High-Tech Accessories for Outdoorsmen

It is an exciting time to be outdoors and hunting. Not only because of the time of the season, but because technology has made it so that sportsmen have plenty of new high-tech accessories and gadgets to choose from.

Smart Weapons & Accessories

Today’s firearms are becoming so sleek and fun to use. At the very least, they’re making people comfortable hunters. Take Cabela’s Nikon Monarch 3 Riflescope, for example. The riflescope provides generous eye relief and is equipped with an Ultra Clearcoat Optical system for the best light transmission possible, providing hunters with a patented BDC reticle to hold a target at incredible distances and still provide a clear, non-straining visual for targets much closer, thanks to the BDC’s see-through ballistic circles, giving hunters a unique advantage for long-range shooting.

Hunting tech has also gone “smart.” High-tech weapons like the 750 Series Smart Rifles, for example, look as though they come right from the set of the black ops thriller movie “The Bourne Legacy.” Though this weapon is being used generally for military use, it’s an introduction to what to expect from all firearms soon—smart technology.

These precision-guided firearms, made by TrackingPoint Inc., cost a whopping $27,000 a piece. The target-locking technology is borrowed from similar technology used in military jets, allowing a rifleman to consistently hit a target that is more than 1.75 miles away. With a 70 percent first-shot success probability at 1,000—with inexperienced shooters, mind you—you can understand why it has a hefty price tag, as it makes the average shooter a better than average shooter.

Equipped with a Linux-powered computer in the scope with sensors, the smart firearm can collect imagery and ballistic data, including atmospheric conditions and inclinations, this scope is so sensitive it can read the Coriolis effect, which is the slight shift of the Earth’s rotation. A shooter looking through the scope can identify and tag an object using a red button. Even better for the average hunter, there are scope and trigger kits that can be purchased and added on to your existing weapon, too, but be prepared to shell out a lot of money for them.

Ozone Generators

The cliche of “smelling you a mile away” rings so true when it comes to deer hunting. Thus, hunters have many tricks to avoid tipping off deer that they’re nearby. From airing out clothes and equipment, to switching to rubber boots and gloves, to popping chlorophyllin copper complex tablets that promise to control bad breath, perspiration and foot and arm odor. Nowadays, however, ozone generators are all the rage. These gadgets pull in ambient air, filter out dust and insects and accelerates the air inside to create ozone. High voltage corona technology converts the oxygen to ozone, which is then flushed out of the gadget, oxidizing odors, smoke and other contaminants. The entire process takes less than a second.

There are mountable ozone generators that can be used near a blind or tree stand, as well. Facing downwind, and equipped with a quiet fan, the new tech gadget is considered a game-changer. Ozone molecules are extremely unstable, thus they bond with any nearby molecule (scent molecules, in this case), which renders them indistinguishable to game. So, wind direction is no longer a huge factor in where you place your stand. The science in the gadget is much like when lightning strikes, where electricity is introduced to oxygen, the oxygen molecules fracture and temporary convert to ozone molecules, resulting in purification of the air. The fan in the unit spreads the cleansing air around the hunter’s zone, making it an exceptional and helpful device in cloaking your scent.

Predator Call

For the serious predator hunter, an electronic game call device can be very handy. A device like FOXPRO Fusion Electronic Game Call provides a variety of features to make your hunt a successful one. The device is equipped with 100 high-quality calls and sounds already, but can store up to 1,000 sounds, allowing hunters to be prepared for any situation. The Fusion has two speakers, the front horn handling vocalizations and common distress sounds, with the rear horn outputting low-frequency sounds. The combination of those sounds give you a real-life sounding imitation in which you can choose any two sounds and play them simultaneously.

This gadget not only helps with luring predators your way, you can also learn their habits in response to certain calls and sounds they make. These sounds can be added to your Fusion. A coyote distress call, for example, such as the sound of a lost pup, can bring in other coyotes as will “challenge” calls, which are barks and other sounds signaling a receptive female or an uninvited coyote is in the area. There are a number of different kinds of electronic game calls, some affordable and some very expensive, so just remember, you get what you pay for.

~ Cynthia