We don’t know about you guys, but we have had an awesome hunting season this year thanks to our Pro-tracker, ultimate tracking and recovery system giving us help when we needed it. Because of our luck we seem to have a good amount of antlers around, as well as lots of amazing sheds that we were lucky enough to find. Since we are all about using all parts of the animal we hunt, the question now is what to do withal of them? Well, we’ve asked each other and some other hunters we know and come up with some crafty ideas we think are pretty darn awesome. Better yet, we’ve included some awesome DIY videos we have found to help you guys with each project. Have some ideas of your own? Then let us know about it!

1. Make a chandelier. Now, this one can be both time consuming and tricky and may require some outside assistance, but when done right these can look amazing. Not only will your friends and family compliment you on your unique décor, but you get to inform them that you found and handpicked (and depending on your level of craftiness and electrical abilities, made) all the parts making up your awesome new home addition. Unfortunately, this is one thing that unless you have a large store of sheds to choose from, may take a few seasons to accomplish.

2. One of the ladies in our office is the crafty sort and loves to decorate her house with things she has made; and she has made some awesome things! Some of our favorites are a coat rack she keeps near her front door and a wine rack she keeps in her kitchen. The coat rack is great because it can be as simple as a lovely pine or wood board with small sheds screwed on, to a more complex standing rack with each shed branching off to allow maximum coat space. One of her personal favorites is the necklace/ bracelet holder she made so some of her favorite jewelry pieces from her husband can have a place of honor. All three of these ideas are surprisingly easy to make as well, which is a huge plus!

3. Make your sheds help you next season by making your own rattling horns! We all know there are tons of things you can use to mimic this noise while you hunt, but why not do it yourself! You can save yourself some cash since you’ve already got the supplies and we’ve also found that using real antlers gives the best, most realistic sound out there. For these, all you need to do is trim off the brow tines, use a Dremel to smooth any rough edges, and then use some paracord to make the antlers easy to transport and hang. Ta-da! All done!

Well everyone, it’s that time of year when Santa comes and we all spend a crazy amount of time trying to find that perfect gift for those that we love. We know shopping around for just the right thing can be time consuming and stressful; which is the opposite of what the season of giving is all about. So, we thought we would totally help you guys out! Here is a short list of our top 5 things we came across that made our inner children do a happy dance that just might be the perfect thing for that beloved hunter or huntress.

1. The Go Pro Sportsman’s Mount. What’s better than filming a great hunt? Well filming it from your perspective of course! This Go Pro is specifically made to attach to most guns (including paintball or airsoft), fishing rod, or bow; the only requirements is that it’s between 0.4” and 1.0”. You can put the camera on either a forward facing or reverse mount as well, in case you want to film a first time hunter’s expression when they finally get their first kill! The mount retails for $69.99 and can be found in most sporting goods stores. Need a Go Pro to go with your mount? Well those little guys generally retail for anywhere between $199.00 and $499.00 depending on the model and can be found in most sports and electronics stores.
2. The Pro-Tracker, Ultimate Tracking and Recovery System. The Pro-Tracker system is a must for any Bowhunter. The system has a small transmitter that attaches to the arrowhead and immediately disengages upon first impact; which allows for pass-throughs. The transmitter then hooks into the animal’s hide and begins sending a RF signal to a handheld receiver. The receiver gets updates to your animal’s location every 3 seconds and then gives you a digital readout showing right where your animal is. The system is lightweight, rechargeable, and water resistant with a battery life of 10-12 hours. This system is amazing and makes it so you have peace of mind. If traditional tracking fails you due to inclement weather, unfortunate hunting terrain, or darkness, then this system can help ensure that you find your prize and can take it home. Like to hunt in a group? Well the receiver can also be used for up to 6 transmitters, so if you’ve got a large family (or lots of friends) you can use this as a great gift for a group of people, or a great gift for a group of people to all chip in on! Retail is $699.95 and extra transmitters are $89.95.

3. Hunting Clothing Specifically for the Ladies. Well guys, the ladies in our office unanimously, and enthusiastically, voted that this be put on our top list of presents. It seems that while things are getting better that there is still a general shortage of women’s camo hunting gear. Luckily, stores like Cabela’s and Gander Mountain have hopped on to the ladies hunting train. So this Christmas it may not be a bad idea to make sure all the ladies in your life are suited up in clothes specifically cut for them to help bring their hunting game up to the next level!

