From bow sights that’ll range the target and pick the pin for you to new trail cameras that’ll fit in the palm of your hand, there’s a lot of cool new hunting gear to see at this year’s ATA Show—in addition, of course, to all the sweet new bows and crossbows. Strolling these aisles is like being in a giant candy store for bowhunters. Here’s some of the best new stuff we’ve seen so far (we’ll keep updating this page as we cover more products each day).
RPM Bowfishing M1-X Trigger Reel
Though bottle reels dominate the water for today’s bowfishermen, spincast reels do still offer some big advantages, including faster arrow retrieval and the ability to fight a big fish with the reel’s drag system. Many bowfishermen believe they provide better arrow flight, too. Trouble is, forgetting to press the button on a spincast reel can cause broken line and a lost arrow or, even worse, a snap-back. The new M1-X from RPM Bowfishing combines the free-spool advantages of a bottle reel with all the advantages of a spin-cast. The reel is always in free-spool mode; after a shot, you just engage the reel’s trigger and reel your big old fish right to the boat (you never miss, right?). You can engage that trigger without ever letting go of your bow’s grip, too. I’m buying one of these soon as summer gets here. $74.99/ rpmbowfishing.com —Will Brantley
Barronett Ox4 Blind
For the price, Barronett makes some of the best hub-style ground blinds out there. I’m going on season three with one of their budget-priced Grounder 250s, and that’s after leaving it out for the entirety of deer and turkey season. It’s a little faded, but otherwise good to go. So I’m pretty excited about their new Ox series of blinds, which are built with the new OxHide bonded fabric. It seems to be rugged stuff that looks like it’ll hold up over the long, long haul. The newest of these blinds is the Ox 4, which has a 60×60 footprint and is 72 inches tall. The Ninja adaptable window system can be adjusted for gap height without noisy Velcro or zippers. The blind weighs 28 pounds, which is a tad heavy, but I’d plan to set it up and leave it out for the season. $180 / Barronettblinds.com
—W.B.
GloryNock
I’ve tried several styles of lighted nock, and haven’t particularly cared for any of them. They have obvious advantages in the woods, but I haven’t used any of them with a really easy—and reliable—means of activation and deactivation. The dirty little secret is some of them will really screw with your arrow’s flight, too. The brand-new Glory Nock promises to be the user-friendliest lighted nock on the market. It’s activated by the bow’s string, and deactivated by pressing a miniscule button on the side (you can barely see it) and pulling it off the string. It’s…
