not wait until that day arrives and I can worry about other
things each hunting season besides my clothes.