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

The Browning/Winchester BOSS barrel harmonics adjuster had a shot at making all their rifles one MOA. But by adding in the obnoxious muzzle break they ruined their sales.

LOL, we have walking staffs in AK, and often forget them... and 30 minutes out realize it and cut small dead spruce... doesn't look good, but I'm figuring mostly if anyone else sees us, we ain't huntin right...

I'm with you on the internet not changing your hunting, depending on what you use it for. Wondering how a cell phone would hurt you? They have made my family more comfortable etc... just like SPOT and Epirbs have.[/quote]

The cell phone would compromise the essence of my hunt. I go out expecting to have no contact and I like it that way. The cell phone might provide a safety net but it's a net I don't necessarily want. I have had people suggest that as I age, I should maybe have a means to call for help if I get in trouble. My reply has always been, "If I get in trouble, I have a problem and will have to figure a way out".
dan oz mentioned one other item I do appreciate, the LED flashlight (only he called it a torch). I appreciate the LED lights. I can have enough light to read by and the batteries will last a while. So there you go; my vote is for the LED light! GD

Thinsulate, Gore-Tex, polypropylene garments.

Also any item endorsed by Bone Collector or the Duck Commander

Plus size camo lingerie for cuddlin up with a chubby girl after a hard day afield on a cold or for that matter warm night...

Thought of another one though I don't know if it exactly qualifies for the OP. Soft contact lenses, the high water content extended wear kind. If you've worn glasses since early grade school to see past two feet you know what I mean. When I got those duck hunting on rainy days was actually fun. With hard contacts dust under the lens in the field could be hell, and it's windy and dusty in the fall here.

Unfortunately a few years after they came along (at rational prices) presbyopia caught up with me and there were no lenses to correct for that and astigmatism. Need to check again.

^^^^^^^^^^ This.

50 years ago, guys in my neighborhood had to drive a few hundred miles to hunt a decent herd of deer. I have them peering in my bedroom windows now, both in town and down at the farm. Zone 1 in Kentucky now allows unlimited antlerless harvest.

Turkey? 50 years ago there were a few wild turkey flocks left in the surrounding states. Today, they are in all counties of the state and in all counties of surrounding states.

50 years ago, hunting in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky usually meant bird hunting. We had pheasant, grouse, and quail around. The death of the family farm, bad weather, and predators did all that in. Now, you have to go to a game farm, or be satisfied in seeing a grouse or two a season.

50 years ago there were no coyotes reported east of the Mississippi.

50 years ago, there had been no elk in Kentucky since Daniel Boone's time. I've had them in my back yard, less than an hour's ride from downtown Cincinnati.

Lots of hunters were all done by 65 years old -- medical advances.

That's a good one. 65 was ancient. Now it's more like middle age.

After giving it some more thought, I came up with the one piece of equipment which has made a big difference to me and my hunting; backpacks. Fifty years ago, the best we had available was the Trapper Nelson pack and a tumpline. All the weight was carried on the shoulders and neck. Todays packframes, carrying much of the weight on the hips, allow me to carry more weight for a longer distance than I would be able to with the old packframes.
As far as longevity and medical advances go, this is another thing which, so far, has had no effect on my hunting. I'm 65 and fairly fit but so was my father and my grandfather. serious medical issues prior to the mid seventies don't seem to be in the family make-up. I feel like I have another ten years of hard hunting left in me. After that, we'll see. GD

I have had 50 years of doing this stuff. Using a gps for research and property boundaries is probably the biggest change. I really enjoy modern gear and use a lrf frequently. I have found the internet to be a source of information and entertainment. I learn from others on this site and others on a regular basis.

My Toyota 4runner gets me anywhere I want to go w/ dependability, this may be the biggest improvement.

mike r

I agree, NOTHING has made MORE difference to me than the new packs, I consider them and highend synthetic stocks to be THE greatest advances to hunters here in BC over the past 50 years.

In 1965, I wore highend merino wool baselayers from England when working in BC forestry and when hunting well into December here. My boots were made, by hand, in Vancouver as were my rubber bottom pacs. Most of my very efficient, comfortable and NOT too costly clothes were made here and were often BETTER than the "camofairy" crap sold to kids at HUGE prices now.

Scopes were fine, binos too and handmade knives from old planer steel or headrig saws were outstanding. But, a Trapper Nelson was an instrument designed in HELL and I am so happy to never use one again!

Without a doubt, its a Thermocell. I could get by without every piece of equipment named other than a Thermocell. In the deep south its a necessity. Other opinions may very.

Eddie

For my type of hunting.

Trail cameras

WOOHOO and one more for the .222Mag. Used mine on a diller yesterday.

Trail cams have revolutionized bow hunting here. I dont bow hunt, but the guys who do are getting a lot "better" at hunting and getting big bucks all out of proportion to the time they put in. I see trail cams all over the freakin place.

Still, my vote goes to BLue Tape .

The Butt Out Tool

Didn't read the entire thread so it may have been already mentioned.





Common sense wildlife management.

Where is that practiced?

Certainly not in MT.

Poobs, believe it or not the Rez has some of the best deer hunting in the state.


No outta staters allowed.....grin

And the Rez isn't governed by Mt. FWP I'll bet...