Grow the Hunt

SHOT Show 2011

By Brandon Wikman

As the ATA show comes down to a simmer, another gargantuan show begins to sizzle. Nearly halfway across the country, the world-renowned SHOT Show kicks off in Las Vegas.

The ATA show, which is held in Indianapolis, caters to  archery hunters, whereas the SHOT Show is targeted to the general hunting population. Both shows are huge and electrifying.

The SHOT Show is an annual tradeshow for the shooting and firearms industry. It is one the biggest event of this type in the world, together with IWA & Outdoor ("IWA Nuremberg") which also takes place annually. "SHOT", besides being a general reference to shooting, is an acronym for "Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade" (show). This trade show is open only to those in the trade and the press. It is not open to the general public.

SHOT Show attendance remained strong in 2010, rising 11,000 above 2009’s show in Orlando.You will find some of the following show statistics quite intriguing. The total attendance averages to be about 58,444 people. There are 1,633 exhibitors showcasing outdoor and hunting products. There are over 31,2800 people who attend to write orders, look at the new and exciting products, and meet fellow industry partners. Lastly, there’s 700,000 net square feet for hardcore hunters to use.

The first SHOT Show was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1979. The show is owned and sponsored by the National Shooting Sports Foundation. It rotates between Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; New Orleans, Louisiana, and several other U.S. cities, although in the last few years it has taken place mostly in Las Vegas.
   
A show like this lasts for several days and makes for an incredible experience. If you ever have a chance to attend such an event, please do. You will be glad you did.

Carry-Lite Introduces New HD Turkey Decoys

Carry-Lite is taking decoys to a new level of realism with the HD Series. Each HD turkey decoy features an extremely-realistic “skin” created using high-definition technology. The “skin” shows even the finest details of each turkey’s feather pattern, and conforms to the realistic contours of each turkey’s body. Fool even the wariest gobbler with 
Carry-Lite’s HD decoys.

Bob’n Tail Turkey HD

• Incredibly realistic “skin” created using
   high-definition technology
• Conforms to the realistic contours of
   Bob’n Tail’s body
• “Skin” is designed to not only reflect
   sunlight, but to use it to enhance the
   colors only nature could create
• “Skin” resists fading under normal conditions
• Exceptional full-strut, motion-tail decoy
• Tail moves in a natural, lifelike manner
• Collapsible, foldable design for easy transport, fast setup
   and convenient storage
• Includes fan, carrying bag and stake

US Patent 6,092,322

 

Pretty Mama™ HD

• Incredibly realistic “skin” created using
   high-definition technology
• Conforms to the realistic contours of
                                   Pretty Mama’s body
• “Skin” is designed to not only reflect sunlight, but to use it
   to enhance the colors only nature could create
• “Skin” resists fading under normal conditions
• Feeding position of Pretty Mama eases wary toms
   as they approach
• Body is made with a soft and pliable material for
   easy folding and transport
• Head molded from a real freeze-dried turkey head
• Includes stake for easy set-up

 

Pretty Penny™ HD

• Incredibly realistic “skin” created using
   high-definition technology
• Conforms to the realistic contours of
                                   Pretty Penny’s body
• “Skin” is designed to not only reflect sunlight, but to use it
   to enhance the colors only nature could create
• “Skin” resists fading under normal conditions
• Head molded from real, freeze-dried, taxidermy head
• Made with soft and pliable material for easy folding
   and transport
• Includes one stake 

ATA and Knight & Hale's Hunting Competition

By Rich Miller

Last week I was in Indianapolis at the ATA Show, checking out all of the new products for the year. I was there all week and luckily I flew back on Saturday in time to beat the big blizzard we got here in the Southeast. If you were a bow-hunting junkie like myself, you would have been in hog heaven just like I was at the show. There was everything a bow hunter has ever dreamed of there – whether you have seen it or thought about it. It amazes me at how much money some of the companies spend to market some of the new products that were there. I guess that has to be done, but some of the productions were impressive!

While I was in the middle of the big city of Indy, I got a call from my buddy, Mick, in Kansas. He and another buddy got involved in a predator/deer hunt tournament to benefit hunters feeding the hungry. After getting the details, I had to brag about my fellow Knight and Hale guys. I am not sure of all of the rules they had, but I know they could kill two does, five coyotes, ten raccoons and three bobcats. They could also take waterfowl, but since the weather had pushed a lot of them out, they focused on the big game and predators. They started on Friday and checked everything they killed in on Sunday at noon. They got so many points for every animal that they checked in, with some being worth more points than others. 

When they went to sign up there were some of the other Pro-staff guys there from Primos and Hunter’s Specialties and there was a little friendly trash-talking going on about who was going to win. After the hunt started, Mick called me every few hours to keep me posted on how they were doing. Friday and Saturday they had a lot of luck, but Mick was really upset because they had several coyotes that got away that they should have killed.  By Saturday night they had two coyotes down, two bobcats and two does with a couple of hours to hunt on Sunday morning. On their first setup on Sunday morning, they called in a coyote but they missed him. On the second setup, they called in three coyotes and smoked all three. That gave them a full limit of everything except one bobcat and they had one close in several different times but just couldn’t capitalize on it. 

