Carrying on the tradition of pitching some useful ideas for outdoorsmen was on my "to do" list this week. Here are a few items that many outdoorsmen and women could use.

Hornady
Ammo always makes a great stocking stuffer or small gift. I have never received ammo as a gift and wished I had gotten something else. EVERYONE can use more ammo and it goes towards a great day in the field. Hornady has long been a favorite rifle cartridge company of mine. They make high quality rounds. In case you did not know they have been making slugs for shotguns. Their SST Shotgun slugs are super accurate and very deadly. Blood trails, if you need to track, are pretty obvious when a deer is hit with one of their slugs. The 12 gauge slug comes in a 300 grain and the 20 gauge slugs come in a 250 grain sabot slug. They fly with a flat trajectory too. Look for the brown and black cardboard box with the bright red lettering.

Tinks
Tinks has been around for a long time and for good reason. They make dependable scents for hunters. Most people know about their Tinks #69 scent. You really cannot go wrong with their attractants. They package their famous #69 Doe in Rut with a scent bomb making your ambush much easier. Furthermore, if you have a buck that has been making his rounds and you need to keep him consistent, consider their Power Scrape Combo pack that allows you to mock a scrape and get a buck to visit to try and catch the "other buck". A few ounces of the scent will last 4-5 days. Easy to use and not hard on the wallet, unless you get a monster buck and end up owing the taxidermist!

Finally, Tinks Vanish Odor Eliminator is some pretty good stuff. I used it during bow season when I had my stand only 8 feet off the ground. A buck came in and I thought for sure I was busted. He walked all around my stand and under it. He was nervous because I had left a bungee cord on the ground and had not sprayed that. However, even when the wind blew straight from me to him he never looked up or towards me at all. In fact, he fed all around for about twenty minutes within easy range of my crossbow. I feel confident that the Vanish by Tinks was the reason. I had several other encounters with deer up close that never made me when I was using the product. I plan on using it every time I am going hunting.

BUCK
Knife sharpeners have come a long way over the years. You had to know what you were doing to sharpen a knife really well in the past. Over the last few years the sharpeners have evolved to the point that almost anyone can sharpen a knife. Buck has two sharpeners that will take care of hunting, fishing and kitchen knives no problem. The Diamond 3 Stone Sharpening System is the base camp or house system that you can do some real work with. The sharpener has a base stand that allows the use of a coarse diamond and fine diamond surface as well as a fine natural Arkansas stone. I put an edge on my filet and boning knives within a few minutes with no problem at all. The non skid rubber feet make counter top work easy

The other sharpener that I keep in the truck for fieldwork is the Portable Diamond Sharpening System. It has a fine and coarse grit side to it and works on all knives and tools and even fish hooks. The case doubles as a handle and it is handy and lightweight. Throw it in your pack to use prior to boning out or skinning a deer.

Plot Watcher Pro
Day6outdoors.com is where you can find the neatest game cam I have seen in awhile. This cam actually shoots time-lapse video as far as it can see. I tried one for a few months and am reluctant to send it back. The camera takes a snap shot every second or every minute (programmable) and the included software allows you to view the "up to one million" images in a very short amount of time. The camera also works during the day so you can either set the sunrise and sunset times or allow it to be "light based". I scroll through the whole day of "pictures" in a few minutes and can see everything that is using the plot or woods. You can stop or reverse the images to focus on something or even use the Motionsearch software too. The video is in 11280X720 HD video. Use at least an 8 GB SDHC card with it. Batteries last a few MONTHS in this camera too! It is camo, easy to install and operate. A real thumbs up to PlotWatcher Pro.

The last few years have been tough on many of us financially. Sometimes the smaller gifts are the best ones because we won't spend the money on ourselves in an effort to try and make do. Visit your local retailer and inquire about the items featured here. I feel confident your loved one will find good use for these items.
Merry Christmas to you and yours.