Name one thing.No lists or seconds.What could you not do with out on a Hunt.This will be a piece of gear,not a gun or clothes.
For me it`s a Rangefinder.I have no ability to judge distance after 150 yards.

The only thing that was not common 50 years ago was the 2-way radios, and they are not important.

Huntz - W/O writing a book ONE of the most helpful things (gear) I use is a WINCH.

On a 4 wheeler or similar it simplifies moving dead WEIGHT.

Especially hoisting a carcass for cleaning, skinning, and or butchering.


Using a PBR (point blank range) of 300 yds, I don't worry about distances BEFORE a shot. I use my rangefinder for a lot of things before and AFTER a shot.

To use PBR of 300 yds>>>You MUST have a cartridge capable of flat shooting. Yes I know of mil dots and 'turrents'. Those take time to use.

I could do without it but my wife gets real upset if I don't take it... cell phone.

The internet,of course! Where else could so many "internet hunters" kill so many "trophies"!!!!! memtb

GPS

Laser rangefinders changed more aspects of hunting than any other single device.

For me, it's GPS, especially when hunting in new or unfamiliar territory.
Laser rangefinders are useful, but so are flat-shooting calibers that tend to 'flatten out' the distances one normally shoots at game.

GPS and the ability to download public land and public access on it, In SD you cannot make any mistakes about where you are at when hunting. State land is hardly ever signed, or BLM, sometimes on the Grasslands and USFS but not allways. GPS opened closed lands for a lot of us in SD. Magnum Man

For the timbered and brushy areas I commonly hunt a GPS has been the most important improvement. It has saved me miles of flagging tape.
I do have a range finder but have few reasons to use it.

Ding, ding. I'd probably have a few more critters on the wall. a 40" Dall Sheep to mention just one. And save your breath - don't bother telling me I could have been a better hunter and gotten a little close.

laser rangefinders by far.

I"m somewhat pleased too, with the advent of digital wind speed meters.

I'd definitely agree that laser rangefinders have changed hunting, or the way people hunt, the most in the last 50 years. But to the original question, "What could you not do with out on a Hunt" - nothing that was developed in the last 50 years.

A .30-06 with a 4X scope was what I started with, a compass to set a landmark to work towards, a canteen, a sharp knife and a drag rope worked then and would still work now (although dragging would be a lot tougher than it was a few decades ago!). A 4X scope with 7 MOA subtension can tell you all you need to know about range - the animal is in range or the animal is not in range.

Some things developed in the last 50 years have certainly made life easier and more comfortable, bullet development lets one use a lighter kicking rifle with equal lethality, lighter warm and water proof clothing is nice, but there's nothing that is essential.


IMO the one thing that has absolutely ruined more hunting territory than anything else is the widespread use of ATV's - I'm sure that will get a flaming.

Should probably add GIS... ability to look down into all kinds of areas saves years of walking it out...

I've found things I would have never even thought to look for in some areas, especially duck hunting. If I had no clue to even look, it would have remained hidden forever to me.

Obviuosly since I was not the only one that hunted the "new" area, either someone had passed on info or used google earth or such also....

My drone.











(Kidding)

The condom.




Travis

My drone is outside your window.........




P.S. That's not a condom.
It's wrist rocket tube....

Cheap air travel.

Barnes X Bullets.
They improved the performance of every caliber.

AGW,

Good thought. That's been the one "positively-only" contribution I can think of.

LRFs are both a benefit and a negative. The benefit is that we can now know for certain the ranges to game, and that helps with making a shot. The negative is that now too many think that because they know the range that they can make the shot regardless.

ATVs have been a net negative to hunting. The amount of land ruined, now posted, and the overall impact of ATVs on game and on other hunters has been, to me, a huge loss for hunting.

Money. Personal incomes have improved dramatically over the past 50 years. This in turn has allowed more hunters to travel to locations they once only dreamed about. Also allowed us to acquire some or all of the various pieces of equipment mentioned in the earlier posts.

