Top Tier Gear - Wish List for Hunters

Bushnell Laser Rangefinder and D.T. Systems collar

It’s never too late to please the outdoorsmen with a simple offering that will help them navigate their outdoors experience. Heck, with the price of ammo these days, even a box of shotgun shells makes for a thoughtful gift. Going beyond gunpowder, some items help to draw game near and identify their proximity for harvest. While other items keep the hunter in comfort where the rubber sole meets the woods, and improves communication between the master and his hunting dog.

The second session of duck season has begun and waterfowlers will have until January 26 to practice their duck calling. Big Lake calls out of Elloree produces a Cocobolo double reed call that boasts a unique stainless steel T-reed. The engraved wood barrel is topped by a chartreuse colored polycarbonate insert, and for a more raspy call be sure to order the #4 size reed.

The Bushnell Laser Rangefinder is a tool that can aid many different types of hunting, and the Primos hunting team endorses this new model dubbed ‘The Truth.’

Man’s best friend takes on a higher status when that dog is used for hunting and the DT Systems electronic dog collars can improve the quality of those hunts.

Leather boots always look sharp, but a waterproof lightweight leather boot is sometimes hard to come by. But Irish Setter boots can deliver this rare combo.

Big Lake T-Rex duck call

Dangerfield turkey pot call

Cooking up wild game is best done outdoors and the Camp Chef cooking system offers multiple accessories to the sporting chef in everyone.

If you are looking forward to spring turkey season more than the holidays, don’t overlook Dangerfield Turkey Calls made in Orangeburg County. The double-sided pot calls with slate and aluminum are made by hand by John Dangerfield II, who comes from a family with a rich tradition of turkey hunting in the Lowcountry. Each call comes with a striker and instructions on how to create sounds like the purr, cluck, cutt, cackle and Kee Kee run. These calls are suitable for display during the off season but are designed for use by those who want to talk turkey over and over again.

Each outing into the woods can be different and while a rangefinder may not be essential one day, it may be worth its weight in gold on another. The high-quality gear I recommend here can never take the place of those cherished moments between hunter and quarry where anything can happen. So besides the gift of gear, the intangibles your happy hunter can take with him when returning to the woods include a wish of good luck and a clear understanding that hunting is a meaningful part of the holidays.

To view this gear article in the newspaper click Colletonian.