Every once in a while my Dad will reminisce with me about hunting trips from his past. Sixty years ago, when he was in his 20s, an autumn afternoon of bird hunting consisted of dawning a cap, and perhaps a light jacket over work clothes, putting a handful of shells in a pocket, getting the shotgun from the closet, and heading for the woods out back of the house.

For deer hunting, green wool marine pants and a wool shirt were quiet and warm, and a red or green checkered hunting jacket with a compass pinned to the pocket held the shells, a sandwich, a candy bar, matches, and a few rifle shells. Well-equipped hunters wore a shell belt with attached hunting knife and carried a drag rope.

Every decade since the 1950s has brought forth new and better gear for the outdoorsman, and the progress can be traced in each 10-year era like the aging rings of a tree. New styles of guns and better, more powerful shells and stronger metal alloys for firearms, knives, and axes arrived early on. Synthetic materials followed and lighter, more durable outdoor clothing was developed. Raingear went from water resistant to water repellant to waterproof and breathable. Optics for binoculars, spotting scopes, and rifle scopes improved immensely.

Four-wheel drives and snowmobiles opened up the deepest woods in the 1980s and all-terrain vehicles were the boon of the 1990s. Compasses gave way to hand-held global positioning systems, and two- way radios and cell phones became the answer to long-range communication.

The list of gadgets and gizmos grows every year, as the dozens of sporting goods catalogs overstuffing your mailbox verify. It’s a good thing we do have big 4x4s and ATVs or we could never lug around all these technological hunting wonders, or haul the tons of old catalogs to the rubbish.

Don’t get me wrong, many of the new products inundating the market place are true marvels, and their benefit to specific hunting situations undeniable. Since I spend so much time in Maine’s great outdoors enjoying every imaginable type of hunting, I try out a lot of innovative new equipment. Some items quickly become indispensable, and I’m going to tell you folks about a few of this season’s unique new sporting goods for a variety of outdoor activities.

Warm and cozy

Physical discomfort ruins more hunting outings than all other difficulties, misfortunes, and adversities put together. Since many of Maine’s most popular hunting seasons take place from October through December, sportsmen must contend with rain, snow, sleet, and body-numbing cold weather. Crawling through the snow-covered trees in search of whitetail, jump shooting puddle ducks on a rainy morning, laying out on the snow-covered frozen ground among a spread of goose decoys, or hunting for sea ducks on an off-shore ledge in freezing sleet are common fall scenarios.

In all of these gunning situations, it’s the outer layer of clothing that’s going to make or break the trip. Wear as many layers of warm clothes as you like, but once they’re wet, the cold penetrates your body like an icicle knife. When the body gets cold, blood supply moves from the extremities to keep the central body core warm and hands, feet, and face get very cold, even numb. Handling a firearm with unfeeling fingers or wading streams or ocean ledges with near frozen feet is foolhardy.

Browning, best know for building fine firearms, is also in the clothing business, and one of their newest products is PacWear rain gear. Comfortable and camo patterned, the loose-fitting jacket and pants fold up so small they can be stuffed or stowed in a fanny pack, knapsack, or gear bag. The outer shell is micro fiber Quantum cloth with a durable water-repellant finish that’s quiet when moving through the brush. An inner lining of Gore-Tex guarantees breathability to eliminate sweating and overheating during exertion, and full waterproofing as well as toughness to withstand the rigors of hard hunting.

Browning designers have thought of everything for comfort and convenience: an attached drawstring hood, elastic cuffs with snap adjustments, zippered cargo pockets, bellowed handwarmer pockets and a drawstring waist. Each piece actually stuffs into its own pocket, or an accompanying stuff bag with snap-secured storm flap may be used. Available in sizes S-3X, the Pac Jac and Pac Pant have suggested retails of $175 and $125, respectively, and Pac bib overalls are $170.

I’ve owned a lot of rain gear, but none matched the comfort, convenience, and great camo of my PacWear. On the coldest day of January sea duck hunting, this rain gear cuts the wind and keeps me warm. Last November during a rainy, early morning goose hunt, the low depression I was laying in filled up so I was laying in two inches of mud and water for more than half an hour. Not one inch of my inner clothing got wet. My Browning PacWear goes on every hunting trip with me now.

This little piggy

Besides keeping my body dry, the greater problem I’ve faced over the years of cold weather recreation from hunting to ice fishing to snowshoeing has been to keep my feet warm. Some boots do the job, but at the cost of comfort and mobility; it’s like trying to walk with cement shoes. From the complaining I hear among other outdoorsmen, finding a boot that meets all the criteria, is low maintenance, and long lasting is a difficult search. Well, I finally found one that fits the bill.

While reading a newspaper last fall, I came across an article about the Navy Seals, and in it was a discussion and description of certain gear and garments this elite fighting force utilized. What caught my eye was the fact that the Seals had just adopted new footwear, and these special boots were supposedly the best of the best for all conditions, and manufactured by the well-known LaCrosse footwear company. I figured any boot that would withstand the rigors of Seal training exercises would certainly meet my needs, so I set out to learn all about them and hopefully get a pair.

