May 29, 2014
By Bowhunter Online Staff
Let's face it, as father's we've gotten a wide variety of trinkets and ill-conceived clothing items on our big day that are probably sitting in the basement unused or in a landfill decaying.
Instead of being the kind of enablers who help you qualify for the next season of "Hoarders," we at Bowhunter have got a better plan. We're going to provide you with a list of gifts the bowhunter and father on your list would actually love to own. Shocking, we know.
So whether Dad is looking for a new folding knife, trail camera or backpack for his next hunt, we've got just what you need. These are our picks for the best Father's Day gifts of 2014.
Beman ICS Hunter Patriot
Now
Beman shooters can show their national pride with the new
ICS Hunter Patriot, tastefully decorated and made in the USA. The Patriot is offered in spines of 300 (9.5 gpi), 340 (9.3 gpi), 400 (8.4 gpi), and 500 (7.3 gpi).
Price: $65/half-dozen
Primos Shack Attack
There are plenty of reasons for bowhunters to love the new
Primos Shack Attack blind. A unique five-rod hub design and patented Silent Slide Windows on this blind ensure optimal shooting ability and rapid setup. Swathed in Ground Swat camo, it measures 70 inches high and 80 inches wide and weighs 22 pounds. The Shack Attack is backed by a limited lifetime warranty.
Price: $250
Rage 3-Blade
The new
Rage 3-Blade has SlipCam technology with a completely redesigned cutting surface so it actually cuts a core, not just a channel. The advanced geometric design of this new KORE technology combined with stainless-steel construction, .035 '-thick blades and a 1¾-inches cutting diameter, produces even more devastating wounds than its predecessor.
Price: $50/3 pack
S4Gear Zoom SVS
S4Gear's Zoom SVS is a digiscoping mount for attaching your smartphone to a spotting scope, telescope, or binoculars. The spring-tension design accommodates all smartphones and protective cases and provides a secure fit that guards against shock and vibration.
A quick-connect feature allows for tool-less attachment/detachment, and its micro-adjust knobs aid in fast, precise alignment with the optic's lens.
Price: $64.99
ScentBlocker Apex Jacket
The new
ScentBlocker Apex Jacket from Robinson Outdoor Products aims to make getting in the field that much easier with a blend of lightweight, packable construction and the company's exclusive Trinity scent-control technology. The low-nap, Tech-Tough fabric is quiet and light enough to stuff down into a compressed package.
It's waterproof and breathable, and has a contoured fit and slim-cut sleeves that are unobtrusive. The Apex line also includes Pants and a Merino wool AirBrake Vest.
Price: Jacket —
$299, Pants —
$249, Vest —
$99
Bohning SSR Shaker
Bohning makes prepping your arrow shafts for fletching a breeze with the
SSR Shaker. It removes dirt, grease and other contaminants from shafts for better fletching or wrap adhesion. Shake the contents onto a water-soaked abrasive cleaning pad, scrub the arrow, rinse and allow to dry. It can be used on carbon, aluminum and fiberglass arrows.
Price: $9.19/4-oz. bottle
Browning Trail Cameras Dark Ops
Browning Trail Cameras Dark Ops is an ultra-compact 10MP camera with an invisible IR flash that has a range of 70 feet. It takes color daytime and black and white nighttime images as well as HD videos with sound (5 seconds to 2 minutes). Trigger speed is .67 seconds. It has a time-lapse mode as well as settings for taking up to eight Multi Shot and up to six Rapid Fire images per triggering.
Picture delay is programmable from 5 seconds to 60 minutes and images are stamped with all things important to hunters. It runs on six AA batteries, accepts up to a 32GB SD card, and comes with Browning's BuckWatch Timelapse Viewer Plus software.
Price: $159.99
Bushnell The Truth with ClearShot Technology
See your arrow trajectory before you shoot with
The Truth with ClearShot Technology laser rangefinder from
Bushnell. First, calibrate the rangefinder to correspond with the speed of your bow via the sight system. When you range a target, a dot appears indicating the maximum height of your arrow's travel.
If the dot intersects with any obstacles, you know your arrow won't clear the obstruction. No intersection? Fire when ready. Other features include 4X magnification, Angle Range Compensation (ARC) technology and fast target acquisition from 7 — 850 yards.
Price: $279.99
Easton Outfitters Pickup 3000
At 4.7 pounds and 3,000 cubic inches, the
Pickup 3000 makes a good daypack that can handle enough gear for overnight stays on the mountain. Lightweight 600D brushed poly camo in the outer shell makes it quiet, while a ballistics cloth bottom adds durability. The aluminum/carbon framework will handle plenty of weight, and fully adjustable torso support ensures a custom fit. Molded foam back panels promote airflow, and mono-mesh shoulder straps conform well to the chest.
