Deer Gear: Top Picks For Deer Season

Practice is a vital — if not always super enjoyable — aspect of preparing for a hunt, but the immediate visual and auditory feedback provided by a steel target can make the process a lot more fun. And if you’re going to be pursuing a deer this fall, what can better prepare you for the field than putting shots on a rifle-rated, life-size steel target shaped like the animal you will actually be hunting? Once fully assembled, the Whitetail Deer from Atlas Target Works stands 62 3/4 inches tall and 46 1/4 inches long, with a pivoting vital plate in the shape of the deer’s lungs that measures roughly 11 1/4 inches by 12 1/2 inches and rings like a bell when successfully struck.

Two versions are offered, one where only the chest and vital plate are comprised of hardened SR500+ steel — while the head, haunches and legs are made of 14-gauge sheet metal — and a heavier, more expensive option where the entire deer is SR500+. The company also sells a 50-percent-scale whitetail target that is rated only for rimfire use.

Two of the only legitimate knocks against the use of a silencer while hunting — in the 41 states and those countries where the practice is legal — are that the addition of a suppressor increases the length and weight of the host platform. This can not only throw off the balance of your rifle but also make it more of a snag risk in the field. However, due to its lightweight titanium construction and an over-the-barrel design that limits its total length without compromising its ability to cut decibels, the new Nomad Ti OTB from Dead Air Silencers uses thoughtful engineering to minimize both concerns.

Manufactured entirely from 3D-printed Grade 5 titanium, the can weighs just 10.5 ounces, including its Xeno mounting system. Because the 7.65-inch accessory recesses over a compatible barrel by 3 inches, it adds only 4.6 inches to your gun’s length. The .30-caliber Nomad Ti OTB has a .300 Remington Ultra Magnum maximum cartridge rating, meaning it can also be used with less powerful chamberings of equal or smaller diameter — like .30-06 Sprg., 7mm Backcountry, .270 Win. and .223 Rem. — to name just a few.

If you’ve successfully harvested several new animals and opted to turn them into European mounts, you need a classy but economical way to display those skulls. The Trophy Tree from Skull Hooker, a multi-trophy standing display, lets you make the most of your floor plan while freeing up wall space, and its modular design allows the unit to be reconfigured repeatedly as your needs change or your trophy collection grows. Standing nearly 6 feet tall once assembled, the Trophy Tree features slots all around its circumference that are compatible with the five included height-adjustable skull-attachment prongs, so it can be configured as you see fit. Use it to display all your heads from a given species in one place or to show off a variety of recently hunted animals. The Trophy Tree comes with a weighted base for increased stability and is made of sturdy, powder-coated steel with a deep bronze color. Additional poles and attachment arms for the stand are also available from Skull Hooker.

The 350 Legend was designed by Winchester Ammunition in 2019 with short-range deer hunting in mind, and chambering the straight-wall rifle cartridge in a handgun doesn’t change that mission. Even through a shortened barrel, most 350 Legend loads still produce about 25 percent more muzzle energy than a .44 Magnum revolver of the same barrel length — making it a potent new option for handgun hunters who, frankly, don’t have too many good ones. That’s why Smith & Wesson chose the cartridge to be the third ever chambered in its colossal X-Frame revolvers, and the first medium bore, with the resulting Model 350 offering a seven-shot cylinder and a 7 1/2-inch barrel. Moon clips are included to allow all seven rounds to be loaded and extracted simultaneously, however, thanks to the revolver’s counter-bored chambers, the rimless rounds will still headspace properly without them.

Between the handgun’s formidable 71.5-ounce weight and a ported barrel that helps counteract muzzle rise, the Model 350 is surprisingly controllable. And the availability of 350 Legend ammunition means you can get in plenty of practice before the start of deer season.

Deer have exceptionally keen senses of smell, and if you’re not careful about the odors you’re putting out, that massive buck you’ve been dreaming about will get a whiff of you and beat a hasty trail in the opposite direction long before you even know he was near. The ZeroTrace PureION Field Generator from Wildgame Innovations is a lightweight, portable, odor-eliminating unit that can be conveniently stationed near you in the blind or stand to chemically neutralize any scent molecules you’re giving off before they have a chance to betray your position to nearby wildlife.

The company’s PureION technology quietly draws odors into the Field Generator’s housing, where they are rendered inert through an ion-bonding process that does not rely on environmentally harmful ozone. In addition to the accessory itself, the ZeroTrace PureION Field Generator comes with one battery, a charging cable and a collar-lock mounting bracket for installation to a nearby tree or pole.

The Stump 2 Phantom from Banks Outdoors is a compact hunting blind designed for one or two hunters with an outward-swinging door that maximizes interior space and provides easy access. The blind features 360-degree window placement for full visibility, giving hunters more shot opportunities. Tinted, framed windows help with concealment while allowing clear views in any lighting condition. Made from UV-stabilized polyethylene, the Stump 2 is weather-resistant and prevents fading and rot.

The blind offers plenty of headroom and shooting comfort, with a 19.73 square-foot interior. Its sturdy construction also reduces noise, making it an ideal choice for serious hunters. The bark-like exterior is paintable for customization. Standard features include a base plate, a four-layer floor system that provides stability, durability, comfort and concealment, a foam floor mat, gun shelf and vent kit. Legs are sold separately.

