Latest overrated fad?
 

What would you say is the latest overrated fad?

A classic example of an overrated fad is the carbon clothing craze: from what I have read, the science of carbon clothes indicates that they work to a very limited degree and for a very limited time. At best, they are useful for three years with decreasing usefulness each of the three years. If you get the carbon clothes for free (in order to promote them on hunting shows), then they are worthwhile. For the rest of us, unless you have money to burn they are not worth the expense.

I suggest that the latest overrated fad is the ground blind: the Cabelas catalog has a gazillion variations (including carbon lined!?) for up to several hundred dollars.

While I can certainly see a few situations where a ground blind is useful, the overwhelming number of situations here in the east call for a tree stand. In addition to the fact that deer don't typically expect a predator to be above them (although some deer may be wising up about this) and the probable benefit of getting your scent above the air currents reaching the deer, I also very much enjoy the improved view that a tree stand affords. The tree stand is a tried and true method of bowhunting deer: I suspect that the ground blind is mostly another way to part a hunter from his money.

I think another overrated fad is the numerous camo patterns. Does it really make any difference if you wear mossy oak, seclusion 3d, or realtree hardwoods? I can certainly see how predominantly lighter or darker camo would be preferable in certain situations, but most of us know what it is like to hang a tree stand in the early season, sit in it for a while as the sun begins to set, and have deer pass nearby while we are wearing ordinary clothes.

What about a rangefinder for bowhunting? I would not even consider wasting my money on a laser rangefinder: I can tell the difference between 30 yards, 25 yards, and so on. This becomes increasingly true as arrow speedsincrease: many hunters simply use a single pin, perhaps aiming a little high for an obviously longer shot (30 yards) and a little lower for a short shot (10-15 yards).

How about the "parallel limb" bow?I have not shot a bow of this type, but it is hard to imagine the improvement over my 2002 Hoyt being enough to make it necessary for me to run out and buy one. I think I can wait until my present bowneeds to be replaced before moving up to the latest technology.

One of the most useful aspects of a forum like this is the opportunity to question marketing "hype" and discover what is genuinely useful and worth our money.

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

Posting topics that are irrlevent[&:]

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

I agree with all of your choices other than ground blinds . While I own both a climber and a ladder stand I'm still uncomfortable with heights . My pop-ups allow me portable concealment , no necessity for camo , and even protection from the weather on demand . I love them .
Oh , what about that silly Gum-o-flage or the Deer View mirror ? :D

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My biggies would be like you, the Carbon Clothing. Next or maybe even first would be all the artificial stinko lures they try to push and people buy. As far as the rangefinder. I don't think that's a useless fad. They DO work and not everyone can judge distances. It's a know fact. Some people cannot do it. I believe I saw somewhere that the average bowhunter in a treestandis off by something like 7 yards in range estimation at 30 yards. That's a miss folks.

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[&:]Blue long undewear?? That's a funny fad..lol

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Have to disagree regarding ground blinds. I've had excellent success on both deer and turkey with them. Some areas just don't have trees suitable for climbing treestands (which are my first choice as well). Just as with most all of live's challenges, having multiple strategies for approaching a given situation, and being able to adapt and change, will provide a greater likelihood of success. ;) I also believe general catagories of camo for various situations and game are helpful. Certainly I don't wear the same camo in a duck blind as I would in open fields or in dense hardwords. All animal species have adopted ways to blend with their environment...why should we be different? Do any of these products guarantee success...certainly not. It's just all about improving our oddsof success. Best of luck.

Red

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Well I guess I am not so bright because I have Scentlok a Paralel limb bow and a ground blind, I guess I just need to get me that range finder now....

OOOH Yaa. I have these plusseveral more not mounted( see pics)and they all were taken using said gimmicks.

Too Each his own opinion. No bashing just saying that they all work for ME

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Scent lock clothing, and quick spin vanes.

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Very nice deer. Or I should say, very nice deer (plural). But would you say that your success was due to your prep and experience, or your equipment? Fred bear used non of the above. Like you said, not bashing so please do not take this post as such, just a question. Because to bag deer that nice, it takes a lot more than equipment.;)

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haha greatness sir.

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A rangefinder useless? I highly doubt it. If I know EXACTLY how far a deer is, I WILL put an arrow through his heart. But yea, I'm sure YOUcan do that without one.