A daisy chain on the haul flap holds compression straps in place, and the haul flap stows in its own pocket. Large zippered pockets on each side will hold a Jet Boil stove or scope. Two compression straps across the face will secure a bow or other gear. Other small pockets aid organization, a sewn-in pouch holds a water bladder (not included), and hip-belt pockets hold small items at the fingertips.
Price: $189.99
Field Logic Block Invasion
The
Block Invasion from Field Logic is now available in two new sizes — 16 and 18 inches — in addition to the original 20 inch version. All offer four-sided shooting. The front and back has an open-layered foam friction design for fast stopping power and easy arrow removal. High-visibility graphics and multiple aiming points of varying sizes help you achieve point-blank and long-range accuracy. The front and back of the Invasion are for broadheads and fieldpoints. The sides are for fieldpoints only.
Price: $69.99 —
$109.99
Flextone Ground Grunt'R
Stop a buck for a shot or draw him into bow range without giving away your position with the
Flextone Ground Grunt'R. It's a grunt tube to which you attach the included 30-foot small-diameter hose so you can place it away from your stand or blind and call without worry of a buck pinpointing the sound coming from you. It comes with a mesh bag and hose caps to keep it free of debris.
Price: $29.99
FUSE Accessories Helix Micro
The
Helix Micro sight features the all-new, noise-eliminating Stealthband Technology. Stealthbands wrap around the pin housing and run along the sight's mounting block to kill noise and vibration. You can choose from eight different Stealthband colors to customize your sight. The Helix Micro boasts Precision Steel Pins (.019 inches) in 3, 5, or 7-pin configurations.
Micro-Click Adjustable Knobs allow you to feel each click while sighting in, which is key for precision. To ensure that you can hit what you're aiming at on the level or at a steep angle, the Helix Micro offers 2nd- and 3rd-axis adjustment.
Price: $100
Hunter Safety System Ultra-Lite Flex
Live to hunt another day by donning the
Hunter Safety System Ultra-Lite Flex safety harness. A series of individual hexagons afford padded comfort and incredible flexibility in any direction the wearer twists or turns while also staying snug to the body.
It weighs 2 pounds and features the company's new 1¼-inches upper-body webbing, tether and waist buckle. It comes standard with a lineman's climbing strap, primary tree strap and a suspension-relief strap (doubles as a deer drag).
Price: $99.95
Burt Coyote Company Lumenok Extinguisher
The
Lumenok Extinguisher from Burt Coyote Company is an arrow puller that you can also use to turn off your Lumenok lighted nocks with a simple flip of your wrist. Should your Lumenok battery need service, the Extinguisher has a special notch in the handle for safely removing the nock. It comes with three sets of rubber jaws to fit all popular arrow sizes for pulling them from 3-D targets.
Price: $19.95
Millennium Treestands M100U
The
Millennium M100U features the same folding seat with a 17-inch tall backrest, all in a package that weighs a wispy 11.5 pounds. The entire stand folds flat for easy packing, meaning this is a dream for hunters looking to get off of the beaten path with their entire setup on their backs.
Each aluminum M100U is rated to 300 lbs., boasts a 20 x 38-inches platform and has been hinge and weld-tested under brutal conditions to guarantee durability.
Price: $220
Scent-Lok Velocity Full Season Bowhunter Jacket
The
Velocity Full Season Bowhunter Jacket has the company's new Carbon Alloy, which blends activated carbon, treated carbon and Zeolite to be up to three times more effective at absorbing an even wider spectrum of specific human odors.
The low-nap, brushed exterior is quiet and treated with a durable water-repellent coating to shed snow, light rain, and dew. The elastic cuffs are quiet and seal in warmth and odor.
Price: $150
New Archery Products Speedfletch
Fletch arrows super fast with the
NAP Speedfletch. The Speedfletch cartridge has three 2-inch Twister vanes that are 2 degrees right offset. Slide the cartridge on the shaft ¼-inch below the nock, hold the arrow vertically, and drip some fast-set liquid glue in the front of the cartridge. Then do the same to the cartridge's back end. Minutes later you are ready to shoot. Size large fits arrows with outside diameters of .285 — .300; size medium fits diameters of .265 — .275.
Price: $12.99/6 pack
Spot-Hogg Bloody Buddy
The
Spot-Hogg Bloody Buddy is the ultimate tool for reconditioning, honing and sharpening virtually any broadhead (fixed and mechanical). It has two independently mounted, articulating diamond-coated sharpening stones that you can micro-adjust to find the precise blade angle for your particular head.