Jim

This is no doubt correct.

For me in open country it's the wonderful modern binoculars.I can't kill what I can't find.

4ager -

good point @ ATVs. I never unload mine till I retrieve deer.

I've had wheelers in other areas come in and mess me up sooner and from much farther away than if they'd been on foot.

Agreed. The better the glass, the more you look through them. The more you look through them, the more you see. Good binoculars to me are every bit as important as my rifle...

Half the time everything I have in the woods with me is 50 years old. The vast increase in personal income is the biggest one by far, but you were probably going for some actual item. I vote for sat imagery/google maps/internet.

Roadless areas that I can walk into and get away from other hunters.



Not from me it won't.

Good question Huntz.

Believe it or not, 50 years ago there were binoculars very close to as good optically as there are now. But they were Porro prisms, not roof prisms. They were somewhat bulkier (though often lighter), and not as waterproof or rugged as some we have now. But many of them got used hard, and the ones that survived aren't as in good shape now, partly because the lens coatings tended to be softer. But they were very fine optically.

I suspect a lot of the stuff on this list so far is there because the people who respond either weren't born yet 50 years ago, or were so young they couldn't afford it, whether really good binoculars, guided hunts, or plane fares. While I'm making a lot more money than I did off my paper route and summer jobs in 1965, with inflation factored in the average household income in the U.S. is just about exactly the same now as it was then.

I did fail to answer part of the original question: What I could not do without on a hunt. Actually I can do without a laser rangefinder, and did part of last fall, just to see what it felt like. I can also get by without a GPS, because I learned to really use a compass and map when younger, but GPS's are quicker and more accurate. The notion that the Barnes TSX changed hunting is interesting, but my wife and i have killed a pile of animals with TSX's and I can't think of one that would have survived or run off wounded because we shot it with any of several other bullets.

Apparently I misunderstood the question somewhat, or didn't really think it through. But I do believe the laser rangefinder has made the biggest overall difference in both hunting and hunting gear, since it not only made it possible to determine the exact range, instead of guessing or estimating with a scope reticle, but changed our scopes, rifles, bullets and general knowledge of external ballistics. And all of that is true even if we, personally, don't use a rangefinder.

True, but the question was, "what could you not do without" so I interpreted that to mean each of us as an individual. Interesting to hear the different answers based on different styles.

On some hunts it would be a rangefinder but not on most of my hunts.

Yes, I acknowledged that in my post.

After thinking about it some more, for me personally the most useful new stuff has been high-tech hunting clothing. The lighter weight has become especially useful as I get older! Also, for a traveling hunter, it's a lot easier to get more clothing (as well as a high-tech sleeping bag) into a smaller space, which also helps on a lot of hunts.

I can't think of one thing. I was given a rangefinder a few years ago, but I have killed a bunch of big game without one for a lot of years. The original Bushnell Banner $18 scope on my .308 was used to kill a bunch of them. I still prefer my Leupold 9X x35 binoculars I bought in the early 80's for a sheep hunt and I prefer them to all these little ones that are on the market today, but my 7x35's are still useable. Yep, I was hunting back then and was born in the early 40's.

Lots of lightweight/compact gear could fit into that category, compared to what we used 30-40 years ago it's night and day. It's hard to pick just one out of all the gear you might carry but sleeping bags and pads would sure be up there on the list along with clothes. And lightweight rifles.

The OP's question involved 50 years ago, not 30-40.

I'm not pointing this out to be a PITA, but because of a point in a previous post, that a lot of people who'll answer don't really know what the state of the art was 50 years ago, either because they weren't born yet, or if they were couldn't afford good stuff.

Lazer range finders

Nothing comes to mind if you exclude clothing. Thinking on it, I'll give a vote to the SagenSaw. Beats carrying a hatchet or corn knife and whacking away to split a deer pelvis or breast bone.

