Besides all of the new rifles, shotguns and tactical gear on display at the annual Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trades (SHOT) Show in Las Vegas, thousands of other new products for the outdoors enthusiast are launched. It's never easy to decide which ones to spotlight in my annual sporting and outdoors-recreational gear review for militarytimes.com. The links below will take you to profiles of a couple dozen new products that'll help make you a little more comfortable, safer and successful in the outdoors.
Here's a look at some new hunting blinds, turkey decoys and packs, some great lightweight boots, and aluminum-frame sunglasses. Click HERE.
For a rundown on some of the best new and affordable hunting and fillet knives, as well as some innovative game and fish cleaning shears, plus a cool and versatile set of outdoor dining utensils, click HERE.
Click HERE for a couple new crossbows, including one with no cams, some affordable rangefinders and trail cams, plus gun cleaning kits, hard-shell cases and an exceptional rib-mounted red dot sight by Aimpoint that mounts easily to your favorite shotgun.
I mounted Aimpoint's Micro S-1 Red Dot Shotgun Sight on my old Beretta AL391 semi-automatic 12 gauge. This has been a favorite duck and dove gun for nearly 20 years and it has killed a couple turkeys. It would have taken a couple more if I'd had this great sight mounted directly on the rib. I like that the optic is mounted very low on the rib and the red dot is near the bottom of the visual. It lets you maintain good shooting form, but with this parallax-free red dot and a properly zeroed gun, you pattern will hit whatever the dot is on, even if you don't have the best cheek position against the stock. The top left target is 28 yards; the rest are 42 yards. I was shooting up some old Winchester Supreme Elite Extended range Hi-Density shells in #5 shot. I don't think they make that one anymore. Love this site. May even try it for wingshooting. See more at www.aimpoint.com.