We’re always on the lookout for the latest and greatest in hunting, shooting, fishing and general outdoor gear. And we’re usually focused on products we already know about or have been actively looking for. Well, here’s a look at five things you probably didn’t know you needed.
Vertical Gun Racks
I first stumbled upon these in Houston at the NRA Show. Vertical Gun Racks are not a high-tech item or for secure storage, that’s what safes are for. These are practical, and low cost, options for hanging your firearm on the wall for display or easy access. They are also great for those of you with a secure gun room.
Starting at $19.99 for the pistol rack and $24.99 for the long gun version, you can mount these almost anywhere, including in a gun safe. The long gun rack will accommodate all standard rifles, shotguns, muzzle loaders, ARs, AKs, BB guns, and airsoft guns.
I picked up a couple during the show for the purpose of having ready access to a staged firearm that isn’t in plain sight.
5-Can Ammo Crate Mini
The 5-Can Ammo Crate Mini from MTM Case-Gard is a must have for those who hit the range with multiple guns in differing calibers. I picked one up after searching around online for good options for carrying ammo to and from the range. I was not disappointed.
What I like about this setup is it allows you to organize your ammo into the MTM’s O-ring sealed Ammo Can Mini’s which are designed for bulk ammo. Each can holds a good deal of ammo, from 60 rounds of 12ga shotshells to 700 rounds of loose 9mm. With the cans labeled, I can select which ammo options I want to take to the range, just by swapping out the cans in the tray.
MTM offers the Ammo Can Mini’s in five different colors, so you can order additional cans and use the colored cans to differentiate between types of ammo…or gear.
The 5-Can Ammo Crate Mini retails for $51.99, and comes with five cans, while additional cans retail for $8.71. Definitely consider this as a gift for your favorite sportsman or woman.
Hoppe’s Ready Roll
While attending Bushnell’s media event last year I was shown the Hoppe’s Ready Roll. In the past I was always using a toolbox/tackle box product to hold my firearms cleaning supplies. I think I like this better, at least for me.
The Hoppe’s Ready Roll with Dry Universal Cleaning Kit retails for $52.45 and can be used rolled up with all the components of the cleaning kit securely stored via elastic webbing. The universal cleaning kit includes a three-piece aluminum cleaning rod, bronze brushes and mops for .22, .30, .380/9mm, 20GA, and 12GA, as a three nylon jags, a shotgun patch loop, a shotgun adapter, and cleaning patches.
What I liked most about the Ready Roll is that is can be draped inside a standard five gallon bucket which leaves all the internal space available for larger cans of solvent, oil, and specialty tools. Throwing a five gallon bucket in your truck or SUV before heading to the range makes life easy, and you’re all set for when something comes up out on the range.
Smart-Torq & Master Driver Set
In this day age of gun mounted optics, the need for a comprehensive driver set has never been greater. The Smart-Torq & Master Driver Set from Real Avid is an all-in-one driver set that includes both the Smart-Torq® and Smart-Drive® gunsmithing drivers.
If you haven’t been paying much attention to mounting optics, it’s very important to apply the appropriate torque when tightening down the screws. How do we know this? Well, the manufacturers actually specify how much torque to use. Which means you need the proper tools.
The Smart-Torq & Master Driver Set has 83 professional gunsmithing, hollow ground / square cut bits, a torque driver, illuminated LED driver and a small auxiliary driver, all in an easy-access case that features bit labels and two magnetic compartments to prevent losing small parts, screws, bolts or nuts. The Smart-Torq & Master Driver Set retails for $149.99.
onX
If you’re like me you’re probably thinking ahead to hunting season and planning where you’ll be setting up for Opening Day. As the saying goes, there’s an app for that…and you should consider downloading the onX Hunt app.
The onX Hunt app is what I used last Dove Season to plot out not just where I would situate myself that half hour before sunrise but how to make my way through the rocky desert terrain (it’s Arizona after all) without doing a face plant or worse, stumbling across a rattlesnake.
This season I will be doing the same. Reconfirming my legal distance from nearby structures and ensuring that I am on huntable land. The onX Hunt app has tons of maps that allow you to see boundaries for private and public lands. Using your phone’s built-in GPS, the app allows you to see exactly where you are in relation to your planned hunting location, food plots and your trail cameras.
The onX app is one of those tools I didn’t know I needed until a good friend recommended it to me. It is well worth the investment and I haven’t even tapped into all it can do for someone who is a serious hunter. The Premium membership is $29.99 yearly for single-state land ownership maps while the Elite membership runs $14.99 monthly or $99.99 yearly. Elite includes nationwide land ownership maps, Canada hunting maps and more.
If you’re shopping for yourself, your significant other or hunting buddy, these five things you didn’t know you needed might be a good place to start your shopping list.
– Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network