Primo optics aren't required here though they do help. I tried one of the earlier laser range finders and wasn't particularly impressed. In eastern South Dakota the land is surveyed into mile square sections and fence lines are usually set on traditional divisions of a section so range isn't too hard to estimate with a little practice. So, for here anyway, it's something else to carry that you don't really need.

The internet.A DIY hunter wanting to travel and hunt many states a year has more info than they can process right at our fingertips.

As for things we take afield, the LRF by a landslide. Even if you dont use one personally,in a round about way it has changed everything from hunting style to scopes,bullets,twist rates and probly a bunch of other stuff i'm forgetting.

Think the OP and mule deer hit it early in the post. Also improvements in optics .

Gore-Tex, polar fleece and other synthetic, moisture wicking clothing.

This has had the biggest impact on me in the last 50 years.
I can's imagine going back to hunting in blue jeans and a down vest.

Thinsulate and Gore-Tex.

Actually, it goes back a bit farther than 50 years, but close, The biggest development is easily the 222 Remington Magnum...

You might be right--IF some rifle company offered the .222 Magnum with a 1-8 rifling twist....

MD -

50 yrs ago I was 15 but knew quite a few folk who deer hunted. I did not know 1 person who used a winch per hunting.

I also agree that hunting clothes have improved so much that THEN they didn't compare. I actually told my Dad I wasn't going to deer hunt anymore because actually warm clothes, outside of wool, didn't exist that I knew.

Beside, the OP excluded 'clothing'.

Most of the terrain I have hunted isn't open enuff for 'serious'
binos.

I really like and use my LRF, but most of the time it's not to determine the distance before shooting.

It seems to me that RIFLE SCOPES have developed so much more than even rifles and maybe bullets.

At 65 being 'far' sighted, iron sights are useless to me SO....

I could not do w/o a quality scope.

I shot my first deer in 1958 and bought my first big game rifle in 1961. A year later, I bought a 4X Bausch and Lomb scope and a 7x35 porro-prism binocular (I think that it was a Bushnell). As just about everyone has pointed out, since that time gear, clothing, camp stuff, transportation, etc. have all morphed, multiplied and improved. However, I could still hunt everything that I hunt today with that same rifle (which I still have today) and the same scope. Probably the only things that I wouldn't want to do without are the bullets that we have today, whether they are components in hand loads or loaded in factory ammo.

It may be the increasing numbers of women getting involved in hunting and the shooting sports. Time may tell the tale.

This is likely the most important practical development of the last 50 years, hunting clothing has gotten a LOT better than what we used to have.

The other thing is not an actual object but rather a practice, that's game management practices by state game departments. Scientific game management practices have improved the quality of hunting across the nation. I know in Mississippi that every time I go deer hunting I now have a chance to kill bucks of the quality that I could only dream about 20 years ago. I see and pass on deer almost every time I go hunting that I would have crapped myself over 20 years ago, and the chance to see a "buck of a lifetime" is actually there. The change has been gradual but when you really think about it this really is the golden age of hunting from a quality standpoint, at least where I am.

Laser rangefinders are fun toys and combined with good repeatable turrets they have improved precision shooting, but in practicality they affect most people's hunting very little. I'll bet 98% of the hunting kills would have happened just as easily without a laser rangefinder. Maybe out west the numbers might be a little different, but I still doubt they've made that much difference. They've brought a lot of guys into precision shooting, but their affect on hunting in reality hasn't been that much. They've probably done a lot more for bowhunters than rifle hunters.

Rhino's gps radios that communicate position have made "parking" the mule in the timber and hunting till dark unbelievably easy.

The Laser rangefinder helps bow hunting immeasurably.

The motorcycle tie down eliminates the need for a diamond hitch.

Whiskey in plastic bottles make packing green mules easier.

Sorry no lists......U pick!

The clothing take on things is a damn good point.

I can quite easily remember the days of cotton long johns, poorly insulated boots, and piling on as many clothes as you could in order to stay warm. Oh, and rain gear that got you just as wet on the inside as none at all if it actually worked (and a lot didn't).

