Equipment Reviews
LACEY – the late summer and early fall are always a time of great stress for the waterfowl hunter. It is during the close of seasons that gunners look to replace, maintain, and purchase the tools of their craft. Water fowling is, by its very nature, an equipment intensive enterprise. The list of required and necessary gear is mind numbing. Most die-hard duck and goose hunters invest years amassing the equipment that they require and, dare I utter the word “want”. The development and distribution of newer and better water fowling equipment complicate these tasks. Simply keeping up with the new camouflage patters is enough to have your wife destroy new catalogs before they get in the house.
Individual needs are driven by region and the nature of the
gunning. A big water, coastal or lake hunter has needs very different
than those of a high plains or Great Basin hunter.
I am an inland water fowler, and hunt flooded pastures, small
lakes, and crop fields. As
a result, the equipment reviewed in this piece will focus on those hunting
conditions. I get new gear
the same way the rest of you do; I buy it! Only after I schedule and
conduct a financial brief for the chief of staff and receive authorization
to make the purchase. So this
are items that I need in or around my blind. The Benelli Nova:
This is a new 12-gauge pump action shotgun chambered for the massive 31/2
magnum shot shells. Benelli has employed some new space-age technology and
materials in this trombone gun. The
stock and receiver are cast as a single unit out of the same material.
A metal receiver cage is sealed inside of the exterior The gun comes with 3 (IC, M, F) interchangeable choke tube, a wrench, and integral sling swivel studs. The Nova is available with 26 inch, 28 inch, and 30-inch barrels. The suggested retail price of the black Nova is $357 and $425 in the Realtree X-Tra brown finish. The action on this gun is crisp. It snaps soundly in every operation. The blot can be seen unlocking when the trigger is pulled and the hammer falls. The gun is built for heavy-duty work. It is the new gun of choice for a hunter who hunts mud flats, river bottoms, or salt water. I recently screwed the IC chock in and put his gun threw its paces on a skeet range. The gun performed flawlessly during the two rounds of skeet that I shot. The gun points well, shoulders smoothly, and digested the reloaded one-ounce loads that I fed it. It is a bit light for a heavy field gun, the gun weighs 8 pounds. Hunters who wish to dampen the extra recoil can purchase a recoil system that fits into the gun stock from Benelli. The one-ounce loads were mild to shot and the one-ounce steel loads I test fire through the gun were also pleasantly soft. I COULD NOT FIND A DOWN SIDE TO THIS SHOTGUN. It does take a bit of getting use to when you look at it. It has a sleek, space age look and feel to it, bit it gets with the program when it is pointed at a fling target. Bushnell: While this company is not generally associated with the duck blind or goose pit, they have two products that have considerable application in both places. These two products are binoculars and a laser range finder. Good binoculars are at a competitive price are hard to find. I have spent a lifetime with lost cost glasses that need to be replaced every season or so. A season in the bottom of hunting bag in a duck blind or boat will test the mettle of any manufacture’s binoculars. While not tested in a wet, muddy hunting bag, the Bushnell Xtra-Lite Modle 13-0842, 8X42 binoculars seem to be just the ticket. These lightweight, neoprene coated, roof prism glasses are crystal clear, easy to focus. The right eyepiece has an independent focus ring. They lack that pesky “ring of black” so often found around the outside of cheap binocular lenses. While I have yet to take them after varmints (their real application), I look forward to spending a day with my eyes glued to these glasses. It is difficult to place a value on a good pair of field glasses, and I like these. Contact Bushnell at (800) 423-3537 for your nearest Bushnell dealer. The first time I was exposed to a laser range finder, I JUST had to have one. The prices of these high technology ranging aids had fallen considerably in the last several years. A frugal outdoorsman can save his lunch money and buy a laser range finder without dipping into the children’s college money. Bushnell manufactures a wide range of laser range finders. They lasers are made to range 400, 600, or 800 yards. I chose the 400-yard model. Most of my shooting is at ranges less than 400 yards, I find that on most days, this laser will read 400+ yards accurately. The laser range finder has even found a tasking in the duck and goose blind. Hunters can beam the outside decoy and get an exact range to the outside of the spread. The Yardage-Pro model 20-400DX is a 400 yard version of the 600 yard compact Yardage-Pro, which receive the Shooting Industry Academy Excellence, High-Tech Product of the Year Award in 1999. The Yard-Age Pro is an outstanding piece of equipment. It is rugged enough to sustain the applications I use it for, and it takes the guess work out of many of the complex calculations that must be made in the field. I will use it in during the waterfowl season, but the real reason I have it is for lng range, precision critter work. Long range rifle work at football size targets is hard work. The Yardage-Pro put me on the target every time. I know, without question, that I whacked a chuck at 343 yards. Hyperbole is common among varmint shooters, and the Bushnell Yard-Pro levels the “distance” playing field. Contact Bushnell at (800) 423-3537 for your nearest Bushnell dealer.
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polymer
material to maintain strength. The forearm has a sleek line and is long,
it covers most of the magazine tube.