If you are in the western hunting world and have not heard of Wilderness Athlete, you are missing out. They are the makers of high quality, field tested, sports performance products specifically for the outdoor athlete. Most notably, they are known for their superior Hydrate & Recover and their Energy & Focus drink mixes. I have been using these two products for the past 2 years and I don’t go into the mountains without them. Recently, I got the chance to test out their Ultimate Pre-Workout and Nighttime Optimizer supplements. I will admit, it was hard straying away from the first two products mentioned, BUT I have been pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
If you asked me a few years ago if I would be investing the money that I do now in high quality hunting clothing, I probably would have laughed at you. I was indeed a skeptic of these higher end purchases and honestly didn’t see the reasoning behind why someone would pay $100 for a shirt or $200 for a pair of pants. That was until I finally tried the stuff out.
When I was a kid, I often times never even used binoculars when in the field with my dad. Nowadays, I don’t know how I survived without them! Back then, during the off chance that I had binos, I had them attached around my neck with nothing more than an old red shoelace. I hated carrying those things! The shoelace always dug into my neck and the binos danced on and off of my chest with every step I took. It seemed like more of a chore having binoculars than a luxury. Gear has come a long way since my nemesis that is that old shoelace.
“Trust your camo.” I have heard this said many times, but up until recently, it never really resonated with me. This may sound funny, but I don’t think I have ever really TRUSTED my camouflage. Not that I didn’t like it, I loved my camo. I think it was just that though. I wore it because that is what you were suppose to do………and it looked awesome. Who doesn’t love camo? It didn’t change my thoughts on how I stalked animals though. Honestly, even though I have always worn camo, I really have gone about doing things like I wasn’t wearing camo. This caused me to maybe be more careful than need be and might have cost me opportunities in the past.
As technology in the archery industry gets better and better it seems that people are shooting their bows at farther and farther distances. Traditionally, I myself use a 5-pin multi-pin sight. My pins are set up for 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 yards. There is a saying though that says practice at double the yardage that you might be shooting an animal at. So, where does that leave you when your max distance at an animal is 60 or 70 yards? I don’t know about you, but I sure as heck don’t have a 120 yard pin in my sight housing. Not literally at least. What if I told you that you could in fact get out to those distances without having a toothpick box worth of pins in your sight? Black Gold has solved this issue with their multi-pin slider sight, The Black Gold Ascent Verdict.
As most of you have probably guessed it, I am a big fan of the company First Lite and their gear. First Lite is the makers of high quality hunting clothing and the first to successfully print camo on merino wool.
Over the past few years, I have become sort of a backpack nerd. This is pretty funny to me, because when I first really jumped into hunting, I really didn’t see the need to have one. The first backpack I owned was a 2300 cubic inch day pack. I loved that pack until I actually killed something and realized that I had no room in there to haul meat. I was also starting to grow an interest in backpack hunting. From there, I jumped to an Eberlestock Just One pack. Right off of the bat I was impressed with it, but started experiencing some pains in my hips whenever I would wear it. It is one tough pack and can handle anything you throw at it, but it just wasn’t for me. So, the search began!
In light of Born and Raised Outdoors’ new video, Expectations, being premiered at the Full Draw Film Tour this year, I thought it would be a perfect time to review their DVD entitled, Uncommon Ground. This story follows 6 friends through an entire elk season, taking place in Oregon and Wyoming, during September, the month that every archery elk hunter dreams about. 6 guys, 12 tags, 2 states, a guest appearance by Wayne Endicott, and the first backcountry mouse hunt probably ever recorded.
The battle between fixed blade and mechanical broadheads is one that will be around as long as bowhunting exists. The decision on which to go with literally plagued me when I really got into bowhunting and archery. Talking to different hunters on the subject was helpful to a point, but kind of frustrating. The mechanical guys swore by mechanicals and the fixed guys swore by fixed blade. Each of them had their own reasons for why they decided to shoot what they shoot. It soon became apparent that I was going to have to figure this out on my own. With lots of reading up on both types of broadheads, the pros and cons of each started to show themselves.
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