I'd also say that the advances in game management over the last 50 years where back then in many states you were lucky to actually see a legal deer to shoot was something and to get one was just about a front page paper event in most small towns. Now, in many states, the limits are multiple deer per year (if not per day) and we actively manage for herd size, health, trophy class deer, etc.

I can honestly say there has been no piece of equipment introduced in the last fifty years which has changed my hunting experience in the least. I don't use a rangefinder or GPS. I hope to never own a cell phone. I wear better boots than I used to and I having some cooking gear which is pretty good. I have a lightweight stove but usually carry the old heavy one because I like it. My binoculars are better but my eyes are worse so that's a wash!
I agree with Jim re the ATVs and consider them to be an instrument of the devil. GD

disposable hand warmers

Great posts, lots of suggestions.

Maybe it's the whole picture of better stuff all the way around from bullets to barrels, from binocs, to rangefinders, clothes, ATV's, better game management, etc., etc.

We are blessed, for sure...

DF

Actually he said "in the last 50 years." Last time I checked, that included 30-40 years ago.

Internet

Good one, Ed.

Without the Internet, we wouldn't have the Campfire.

Without the Fire, only a select few would know about a .223 AI wearing an FX-3 6x42 with M1 in Talley LW rings, all pillared, glassed and free floated in a McM Flame stock. Throw in a Jewell trigger...

DF

-or- The tale of the triumphs, travails of two stalwart campfire elk hunters

I am going to go with AFFORDABLE good optics.

Sure there were some decent binos available in 1965, and some decent rifle scopes. But they were primarily property of the aristocracy in the early sixties. I remember WW II surplus binoculars for sale, and even they demanded a handsome price.

I remember when Dad bought a decent scope for his 760. It was a Bushnell Scopecheif IV in 3-9x40. And it was a great scope. I currently have it mounted on a Savage bolt rifle in 17 HMR. Every time I pick it up, I am totally amazed at the clarity and resolution of that old glass.

But that scope cost my Dad a weeks wages. He was bucking bales of hay for the local farmers for a nickel a bale in 1965. I, as an eight year old tractor driver, was the other half of the stacking team.

I recently purchased a pair of Bushnell Elite 4200's in 3-9x40 from Cabela's. They cost me three hours wages each.

Binos???? Same story. Dad never could afford a decent pair of binoculars. The ones he could afford, were not worth carrying around the mountain. So, of course, he used his rifle scope to look game over after he spotted it.

Last summer, at Cabelas, I picked up a pair of Nikon Monarch 7 10x42 binos for $350 out the door. That is a day and a half at the factory for me.

I hunt in Florida: Thermacell.

Digital timers with solar battery chargers on the 500lb capacity feeder.

Batteries and corn lasts through most of the season.





Hey, I live in Texas, what can I say??

That's a good one too!

In my little world it would have to be a good dependable scope....50 years ago scopes were nowhere as good as they are now...obviously. My opinion only...

GoDogs>> You aren't alone.

A different take, and probably not the most important, but those dang game cameras that leave you laying awake at night wondering...

The cameras have been a real game changer for many hunters.

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!

The Internet is something I use every day to discuss and learn about hunting.

From Google Earth to shopping for stuff it's #1.

Books and magazines have lost to the net.

And you've obviously learned a lot.

TFF

The internet has helped more people become great shooters and to tell more people about their exceptional skills.


Or, at least they can claim to do so outside their geographic circle of friends who know the truth.

GPS for finding your way out in the flat country woods after dark.

Hey jwall
Well, I am 70 and still use iron sights when appropriate. I do have scopes on most of my guns, but do not believe optics do much to improve my personal hunting skills. Glassing is a skill though.

The surgery they do on eyes now nearly take away many of the aging related issues.
Maybe that is the most important development for hunters-- laser eye surgery. Nah, they still mostly rely on optics, electronics and soft ware.
But hey, this is the land of freedom of choice.
Gotta love that.
jmho
Tim

No modern stuff to speak of yet you are on a computer on a forum on the internet. LOL.