When they showed up to the check-in, they were worried and thought they might be in trouble. After it was all tallied up and everyone was checked in, there wasn’t another team close. They had blown everyone else away – including the Primos and Hunter’s Specialties teams. It was all in good fun and friendly competition for a good cause, but I was really proud of my boys representing Knight and Hale and all of us well. 

Moultrie Customer Trophy Pics - January 2011

I was able to capture picture of this 9-point, then harvest him. Thanks, Moultrie!

 – David Hinkle

 

 

Finally on the Hook!

 – Frank Phillips

 

Caught on a Moultrie D-40 game camera in Oct. and harvested in Dec.

 

 

 

 

 

This is the 17-point that I got thanks to my Moultrie game camera!

– Michael Eckert

D-55IR Takes a Hit and Keeps on Ticking!

I purchased a new Moultrie game camera in November, a D-55IR. During the last week, we were sighting in our rifles and the camera took a direct hit from a 180gr 30.06 from side to side and exploded the batteries. I took it apart and hooked up two wires it broke; even though the camera is no longer waterproof, it still works great! I will be a loyal customer of Moultrie from now on!

– Dennis Malone

Using Moultrie Game Spy Cameras All Year 'Round

By Rich Miller

Well, other than just a couple of states, deer season is officially over and we have another nine to ten months to get ready to go again. Personally, I am already thinking about turkey season. Right now it seems a ways off but it will open for some of us in less than two and a half months. The good thing is we have a bunch of shows to get ready and help us stay busy until it opens. 

This time of year there isn’t much going on other than some small game hunting. I know a lot of guys that run their Moultrie Game Cameras throughout the fall and as soon as deer season is over they yank them out and put them up until the next fall. I want to try and get everyone to leave them out running this year to see the number of new deer that move into their area after the season.

It amazes me every year the number of bucks that show up after the season that I have never gotten a picture of before. Last year, most of the bucks that I had on camera were shot on neighboring properties. By the time deer season was over, I didn’t think we had a buck in the area – and it was really discouraging. 

By the end of February, I had eleven different bucks on camera that had showed up to my food plots that I had never seen before. Now, all of these bucks were really young, but at least they were bucks. Some years it surprises me what shows up because I have had some really nice deer that come into the are and then stick around. 

Another positive of leaving the cameras out after season is it helps with the turkey scouting. On some of the property I hunt, the turkeys do not stay on the property all year so keeping my cameras out there helps me know when they show up. One good thing about having food plots is the turkeys will come to it when they are around. I like knowing the turkeys are using the property so I don’t waste a morning hunt on a place where there are no turkeys. This year, Carry-Lite is introducing their new line of HD Turkey Decoys. Check them out and see if they don’t help lure those wary toms in close!

When we only have a month to hunt – and most of that time is consumed with work – I need to take advantage of the days I do get the opportunity to hunt. Moultrie Game Spy cameras help me do this by giving me proof and so my hunts will be in high percentage areas!

ATA Show 2011

By Brandon Wikman

Our industry’s largest household names, ingenuous manufacturers and key distributors will be herded to Indianapolis, Indiana this coming week for an archery hunting expo on steroids. The long anticipated 2011 Archery Trade Association trade show will be launched this week in full swing!

The Archery Trade Association, formerly known as the Archery Manufacturer and Merchant's Organization (AMO), is a non-profit trade organization for the promotion of archery and bowhunting through the sale of equipment, projects in archery education, the standardization of equipment measures and the sponsorship of events. It includes manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other companies associated with these industries.

The ATA has served its members since 1953. It is dedicated to making the industry profitable by decreasing business overhead, reducing taxes and government regulation and increasing participation in archery and bowhunting.

The ATA Show has been the industry’s largest and longest-running trade show worldwide. In fact, they have boosted, raised and given to so many incredible resources back to our hunting and outdoor lifestyle. In 2004, the ATA began providing implementation grants to state wildlife agencies for the National Archery in the Schools Program (NASP). To date, nearly every state has an active program that originated from individual ATA donations of $15,000. The total support provided for NASP exceeded $800,000 as of mid-2009.

As part of its cooperative work with state agencies, ATA launched the Community Archery Programs (CAP) in 2006. This strategy promotes archery in urban areas as a recreational activity equal to other sports enjoyed by most Americans. ATA’s CAP grants have helped develop shooting facilities, including archery parks and indoor/outdoor shooting centers. These facilities help promote introductory archery programs, primarily NASP, although the ATA also works to establish After School Archery Programs, Explore Bowhunting, the Junior Olympic Archery Development Program and other archery programs nationwide. In fact, from 2004 through mid-2009 alone, the ATA provided about $884,000 in funding. This included grants provided through CAP to initiate NASP in the United States, Canada and Australia. At the same time, ATA contributed nearly $960,000 in CAP grants, equipment and direct aid to state wildlife agencies to grow archery and expand bowhunting opportunities.

If you have a chance to make the ATA Show, do it. This is an experience of a lifetime to see the latest and greatest of our wonderful industry.