The turn of a new year is when outdoor companies love to introduce the latest products. Improvements in technology and new innovations mean better hunting and results for us. Here’s a look at some of 2011’s exciting new products.
TRIJICON ACCUPIN
Trijicon has long been considered a leader in gun scopes. For 2011, they have entered the archery market with a unique bow sight called the AccuPin. I hunted with this sight during the 2010 hunting season and was very impressed with its precision and ability to make me a better shot at long distances. The sight comes with an AccuDial that allows you to adjust your sight yard by yard out to eighty yards. Sight in your bow at 20 yards and 60 yards and you will be dead on at every yard out to 80 yards. Each yard marker is laser etched into the dial so you don’t have to worry about a piece of tape coming off your dial like cheaper bow sights often come with.
The AccuPin sight comes with a one-of-a-kind single pin that is extremely bright in low light conditions. It doesn’t require a battery. The sight comes with a combination of fiber optics and tritium pioneered and perfected in their world-class riflescopes. Together tritium and fiber optics make a bright sight that is second to none.
Another unique feature is the pin itself. It has a clear post with a bright green triangle tip that creates a precision aiming point with zero obstructions, giving you an unmatched field of view. It makes acquiring your target quick and easy when aiming.
WHITETAIL INSTITUTE FORAGE OATS PLUS
Hardcore deer hunters are always looking for topnotch food plot seed that deer enjoy and is winter hearty.
Whitetail Institute has a new seed blend that fits the bill called Forage Oats Plus. Researchers researching oats for livestock eliminated this oat from being used for livestock because deer overgrazed the product, thus eliminating it from being a good livestock blend due to the competition. Whitetail Institute heard about this unique oat from an agriculture expert and put the product to the test.
Although the product isn’t good for livestock, deer love it, and it is winter hearty. Small amounts of winter wheat were also added to the blend to increase winter heartiness.
PINE RIDGE ARCHERY NITRO BUTTONS
Just because you have an older bow doesn’t mean your bow can’t look great and be fast. Pine Ridge Archery has a new bow accessory called Nitro Buttons that looks great and can add speed to your bow. Nitro Buttons are attached to your bow string and with each Nitro Button you add to your string, your arrow speed will increase.
The speed should increase until you put on between 15 to 20 buttons at which point your speed will level off. The Nitro Buttons are often placed below the upper cam or wheel and above the lower cam. They can also be used as a nocking point. Nitro Buttons come in a variety of colors so you can mix and match different colors to match your bow.
SANFORD INNOVATIONS MISSILE BROADHEAD HOLDER
Sanford Innovations, maker of the BloodShot Broadhead, has come up with a great broadhead container that can be used to keep any broadhead razor sharp and contained while it is traveling in a bow case or sitting a shelf. Over the years, I have used felt, camera film canisters and a variety of other things to keep my broadheads from getting dull. Now I can use the Missile broadhead container.
Each container holds one broadhead. Simply screw your broadhead onto a post at the bottom on the container to keep it safe and secure.
The bottom of each container has a sharpening stone on it that will sharpen your broadheads. With the Missile broadhead case, you can have a razor-sharp broadhead at your finger tips without worrying about cutting yourself or something in your bow case or backpack.
GORE OPTI-FADE CAMO
Most bowhunters are looking for a way to get closer to whitetails and outsmart their senses. One way to do that is by wearing Sitka Gear clothing that comes in the Gore-Tex Opti-Fade camo pattern.
Opti-Fade was designed by the Father of digital camo, Tim O’Neal. Opti-Fade messes with the eyes of the whitetail and is designed to make you disappear. Normal camouflage makes you look like twigs and trees.
Opti-Fade is designed to make you vanish in the woods based on the science behind how a deer or any other big game animal sees the world in shades of blue and yellow. The digital pattern fools their eyes so they look right through you instead of looking like a black blob in a tree.
One of my favorite Sitka garments is the Merino Zip-T top. I tried this garment out while hunting with Gore-Tex in the fall. The Merino wool is lightweight, warm and cozy. It’s perfect for a base layer or outer layer on cold November days. Sitka has a wide variety of base layers and outer layers for hardcore bowhunters. They have two camo patterns: Opti-Fade Open Country and Forest, which is designed for treestand hunters.
DRAGON FIRE STABILIZER
If you regularly bow hunt when the temperature is well below freezing, you may want to look at the Dragon Fire bow stabilizer. The stabilizer holds 4 AA batteries that heat up a felt hand grip that sticks to your bow grip.
Now you can keep your hands warm without wearing gloves and will still be able to hold your bow and be ready for the shot of a lifetime. Like most bow stabilizers, it helps reduce bow noise and vibration. If your bow hand is always getting cold when you are gripping aluminum in the frigid cold, check out the Dragon Fire Stabilizer.