Side note, I still don't think goretex is a good thing.. damn stuff always will get wet in real rain.... to me its somethign to lure a person into hypothermia IMHO.

hey roadkill-

I'm 65 and only use 1.25 reading glasses. On rifles, the intended target and front sight are good but the rear sight is blurred.
(IF I could I WOULD find a BL 22)

I've been using 1.25 r g since 1994 and I feel VERY fortunate. I have extremely good sight past arms length.

I refuse to put up with the problems associated with 'bi glasses' when all I need is glasses to read.

I haven't checked into any procedures/surgery yet because of my 'limited' limitation. <G>

The only time i use a range finder for hunting is when bowhunting and i use it as soon as i get in my tree stand before any deer is sighted. I sometimes go back and check the distant to where i have just killed a Elk or Deer if the shot is at longer than wood hunting distant, just so i know how good i was at guessing the distant before the shot was taken.

One should not take good health or even fair health (limited limitations) for granted.
It is a blessing for sure.

From above-----
"on a computer on a forum on the internet"
Ahh Hahhh so that is the most important development for hunters?????

I bet high fence hunting is the "improvement" that has done the most to increase the harvest results for "hunters".

I enjoy and respect 24hr and its members, so I hope no one actually gets there panties in a bunch over my comments here.
Tim

bullets - I am more in need of a good scope than ever before.

It should be legal to shoot 'hunters' who are chasing game with ATV's. No there should be a bounty on the turds.

No modern stuff to speak of yet you are on a computer on a forum on the internet. LOL.

Yet the internet forum has done absolutely nothing to alter my hunting experiences. When it comes to information which is available on the 'net, I think I can honestly say I give more than I take. In essence, the internet is entertainment, just like television, only interactive. I should add here; I give information about hunting and target rifles and gunsmithing techniques; I know quite a bit about these subjects. When it comes to hunting, I only know about walking a lot while carrying a rifle as an accessory item.
I do use one modern item; I have one of those telescoping walking sticks which I kind of like. I like a walking stick in the mountains as my balance doesn't seem so good now that I'm a certified senior. Truth is, I have some wooden canes I like as well but using a cane makes me look too much like a gimp. I may be one but don't want to look like it! GD

Greydog,

You make a significant point when you wrote:

"In essence, the internet is entertainment,
only interactive. "

The word Interactive
Has educated some 'gunwriters' and we find we know as much or more about hunting, shooting, guns and making them better than they do!

It also gives us all the chance to show what we do. It's way more fun than the old magazines.

Anyone who thinks the internet has replaced books and magazines is.............reading the wrong books and magazines.

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.

That is why they write about you, not to you...

Now you can have a conversation about external and internal ballistics whilst sitting on the crapper.

WOW !

Guess I've missed "the most important development" in 50 yrs. It's amazing, guess the deer didn't know that.

If I had to go back to 1965 and hunt with the technology then available, then like a number of others have indicated, the thing I'd miss would be modern hunting clothes. I well remember the days before they existed, when you'd have wool for cold weather, which would get damp and stay damp, and chafe. Cotton when it was hot, which would hold sweat against you and again you'd chafe. Rain gear was nylon - which ended up with you just as wet as if you didn't have it - or oilskin which weighed a ton - and both were noisy.

The other item I'd miss, though not as much, would be GPS. I learned to navigate with map and compass, and can still do it of course, but there's nothing like GPS for getting you home in the dark or socked-in with fog, or on flat and trackless desert, or for marking a deer you've dropped and going right back to get the rest of it.

Good rifles, good knives, decent optics and decent boots were all available by 1965, and while I have used laser range finders I personally feel no need for them. Camelbaks and LED torches are items I like but could live without too.

The internet--- without it we would never know how bad the 270 really is---

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...

Hell no.

