New Toys

Yesterday I splurged a bit and bought me a new Canon 60D DSLR. In today's world DSLR's are changing the way hunting shows are made. Your options are endless with these cameras and the quality of video you get is phenomenal. These cameras are great for catching water drops splashing from your boots when you walk through water, or a leave fall from the tree next to you. Being able to rack focus and blur out your surroundings makes things more interesting and let's people's eye focus on what you want them to focus on.  You can also create awesome looking timelapse that are great filler or B-roll footage. DSLR's are allowing hunters to tell a story with there camera and not just show you the kill. They make you feel the entire experience from sunrise to sunset. On top of being able to film with them they take unbelievable pictures (which is what there made to do lol) you can share with everyone for years to come. Next time you watch a hunting show watch the detail they have before and after the kill, it was probably filmed with a DSLR.

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Product Review: HHA Sights

Product Review: HHA Sights

I recently got my hands on a HHA Sight from a local bow shop. The owner of the shop told me they were the best around. Im going to be honest tho, I was a little bit skeptical about trying it out, because it only has one pin. I had never shot with a single pin before and didn't quite know what to expect. HHA sights are a single pin sight with a reel on the side that you spin to the yardage your shooting. After you get the sight installed on your bow you start out shooting at 20 yards getting your left and right aligned. After that, start dialing in the sight to 20 yards by spinning the dial till your dead on at 20. Once your dead on there is a set screw on the side of the dial, loosen it and spin the dial till you reach the 20 yard mark on the set-up strip. Tighten the set screw back down and back up to 40 or preferably 60 yards to finish sighting in your sight. At 40 yards if your shooting a pretty fast bow you will only have to turn the dial about 10 notches if your at 60 you will turn it about 30 notches. Once you are dead on at either 40 or 60 yards you will read the instructions included with the sight to install your final yardage strip that will give you a range to shoot dead on between 20 and 80 yards. After I got everything sighted in I tested out all the yardage markers to really test if they were dead on, and to my surprise even the 80 yard mark was accurate. I have been using this sight now for a couple months and definitely love it, its by far the best sight on the market. Go visit there website at http://www.hhasports.com/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/HHASports
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Let The Growing Begin

Two weeks ago I decided it was about time to start getting the food plot ready for this upcoming season. Now on our farm we don't really need to plant food plots, because of our forty acre alfalfa field. I like to offer the deer a variety tho and its a good spot to sit for close range shots when bow hunting. I started out mowing the old plot down with the mower and then spraying to kill all the grass that had come through this spring and summer. After about ten days I went back in with the tractor and disc and disced the plot, and working the soil to loosen it up a bit. I waited a couple of days and disced the plot again just to turn over the rest of the dead grass and loosen the dirt a bit more. After getting the vertical cedar rubbing post I talked about in my last post built, I spread Invites food plot woodland blend seed evenly across the plot. After spreading the seed I went back and spread fertilizer evenly at about two hundred pounds to the acre. Next I dragged the plot with a make shift drag made out of a cattle panel with a tire on top of it for weight. I lucked out the next couple of days with  steady rain, and after only 4 days passing the plot as already sprouted and is begging to grow. What are some things you have tried in the past to get a successful food plot?

Horizontal Cedar Rubbing Post

So I was reading a post the other day about people putting up hoizontal cedar post for deer to rub there antlers on, and figured I would give a try as well. If this works, it will be a great place to get quality photos of the deer using the post. I started out cutting down three medium sized cedar trees about six inches in diameter. I then trimmed all the limbs off the trees and cut the post between six and seven feet tall. Next I dug two holes about twelve inches deep (which is not easy by hand in Missouri). I placed one pole in each of the holes packing the dirt around them tightly. I then screwed the other pole horizontally between the other two poles, cutting off the ends of the pole to be flush. I went ahead and tied the poles together with fencing wire to better secure the horizontal pole. Next I drove steal post on the back side of the cedar post angling them into the vertical post to keep the deer from pushing the posts over. Finally I placed a trail camera facing the rubbing pole to capture any action that might occur. Over the next few months I will be observing and figuring out any adjustments that need to be made or if this will even work. Here is a picture of what it looks like so far.