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Rick - I've got another one for you - Drop away arrow rests. I use a prehistoric, spring loaded plunger rest, and my bow is every bit as accurate as the next guy's, and I haven't had a tag go unfilled in years. I just don't see the reason that legions and legions of guys are scrapping their old TM style rests and forking out $90-$150 for the drop-aways where there really isn't any cognizable difference in performance. There are hordes of guys at the world championships shooting X's with your run-of-the-mill diving board rests. Seriously, you don't need to sell your first-born and buy a dropaway rest - it might make you the envy of the guys at the bowshop, but it won't make you any more likely to kill a whitetaildeer.

Now, my buddy has this special dropaway rest that grabs your arrow and holds it until you draw the bow, at which point it lets go of the arrow and raises it into position. He and I had this discussion, and he says "Well look at this!" and proceeds to tilt, turn and twist his bow upside down while the arrow stays anchored securely right on the rest. What the heck? Seriously, does this guy plan on hanging upside down like Batman and trying to hunt? Maybe I'm just missing something.

About the ground blinds, I half agree. I think manufacturers and consumers alike are going overboard on the ground blind kick. I know that they're very useful in certain setups, and they're good for extreme elements or guys who like to be on the ground, but I think the craze has gotten a little bit out of control. There are just too many manufacturers coming out of the woodwork with their designs to supply the demand driven by this little craze. I'm sure there's some profit-taking to be had, but the market has been flooded.

Camo - I agree 100%. I watched a buddy of mine travel the globe to every sports shop in the free worldlooking for a set of Mossy Oak Breakup scope mounts for his Mossy Oak Breakup turkey gun and his Mossy Oak Breakup scope. Seriously. Get a grip. Come on, if it's brown and green and speckly, and it looks like it might blend in, it's fine. I don't understand fashion camo. More deer have been killed in that el-cheapo Vietnam BDU camo than anything Mossy Oak or Realtree ever dreamed up. I'll concede that there are some patterns that work better in certain situations, but it has become excessive. In my opinion, there are simply too many people trying to patent a pattern and gobble up the existingmarketshare. The endless advertising drives me bananas.

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

WELL I own a Ground Blind, Rangefinder, Scent-lok Clothing. I don't have the bow yet. But maybe next year I'm not to crazy about my 02' Hoyt Magnatec. OH the reason I got the rangefinder is because I wounded a huge buck last year because I misjudged the distance.

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Hold on now Quick. Dont start bashing my Muzzy zero effects.:D

I use fliper rests on some of my recurves and the shelf on my others, I even will shoot offtheknuckel with mylong bow, but for my training wheel bows, I love my Muzzy zero effects.

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Translation:

1) I didn't want to shell out the bucks for carbon clothing.
2) Where I hunt.....we have trees.....though I didn't think about Texas when I mentioned ground blinds.
3) I agree RE: camo patterns. they're for the hunters.....not the animals. My plan is for them not to see me AT ALL.
4) I've not been bowhunting a long time......but I DO KNOW that yardages will play tricks on me from the perch of a treestand. I like having my 10oz. Bushnell with me if it's a place I haven't already flagged.
5) Parallel limb bows???? You lost me at "I have not shot one".

What is worth "my" money and what is worth "yours" is, quite likely (as evidenced), different.

Jeff

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With regard to range finders, whereas some folks can judge range to within 2 to 5 yards, I'd say they are in a very, very small minority. Every bowhunter, or hunter in general, has a responsibility to make a clean, humane shot. Range finders greatly improve the odds of that happening.

I happen to like equipment and equipment advances. Parallel limbs are a great example. Back in the day, I used to shoot for High Country Archery. I can tell you that the Excaliber I used, with aggressive hatchet cams, had a great deal of recoil and hand shock that my current Mathews Switchback does not have.Not to mention that it had an extremely hard draw cycle, compared to the liquid smooth one with my present bow. Did I shoot deer with my High Country?....certainly I did. As I stated before none of these advances "guarantee success", they just improve your odds. The fact that you don't NEED them, doesn't make them fads or gimmicks. Best regards,

Red

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I couldn't imagine hunting without a range finder. I really don't judge distance that well, and its even harder from a stand in the air. I like to know exactly how far a deer is from me, not a guess that may or may not be right. I don't use it when hunting though, I use when I set the stand up to range a perimeter around my stand. When a deer walks in that circle I know it's mine.

