Finding Deals on Used Hunting and Archery Gear on Craigslist and eBay

Hunting seasons come and go, and every year a wave of gear hits the secondhand market from hunters who upgraded, moved, or just lost interest. Compound bows get listed for half what they cost new. Rifle scopes worth $400 show up in a $60 lot. Tree stands that retail for $200 go for $40. If you know what to look for and move fast, hunting and archery gear is one of the most rewarding categories to shop on Craigslist and eBay.

Why Hunting Gear Is So Good to Buy Used

A few things stack in your favor here:

• The gear is built to last. A compound bow from 10 years ago is still fully shootable. Quality optics don't degrade. A well-maintained firearm can outlast its owner. Unlike electronics, most hunting gear doesn't become obsolete.
• Sellers often don't know what they have. Someone clearing out a deceased relative's gun cabinet or selling off a friend's old gear may have no idea a Vortex Viper scope is worth $350. That gap is your opportunity.
• Hunting is a hobby with high dropout rates. People buy a full setup, go out twice, and never go back. The gear is barely used and priced to move.
• Brand names matter, and there are clear benchmarks. Once you know that Mathews, Hoyt, and Bowtech are top-tier bow brands, you can scan listings with confidence and act fast when something good surfaces cheap.

What to Search For on Craigslist

Start broad and go narrow. Good starting searches:

• "compound bow", "recurve bow", "archery", "bow and arrow"
• "hunting gear", "hunting equipment", "hunting lot"
• "tree stand", "deer stand", "blind"
• "rifle scope", "spotting scope", "rangefinder"
• "trail camera", "game camera", "hunting camera"
• "crossbow", "broadheads", "arrows", "quiver"
• "camo", "hunting clothes", "waders"

Also search by brand: "Mathews bow", "Hoyt bow", "Browning", "Leupold", "Vortex", "Sitka gear". Sellers who know brands will mention them. Sellers who don't know brands won't - so a generic listing for "compound bow" might be hiding a $700 Mathews if you look at the photo carefully.

Compound Bows: What to Know

Compound bows are the sweet spot of this category. A mid-range bow from a top manufacturer - Mathews, Hoyt, Bowtech, PSE, Bear - will run $600-1,000 new. Used examples in good condition regularly show up on Craigslist for $150-300. A bow that's a few years old shoots just as well as a new one for most purposes.

Things to check before buying a used compound bow:

• Look at the strings and cables. These wear out and cost $60-120 to replace. Ask the seller when they were last changed or factor in replacement cost.
• Check the cams for cracks. Ask for close-up photos if buying remotely. Cracked cams are a safety issue and the bow is junk if they're damaged.
• Verify draw weight and draw length. These need to match your specs or be within adjustable range. Most modern bows have a range of adjustment, but it's not unlimited.
• Ask what's included. A complete setup with a sight, rest, quiver, and arrows is worth significantly more than just the bow.

On eBay, search "compound bow" sorted by ending soonest or use completed listings to understand what bows actually sell for. Sellers who list at inflated prices don't sell. The market is pretty efficient once you've looked at enough listings.

Optics: The Hidden Value Play

Quality optics - rifle scopes, binoculars, spotting scopes, rangefinders - hold their value extremely well and show up underpriced constantly. Brands to know:

• High tier: Leupold, Nightforce, Schmidt & Bender, Swarovski, Zeiss
• Mid tier (excellent value): Vortex, Nikon, Burris, Bushnell Elite
• Budget (still decent): Redfield, Bushnell standard line

A Vortex Viper HST 4-16x50 retails for $450. It shows up used on Craigslist for $120-180 regularly. Someone clearing out a gun safe often lumps a quality scope in with a bunch of other stuff and prices everything low just to get rid of it. These deals exist. You just have to be watching.

Set up alerts for the brand names specifically. "Leupold" and "Vortex" will catch listings that mention the brand, which filters out the junk and surfaces the real gear.

Tree Stands and Ground Blinds

Hang-on stands, ladder stands, and climbers are bulky, heavy, and annoying to move - which is exactly why people sell them cheap on Craigslist rather than dealing with shipping. This is a local-pickup category almost exclusively.

Brands like Lone Wolf, Summit, Millennium, and X-Stand are worth targeting. A Lone Wolf hang-on stand retails for $200-300. A used one in good shape for $60-80 is a normal Craigslist occurrence.

Important: Always inspect the straps and safety harness on any used stand. These are the components that degrade with weather and UV exposure. A stand with cracked or brittle straps is dangerous. Budget for replacing all straps on anything you buy used - it's cheap insurance.

Trail Cameras

Trail cameras are a category where older models still work fine for most purposes. Cellular cameras that send photos to your phone command higher prices, but a standard SD card camera from a few years ago is perfectly useful for scouting and costs almost nothing used.

Search "trail camera", "game camera", and by brand (Stealth Cam, Bushnell, Browning, Reconyx). Reconyx is the gold standard - if you find one cheap, grab it. They last forever and the resale value stays high even on older models.

Hunting Clothing and Waders

This one is hit or miss. High-end camo brands like Sitka, First Lite, and KUIU retail for $150-400 per piece and do show up on Craigslist for a fraction of that. But condition varies a lot. Waders are another good used buy - decent waders run $200-400 new and used examples in good shape go for $50-80. Always ask about any repairs or leaks before committing.

On eBay, hunting clothing is more consistent. Search by brand and size. Sitka gear especially holds value, so buying it used at 50% off retail is a solid deal even if you later resell it.

How to Set Up Alerts That Actually Work

The whole game with secondhand hunting gear is speed. Good stuff gets snapped up fast. Manual searching doesn't cut it - you need alerts that fire the moment something new gets listed.

LurkMor lets you set Craigslist alerts for any search term in any region, and it notifies you immediately when new listings match. Set up alerts for the specific terms you care about - "Mathews compound bow", "Leupold scope", "Lone Wolf stand", "Sitka gear" - and you'll see deals the minute they go live instead of hours later when someone else already claimed them.

A few alert strategies that work well:

• Set a low max price on your alert to filter out overpriced listings and only ping you on deals worth seeing.
• Cover multiple nearby regions if you're willing to drive an hour or two for the right deal. Good hunting gear is worth a short road trip.
• Use brand-specific alerts alongside generic ones. "compound bow" catches everything, "Hoyt bow" catches only the good stuff.

Red Flags to Watch For

A few things to be careful about:

• Bows with unknown service history. Strings and cables should be replaced every 2-3 years with regular use. If the seller has no idea when they were last changed, assume they haven't been and price in the replacement cost.
• Optics with haze or internal fogging. Ask for photos shot toward a light source. Internal fogging means the seals have failed and it can't be fixed economically.
• Stands with no visible manufacturer markings. No-name stands from unknown brands may not have safety ratings. Stick with brands you recognize.
• Prices that seem too good to be true. On Craigslist in particular, if a listing looks incredible and the seller wants you to text an out-of-area number or pay via Venmo before meeting, it's a scam. Cash on pickup, in person, always.

Final Thought

Hunting and archery gear is one of those categories where patience and preparation pay off significantly. The deals are real. They show up constantly from hunters who upgraded, downsized, or moved on. The difference between finding them and missing them usually comes down to whether you had an alert running. Set the alerts, know your brands, and move fast when something good surfaces.