Double Take Archery

Double Take Archery’s (830-444-0202; www.doubletakearchery.com) patent-pending Nockturnal lighted nock ($25/3-pack) is a breakthrough ultra-light design that is lighter in weight (20 grains total) than most other lighted nocks. Made of clear plastic for maximum light transmission, Nockturnal nocks can be seen for hundreds of yards. The Nockturnal has a string-activated linear switch that is protected deep within the nock and will not turn on or off inadvertently. Each nock battery lasts 20 hours. Four sizes (S, H, X, and GT) fit most standard, slim, ST Epic, ST Excel, and Gold Tip shafts.

Knight & Hale

Knight & Hale’s (479-782-8971, ext.103; www.knightandhale.com) White Liar ($27 plastic/$45 wood) is on the cutting edge of surface technology for turkey pot calls. The surface material is unlike anything used in the turkey call business today. It works just as well wet as it does dry, and maybe even better. When you combine the White Liar with the custom one piece birch Power Tip Striker, your odds of bagging that ole’ bird you’ve been after just went way up.

And, if you want to keep you friction calls in good shape, Knight & Hale’s Call Conditioning Tool ($10) preps the surfaces of all friction calls. It includes a buffing pad for wood surfaces, sand paper for wood and slate, a stone for metal and glass, and chalk for box calls. It also incorporates a slot for scuffing the tip of your striker.

Knight & Hale

Knight & Hale’s (479-782-8971, ext.103; www.knightandhale.com) White Liar ($27 plastic/$45 wood) is on the cutting edge of surface technology for turkey pot calls. The surface material is unlike anything used in the turkey call business today. It works just as well wet as it does dry, and maybe even better. When you combine the White Liar with the custom one piece birch Power Tip Striker, your odds of bagging that ole’ bird you’ve been after just went way up.

And, if you want to keep you friction calls in good shape, Knight & Hale’s Call Conditioning Tool ($10) preps the surfaces of all friction calls. It includes a buffing pad for wood surfaces, sand paper for wood and slate, a stone for metal and glass, and chalk for box calls. It also incorporates a slot for scuffing the tip of your striker.

Bowjax

Building on its original 4-arm limb dampener, Bowjax (208-762-3692; www.bowjax.com) has now come out with the Bowjax Slimjax solid limb dampener ($12/pair) for some of the newer slim-limb compounds and recurves. Bowjax says that its research shows that a limb dampener with greater limb contact is more effective at knocking out noise and dissipating vibration than a dampener that has no contact with the limb. Available in pink, red, blue, black, brown, olive green, and purple.

Lumenok

Now crossbow shooters will have an easier time locating their bolts, thanks to the powerfully lighted nocks on Lumenok’s (309-358-1602; www.lumenok.net) 20-inch Lumen-Arrow crossbow bolts ($55/3-pack). Available with a Crescent (Moon) nock or Flat Lumenok installed to accommodate all crossbow brands, they are 100 percent carbon bolts that are precision squared and come with a quality brass insert.

Lumenok also has joined the fight against Breast Cancer with the introduction of Pink Lumenoks. They’re available in the Lumenok Signature and the Lumenok X. As in other models, Pink Lumenoks use a simple, time-tested system that eliminates switches or moving parts likely to fail. And the batteries can be easily changed to ensure brightness.

Drury Outdoors

If you’re looking for inspiration or just want to kick back with a DVD, the Drury Brothers of Drury Outdoors (800-990-9351; www.druryoutdoors.com) cap off another exciting season in Whitetail Madness 13 ($10). In their season of benchmark achievements, you’ll watch Mark and Terry Drury and celebrity friends take seven bucks over 150, including Mark’s biggest Missouri buck ever at 174. Witness some of the most riveting kills and encounters in the brothers’ 21-year history of videos. It’s more than two and a half hours of action packed into one DVD.

Easton Archery

Easton’s advanced lighted nock, Tracer RLi (801-526-6223; www.eastonarchery.com) uses a 90-hour lithium battery and features a microchip-controlled flash mode and permanent on/off capability. The Tracer RLi is available for practically every size hunting arrow. The magnetic trigger is easy to set up and consistently sends a beam of light to the target before entering the super-visible flash mode. 2-packs ($26) include two Tracer nocks, two weighted practice nocks and an extra battery.

Hunter’s Specialties

Hunter’s Specialties’ (319-395-0321; www.hunterspec.com) Limb Shaker Owl Hooter ($20) is an easy-to-use call that helps hunters locate gobblers early and late in the day. The reed-style call has a realistic raspy sound with three holes in the end of the call to funnel sound. It allows hunters to not only call softly when gobblers may be near, but also to call loud for birds farther away while still sounding like a real owl. The call is molded of tough heavy-duty plastic and is weather resistant for hunting in the wet conditions that are usually encountered in the spring.

Gorilla Treestands

Gorilla Treestands (877-685-7817; www.gorillatreestands.com) says its patent-pending G30 Exo Tech Safety Harness ($150) will change the way you think about treestand safety harnesses. The adjustable form-fitting design goes on easily in seconds. Lightweight and breathable, the G30 gives you a custom fit and all-season comfort. The extra-long, 30-inch tether delivers a maximum range of motion and freedom. Gorilla also says that its Energy Absorbing System (E.A.S) outperforms conventional harness designs, reducing the felt force of a fall by nearly 50 percent in independent lab tests. The technically advanced tether gently stops your fall.

Hunter Safety System

The new Ultra Lite X-Treme (32 ounces!) from Hunter Safety System (877-296-3528; www.huntersafetysystem.com) offers the same popular Ultra Lite design with a few added features. Sporting popular Realtree APG camouflage, the X-Treme ($120) also offers adjustable binocular/rangefinder straps conveniently located near the shoulder/chest area. Loops for a lineman’s climbing strap have been relocated toward the harness’s front for easier use.

