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The 2019 SHOT Show floor was, of course, loaded with the latest and greatest new hunting and shooting gear—some of which could rattle your brain in terms of cost. That’s why we searched every nook and cranny of the convention center to find some products that we thought to be pretty good bargains. If you’re a cost-conscious hunter or shooter, take a look at a few of our favorite affordably priced pieces of gear.
Waterproof turkey calls aren’t brand spanking new, but the Waterboard is Primos’ latest iteration of a 100% rainproof box call—and it’s a beauty in both sound and vision. The Waterboard box is manufactured from mahogany with a lid made of canary wood. The combo sounds sweet, and produces realistic cutts, clucks, yelps, and purrs on either sidewall. It deserves a place in your turkey vest this spring. ($50; primos.com)
A high-visibility bead is a must whether you use your shotgun to hunt turkeys or hogs. XS Sights now offers the Ember Big Dot Orange Shotgun Bead, a slightly oversized bead expressly made for rapid target acquisition. This bead sight is especially handy when hog hunting at night, but is useful during the day, too, thanks to its size, color, and contrast. ($39; xssights.com)
Basic survival gear should be part of every hunter’s pack. Phone Skope’s Pyro Putty is our pick for your basic fire starter. A tiny bit of the waterproof putty – the size of a nickel – burns for up to 12 minutes with a four-to-six-inch flame. Simply pull Pyro Putty through the hole in the container’s center and light. It can also be used for medicinal purposes for small cuts and scrapes. ($10; phoneskope.com)
Nowadays, many hunters use either aftermarket triggers or hunt with rifles that are fitted with factory adjustable ones. If you’re in one of these two groups, you’d do well to be familiar with your trigger’s pull weight. The Timney weight gauge is manufactured to the company’s exacting specifications and designed for precise, consistent measurements. The gauge measures weights from 8 ounces to 10 pounds and is calibrated for kilograms as well. ($35; timneytriggers.com)
Have you ever been mid-hunt and had a trigger pin vibrate loose and disappear into the dirt? I have. Taking a few minutes to ensure your pins aren’t going anywhere is well worth the investment of both time and money. Palmetto State Armory Custom Anti-Walk Trigger and Hammer Pins are a good option for making sure your AR trigger remains in place and functional especially during active hunts. The anti-walk pins are machined from stainless steel. Installation is quick and easy. ($10; palmettostatearmory.com)
The Heat Factory USA Heated Contour Beanie is covered in heat-trapping fleece and shaped to cover your ears. It has a slim, contoured profile and has pockets located over each ear meant to hold Heat Factory Warmers. The beanie is available in Mossy Oak camo as are the Heat Factory Pop Top Mittens. Pop Top Mittens have fold-back mitten caps containing pockets to hold Heat Factory Warmers and elastic cuffs to keep cold air from seeping in. The Contour Beanie is $19 and the Pop Top Mittens cost $20. (heatfactory.com)
Hunting with an AR means needing spare magazines. Sentry Hexmag Magazines are well-made, reliable magazines designed to take a beating and keep on feeding. They reliably cycle through loads and can withstand the bumps and scrapes of a serious hunt. Constructed of Sentry’s proprietary PolyHex2 Advanced Composite, they are available for both AR 15s and AR 10s. AR 15 magazines are offered in 10, 15, or 30-round models in a variety of colors and have an MSRP of $15 to $17; AR 10 magazines are offered in 10 or 20-round models in black or FDE and cost $19 regardless of round count. (hexmag.com)
For most, slings are a vital part of your rifle. But what if your rifle isn’t equipped for the attachment on your chosen sling? This is where the GrovTec Push Button Base to Stud Adaptor comes in handy. GrovTec adaptors enable hunters to use their favorite push button swivel slings on rifles with standard locking swivel studs. It’s a small but handy product that removes the need to drill into the stock to place new attachment points. The adaptor has all-steel construction, a black oxide finish, and a fully rotational base. ($22; grovtec.com)