For me, it doesn't matter if I am hunting deer or turkey on my home place in Indiana, chasing mulies or elk here in the Breaks, or traveling to any mountain range in Montana. Google Earth, Bing Maps or any other computer program pm that allows me to see the lay of the ground from the air is by far the biggest advantage to having a successful trip. Printed maps can not even come close to showing you what you will be needing to know about an area. I have friends come from all over the country to hunt and before they come out we can save days and hours of valuable time by "scouting" via
Google Earth. Nothing developed in the last 50 years in the way of range finders,optics,cell phones etc can even come close to that aerial scouting trip, that
Google provides.

yes. Backcountry Navigator and Trimble GPS Hunton my tablet let me switch back and forth between aircraft/sat images and different kinds of maps for the area I'm interested in. Priceless.

For us Westerners one (but probably not the greatest) are the much superior tires for all vehicles now. When I was a kid in NE Wa. St. all we had was HARD lugged bias tires and chains. Now we only use chains when it gets really BAD, but winters aren't what they were in the early 60's. Maybe cause I'm older and drive more carefully it is easier to get out and around but the tire traction is sooo much better. That said I had to have my son drag me out of the field today as the top 1" is slime and a 2WD and highway tires don't cut it, live and learn. Mom didn't call me Muddy for nuthin!

Forgot about that completely Downstream. I think you are right, I use google earth for all my "scouting" of possible trout streams to fish...

Since I primarily hunt in places that tend to be cold and wet, I'd say warm, dry clothes and boots. Or perhaps more accurately, my ability to afford such things was the critical development?

Never owned a good pair of water proof insulated huntng boots until into my 30s. Or any good rain gear until later than that.

Not much call for electronics where and how I hunt most of the time, although I've had a compact 800 yard laser range finder for years.

Acquired topo maps for the areas I generally hunt deer in, many years ago.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, laser rangefinders have affected far more than the ability to determine range. They've resulted in just about all of today's scopes having far more repeatable and accurate adjustments, even if you never turn a turret in the field to change range. Plus, many of today's reticles are far more practical just for shooting at "ordinary" ranges, whether on varmints or big game, even if you don't use a rangefinder.

For ME the most important development in the last 50yrs was being born... I was still 14yrs premature 50yrs ago. Some of you guys are OLD!

OLD is better than DEAD!!!!

I would go along with this. One interesting thing I've noted with all the responses is, a lot depends on what and how you hunt. Lots of guys have named a piece of gear that I don't even use much less find indispensable.

But I'd go with the LRF just because as MD said, it's had a huge ripple effect on a lot of other stuff, especially scopes. But also other stuff like LR bullets. Who even knew what BC was 50 years ago? Who would've thought you could punch some numbers into your phone and get elevation and windage corrections for your specific elevation and atmospheric conditions?



No, it was the WOD!!! Followed closely by spandex......

This is from the Original Post. Also what I'm saying (answering) is subjective.

***I*** can not do without a SCOPE.

AS has been pointed out LRFs have had a tremendous affect on more than 'distance'. In the 70s only high end scopes were dependable (IMO). Overall scope quality has gone thru the roof. Today there are low to moderately priced scopes that aren't too shabby.

I know I'm not alone in THIS. I have an almost 'built in' compass. Only ONCE in my life have I have been lost. This was @ 1971. We didn't have cell phones, gps, or LRFs.

I don't NEED or use a GPS but if I were to go some/many places I WOULD get one and learn how to use it. I know how valuable they are where they're needed.

Before 1994 I could use 'iron' sights. Since then the rear sight is only a blurrrr. So a SCOPE is the most important GEAR to me.

OP, I would say Birth Control.

And I would probably have a B&C whitetail. I had the 270 wby mag but couldnt tell if he was 450 or 550.

Eileen's cook books weren't available 50 years ago, and a great boon to the hunter they are. What use is a rangefinder if you're just going to fry it and pour ketchup on it after you kill it?

If we are talking big game and deer hungting my list would be: Knife first, binoculars second, compass third.

