With many of the big-game and waterfowl seasons wrapping up across the country many hunting enthusiasts have shifted their focus to the spring turkey season.  Here are ten gifts that are essential for anyone who spends their springtime chasing big gobblers!  All of these items are available online but most of these items can be found at your local sporting goods store as well. 

1)      NWTF Membership $35
Conservation of our wildlife is always a great gift.  A membership to the Nation Wild Turkey Federation will ensure the future generations can enjoy the same opportunities as generations past.  Join now and receive a free $25 bass pro shop gift card!

Here are ten great gift ideas for those waterfowl enthusiasts in your life.  Most of these gifts can be found at your local outdoor retail store but some are available only online, for those I have provided links

  

1)      Ducks Unlimited Membership $35 per year
You can become an official member of Ducks Unlimited for a minimum annual contribution of $35 a year and help DU conserve wetlands now and forever.
Your contribution opens the door to many opportunities to learn about wetlands conservation, meet fellow waterfowl enthusiasts and entitles you to receive the following:

·        DU membership card
·        DU duck head logo decal
·        DU shield decal
·        6 bi-monthly issues of Ducks Unlimited magazine
·        Access to the Members Only section of the Ducks Unlimited Web site

2)      Goose Flag $15
The goose flag is one of the most essential tools in our arsenal when we hit the field.  It brings added motion to the spread which is great for hesitant birds as well as gaining their attention from long distance. Any flag will work and they can be found at most sportsmen stores such as Cabelas and Gander Mountain. 

3)      Shotgun Shells $10-20
You can’t kill birds without shells.  For geese we use 3” or 3 ½” BB, for ducks 3” three shot seems to get the job done. Keep in mind waterfowl shot has to be steel shot.

4)      Duck and Goose Calls $30+
Bill Saunders Honker HP goose call is a baseline call that Bill produces.  It is one of his easier calls to blow and is reasonably priced at $30.  This call also comes in some sweet colors, which is always a bonus! Click here to get your own custom built Bill Saunders Honker Call. Bill also produces a variety of high end goose calls as well as duck calls.

Looking for some last minute gift ideas for the hunter on your list?  Here are ten gift ideas mostly under $50 that every deer hunter could use. 

1)    QDMA Membership $30
One year membership for an adult will run you $30 but comes with a subscription to Quality Whitetails, access to QDMA Branch seminars and short courses a membership kit, aging and scoring buck on the hoof DVD,  a vehicle decal and most importantly an investment in the future of wildlife habitat. Click here to join the QDMA 

2)    Wicked Tough Handsaw $39
The wicked tough handsaw is one tool that any bow hunter should never leave home without.  This saw is tough, comfortable and comes with a lifetime warranty Visit the Wicked Tree Gear sight to purchase yours. 

3)    Hunting DVD’s $5-$20
When in doubt get hunting DVD’s!  What hunter doesn’t enjoy putting in a hunting DVD with some fellas to get in the mood for the next mornings hunt?  Some of our personal favorites are Heartland Bowhunter, White Knuckle Productions, and Drury Outdoors. 

Trail camera technology has grown by leaps and bounds over the last few years.  I remember about 6 years ago, sitting in Greg’s room at college, memorized watching video from the wildlife eye that Greg had gotten of a 150” whitetail.  That wildlife eye was the size of a small cooler and cost around $400 and we though it was the greatest thing ever.  Now let’s fast forward to a couple weeks ago, Jason and I left on our Journey to his new lease in Brown County Illinois; a 5 hour journey from Northeastern Wisconsin. In the back seat laid four HCO UM562’s the latest and greatest in the trail camera craze. These cameras have the capability to send pictures and video via text message or email less then a minute from when the image was taken; an ideal situation when you have to spend 10 hours round trip to check cameras, or so we thought! Follow our journey as we gave these cameras a try

First things first Jason purchased the camera from bestgamecamera.com along with the security boxes and locks. It was nice that everything could be purchased and shipped from the same company. The cameras were on backorder but came just in time for our planned trip to the new lease however because of the timing we were unable to purchase the required sim card before our trip so we decided to hit the road and find an AT&T dealer along the way. We chose AT&T as our service provider because last time we were at the lease my phone had 2 bars throughout the property which is the minimum requirement for the cameras to function properly.   The cameras each require a prepaid $25 sim card.  Each camera acts as an individual phone in a sense and if equipped with lithium batteries (it takes 12 AA) and a 16 GB memory card you should be able to get the full three months of unlimited data usage without checking the cameras in the field once!

Once we got the sim cards we needed to load the memory cards into the camera and download a functional menu that allows you to enter your email and phone number.  Unfortunately we only bought a MAC computer and there were compatibility issues. Luckily we were next to a Wal-Mart and were able to use their display computers to finish downloading. We set all four of the cameras on the dash and all but one worked flawlessly. In about 30 seconds Jason’s phone and email was filling up with pictures of two good looking guys.  We were pretty excited to get to the property and get the cameras out at this point. 

As we arrived at the property we loaded up our bags and headed to the desired destination we had in mind to put out camera number one.  Our first location, which also happened to be our most skeptical location as far as service goes for the property, was an intersection of trails in a ravine between a large bean and corn field. My phone read 2 bars but the camera failed to pick up a signal. Disappointed we set off to location number two, a secluded bean field, and yet again no luck.  My phone was still bouncing between two and three bars but the camera continually failed to properly login.  After trying numerous less then ideal locations on the farm we failed to get a single camera to work. We decided to pack up the truck and make the 5 hour journey home, a journey we thought would be filled with exciting texts of Boone and Crockett class deer was instead filled with frustration and disappointment.

Overall the idea of the camera is great, and if you have excellent service on your property I would highly recommend these cameras. These cameras allow for minimal disturbance on your property and save you time and money commuting to check cams.    I promise you this is the future of trail cameras.  In the next few years everyone will be using these and the price will come down. But for now unless you know your property has good reception I’d stick with your standard cameras, you get way more bang for your buck.   Jason called the dealer the next day and they are sending him a signal enhancer at no additional cost to see if it will help. You can bet next time we head down we’ll be well equipped with our trusty Moultrie M80’s as a backup!