RIFLE'S AND BALLISTICS:
When you're shooting blacktails at 30 yards, any good caliber works fine but when and if you start shooting at longer distances you have to start thinking about rifle ballistics, bullet ballistic coefficient, bullet drop, remaining foot lbs. of energy at longer distances and similar considerations.  My two favorite rifle calibers are the 270 wsm and the 300 wsm.  My favorite bullets would be the Nosler ballistic tip and the Hornady SST. My favorite rifle manufacturer is Tika, for a rifle that is relatively light, has great accuracy, has a self adjusting trigger and will not put you into debt for years trying to pay for it.  I would choose the Tika Light with a synthetic stock and a stainless steel barrel.  Then I would immediately use flat, brown and gray automotive spray primer and cover up the "shine". This rifle will be within 6 to 8 ounces of custom rifles costing several thousand dollars and will shoot better than most of us can.  If I do what I'm supposed to do my Tika rifle always does what it's supposed to do.  
 
The key to these two calibers and numerous other subsequent calibers, was discovered by ballistic "genius" Rick Jamison from Eugene, Oregon.  Rick discovered that "short and fat" is good and creates more complete powder burn in a shorter time frame with subsequent increased velocities.  The rest, as they say, "is history"!
 
FUN GUNS: 
The .17 is one of the funnest and most accurate small calibers developed in a long time. It's a true joy to shoot!! One of the best custom rifle manufacturers to produce some very neat looking and great working17's is Volquartsen.  You will have a little wait to get your rifle but it is worth it!!!  They make shooting the .17 caliber bullet even more fun.

RIFLE SCOPE:
The swarovski PVI-2 3-12x50 L, is to date, the best rifle scope that I have used. I've used it for two years now and its performance has been fantastic. It has great light gathering ability but the best part is the lighted l.e.d dot in the center of the crosshairs which can be activated with a simple twist of the height adjustment knob. This lighted dot helps in low light situations and also bright sunlight situations but what I like best is that it gives you a very distinct and exact aiming point when you are shooting at game. You put the dot where it belongs and
that's the end of the game.

RANGE FINDERS:
Leupold has come out with the best thing since "moms apple pie and icecream". Their new range finders come with a built in angle compensator which gives you the actual range and then give you what the "true ballistic range" is. Their original model was a little "slow" on the pick up but the newer versions are spectacular.  I used a RX-1000-TBR in 2009 and it performed quickly and perfectly.  This is a must have, if you hunt in hilly terrain.Most of the animals missed are shot over because the hunter did not take into consideration the angle of the shot either up or down and the effect of gravity on their bullets trajectory.

I used to have carry an inclinometer and a long ballistics table with me on any mountainous hunts, now all I need is my Leupold range finder. I have used it several times and it works great. Congratulation for Leupold for creating a very "hunter friendly" piece of equipment.

BINOCULARS:
There are many excellent brands available.  Don't fool around with binoculars with small objectives, they are useless when you need them most, early and late in low light situations.  In thick cover 7 x 50's are best.  In open country use 10 x 50's or 10 x 56's.  Any power higher than 10 power needs a tripod for stability.

Zeiss recently came out with a Victory 10 x 56.  I've been waiting for this for a few years.  It's low light capabilities are fantastic but it also has built in range finder and then to make it even better it also has a ballisltic table that you can program in for your particular bullet's ballistics and it will give you a hold over reading along with the distance.  What more could you want?, except possibly a pill that will control buck fever!!!  This is a very neat and a very hunter friendly product.

SPOTTING SCOPE:
I've used a variety of spotting scopes in the past 10 to 15 years, since I started doing some "spot and stalk" hunting.  Any of the top end scopes will give you great visibility and clarity but typically the objective lens on the spotting scope is not large enough and it's light gathering ability is far below that of your binoculars.  So several manufacturers have come out with larger objectives on their variable scopes.  My favorite currently is the Zeiss Victory Diascope 20 x 65 with a 85 mm. objective lens.  It's still not as good as my binoculars but it's the closest thing I've found to date.  Zeiss also came out in 2010, with a spotting scope with a built in digital camera.  It looks like a fantastic product for those of us who love taking wildlife photos but my pocket book has not allowed me to fill my wish list.

