ARKANSAS SPORTSMAN

Hunting down great gift ideas

— While we’re in the giftbuying, or should I say, gift-receiving mood, there is plenty out there for the sportsmen in your family this year.

A good laser rangefinder is a vital component in my hunting kit. We owe it to the game we hunt to deliver a clean, sure-killing shot. To do that, you have to know how far you’re shooting. This is especially important for bowhunting, where just a few yards mean the difference in killing and recovering an animal, or wounding and losing it.

It’s just as important for riflemen, and for outdoor reporters. I’ve used one for several years, and it proved to me that I tend to overestimate range with my eyes. I have inaccurately reported making kills at distances I calculated with the old “step-off” method.

For example, I’ve been hunting a stand this year that offered what I believed were 500-yard shots. Nope. According to my Leupold RX-750, the distance to the farthest treeline is only 320 yards.

For all my stands, I took readings of every corner and landmark and drew diagrams so that I never have to guess distance. It’s really useful when hunting new, unfamiliar places. Plus, it gives me something to do while waiting for a deer.

In the offseasons, you canalso use it for archery practice and golf.

Leupold makes great rangefinders, but Bushnell and Burris make some very good ones, too, starting at about $150.

BINOCULARS

I do not hunt without field glasses. I can’t afford to.

High-quality binoculars allow you to scan fields for deer and turkey, and they enable you to peer through trees, brush and grass. They are also valuable for distinguishing the number of antler points on a buck’s rack, or for determining whether a distant gobbler has a legal beard.

It is not acceptable to scan woods and fields with a riflescope because it puts you at risk discharging your firearm on an unintended target. Putting a scope on a sub-legal deer could result in a ticket. Putting a scope on a person could result in a death. Binos eliminate the risks.

I use Leupold Mojave 10x50 glasses, but I also haveused compact binos from Redfield, Brunton and Bushnell. I really like the lens coatings on Brunton binos. They range from about $75-$300. You can go deluxe and spend more than $1,000 for Zeiss or Swarovski.

For about $20, replace the neck strap with a shoulder harness. It eliminates neck strain, even with big military style field glasses.

FOOT WARMERS

These things have been around in various forms for years, but a new design of heated insoles by Therma-CELL is the best yet. They are heated inserts containing integral, battery-powered heating elements. They come in five different sizes, from small to XXL.

Previous foot warmers were unreliable, but one of their biggest drawbacks was that you couldn’t regulate heat. They were usually too hot, which made your feet sweat, which can be just as uncomfortable is dry, cold feet. The ThermaCELL insoles have a remote control that allows you to regulate the heat from high to medium. Or, you can turn them off.

The batteries are rechargeable, and you can trim the inserts to fit your footwear.

BUG REPELLANT

ThermaCELL is famousfor its mosquito repellant. It’s been around for years, but no hunter or fisherman should ever be without one during bug season which nowadays can extend well into December.

A ThermaCELL unit holds a small, butane-fired hot plate. A small citronella wafer slides onto the hot plate. The plate heats the wafer and emits a smoke that repels mosquitoes, gnats and other blood-sucking bugs, but it does not spook game.

I have hunted turkeys in swampy areas where the mosquitoes as thick as fog, but they wouldn’t get near me as long as the ThermaCELL was running.

It costs $20-$25, and you can get it, butane canisters and wafers almost anywhere. Get the holster, too. It’ll keep you from losing the unit.

FISH HOOKS

If you like to pitch and flip plastic lizards, Brush Hawgs, spider grubs or similar baits, you know how hard it can be to keep them positioned on a hook.

The new Mustad Ultra-Point Grip-Pin solves that problem with a “keeper” feature near the eye that anchors plastic baits and helps keep the hook point buried in the bait for snagless presentations in heavy cover. It also works with swim baits.

Sports, Pages 21 on 12/06/2012

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