It will accommodate two, three and four-blade configurations, including those with offset blades. It comes with a 'cheat sheet ' index of blade angles for nearly all broadheads on the market.
Price: $185
Stealth Cam G-Series Trail Cameras
The new
Stealth Cam G-Series trail cameras feature fast trigger speeds ranging from .5 to .7 seconds. One of the most spectacular improvements is the combination of Retina Low Light Sensitivity and Matrix Blur Reduction Technology that evenly illuminates the entire night scene.
Daylight images are super sharp and formatted at 16:9. The 10MP G42NG has 42 IR emitters and a 100 foot range. The 8MP G30 has 30 IR emitters and an 80 foot range. Both are Triad equipped to take photos at multiple resolutions, HD video with audio, and time lapse with a PIR override that lets the camera take a photo if an animal walks by while in time-lapse mode. Other features include Burst Mode, Quick Set preprogramming, GEO-TAG GPS tagging, password protection, and more.
Price: G30 (
$159.99)/G42NG (
$189.99)
Tenzing TZ CF Legend
Consider the
TZ CF Legend three packs in one. The foundation is an all-new 4 pound 8 ounce, 24-inch carbon frame that will carry as much weight as you can strap on it. A Dyneema game shelf with six compression straps will support heavy gear or meat loads, giving you a true, stand-alone freighter frame.
Price: $899.99
Tink's Hot Shot
Draw game animals in from long distances with
Tink's Hot Shot spray lure attractants. What makes Hot Shot different from other traditional aerosol scent dispensers is an internal bag that keeps the scent from mixing with the pressurizing agent (compressed air) so all that is emitted is 100% pure lure.
When depressed, the tip silently sprays the scent in a super-fine mist form that will travel far. You can even spray it upside down. Hot Shot is available in Tink's #69 Doe-In-Rut, #1 Doe-P, Trophy Buck, Glazed Donuts (for bears), Power Moose, Predator Mist, Turnip Greens, Persimmon, Cow Elk Estrous, and Sweet Weed.
Price: $10
Trophy Ridge Revolution 2
The
Revolution 2 is called a fall-away rest, but it's literally a twist-away rest. In the ready position, the horizontal launcher arm fully surrounds the arrow shaft. Then, with the release of the string, the launcher twists vertically to open and give the shaft complete freedom. The launcher arms can easily be switched out from the standard gray to red, green, blue, or pink.
A cord attached to the down cable activates the Revolution 2. The rugged aluminum body of the rest has laser-engraved windage and elevation reference marks, plus a pointer and timing mark to ensure proper timing. Multiple windage mounting holes assure plenty of centershot adjustment.
Price: $74.99
TruGlo DownDraft
The
DownDraft fall-away arrow rest converts to either right or left-handed. With all-metal construction, the rest is light and durable. Sealed bushings increase downward speed of the launcher, and the rest is designed to prevent bounce back of the launcher when fired.
The control cord attaches to the down cable with a simple clamp, and laser-etched marks on the housing ensure precise windage and elevation settings. With a side-load containment ring, the rest loads and unloads easily, and rubber bumpers on the containment ring ensure a silent load.
Price: $74
Viking Solutions L-E-Vator
Viking Solutions' goal when designing the
L-E-Vator was to enable a single hunter to lift and load a big game animal onto a truck bed or ATV by oneself, without injury.
Once you've got your animal back to your vehicle, simply unfold and insert two support cables into slots and you're ready to hoist your trophy in seconds. The L-E-Vator will lift game weighing up to 300 pounds and approximately 40 inches, and because it's not attached to a vehicle it can be used anywhere.
Price: $119.99
Wildlife Research Center Scent Killer Gold with Hunt Dry Technology
Zippo Rugged Lantern
The
Zippo Rugged Lantern is perfect for illuminating camp or following blood trails. A metal support cage and rubberized corners protect its LED lights. There are three brightness settings — high, medium, and low — and a flashing S.O.S. feature. The rechargeable lithium-ion battery has a run time of more than 40 hours on low, 15 hours on medium, and more than 10 hours on high.
Price: $89.95
Steiner 10x42 Predator Binoculars
The
Predator Series was made for hunters who demand all-around capability in their optics: mobility without weight, ease of use and bright picture in any light. With its lightweight roof prism design, game-revealing CAT Color Adjusted Transmission coatings and excellent low-light performance, this is an all-around favorite. Versatile enough for western big game hunters or eastern whitetail hunters.
Price: $460
