Phil Bourjaily Picks His Favorite Waterfowl and Turkey Hunting Gear From SHOT Show 2011

By January 28, 2011

Phil Bourjaily Picks His Favorite Waterfowl and Turkey Hunting Gear From SHOT Show 2011
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by Phil Bourjaily Not everything at SHOT comes only in tactical black. There is still plenty at the show for the camo-clad hunter of ducks, geese and turkeys. If there’s a trend, it’s that decoys of both kinds get better and more varied every year. Here are some of things I found at the show: CarryLite HD Decoys CarryLite’s HD decoys have a photorealistic skin over a collapsible decoy. The line comprises two hens – one upright and one feeding – and a gobbler with a motion tail. Hens: $39.99 Gobbler: $59.99. Carrylite.com
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Flambeau Jester Unless a gobbler thinks he’s the boss he may shy from a full-strut decoy. Flambeau’s Jester is a fully flocked half-strut gobbler that’s a little less in your face than a strutter. You can add your own wingfeathers, tail and beard, and you can adjust the beard length to make it a jake if you want to. $79.99 Flambeauoutdoors.com
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Primos Chick Magnet Primos Chick Magnet is an intriguing idea: the lids pop on and off with a magnetic attachment so you can change tone instantly. There’s a sweet lid and a raspy one. $44.95 Primos.com
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M.A.D Box Call Kit Here’s a fun project for this season: build your own box call, then kill a turkey with it. M.A.D.’s box call kit should be a great item for youth programs, scout troops and the like, as well as anyone else who enjoys adding a do-it-yourself aspect to the hunt.About $15 Flambeauoutdoors.com
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M.A.D. Trophy Rope Also from MAD: the Trophy Rope, a convenient answer to the problem of what to do with all those feet and beards you have lying around the house. It comes in 2 and 3 ½ foot lengths and it can hold sheds, too. 2 foot: $24.95; 3 ½ foot: $34.95. Flambeauoutdoors.com
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Flexton Slater II The Slater II from Flextone holds a pot call where you can run it easily without too much movement. The holder rotates up and down, and it can go on the right or left side of the gun. $24.95 Flextonegamecalls.com
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Under Armour HAW Boots Turkeys already fear my tread – or at least, I see a lot of them running away from me in the woods. I’ll be scarier than ever in Under Armour HAW (Hurry Up and Wait) boots that feature old-school Mossy Oak bottomland and super modern memory foam in the feet and ankle that conform to your feet for an extra-good fit. Also in Realtree. $130. Underarmour.com
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Tannglefree Golf Bag Tanglefree has the perfect accessory for those golf course goose hunts, a camo golf bag: “Caddy, hand me my 10 gauge.” $99. Tanglefree.com
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Tanglefree Sleeping Pintail Decoys Also from Tanglefree: sleeping pintails. They come packed as a dozen drakes simulating, I guess, a bachelor group of pintails sleeping off a night on the town. (Why are they really all drakes? Because pintail hens are very drab and don’t show up well). $129. Tanglefree.com
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Tanglefree Surf Scoter Decoy Sea duck hunting keeps growing in popularity and this surf scoter will help fill out your rig. $89.12. Tanglefree.com
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Webfoot Decoys Realgeese Line The excellent Realgeese line of silhouettes features a tough, no glare cloth finish on both sides and photorealistic detail. The new black ducks and pintails will sell for $150/dozen. Webfootdecoys.com.
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Buck Gardner Silver Bullet Game Calls Buck Gardner game calls introduces the striking Silver Bullet line with aluminum inserts that give them a cool look and a more biting tone at the high end. The double reed Reactor duck call shown here in front of the Honker Hammer and Grey Ghost short reeds. $79.95. BuckGardner.com.
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Carlson’s Decoy Socket Carlson’s Decoy Socket, modeled here by the inventor, Kenny Rummels, let you set decoys in frozen ground. The driver in Kenny’s left hand is for pounding the socket into the ground, then you take the driver out and put the decoy stake in the socket. Where were Decoy Sockets last winter when I was trying to push decoy stakes into a frozen gravel bar? $24.99/half-dozen. Choketube.com
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Mojo Outdoors Wading Staff Mojo Outdoors has a wading staff with a turnip shaped tip designed not to stick in the muck yet still give you a firm support to lean on. $39.99. MojoOutdoors.com
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Mojo Marsh Seat The wide feet on the Mojo Marsh Seat look like they will hold up the heaviest of hunters in the soggiest muck. Something tells me the Mojo guys know mud. $39.99. MojoOutdoors.com.
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Haydel’s Speck Clucker It’s a niche call, sure, but Haydel’s Speck Clucker is a hand operated call designed to fool those white fronted geese that have been yodeled at too much. $24.95. Haydels.com.
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Special Buys from Final Approach Final Approach has a series of “Special Buy” budget priced ducks and geese. They feature excellent feather detail, durable paint and a price of $170 per dozen. Fabrand.com
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Columbia Omni-Heat Wader Widgeon Parka I never found the Columbia booth at the show but I know the Omni Heat Wader Widgeon Parka was there, and I wore one throughout our late goose season. The breathable space-blanket like Omni Heat lining in both the shell and the liner really works. This jacket is warm yet not too bulky. $350. Columbia.com
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**Ducks and Bucks Cartblinds
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Ducks and Bucks Cartblinds It’s a deer or decoy cart, a blind, a laydown blind and an ice fishing shack all in one and the whole thing weighs only 50 pounds. You can get it with 24-inch wheels or special 18-inch wide track wheels (shown here) for the mud. $375. Ducksbucks.com

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