Peters Cartridge Company was founded back in 1887 and sold to Remington Arms Company in 1934. They’ve been out of production for some time but Remington is bringing it back, in style. The retro packaging harkens to a bygone era, but the ammunition within is entirely modern. Peters Premier Blue High Velocity ammunition is created specifically for hunting deer-sized game, and is available in .243 Winchester, 7mm Remington Magnum, .308 Winchester, and .45-70 Gov’t. These rounds are loaded with match accuracy, polymer-tipped bullets. The line caters to lever guns as well as bolt-action and AR-platform rifles and is competitively priced. A 20-round box of Peters Premier Blue .308 Win 165 grain Blue-Tipped rounds has an MSRP of $22. (Remington.com)
Zeroing your rifle for a hunt takes time—and ammunition. The LaserLyte Universal Mini Laser Bore Sight can help you cut down on that time and cost. The bore sight comes with a wide variety of caliber adapters, batteries, and a target. Put it into your barrel, shine the laser at the target and adjust your scope’s reticle to center on the laser dot. When you hit the range it should only take two or three shots to fine-tune your zero. ($50; laserlyte.com)
Cold, numb fingers are simply part of the duck hunting life. Glacier’s Pro Waterfowler Gloves are designed to help you cope with that cold, but still have a feel for the shotgun trigger. The gloves are made with 2mm fleece-lined neoprene and have pre-curved fingers to reduce stiffness and awkwardness while gripping your firearm. They’re 100-percent waterproof and have a seamless palm design. Perhaps best of all, Glacier Glove used their Touchrite Technology to create low-friction fingertips for more comfortable shooting. ($45; glacierglove.com)
If you’re the type of turkey hunter who prefers running and gunning to sitting and staying, it might be time to ditch your old-school turkey vest and replace it with a lightweight pack. The Allen Shocker Cut-N-Run Turkey Pack is a versatile, multi-purpose pack that can be worn as a chest pack, a sling pack, or a thigh rig. From its side-access, stretchable box call pocket to its external speed-slots for diaphragm calls, the Cut-N-Run is made for convenience and accessibility. Other features include a magnetic, quick-access pocket for slate calls and striker slots. There’s even a zippered, vertical pocket designed to store your cell phone and keys. ($50; byallen.com)
The Warne Range Tool is a compact multi-tool designed to help you repair your rifle while you’re out on a hunt. Containing a dozen different driver bits, the Range Tool features an aluminum handle, chromium-vanadium steel bits, and a highly-visible red finish on the housing itself. Driver bits include Allen keys, Torx driver, flat blade screwdriver and 0.10-inch pin remover. It’s compact, easy to spot, and simple to use. ($20; warnescopemounts.com)
It’s easy to forget the need for a quickly accessible blade while hunting. Folders slipped into pockets sometimes fall out; large fixed blades sheathed at your hip may be oversized or otherwise useless. A favorite addition to many hunter’s kits is a neck blade. The Cudeman Covert by Jeremy Valentine is a custom-designed, fixed blade mini-bowie created to be worn on a chain around your neck or pocket-carried in a sheath. The blade is made from n690 tool steel with a blade thickness of 0.187-inches and holds an edge quite well. ($50; olarmy.us)
Handgun hunters understand the importance of high-quality ammunition. Good handgun ammunition is precise and creates a large permanent wound cavity. Remington Hog Hammer is good ammunition. Although the line itself has been around for a few years the addition of 10mm rounds is welcome. Remington Hog Hammer 10mm 155 grain XPB uses a Barnes all-copper bullet that expands on impact into six cutting petals delivering maximum penetration and stellar weight retention. And while the latest Hog Hammer rounds are marketed for feral hogs, they’re effective on a variety of game and predators. 10mm is one of my go-to rounds for handgun hunting; I’ve used it for everything from 255-pound feral hogs to badgers to deer and it’s been a winner every time. ($30; Remington.com)
The Simmons Whitetail Classic Riflescope line is a classic—one so good Simmons opted to bring it back. The 4×32 scope is designed for short to mid-range hunting and outperforms its price point. This Whitetail Classic optic offers nice field of vision and good eye relief; the glass is clear and the Truplex reticle is sharp. It’s also waterproof, fogproof, and shockproof. ($50; simmonsoptics.com)