BINOCULAR STRAPS:
If you use binoculars then you need a product which keeps the binoculars close at hand and not flopping all over the place. There are several products on the market. Crooked Horn makes one of the most well known and also Cabella's and Bass Pro carry's several types.

DEER CALLS:
Don Laubach's "Deer Talk" is good for long distance purposes, 100 yards plus but the best calls to be used in the typical brush filled close up Blacktail situations are the "turn over" calls produced by Quaker Boys or Primos. Its almost impossible to make a wrong sound with these calls and the sound is very realistic. These calls work good by just using them as they were designed but they make the best low volume doe bleat, doe in heat sound I've ever found. By tipping them up at about a 45 degree angle and blowing softly into the hole at the bottom you can make an quiet "irresistible" doe in heat bleat.

FLASHLIGHTS:
Unless you just going to use it around camp, purchase on of the small, light weight l.e.d. products. The bulbs with not break and the battery life is exceptional, typically 100 plus hours. They do not product as much long range distance light, as a regular flashlight bulb, but they give you all the light you need to clean out a deer, find something in your back pack, see to light a fire or find your way back to camp after dark. Even though a battery will give you several hundred hours of use be sure you always carry an extra set and be sure that your flashlight cannot turn on accidentally. I prefer a headlight style so my arms are free to be used for other purposes and the light is directed naturally where I want it to go, as I turn my head.

The worlds lightest l.e.d.headlight by Eddie Bauer.  This is a single l.e.d. with a relector, operated by one triple "A" battery.  A Mag Light it is not, but it creates plenty of light to see your way along a trail after dark, it is extremely lightweight and small, so its easy to carry in a fanny pack or even a pocket. To date I have ran it for 30 hours. at 2 to three hour intervals, on one battery and it still produces enought light to find my way in the dark.

KNIVES:
For those of us who are incapable of creating and keeping a sharp edge on our hunting knifes, there is an excellent product called the "Super Knife". It can be found in most of the sporting catalogues and also many of the hardware stores or tool catalogues. It uses replaceable blades from the typical "utility knife". It might not make a good "survival knife" but it sure does a good job when it comes to cleaning out our caping game and as long as you carry along a couple of extra blades, its never dull. I would purchase good heavy replacement blades.

HUNTING MATERIALS:
For backpack or fanny pack materials in cold weather do not use "silent cloth". It's only "silent" in warm weather. When cold it becomes very brittle and noisy. The standard polar guard covers work good in all weather situations.

RIFLE SUPPORTS:
If you're in a situation where you expect 100 plus yard shots in more open country the best support I've found in the Snipe-Pod. It is very light weight and is shock corded so it sets itself up when needed. It comes in a sheath which you can carry on your belt but I prefer to leave it attached to my rifle so that it is available for immediate use. I made a quiet polar fleece cover for it which is attached to my rifle with Velcro. One simple pull on one side of the cover releases the shock corded legs and I'm ready to shoot. No time lost and no hassles. www.snipepod.com

SHOES & FEET:
You cannot hunt well with tired, sore feet. Replace the insoles in your boots with some of the special "shock absorbing and foot supporting" insoles available at hunting and sports shops or even the foot section of most large variety stores. If you're purchasing new shoes purchase the insoles ahead of time and put them in your shoes when trying them on, to make sure they fit correctly with the insoles and your hunting socks on. Since we're talking about hunting boots, I also recommend only high top boots (8" to 9"), fully laced up, in any type of steep, rocky terrain. Low top boots simply do not provide enough ankle support. A badly sprained or broken ankle or leg is not much fun to deal with when you're a long way from camp or civilization.

I have some feet issues, so boot fit and comfort are critical to me.  Lathrop and Sons do a great job of selling custom boots, and doing specific adjustments for foot fit and specific inserts to cushion your foot.  www.lathropandsons.com.

FOR YOUR INFORMATION: I HAVE NO INTEREST IN ANY OF THE COMPANIES OR PRODUCTS WHICH I TALK ABOUT IN THIS COLUMN, NOR DO I RECEIVE PAYMENT FROM ANY MANUFACTURERS FOR ANYTHING I WRITE OR SAY IN THIS COLUMN. THE INFORMATION IS PROVIDED FOR ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ONLY, TO MAKE YOUR HUNT SAFER, MORE SUCCESSFUL, MORE COMFORTABLE AND MORE FUN.!! BOYD IVERSON