Product Review: SRB Field Rest

I got the chance to use an SRB Field Rest during spring turkey season this year, and will never go turkey hunting without it again. SRB Field Rest keep your gun off the ground and within easy reach for when that gobbler comes in. Its simple design allows you to set up quickly and begin to use right away when getting set up in or out of a blind. All you have to do is push the small metal stakes into the ground and insert the plastic U-shaped pieces into the metal slot, its that simple. SRB has also come out with a bow holder that holds your bow off the ground about three feet allowing easy reach when shooting in the yard, range, or in the field. The bow holder is made with the same simple design, with two extender poles that move the two U-shaped pieces three feet off the ground. I now carry a set with me in my backpack at all times as well as my bow case, for whatever I'm doing I will always have a set with me, and with their reasonable prices you should too. Go check out their products at http://www.srbfieldrests.com/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/SRB-Field-Rests

Squirrels? This Should Be Easy, Right?

Before I tell you about my experience this week, let me tell you about the week prior. Last Friday I decided to start discing, and getting my old food plot ready for this year. As I was driving back on the tractor to where my food plot was, there seemed to be squirrels in every tree I drove past. The entire time I was discing squirrels were jumping from tree to tree, playing and watching as I drove in circles. When I got a message on the following Sunday that our production company needed small game footage by the upcoming Wednesday, I figured it would be easy based on what I had seen on Friday. With such a short deadline, I frantically searched the internet for .22 ammo, finding some about 30 miles from the house. After paying $40 for just a small box of ammo (which is crazy btw) we hurried home to get everything set out for the next day. On Monday me and my fiance drove out to the farm, where I had been the Friday before. We decided since I had more experience behind the camera, and everyone likes watching girls shoot animals more than guys anyways I would do the filming. After taking 30 min just to get her to film an intro the way I wanted it, we finally were ready to get started. We jumped on the ranger and drove back through the fields looking for squirrels in the trees on our way to where I had been just three days before. We're passing tree after tree looking for squirrels, but to my surprise there where none. As we approach the place I had disked on Friday, we decided to go in a bit stealthier. As we're walking through the woods to get back to the freshly disked plot, my heart is starting to race, as I just know we're about to see some squirrels. Much to my surprise there is nothing once again. After sitting there for a couple hours and never seeing anything but a few birds, we finally decide to call it quits.Needless to say we still had fun and enjoyed the company of one another. I guess the moral of the story is, it doesn't matter what you're hunting or how successful you are; whether its squirrels or giant elk, as long as you can go out into the outdoors and have fun while enjoying

the environment, it doesn't matter how successful you are. Squirrels, might not be so easy as I thought! 

Product Review: Outdoor Edge Swing Blade Knife

The "SwingBlade" knife from Outdoor Edge is the best knife I have came across in a long time and a must have for every hunters backpack. It's duel blade feature makes gutting and skinning animals a breeze. Use the gut hook side to cut up the animals body without cutting into the guts. Next press the button on the side of the handle swing the blade around and finish all the rest of your cuts. Outdoor Edge Knives come out of the box sharp enough to shave the hair on your arm and stay just as sharp, twice as long as any knife I have ever used. You can pick the "SwingBlade" knife up at www.outdooredge.com for just $69.95.

Product Review: Hunters Helper Tree Step Wrench

My first product review will be on Hunters Helper Tree Step Wrench. This wrench is the first I have seen that's light weight and easy to use. Everyone knows how hard those tree steps are to put in, especially if you have several. With this tool all you have to do is get the step started and let it do the hard work for you, giving you plenty of leverage to get those steps screwed all the way into the tree. Check them out on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/StepWrench  

The beginning

Hello my name is Stephen Redd. I'm an avid hunter and freelance videographer. This year I will be updating you as I travel to different regions hunting and filming. I will be posting product reviews on all the different products I use thought the year as well as giving recommendations on products I think every hunter and videographer should own. I will also give tutorials on what works best for me in my area as well as the areas I travel too. Follow me through the year as this is just "The Beginning"

Stephen Redd