Norway Industries

Though lighted nocks are valuable for following a shot or locating an arrow, they are not legal in all 50 states or allowed for Pope and Young club entries. Norway Industries (800-778-4755; www.norwayindustries.com) is helping light the way, so to speak, with its Zeon Fusion Vanes. The vanes utilize a proprietary material that carries light to the vane edges, similar to fiber optic technology, which increases visibility in all light conditions. Without the aid of any electronics or additional light source, bowhunters can visually track their arrows as they fly downrange or through the woods,. Zeon Fusion Vanes maintain proper front-of-center by maintaining the same weight as standard Fusion Vanes. They are available in four colors—red, green, yellow and orange—in the popular 2.1-inch length. MSRP $11.56/36-pack.

Big & J Industries

Proper nutrition is essential to the overall health of deer and elk herds, especially during the harsh winter months. With Big & J’s (866-210-7781; www.bignjindustries.com) protein-based BB2 Nutritional Deer Supplement and Attractant, you can help ensure proper herd health, while yielding bigger, stronger bucks during the hunting season. Primary ingredients include grain products and refined soybean oil that have been used successfully in the livestock industry for decades. BB2 incorporates several vital minerals, like calcium carbonate, that stimulate antler and bone production, as well as additional nutrients that assist the doe population during lactation.

Bohning

Here’s a must-have tool kit item for every Bohning Blazer vane fan: Bohning’s (231-229-4247; www.bohning.com) Blazer Helix Jig ($55), designed for standard carbon shafts, fletches your 2-inch vanes with a perfect 3-degree right helical. It places three vanes 120 degrees apart. Easy set-up and simple operations; instructions included.

S4Gear

Patent pending cam-over latch technology, 6061T6 aluminum, reinforced polymer construction, and full deployment in less than 20 seconds only begins to describe the features packed into S4Gear’s (541-998-8800; www.S4Gear.com) Freestyle720 ground blind chair ($140). The Freestyle720’s large footprint/tri-pod design with a cantilevered seat allows bowhunters to rotate a full 360 degrees on a silent coaxial lubricant-infused polymeric bearing system. But they also can silently and effectively traverse from window to window and make their shot—with proper form—from any angle while remaining in a seated position. Quick and silent leg extensions height adjustment and seat leveling on most terrain. Oversized feet on the bottom of the tri-pod are designed for four-season versatility and stability on virtually any terrain. The automatic cam-over latches on the legs allow the hunter to deploy the system quietly and quickly—even in the dark. A closed-cell molded foam seat with a nylon laminate offers a silent and comfortable cushion that minimizes heat and sweat buildup. A collapsible chair back is also available for purchase.

Bushnell

Bushnell (800-423-3537; www.bushnell.com) has advanced its 2011 Trophy Cam with serious features and improvements. The 3.5x5.5-inch device still has a 1-year battery life and 1-second trigger speed, but now offers the big picture of game movement with Field Scan time-lapse technology. For a more vivid viewing experience, Bushnell has added audio record to the video mode. And, thanks to 32GB SD card compatibility, you can also record more images and video than before. The optional built-in viewer has a zoom function for instant detail. Two Trophy Cam models now come with a low-glow black LED nightvision flash to keep the camera undetected in the dark. It’s is rated for temperatures from -5° F. to 140° F. The PIR sensor is motion-activated out to 45 feet. Other options include enhanced video resolution up to 1080p HD.

Moultrie Products

Moultrie Products (800-653-3334; www.moultriefeeders.com) enters the mini game camera market with Game Spy M-80 and Game Spy M-100 infrared cameras. Each camera, at 5.0 and 6.0 megapixels, respectively, is loaded with features like Moultrie’s new Illumi-Night Sensor, which provides some of the brightest and clearest nighttime infrared pictures. Widescreen images and videos (with sound) in 16:9 format provide a wider field of view than standard game cameras. Combined with a 60-foot flash, these features ensure you’ll never miss that trophy shot. With Plot Stalker technology, hunters can choose between three versatile operational modes: 1. IR triggered game camera; 2. Time-lapse plot camera; or 3. Plot camera by day, infrared camera at night. Users can choose picture delays ranging from 15 seconds to 60 minutes. Moon phase, temperature, time date and camera ID are stamped on each picture. An SD card slot accepts up to a 32GB SD card.

Both cameras can run on either four or eight AA batteries, include a battery-life calculator, and can get up to one year battery life in the field. The external power port allows for the addition of Moultrie’s PowerPanel accessory to extend battery life indefinitely. The Game Spy M-100 also includes digital zoom (three settings), 2-inch LCD viewing screen, barometric pressure reading, password security, and Realtree APG camouflage. The Game Spy M-80 retails for $150, the M-100 for $200. Both cameras will be available early summer of 2011.

Day 6 Outdoors

Unlike trail cameras that trigger on short-range motion, the PlotWatcher HD TLV (Time-Lapse Video) from Day 6 Outdoors (706-256-2578; www.day6outdoors.com) captures images of an area no matter how far deer are from the camera, whether 30 feet away or 330. This greater field of view allows the hunter to see game, monitor their travel patterns, preview likely hunting locations, and make an educated decision on where and when to hunt. You can review a full day (or days) of activity in just a few minutes. Images are taken every 5 to 10 seconds from dawn until dusk, producing a 10-minute 1280×1024 HD time-lapse video that typically spans about seven days of activity. GameFinder video player software makes it easy to review your daily video files, and build or share your own library of clips and pictures. Uses 4 AA batteries.