Too many things to list including vehicles, bows, arrows, fabrics, powder, bullets, optics, electronics, range finders, packs, internet, etc. BUT I think it has got to be GPS. Satellite communication has also started to make a large impact. YMMV

My nominee is bullet technology. In 1965 it was cup and core and the Nosler Partition.

Now we have reliable controlled expansion bullets from everybody.

A dedicated season for primitive weapons could be argued a significant development for hunters.

Smooth toilet paper!!

It's the same now as it was then..... accuracy.

Accuracy was developed in the last 50 years?

I never used an LRF or a GPS in my life. I do use 2 way radios. So I guess I'd go with that.

I don't much use google earth.
I have a gps and don't use it.
I have a pair of laser range finder binos but never use them.
I take a cell phone but don't use it.
I still use some of the same cup and cores I used back then.
Herebouts clothes are no big deal nor are boots.

Most everything I take and use is much the same as 50 years ago...

except for my aluminum stool and my F150.

So I guess it's - mostly about creature comforts.

AC, 4wd independent front suspension, and rear end suspension....

Actually I carry less stuff than I did starting out not quite 50 years ago, never mind my gadget period. I find I pay more attention to nature rather than being distracted by gadgets. Much more fun that way.

Clothing is the exception, wonderful stuff now. But then Dad started me out that not quite 50 years ago with oversize, under-warm Army surplus. And I always did get cold feet before anyone else.

While it may be true that incomes are relatively the same with inflation taken into account. I think the real or relative cost of goods have come down. IMO manufacturing costs have made gear more affordable.

One example and only an example of one is the cost of a PC. It was what $2000.00 in the early 80's when 2k was a lot of coin.

AJD

AJD,

Yeah, a computer cost a lot in the early 80's, but most people didn't find them a necessary part of day-to-day existence yet. As an excample, most of the writers I knew in the 80's (and I knew a bunch, from every income bracket) didn't buy computers until the mid- to late 80's, when the price came down considerably. Before then they stuck to electric typewriters, because typewriters cost about a tenth as much. By 1990 the price had REALLY come down. I bought my second computer in 1990. It could do anything the $2000 computers did in the early 80's, and it cost around $200.

But that was a quick fall in the price of a new product. Overall inflation is measured by comparing the cost of a variety of goods with income. If most stuff actually cost less than it did in 1965, the inflation index would reflect that. It doesn't.

Here are some examples from 1965, The inflation index indicates the AVERAGE price of basic goods would cost about 7.5 times as much today:

My father bought a new but very basic Dodge van in '65, costing $3000. That means a comparable van in 2015 would cost $22,500.

A Remington 700 BDL's suggested retail price was $149.95, which probably means a real-world price of around $120, for $900 today.

A 3-9x Luepold VX-II's suggested retail was $89.50, probably real-world around $80, which means $600 today.

Gasoline was around 25 cents a gallonm for around $1.88 today. This is just about what it cost around here a month ago, but now it's up to $2.20. Who knows where it will go tomorrow?

We could go on down the line, but inflation is a MEASURE of relative buying power, based on average prices and wages. And overall Americans, on average, are basically in the same place we were in 1965. Some things cost more, and some things cost less, but overall we're about in the same place.

WSM's

Respectfully I'll have to disagree with you. I don't have the definition of how inflation is computer, but my general understanding is a few goods are measured, and those goods vary over time.

A quick question about your dad's Dodge. Is that the same Dodge available on the market today? How much do you think the Dodge that was purchased in 65 would cost to produce today?

I would say the most important development is the reduction in hunting access. It's not a good development, but I think it has been an important one.

ADJ,
I think you are comparing apples to apricots.

Mule Deer's figures are based on the true average inflation rate over the last 50 years which the experts agree is $1 then (1965) equals $7.50 now.

Since, with rare exceptions, you can't buy the exact same new items now that you could in 1965, the amounts are going to vary some.

Picking out one item, like a computer, or a Dodge van, doesn't prove much one way or another.