With only the company name and a helpful operator, I finally made contact with LaCrosse marketing manager Kristen Cole and begged for information about this new wonder boot. Precision Fit Technology was the revolutionary new process that turned cold-weather footwear into comfortable, flexible, perfectly fitted boots. PFT includes a vulcanization process that totally seals all boot seams and components for integrity and waterproofing. A compounded rubber boot shell adds great flexibility in cold temperatures and thinsulate provides insulation and warmth, yet the boot is very lightweight.

LaCrosse was so busy filling government contracts that the boots weren’t on the retail market last fall, but I finagled a pair of Buckmasters PFT. The Seals were right, these are fantastic footwear, and are currently on the market for everyone.

Buckmasters PFT come in 10- or 13-inch heights with half sizes available from 7-14, medium or wide. They have a 100 percent waterproof molded rubber shell, 600g-1200g of thinsulate, and 1000-denier Cordura camouflage panels. A mid-sole cushion system and fiberglass shank for lightweight support and a high traction sole tread pattern assures comfort and stability during long hours on rough terrain. My little piggies are warm, cozy, and dry in the best boots I’ve every worn. A set of LaCrosse Buckmasters PFT costs about $125.

The eyes have it

No matter what type of hunting I’m enjoying, I carry a set of binoculars. Being able to bring a questionable object up close and clear answers a lot of questions for an outdoorsman. For years I wouldn’t bother with binoculars because they were too big, bulky and heavy around my neck. They were always back in the truck when I needed them, and when I did carry them, care had to be taken not to bang them around.

Then I got a pair of Bushnell Legends, and now I have binoculars with me whenever I’m afield or afloat. The 3-by-41/4-inch, 9 X 25-power binoculars weigh less than a pound. BAK-4 prisms offer fast, fine tuning and precise clarity. Legends are waterproof, fog-proof, have non-slip rubber armoring and fully coated optics for great light transmission.

These compact binoculars boast a dozen other features for convenience and performance and come with a case and strap for about $180. Compact and quality that fits in your pocket should never leave you without binoculars again.

While we’re on the subject of eyeing game, I’ve added another tool to a pocket of any hunting jacket. At 31/2-by-3-by-11/2 inches and 7 ounces, the Nikon Buckmaster 400 rangefinder is an essential tool for big-game hunters and waterfowlers. Not only can this tiny laser tell you the distance to a big buck, moose, or bear to within one-half yard up to 450 yards, but it is an eight-power adjustable monocular as well.

Now you can know how far away the farthest goose decoy is set, how far away your shooting buddy is set up, and make sure you are a legal distance from houses and roads. There’s even an 800-yard model available, and they come in non-reflective black or camouflage color. At $300, these high-tech laser range finders are reasonably priced, simple to operate, and will never leave you guessing about shooting distances again.

Inflatable geese

Experienced goose hunters know that large decoy spreads and realistic-looking decoys are the key to consistent success. The problem is transporting 100 or more decoys to the field and then getting them hauled out and set up. Full-bodied and shell decoys look the best, but take up a tremendous amount of space and are heavy. Silhouettes are fairly light, but are one-dimensional. Most watefowlers opt for fewer decoys and some of each type, but thanks to a new style of decoys called Featherlites, hunters don’t need to scrimp on decoy spreads anymore. Two men can easily carry 100 of these full size inflatable geese into the field and set them up quickly.

Developed by Cherokee Sports, these goose, duck, turkey, dove, and deer decoys are actually real photographs imprinted on plastic, shaped like the quarry. Various poses and images are available and the feather patterns look real. One breath of air inflates each decoy, and birds flying overhead actually see a full-size 3-D bird and are more likely to be fooled. Special ground stakes allow the bird to move and turn realistically in any kind of wind. A new type of flat-bottomed Featherlite decoy can be used on the water as well as on land. For serious goose hunters this product will save a lot of frustration and perspiration, and at a cost of less than $100 per dozen.

Hevi Shot

Once you get the waterfowl in close, the next trick is to knock them down efficiently with a quick, clean kill. Since lead shot was banned and steel shot took its place, gunners have been unhappy with its efficiency. Manufacturers have tried mightily to develop non-toxic shot that attains the distance, pattern, and penetration of lead. Success has been limited. Bismuth is effective, but very expensive, and tungsten and iron and tungsten polymer shells are a bit less costly, but lack the consistent efficacy of lead.

A new pellet called Hevi Shot seems to be the breakthrough we’ve been waiting for. This product is heavier than lead, and because of this, a smaller pellet size than steel loads works just as well. These smaller pellets work out to 2.33 times more shot pellets per shell in Hevi Shot than with steel. Hevi Shot just set a record by placing 42 pellets in a 3-inch circle at 40 yards. Waterfowlers’ prayers may have been answered and the price runs about $15 a box.

Six items out of thousands of new sporting goods ideas seems like a raindrop in a typhoon, but each of these products is causing quite a stir in the hunting realm. Each and every one can be invaluable to Maine outdoorsmen, and lead to safer, more comfortable, and productive outings.

Let me leave you with two lessons I’ve learned the hard way. If you find an item you really like and it works superbly, buy two. Within a short time they probably won’t make it any more. Secondly, as sure as you rush out and purchase a top-of-the-line product, a new and improved version will be on the market within six months, and probably cheaper! Take full advantage of the age of technology and make your outdoor life better. New products may not improve the hunting, but they will improve the hunter.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached at graves@umpi.maine.edu