LAST UPDATED: May 8th, 2015
There were many things I was looking forward to when I decided to move to Northern Illinois and work at the bowhunting.com office during the fall. For one, I was excited to be able to hunt big, Midwestern deer with my bow for an entire season. Secondly, I was looking forward to filming Todd Graf and Justin Zarr and their hunts throughout the fall. Lastly, I was looking forward to attending the 2011 ATA Show. I had heard stories about the most inclusive archery show in the country, but never thought I would be able to attend. Well, I was able to peruse the 2011 ATA Show snapping photos and feeling like a little kid in a candy store today. For those of you who aren’t able to attend the show, it’s truly indescribable. It’s a bowhunters dream! New products, hunting celebrities, chatting with industry friends and simply enjoying the great sport of bowhunting is what it is all about!
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What I first saw when I first walked in to my first ATA Show!
Just a cool sign for Mathews Bowhunting, right? Not exactly, this banner was advertising Mathews new bowhunting game for the Wii console. This is a must have for the hard core video game hunter.
Nearly all of the bowhunting industry’s top manufacturers are in attendance showcasing their top products and showing off their top new products for the 2011 hunting season. It was really cool to be able to just wander around in awe of all the cool new bowhunting gear out there, and I was tempted to just raid the entire show and run away with all the gear and cool new products! Okay, not really, but it was a fun thought!
Jim Shockey doing an interview for the Outdoor Channel about the new Black Block archery target.
I was excited to be able to get a closer look at some of the new products and anxious to see what products would surprise me when I got there. I first wanted to check out the new Apache Stabilizer from New Archery Products (NAP). I used the Apache Arrow rest for the 2010 season and loved it, and the Apache stabilizer offers the same deadly silent, stealthy qualities of the Apache rest, just in stabilizer form. I can say for sure that by bow will have an Apache Stabilizer on in it for the 2011 hunting season. NAP also released the Apache Micro for 2011 that features the same tool-less adjustments and laser indexed horizontal and vertical markings for extremely fine tuning. Like the original rest, the Apache Micro is scary quiet and extremely accurate. It’s just another great product by NAP. NAP also released their new crossbow broadhead, the FOC, which offers a whopping 3” cutting diameter for all you crossbow users.
The NAP Apache Arrow Rest and Apache Stabilizer side by side. Together they make a silent, but deadly, combination!
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NAP’s new Freakin’ Outrageous Cut (FOC) Crossbow broadhead. With an industry leading 3″ cutting diameter, this broadhead promises bigger blood trails and quicker recoveries.
I also made sure to stop by the Tink’s booth to see what they had going on new for 2011 and was pleasantly surprised by a new decoy they’ve assembled. If you are familiar with the inflatable decoy Miss November from Tink’s, then you’ll be excited to meet her boyfriend, Mr. October. Mr. October is a simple lifelike, inflatable decoy with removable antlers that make it easy to set up in the field and deadly once it’s assembled. Mr. October is going to upset a lot of rutting bucks during the 2011 hunting season, that’s for sure.
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Above: The all new Mr. October inflatable decoy from Tink’s. As successful as Miss November was to bowhunters across the country, Mr. October will add yet another component when hunting those rutting bucks in late October. Below: A Tink’s representative talks in detail about the lifelike properties of Mr. October while bowhunting.com camera man and video editor films in high definition! An exclusive video of this product will be uploaded soon!
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I just thought this painting was awesome. Talk about a truly talented artist!
Moultrie also had several cameras on display including their new M-100 Mini and M-80 Mini cameras, as well as their new Plot Stalker. All three cameras offer beautiful picture taking features and all retail less than $180. There will be an exclusive video review of these products tonight, so don’t forget to check them out!
Dan Yohan of Moultrie Cameras discussing Moultrie’s new trail camera, the Plot Stalker. The Plot Stalker relies on time lapse photography to allow you to view 12 hours of activity in just 10 minutes so you can know exactly when and where deer are entering and exiting your food plot so you can best know how to hunt them.
The 2011 ATA Show is in full force as we speak and I am anxious to get back in there tomorrow and see what else I can stumble upon. It’s been a ton of fun so far and it’s exciting to know we it’s not even half way over! Don’t forget, our staff is updating live from the ATA Show via Facebook, Twitter and right here on the homepage of bowhunting.com, so stay tuned for the latest keep bowhunting.com fresh in your browser and phone to make sure to receive all the latest news and product information. Also, keep an eye out tonight for exclusive first look videos at many of the new products being released today as well!