And it comes in very handy during shotgun and muzzle loader season. I certainly cannot tell the difference between 100 and 150 yards, and there is difference in point of aim with my set ups, and if it's beyond that I won't even take the shot.

The newer bows do make a difference. I can't believe someone would say that having never shot one. I have a 30 inch bow and it shoots like a 35 inch bow because it has a longer risor. Not to mention it has no recoil to speak of because the limbs cancel each other out and do not throw the bow forward during the shot.

In my eyes the three biggest gimmicks are Drop a way rests, mechanical broad heads and carbon arrows. Not that they are no good or don't work. Just that many are lead to believe that if you don't have them you won't be as accurate and you can't hunt without them. This couldn't be farther from the truth.

Drop a ways work well at what they were disigned for, giving you good rest clearance with arrows that won't allow an aggressive fletching (skinny carbons). In my opinion they are not more forgiving or more accurate. Some designs are better than others though.

Mechanical heads work, especially if you have enough bow to use them well. However many get them as a bandaid for proper tuning and then complain when they have bad luck with them. Mechanicals need to be tuned just as well as fixed blades. Just because they impact with your field tips doesn't mean they are flying well when they hit the target, which will reduce their efficiency. Not a big deal if you shoot 70 ft/lbs of energy with 450 grn arrows, but if you are border line on energy and shoot light arrows you best get your tracking gear out because you may need it. Again, some mechanicals are better than others. As a matter of fact some designs penitrate better than some fixed blades if tuned well.

And carbon arrows get better every year, but the whole "they are straight or broken" line is crap. And while they are durable, they are not indistructable. If you abuse your arrows you better be looking at them closely and often. An arrow spinner is a must!

I'm also not impressed that you can't find a decent affordable rugged 3 pin fiber optic sight. I don't need a fancy $100 sight with 20 feet of fiber optic cable and 5 adjustments on it. Just a nice 20 or 30 dollar one with solid easy to see pins is fine. Rests are the same way. It's getting harder and harder to find a decent rugged prong rest anymore. Either they are cheap POS rests or expensive drop a ways.

Holy crap! I think I'm getting old[:o]

Paul

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The "Air Rest." Have you guys seen this thing??They gotcha on that one.....shoot, you even gotta buy THEIR inserts, or it won't work.....Holy moly what a money maker!

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

Just a short list of what some folks originally referred to as "fads":

compound bows
release aids
synthetic strings
sights
stabilizers
peeps
replaceable blade broadheads
harmonic dampers
perimeter weighted technology
single cam bows
carbon arrows
drop away rests
string suppressors
ball bearing roller guards and idler wheels

Etc., etc.,....most have become accepted gold standards for equipment and folks wouldn't think of going backwards in time or would suggest they haven't assisted in making an improved hunting bow set-up.

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Last year was the first year I wore carbonclothing. I saw MORE and BIGGER bucks than any other year previous. You can call that coincidence if you want, but I will wear my carbon lining into the deer woods everyday.

Ground Blinds are a great tok to use I think, but I doubt I would pay the money for them, since I mainly use treestands.

I will NEVER go bowhunting without my rangefinder ever again. I feel that if I would have had one last fall I would of bagged a 140 inch 8 pointer that I misjudged. It takes the guesswork out of the shot and you know EXACTLY how far away that target is.

And on the parrellel bows, all I have to say is go shoot one. I found the difference between my 2 year old Browning and my new Switchback just unreal.

As for the came, I agree to a point. I think that some different types of variation are definantly needed, but sometimes they are taken a little overboard. I have different shirts, coats, bibs, that I wear for different stands and seasons that I am hunting. They just fit the surroundings better.

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Not attempting to bash, but this was the most telling statement in the original post: "How about the "parallel limb" bow?I have not shot a bow of this type". It is impossible to carry on a dialogue with someone who shoots something down without even trying it or ventures an opinion without the required experience.