4. Oakley Radarlock Path Photochromic Sport Sunglasses. We know, you’re probably wondering why on Earth sunglasses made our list. However, these aren’t just regular sunglasses, they are the mother of all sunglasses and are basically made specifically for hunters to boot. As a hunter, you spend enough time outside that having a good pair of shades with UV protection is a must, but there is nothing more aggravating that having to buy a new pair when the lenses inevitably get scratched. So, enter these awesome Oakley Sport sunglasses. These babies have interchangeable (yes, we said interchangeable) polycarbonate lenses so that when those scratches do happen, you can just pop in a new lens or two. They also have frames that are made of both durable and flexible materials so they can take a beating. Best of all, these are basically smart sunglasses and the lenses are made specifically to automatically adjust to your light level as you move from shade to sun during your hunt. These retail from $155.99-$300.00 depending on where they are purchased from and which pair you choose.

5. The BARSKA 8×32 Binoculars with Built-In Camera. During a hunt binoculars basically become an extension of your hands for a good portion of the day while you’re busy scouting for that elusive game and there is nothing more frustrating that seeing amazing views and wildlife and being able to tell your family and friends about what you saw, but not being able to actually show them. Now, with these awesome binoculars you can see and show. These binoculars are not only great binoculars on their own, but they come with a built-in 8.0 Megapixel camera that allows you to snap photos of all the amazing things that you are seeing. This not only gives you great photos to share with family and friends, but can prove to be extremely useful when mapping out terrain in preferred hunting areas. This retails for $160.00-$199.00 depending on where they are purchased.

Well everyone it’s almost time for one of our favorite holidays…Thanksgiving! Why do we love Thanksgiving? Well because, as avid bow hunters, this is the holiday where we get to let our friends and family try some of our favorite wild game recipes, as well as try recipes other people bring along! This month’s blog is going to be a spotlight of some of the very best recipes that have come across our Thanksgiving table. Have a favorite of your own? Then share so we can give it a try!

As far as we are concerned, you can’t have the perfect Thanksgiving without the perfect turkey. Luckily, this year we had some pretty good luck getting a few wild turkeys and we can’t wait to get them on the table. Now, as for wild turkey, there are hundreds of amazing ways you can prep and cook it; all of which are completely delicious. If you’re not a big fan of cooking and prefer to go basic, we personally love doing both a simple roast with some basic seasonings (like salt, pepper, and season salt) and a good consistent basting. It’s easy as pie and always comes out juicy and flavorful with minimal effort. If you’re one that loves the flavors of a deep fried bird, then by all means go for it! For our fried birds, we like to keep it simple with a bit of salt and some brown sugar. It’s a little sweet and packed full of flavor. However, if you’re someone that loves to cook and wants to impress, we absolutely cannot get over how fabulous the Thanksgiving Wild Turkey recipe from The Wild Chef is. Why? Well it’s packed full of flavor, comes our wonderfully juicy, and well…bacon. You can never, ever go wrong with delicious bacon. Want the recipe, but don’t have the cookbook? No worries! You can find it here, courtesy of Serious Eats.

Now, we all know how impatient some guests can be while everything finishes cooking; not that we can blame them with all those amazing smells floating around. So, an appetizer is always a good idea. Our families absolutely love duck, so if we have some on hand we like to cut it into bite sized pieces, dip it in milk, and coat it with a lightly season breading and give it a good fry. It’s super simple and pretty darned tasty. However, you can also never go wrong with this recipe for bacon-wrapped elk. We gave it a whirl last year and it was a total hit, but then again…bacon! Another few options for your appetizer table that have been big hits here is some delicious venison summer sausage (we’ve tried tons of recipes, and Gramp’s version is still one of our all-time favorites) with cheese and crackers and if you prefer a fancier table, we also loved these Duck Bites with Orange and Candied Ginger from WildHarvestTable.com.

Now, of course you’ve got the appetizers and the star of the show covered, but what would Thanksgiving be without some of those amazing sides? We always have a salad at our table, and we love to sneak some wild game in. A few of our favorites is this recipe with Wild Boar and this salad which is suited to whatever wild game you happen to have on hand. We also love us some carbs, so stuffing is a must. Luckily, Wide Open Spaces completely has us covered on this front. They put up not one, not two, but three delicious wild game stuffing recipes a few years ago; and they are all fabulous! We also love to sneak some tiny bits of friend duck into our green bean casserole along with a little bit of bacon (what can we say… we really, really love bacon.

