Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters what is the most important development for Hunters in the last 50 years.

Well in my State we when from seeing a Deer made the news and not a turkey to be seen let along hunt in about 200 years to Deer are considered a pest and turkey's on the way to being pests too! I could shoot 15 deer in a season if I wanted to and put in the time to do so! Warmer light Clothing along with rain gear would be right up there! The question I have what is it going to be like, 50 years from now? Another thing, ease of travel- the jet transport aircraft means you go anywhere in the world to hunt in less that a day and a half!

Earlier I attempted an attempt at humor,I guess I failed! Now I'll be a little more serious. How about, better game management by our game and fish departments,through better biology,season management,taking of does/cows,antler restrictions,etc. This has improved the quality of hunting for many of us. memtb

222 Remington Magnum...

...the LRF.........Specifically regarding riflescopes, any version of Rainguard type coatings..

All these replies and nobody mentioned the butt-out tool !!

A climber stand.

wait a minute....those are for downed game.....?....never mind

Dry feet.

I'd have to agree with some things mentioned here, specifically the LRF and great binoculars. For me, as weird as this sounds, and the way I prefer to hunt, an extendable, pivoting Harris bipod has been invaluable to me in the field. Not sure it's the greatest, but I won't leave home without it.

For me any my generation of hunters here up North, it`s a pair of good insulated waterproof boots. You can`t do anything but cry with cold, wet feet.
Me and my cronies talk about that every cold, wet deer season.

uh, oh yeah!

50 years ago we had good boots for cold weather, felt lace up boots, wool socks and five buckle galoshes they were as warm as anything made today. Clothes good Canadian wool union suit, 32 oz wool bibs, a good wool heavy Irish sweater, elk skin choppers with wool liners. I worked construction and trapped on skis and snowshoes in ND and northern MN and stayed warm all winter.

Scopes have improved but were available. I could get along with a compass for a long time yet.

The one thing that wasn't available was a GPS w/public lands chip. I do a lot of bird and coyote hunting, 50 years ago there were no trespass laws so if somebody didn't want you to hunt they posted their land, everything else was open. With trespass laws the way they are a public lands chip is indespenseable. Be ware they aren't always correct, so I try to have public lands maps to plot my day of hunting and back up my GPS . I also carry a computer in the truck to check the county assessors records if there is a question of ownership as they are almost always up to date.

Shrapnel, punch that 222RM to 22-204 and join the 21st century.

I'm going to have to say electric handwarmers have probably been the biggest boon to hunting that we often do, well, that and the reliable dependability that the vehicles we have now exhibit. Electronic ignition might be most responsible for that.

I like stainless rifles, but I still often use chrome-moly. I've had my fling with copper slugs; still throw one now and again, but prefer the old Partition in general. Binos aren't anything more than old 'hi-tec'. Never ranged an animal prior to killing it. GPS is great; often don't bother to turn it on however. 4x scopes aren't very 'lastest/greatest'. Snowmachines without handwarmers sucked.

I guess I am odd man out.

I don't use most of the stuff mentioned, No GPS, no rangefinder, no 4 wheelers.

I will say in the last 50 years the availbility of aerial photography have really been much easier and abundant.

I'll also say wildlife management practices in parts of the country. 50 years ago it was hard to find A deer in certain parts of the south. Does were sacred. I still remember people telling me about the first TRACK they saw and they were 20+ years old when they saw it and everyone talked about it.

Any deer was a trophy.

Appears, one of these days I will have to pick-up a range finder.

Solid state/electronic ignition.

Now, you quit preaching and went to meddling...

DF

I admit being mostly old school, so the important stuff listed above does not fit in the "can't do without" or "makes me a better hunter" category.

They may allow the "hunter" to set in a blind longer, shoot farther across the bean field or gulley, watch the bait pile 24/7, stay out in the weather a little longer, etc., but not make him/her a better hunter. There is more to hunting to hunting than this.

To me hunting is more about getting out there and getting close to the prey, not about the state of technological advancement.

However, I do not go anywhere without at least one knife made with a high carbon stain resistant steel blade.
jmho
Tim

Hey 'roadkill'

when your eyes will NOT allow you to use iron sights..........
you will depend on a scope.

That's not really funny.

I believe that thing was designed by some individual with a weird fetish , best not described in mixed company...........
Or the new improved Butt Out II!