Hunting Accessories | Critical Items You Need While Hunting

Feature Photo Credit: Joe Diestel

There is nothing better than enjoying an April sunrise from the comfort and seclusion of your favorite ground blind or tree, just as spending a November morning nestled in your best deer stand is also a magical experience.  Whether you are chasing spring turkeys or white-tailed deer hunting, taking to the woods in search of wild game requires you to be prepared for any situation.  These hunting accessories are the unsung heroes of the woods, critical to making your hunting experience top notch.

Talkin’ Turkey | Turkey Hunting Accessories

Spring is well underway and soon it will be time to dust off the shotgun and hit the woods to do some turkey hunting.  Anyone who has chased spring turkeys will quickly tell you that turkey hunting is a gear-intensive activity that can often require one hunter to carry multiple hunting accessories with them on a daily basis.  The reason is simple, you want to be prepared.  Turkey hunting can sometimes be a game of seconds, so when success is on the line you need to ensure that you have what it takes to get the job done.

There is no doubt that hunting from a ground blind is effective when it comes to turkey hunting.  That said, many turkey hunters much prefer to “run and gun” which makes hunting from a pop-up blind difficult to accomplish.  If you fall into this category, you have no doubt found yourself in a situation where the elements have felt as though they are stacked against you.  Springtime often means frequent rain events, and there is nothing worse than finally getting close to a gobbler only to have the rain set in.  When this occurs, you really have two options.  You can either wait him out and get soaked in the process, or you can leave.  Neither sounds all that appealing.  Luckily, you can do something about it!

A pop-up umbrella system is not only effective in the deer stand, but it is also effective in the turkey woods.  The umbrella can quickly attach to your tree and can be set up with little sound and movement required.  The umbrella system in combination with one of our ground seats will be the ultimate small and compact combination that can easily fit into any pack or vest and should always be part of your turkey hunting accessory list!

Deer Hunting Accessories

Whether bow hunting or rifle hunting, the modern day deer stand has features to not only keep you comfortable and concealed but can also help improve your chances of punching a tag on your hit list buck.  Today, deer stands come in all shapes and all sizes.  What once consisted of a few 2 x 4’s, nails and a few railroad spikes now consists of ladder stands, hang-on stands, two-man ladder stands, climbing stands and this list goes on from there.  Today’s deer stand is generally lighter, stronger and more durable than deer stands of even two years ago.  As a group, hunters a generally not given the credit they deserve in terms of innovation and improvements that they continue to make in the field of deer stands and hunting products.

Pack Fillers

Selecting a deer stand in like selecting a car, it’s a personal decision that is based upon your needs and desires.  While the type of deer stand that a hunter might choose may vary, the list of accessories that typically fills their pack will certainly vary from deer hunter to deer hunter.  Who ever said that deer hunting was not and accessory driven activity was mistaken, as today’s deer hunter typically has enough equipment and gear to fill almost any field pack on the market.

Although there are certainly a number of items that a deer hunter can carry in their packs to help them attract a mature buck to their location, often there are the additional “pack fillers” that also add to the overall success of the trip.  These items are the unsung heroes of most deer hunting experiences, and while these items may often be overlooked make no mistake, these items can greatly improve your hunting experience while in the deer stand and can ensure that you are ready to go when the opportunity arises.

An Extra Hand

Unlike buying a house or a new truck, there is only so much storage that a deer stand can offer.  That said, regardless if you are archery hunting or rifle hunting, white-tailed deer hunting generally requires the hunter to have plenty of gear on hand.  Here in lies the problem, as there is only so much room on the deer stand platform.

Whether it is an extra tow rope, a multi-hook accessory holder or a multi-hanger, having the ability to have those critical pieces of deer hunting hardware out and available at arm’s reach is important.  Sometimes we can all use an extra hand, and each of these items can provide you with just that.  The best feature that each of these items can offer the deer hunter is they are light and can be neatly tucked away in any hunting pack.  They take up very little space, but can really save the day when called upon.  If you don’t have at least one of these items in your hunting pack, then you’re missing the boat.

Clearing the Path

Maybe you are hunting a new piece of property, public land or maybe you are just hunting a deer stand that you haven’t hunted in a while, regardless of the circumstances having a limb right in the way of your best shooting lane is a problem.  While a multi-tool can tackle the small stuff, they are typically outmatched for limbs that are much larger than your pinky finger.

Having a reliable pair of pruning shears at your disposal is nothing short of a life saver.  A set of ratcheting shears can enable you to tackle a problematic limb that is large in size while to remaining concealed and quite.  A good set of shears can also be critical in helping you freshen up that old ground blind or ground set, and the best part, they take up about the same amount of room as two decks of playing cards.  Having a folding saw is better than nothing, but having a good set of shears will trump almost any alternative, and should find their way into your deer hunting pack before next season.

Marking the Way Home

Everything looks different in the dark.  No matter if you have hunted the same area a hundred times, or if you are looking at a brand new property, heading to your deer stand before daylight or making your way to the truck after sunset can sometimes be a challenge.  The last thing that any white-tailed deer hunter wants to do, especially if there is a big buck in the area, is go beating through the brush trying to find their way.

Having a clearly marked trail is an excellent way to ensure that scenario doesn’t occur, and utilizing reflective trail markers or trail marking tacks in certainly one way to accomplish this goal.  These reflectors will shine with even the lowest of light, allowing you to remain silent and move quickly to your location.  In addition to helping you find your way to and from your stand, utilizing these reflectors when blood trailing a deer after daylight can also pay great dividends in determining the path of the animal while also allowing you to easily retrace your steps if you happen to lose the trail.  Best of all, these reflectors take up virtually no room, but can certainly be a lifesaver when in the field.

Before you take out to the deer stand on your next deer hunting adventure, be sure to take inventory of your hunting pack.  If you happen to find that these three items are absent, hit the store and rectify the situation.  You’ll be glad you did!