Well those are some of our favorite additions to our holiday table. What are some of yours? Tried these and liked them? Then tell us about it and send in a photo! We are especially thrilled because this year we’ve gotten tons of great photos and emails from Hunters all over the country who have let us know that thanks to our unique and wonderful Pro-Tracker, ultimate tracking and recovery system, they managed to find game they would have otherwise lost due to harsh terrain, nightfall, and even a freak heavy rainstorm that washed away a blood trail. We are so thrilled our system helped you guys to get some meat on your tables in time for Thanksgiving! We also wanted to say thanks to each and every one of you! Happy Thanksgiving everyone, and enjoy!

Over the years there have been tons of advancements in technology within the hunting world. We’ve seen the shift from traditional bows to compound bows, and compound bows to crossbows. We’ve seen advancements in trail cams, in gear, in arrows; every year it seems hunting in general becomes more technologically advanced. So, it stands to reason, that most hunters along with all of their hunting gear, will also be bringing along their phones. A phone is vital to most hunters to ensure they can reach help if necessary, but did you know your phone can be an extra tool as well? Here are some of our favorite hunting apps to help you take your hunts to the next level!

1. Where to Hunt. We have to say, we love this app. There is nothing worse than getting all ready for a nice relaxing hunt, only to find the location you’ve selected has an abundance of hunters. This app lets you, and any other hunters in an area, check in via GPS location so you can see how many hunters are in your surrounding area, as well as where they have decided to hunt for the day; making sure if you want to hunt in a more secluded area you know where to go. It also has built in maps so you can re-route your hiking route to avoid other hunters if you’re on your way to a particular preferred location. Prefer to hunt in a group? Us too! Luckily, this also has an option where you can enter in private party info so you and all your friends will know where everyone in the group is at all times. This app can also ease the minds of any loved ones at home by giving them the ability to check in to your location from home throughout the day. Luckily this app is also FREE!

2. iHuntJournal. Any good hunter knows that taking notes and paying attention prior, and during a hunt, are what help you find that prized animal and this app is perfect for that! You can pinpoint specific locations of interest via GPS, take and catalogue photos for different locations, and make any notes you feel are necessary for any of your preferred locales. It also lets you email this info out via a CSV, so that if you’re planning a hunt later (or planning a group hunt) you can make sure everyone has pertinent information. Unfortunately, this app isn’t free, but we feel it is well worth the extra money. You can find it for between $5.99-$8.99, depending on where it’s downloaded from.

3. ScoutLook Deer Log. This app is one heck of a handy tool! It has tons of important weather information, like changes in barometric pressure, wind speed and direction, and even has information on the tides. It uses drop down menus to help you save specific spots for just about everything; including rubs, cameras, tree stands, and blood trails. You can make logs throughout the day during your hunt and this app will automatically track ratios of bucks to does, as well as ages of deer in that specific location. This app is essentially a nifty all-in-one tool that helps to manage and organize your hunt. Best of all, it’s FREE!

4. Archery Pal. This app is a lifesaver for bow hunters! We all know having a slightly unbalanced arrow can ruin what could have been a perfect shot, and this app helps make it all fool proof. This app not only calculates your arrows speed, as well as its kinetic energy, but you can also use it during target practice to gauge your accuracy and provide the percentage of the accurate shots you’ve made. It then takes all of this info and puts them into user friendly graphs so you can help better your shots. Add in that it allows you to also put in specific locations to be saved, and you’ve got one awesome app that costs about $4.99.

5. Hunting Light and Blood Tracker. Last, but not least we have this cool app. We all love to hunt, but know blood trails can sometimes be a tricky thing. This app produces light that alternates between pink and purple. Doesn’t sound like it does much right? Well, but alternating these colors, it helps dull green shades and increase any red coloring, allowing more visibility in your blood trail on the ground. This also can double as a great emergency flashlight and has SOS light flashes in case you find yourself in a bit of trouble. This one runs between $0.99-$1.99 depending on which app store is used.

So those are our top 5 hunting apps. We love that they can help you organize your hunt, coordinate with your partners, and even aid in tracking a tricky blood trail. But don’t forget nothing replaces good old fashioned practice; and don’t forget to bring along your Pro-Tracker, tracking and recovery system so that if you’re apps fail you, you don’t lose your animal! Never used a Pro-Tracker? Well you should give it a try. Our system has a transmitter that fits into your arrow and upon contact with your animal sends an RF signal to a handheld locator that gives you real-time readouts of your animal’s location to your hand-held reciever so that if these apps, or traditional tracking fail you, you won’t risk losing your prize!