Even products, which at first glance seem somewhat gimmicky, such as the previously mentioned air rest, might actually be the precursor to the next generation of rest styles. The first drop-aways had some bugs to be ironed out, but I am thankful to the original inventors because they paved the way to rests like the Muzzy Zero Effect. I've shot thousands of arrows with it without any noticeable flaws. What more can I say, technology is our friend. No one forces anyone to buy something they don't want. As far as cost goes, there are certainly many things that I'd like but can't afford...calling them fads smacks of sour grapes. :eek:

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Pendulum sights are a total gimmick. They are the most UN-necessary piece of hunting equipment I have ever seen. Anybody that is accurate with a pendulum sight would be every bit as accurate with a normal sight.

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hey ghemry, this topic isn't "irrelevant" (spelled correctly)because there is alot of crap on the market today. ;)

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

To each their own. Some swear by their carbon suits. Some swear by ground blinds and that they are as necessary as someone using a treestand. Some swear by rangefinders, etc. I use none of those because I choose not to, but I won't call them a worthless fad. If someone uses a product and it increases their success because it really does help OR because it increases confidence then its worth it.

By the way, on parallel limb bows.......................you won't believe how little hand shock their is shooting one! Because the riser is longer(even on a shorter axel to axel bow) and because of the parellel limb angle, upon the shot the force or recoil is spent upwards from the top limb and downwards from the bottom limb(negating recoil) instead of outwards which does little to negate recoil. Shoot one and be amazed!

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STS

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I agree there is alot of crap on the market today.

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The part about ground blinds I do not agree with,you might try one
before you put it down.:)

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BS!!!!!

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My vote goes to "Complaining about hunting tactics/gear/techniques/shows/videos/clothing/sayings on message boards"

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Amen, HNIJustin!"hunting tactics/gear/techniques/shows/videos/clothing/sayings on message boards" is exactly what I come here for. :)Best regards,

Red

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good odds that if it's from knight and hale it's a gimmick. what about that arm brace doo hickey they came out with. rests on your waste and wrist and keeps your bow steady. oh, "steady ready", it's called something like that. i'm sure we all need one of them. hehe

there are plenty of legit gimmicks out there. ground blinds and range finders ARE NOT gimmicks! I'll be getting a ground blind soon. there isn't a tree within 30 yards of my food plot.

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I wouldn't consider getting in a tree without one................and I have been doing this for over 20 yrs............evenkilled one or two

Kinda dumb to quote on something you know nothing about.......LOL..

The new parallel limb bows shoot circles around your ole 2002 hoyt when it comes to kick, vibration and managable speed.........Its no fad.....

But i will not fail you on your post................you did say carbon.....so you pass.............You have never used carbon so you rally don't know what you are talking about..................but you knocked it.........so you made a good guess

you get a d-

keep on trying:)


Oh and Red Boar.....................

is what you say that freeking important dude........lol...........give me a break;)

RE: Latest overrated fad?
 

Love my Scent Lok (got 3 and I alternate them). Love my ground blind.
Blah, Blah, Blah.
Good Luck!

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TO all his own but ill take my range finder and scent blockers
I have no clue where the ground blind compliant is from


HOWS THIS TRY IT BEFORE YOU COME ON HERE AND COMPLAIN

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Has for the ground blinds, I think there overrated. I have shot my last 2 8pt bucks from sitting on the ground against a tree. I dunno, maybe im missing something, but i think there overrated and un-necassary. I guess unless your planning a full days hunt maybe so you can move around and not worry about movment. People are just getting to acustom to these luxory things. Each to there own though.



Hahaha, how about the last 5 threads about the "Buck Growl". Gotta luv that. Everybody thinks this thing is gonna call in deer from miles, and there going to be zippin in from every direction like on the "video" footage.

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"Oh and Red Boar.....................

is what you say that freeking important dude........lol...........give me a break"

??? Not sure what you meant...maybe the font size? If so, I just think it is a ton easier to read. I guarantee my opinion is no more important than anyone elses. Although, I do try to respond to issues for which I have some direct experience and knowledge and I don't dismiss stuff out of hand that I haven't tried. Best to ya,

Red

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love my rangefinder...and my new parrellell limb bow!!!!!

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Unless you hunt with a long bow withwooden arrows with rock broadheadsfrom the ground in a loincloth you have bought into a so-called 'fad'.

To each his own, if it builds YOUR confidence then more power to ya...

I guess the only downfall to today's technology and ALL of the products out there is that it diminishes our woodsmen skills.

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in my personal opinion, which doesn't make it right, drop-away arrow rests take the cake in the fad department.

RE: Latest overrated fad?