It’s no secret that I’m a gear fanatic!  Actually, I’m kind of a mix between a keep it simple, try some new stuff, and stick to the old-school on others!  Some gear just needs replacement sooner than others.  I have some of the same equipment in my fanny pack that I’ve had for 10 years.  Other stuff I seem to replace on a yearly basis.  One thing is for-sure, if its gear – I’m all about it!

Being a designer of literally thousands of products both inside and outside of the hunting industry gives me a bit of a background in what goes into a good piece of equipment.  Materials, process selection, features, and benefits are what product design is all about.  The thing that most people don’t realize is that patent protection is typically as significant in product design as anything.  Straight-up, if someone has a rock-solid patent on a particular product, in some cases you literally can’t design anything even close (as far as function is concerned) to that design.  This is why you see so many products on the market that are so “different”.  Different isn’t necessarily better!  In many cases, it’s the only way some companies can offer similar products, is by going in a totally different direction.  This can lead to innovation, but not always!

This is my new hunting rig.  I’m shooting an Elite Z-28 this year.  It is the finest bow I’ve ever had the pleasure to shoot.  Fast, accurate, quiet, and simple!  Everything a hunting bow should be; and nothing more!

I won’t take anything into the field that I don’t believe is the best design for my style of hunting.  Style of hunting; what does that mean?  I would say my style of hunting now revolves around filming as much as anything.  But I don’t let that change my true style of hunting.  My style of hunting is based on mobility.  I have spent years working my system into my version of perfection of the “run & gun” style of hunting that I love so much.  I would say 80% of my mobile hunting approach has to do with believing it offers a huge advantage over stationary set-up’s. 

But I’m also an explorer.  I find that I enjoy every hunt more because I’m constantly in new areas.  I would get SO bored if I hunted the same stands over and over again.  Not only does mobile hunting give you a change of scenery; but it also gives you a virgin sit in a new area.  There is nothing like the feeling of anticipation that comes along with the first set-up of the year in a new area!  That is what I love about mobile hunting, so I just decided many years ago to try to put myself into as many “virgin” sits in a year as possible.  With each new stand, I personally feel that my odds go up!

I’m shooting a new Vital Gear sight and arrow rest this year.  The new Torsion spring rest uses the force of the moving bow cable to force the rest down at the time of shot; not a spring.  The result is a rest that drops 5x faster, with zero interference issues.  I’ve been using the Star Track sight for 7 or 8 years now I think.  This year it’s offered in a camo finish to match most bows. Ok, I guess looks matter a little!  He he he….

Here is the buck I killed last year, on a virgin sit in SE Iowa – from our most recent video “Full Circle”.  The stand had been set-up in August, but not hunted until the timing, winds, and conditions were perfect.

Every year I try new things.  Sometimes these new things become a part of my arsenal; while other times the new piece of equipment ends up in a box or given away to another hunter.  Regardless, each piece of equipment needs to be designed for my style of hunting.  Some of the following products I was actually lucky enough to design myself.  Others are beyond my capacity, so I leave it to the experts of their particular field!

I also upgraded binoculars this year.  I’d been using a pair of Eagle Optics bino’s for literally a half-dozen years.  The new Vortex Razors are a ton of glass for the money.  They are sweet!

I look at my equipment as a tool to get the job done.  Some guys treat their bows and equipment like they are a fine car or a fragile child.  I don’t look at my stuff the same way.  As a new piece of equipment earns the wear marks that will quickly show up on my stuff.  As the scratches and addition of fine smears of clay start to show on the beautiful finishes of the products I use, I feel like that piece of equipment is truly being used the way it was intended.  Hunting everyday in the conditions that I am forced to deal with provides lots of abuse to equipment.  I will usually learn very quickly if something will or won’t hold up.  A week into the run & gun early season and I do more damage to most equipment than a typical hunter will do in seasons.  Because I’m hard on gear, I’m the ultimate test for anything.  This is the foundation in my brain when it comes to designing hunting equipment.  Flash and fanciness doesn’t impress me.  Consistency and durability do! 

The Huntmore stool has been a long-time coming for the serious ground hunter.  Because I will have several ground blind set-ups on my own farm this year, I couldn’t be more excited to have the ultimate stool to keep me comfy for many hours in the blind.  It is truly designed to shoot from, which is a first!

The products I’ve shown in this gear review are products that I use because I believe in the designs, the functionality, and also the companies that own the companies.  There are several types of business set-up’s within the hunting industry.  There is the technology driven company that was typically the type of company that was started by an engineer, and built around a product or design.  The second type of hunting company is typically started by a business man or salesman.  These companies often time rely on marketing and advertising as the foundation, and the product function or design coming in second place.  Very rarely do the best designs have the best advertising campaigns.  Just a difference in priorities of the owners.

The new Muddy Outdoors climbing stick is something I’ve been working on for years.  The elimination of metal buckles means faster and quieter set-ups!  I’m pretty pumped to take them into the field this summer and get some set-up’s under my belt with them.

Take a wild guess which type of company I prefer?  He he he… Yeah, most of the stuff I use may not be the most popular in the market-place because they don’t have some “Team ……..” logo on them, or fancy camo job to make finding the gear in the woods nearly impossible.  Instead, I use what works to get the job done on big deer in the worst conditions.  It’s as simple as that.

Happy forth of July everyone!  Oh sweet velvet rut of July is coming in hot!  I’m so pumped I want to head into the field and sweat tonight with the ol camera at my side!