Here is an extreme example:

In 1972 the first electronic Digital watch was introduced to the public at a cost of $2100. The Pulsar. (I actually knew a very rich guy that bought one, and he paid that much for it). Obviously demand was limited by the high price. But they did sell quite a few.

In 1975 Texas Instruments came out with their electronic digital watch at a price of $20. They sold a gazillion of them and made a fortune. Pulsar lost $6 million dollars that year.

A year later, in 1976, as demand started to slow, TI lowered their price to $10 and sold a gazillion more, and made even more money.

The same type simple watch today costs about $2.

What does it prove? Nothing.

Back to JB's 1 to7.5 ratio, I just happened to buy my very first factory new centerfire rifle in 1965. It was a Remington M-600 in 308 Winchester that I bought at the big-box Gemco store in San Jose, California.

It was on sale for $89.95. Multiply that by 7.5 for today's dollars and it comes out to $675.

That sounds reasonably close to what that rifle, new, might cost today. There are currently several NIB Rem. Model Sevens on Gunbroker for $699, and Davidson's shows new ones for $730. Noting also that a Model Seven isn't exactly a M-600 either.

An awful lot has changed in the last fifty years, but the average buying power of the average guy for most types of things hasn't changed much.

MD, Sorry I was pulled away earlier and didn’t finish my thoughts.

I’m not saying there hasn’t been inflation. I’m saying manufactured goods have gotten cheaper, more affordable over time.

Those items you mention are not the same items in 65 as they are now. It would be like saying the house I had the cost x and the one I have today costs 10x, well it isn’t the same house and doesn’t take into account external market pressures.

We all know the gun and ammo market has been disrupted the past 6 years or so not to mention the changes caused by the 65 gun control act. I remember buying guns through the mail, can’t do that today, lots of regulations and changes in the entire distribution chain.

Gas cartels?

You can still buy scopes probably as good as the old Leopold’s for not much more than that, they have a strong following brand loyalty and I believe it affects their pricing.

But what about Radios, a $80 radio would be $800 today? Or a $20 wall clock for $200? $50 coffee pot for $500? TVs are better have larger screens, color, and cost less than they did them.

Same deal with microwave ovens. They can be had for less than $100.

I think of a 1911 as a commodity these days, you can get one for about $400 and up, I recently paid $630 for a Ruger CMD SS, what did a 1911 go for back then? But again big changes in the gun market since then.

Back in the mid 60’s I had to have a CB radio. I got a Courrier 12, it was about the size of 2 shoe boxes and weighed about 20lbs. Marketed as a mobile or base as it came with attachments for mounting in a vehicle and a 12 volt adapter.

It was a Currier 12 because it had provisions for 12 channels. A send and receive crystal was needed for each channel and cost $5 each. I don’t remember if a Microphone came with it. Anyway, the radio was $100 and the crystals for 12 channels would run another $120 that's $220 for a 12 channel radio. I bet any decent size truck stop sells functioning 23 channel CBs for $100 or so.

It holds true for computers, they have gotten smaller, faster, more powerful, and cheaper over time.

People are buying this stuff because they can afford it and it’s cheap.

Anyhow that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

ADJ,

This is pointless. You are indeed arguing apples and oranges, because you really don't understand inflation.

After thinking on this some time and to try to get the thread back to the OP. I am gonna say , the Accurate Laser range finder is the biggest development in the last 50 years. Making longer shots has improved the guns, Bullets, scopes , bipods, field rests,and to a certain extent the shooters. More time is taken to practice making better shooters, who in return demand better equipment, not just what the gun writers of the day are writing about.
Think about JOC and Elmer in 1965, sitting on a hillside staring at a sheep 600 yds away. How many shots between them would it have taken to kill it....... Nowadays with the stuff available and to know the precise range and practice it is a cake shot.

LRF is a good choice.

I think the precision bedded synthetic stock has to be at the top of the list as well. It probably contributed to consistent accuracy as much an any innovation in my lifetime.

Finally the ATV and rise of intensive QDM, but I do not regard either of those as wholly positive changes.