When you finally get that big buck down, you want a knife that will do the job while also being compact and easy to carry. The Huntsman is based on Daniel Winkler’s 1990s small hunting knife design. It features a 3 1/2-inch blade made from 80CrV2 steel with a black oxide finish to reduce glare. The knife includes a skeletonized full tang and thumb-index file work. Each Huntsman comes with a leather pocket sheath made by Redeemed Creations and a spring steel belt clip for easy access. Several handle options are available, including maple, walnut, black canvas, brown canvas and more, so you can choose a style that fits your grip and personal taste. The Huntsman is designed to withstand tough use, staying sharp after long days of field dressing or camp chores.

Few things are worse than hiking up the mountain drenched in sweat, only to start freezing after hours of sitting and glassing as the sweat dries and your body cools down. The Vital S2 Zip-T is a midweight synthetic base layer designed for hunters who experience both high activity and long sits in shifting weather conditions. It is made with XLANCE, a polyolefin-based stretch yarn engineered to resist sweat, chemicals, heat, ozone and UVA/UVB radiation. The lightweight fabric feels soft against the skin, wicks moisture and dries quickly.

It will also retain its shape after repeated use. Key features include a half-zip design for ventilation, hybrid raglan sleeves for mobility when drawing a bow or shouldering a rifle, flatlock seams to reduce chafing, thumbholes for secure layering under jackets or gloves, a drop-back hem for added coverage and odor resistance.

Kenetrek’s Mountain Extreme Non-Insulated boots feature 10-inch uppers made from 2.8mm premium leather. The seamless, one-piece vamp construction along the tongue minimizes water entry, and reinforced stitching in high-wear areas increases durability for long, grueling hunts. Support comes from 7mm nylon midsoles, which help when carrying heavy loads, and Kenetrek Supportive Footbeds, designed for arch support and heel fit.

The boots use swiveling, anti-corrosion hardware to help prevent breakage and a reinforced rubber sole guard for added protection against rocky ground. The Windtex membrane keeps feet dry without trapping heat and lightweight K-Talon outsoles offer grip. We used the boots recently on a Coues deer hunt in Mexico; they were lightweight, comfortable and reliable, making them a great choice for long days in tough environments.

Hornady has introduced a new ammunition option for deer hunters by incorporating its polymer-tipped SST bullets into the new American Whitetail Tipped brand. The design’s polymer tip and secant ogive improve bullet aerodynamics, resulting in higher ballistic coefficients and making them more resistance to drag. American Whitetail Tipped’s polymer tip also initiates quick expansion upon impact and helps improve longer-range accuracy. These bullets also feature an InterLock ring that helps keep the jacket and bullet core together during expansion, especially during close-range, high-velocity impact, which leads to better mass retention. The new American Whitetail Tipped lineup is initially being offered in 11 cartridges, from .243 Winchester to 300 PRC, including both venerable deer-hunting standards like .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield and newer chamberings like 6.5mm PRC and 7mm PRC.

Hornady added FTX bullets to the American Whitetail lineup last year, projectiles made with the company’s Flex Tip eXpanding tips that permit safe use within lever-action rifles with tubular magazines, and the two straight-wall Whitetail Tipped options (350 Legend and .450 Bushmaster) are loaded instead with FTX bullets.

Sevr introduced its Ti 1.5 mechanical broadhead in 2018, and it has turned heads ever since. The original boasted the company’s innovative lock-and-pivot blade system that was designed to let the expanded blade pivot, reducing deflection and helping the broadhead work around bone or other obstructions when penetrating the target game animal. The Ti 1.5 also had another feature that bowhunters have appreciated — the heads came with a tiny set screw that prevented the blades from deploying — which means you could practice with the actual heads you will be hunting with without degrading the blades.

The new Magneto Ti 1.75 broadheads keep all the features hunters appreciate, but they eliminate the O-ring of previous designs; instead, the Magneto heads use rare-earth magnets to hold the blades together during handling, in the quiver and in flight. The new Magneto comes in two versions: Magneto Ti 1.75 Two-Blade and the four-blade Magneto Ti 1.75 Hybrid. They are available in 100- and 125-grain versions and are made for vertical bows only.

Remington’s Model 700 is one of the most successful bolt-action rifles ever made. More than 5 million have been produced for hunting, law enforcement, military service and competition since the first one rolled off the line in 1962, and three years after the Model 700 was introduced, Timney Trigger was already started making aftermarket, drop-in trigger groups for the action. Called the Elite Hunter, it provided shooters with a more consistent, crisp trigger break, and to this day it remains one of the company’s top sellers. Available in single- and two-stage versions, the Elite Hunter’s pull weight and overtravel can both be set by the user.

The company also offers several models designed for long-range competition that have an adjustable show and can be adjusted to break after only 10 ounces of pressure. More recently, Timney changed its drop-in triggers with a design the company calls Sear Engagement Adjustment Lock, which locks the sear engagement at the factory and prevents trigger creep and trigger-pull issues over time. All Elite Hunters triggers can be installed without a gunsmith.

Spypoint has proven that its Flex series cellular trail cams are reliable and packed with technology to help you find big bucks. This year, the company has come out with the Flex M-2. It has a few upgrades, such as a better latch and a new, weather-resistant design, but its biggest strength is that it delivers top features for a price lower than the original model. That means, instead of buying one cam, you might buy two. This way, you can start setting up a network and cover more pinch points, wallows, scrapes, rubs and game-trail intersections. The M-2 is a 32-megapixel camera with multi-shot, time-lapse and time-lapse-plus modes, a 0.4-second trigger speed and 1080p video capabilities with sound. We found the Spypoint app made it easy to set up and manage the M-2.

The company includes 100 free images per month and has several upgrade options to access more photos and videos. The unlimited plan is $10 per month. One other useful feature is a map in the app that tracks your camera’s location via GPS, so you’ll never lose a cam again.