So we occasionally get these requests from the powers that be at Skinny Moose to pitch in ideas or comments on a topic. Yesterday we were referred to a gentleman from Delaware who was trying to create his own list and wanted to solicit ideas from other hunters and outdoor writers. Since I was stuck at home with a sick wife and baby I decided to give it a try:
1) Game Cameras – Perhaps no single force has lead to the demise of more big bucks than the development of trail cameras. Now suddenly a hunter can know what deer live in an area, and what their pattern is, all without disturbing them. Knowledge that used to require days of scouting can now be collected while you are working, sleeping, or hunting somewhere else. Remember this big Kentucky buck? He was found and patterned from a game camera.
2) The Internet – Something of an ‘outside the box’ answer here, but think about all the information available to hunters online. Google Earth, state Fish and Game websites, chat rooms, product reviews, hunting reports, the list is endless. Sitting here at my desk I can find out what the harvest reports were the last several days at my favorite duck marshes, or study the draw odds for Idaho moose.
3) Scent-Loc – The Scent-loc people changed the way hunters hunt, but not the way you think. Even the most loyal company spokesperson no longer utters, “Ignore the wind, just hunt” but it did usher in the era of scent hyper awareness.
4) Mojo Mallard – Nothing on this list is as controversial as this one. When the Mojo Mallard or Robo Duck first broke onto the scene it changed hunting in every marsh. It was, literally, magic. Suddenly the traditional skills involved in duck hunting were secondary, at best, to the amount of motion you had in your spread. Three world champions in a blind could not call ducks off a single guy with no calls and a motion decoy. Not everyone welcomed the change and some states banned the device including the duck hunting Mecca, Arkansas. They cited, among other things, the tradition of duck hunting.
5) Range Finders – I got my first range finder in the fall of 2000 in preparation for an elk hunt. It was the size of a cigar box and nearly useless. On a bright day it could tell you if a mountain was less than 300, but more than 50 yards away. It was a neat trick but provided almost no help if you zeroed your rifle at 200. Since then I’ve upgraded twice. My newest one will measure any archery shot, and give me both a linear measurement and an angle adjusted distance. It will also find distances out to 800 yards which is further than I can shoot, again with the option of angle compensation.
6) Cell Phones – While cell phones have been around for more than a decade, their mass appeal and rural reliability have just been around the last ten years or so. When I leave for a hunt of any type, I check to make sure my phone is in my breast pocket (on vibrate). It serves as a communication link to hunting partners, a scouting tool, a camera, a way to pass slow time, but most importantly it provides safety. Now if you get lost, stuck, injured, or have a run in with a poacher you can call for help. Remember this story? I took those pictures and called a game warden from the field with my cell.
7) Electronic Callers – This technology has also been around more than 10 years but in a less useful form. Now with wireless speakers and CD or digital storage, they have become the must have tool for predator and spring goose hunting. When legal, they are louder and produce a more perfect sound than anything a human can generate with a traditional call.
8 ) GPS – Modern GPSs can hold topographic maps, property boundaries, aerial photos, and tell you where you are down to the foot. Next time you are in a bush plane watch and see how often the pilot looks at his map or gauges, and how often he simply looks at his Garmin.
9) Hevi-Shot – Had lead not been banned this advancement would not have made the list. The poor physical characteristics of steel made the search for something else inevitable, and now many similar products are available to hunters. Combined with modern wad technology and ultra tight chokes, hunters have added 25% or more distance to their turkey guns.
10) Modern Archery Equipment – With opportunities for quality rifle hunts becoming fewer and farther between more and more hunters are turning to archery as a way to extend their season or draw a coveted tag. While bowhunting has been around for a few generations, it has not been until recently that it was accessible to the masses. Modern fiber optic sights, solo cam and split limb bows, torque free releases, carbon, and even Kevlar arrows have made today’s archer incomparable to Fred Bear or Saxton Pope.
So what do you think? Anthing I’ve forgotten? Does one (or more) of the above items not belong on the list?
