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My vest and gear (pic heavy)

Started by natman, March 21, 2015, 08:54:52 PM

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natman

It's late March, time to check the vest and gear and make sure everything is up to snuff for the upcoming turkey season in April. I decided to take some pictures this time and go over the vest, the gear and some of the additions I've made to them.

A bit of background. I've been hunting for more than 20 years with this vest, as shown by the classic Realtree Xtra Brown camo. There have been advances in photorealism since, but I still haven't seen anything better for both close up detail *and* long distance breakup of your shape.



This is the view from the front. I've added a few SneakyLeaves for 3D effect. I've thought about a full 3D leafy suit, but I once had a hen call for 20 minutes so close to me I could have kicked her and once had a squirrel jump onto my hat, so I decided I was sufficiently camouflaged.

http://www.turkeyhuntingsecrets.com/store/store-camo-3d-leaf.htm



This is the back. If you look closely you can see on the left hand side of the zipper where I added a black clip to keep the game bag from unzipping.



This is the Cabela's label. As I recall it was just called a Turkey Vest back then, not a Tactical Turkey Thug Thingy III like they are all named today.



This is the first modification I made, adding a layer of waterproof nylon to the bottom of the seat. As it came from Cabelas this was just twill fabric that would have soaked through in the first ten minutes.



This is the second modification, replacing the 1" thick low density foam it came with that bottomed out instantly with 2" of much denser foam. You can sit on this for hours in comfort.

At this point a few words about the conditions where I hunt are in order. I hunt in the Napa Valley in California. Early in the morning the valley is often covered in coastal fog with temperatures in the 30s-40s F. Around 10 in the morning the fog will burn off and temperatures will rise rapidly until the afternoon, when it can be much warmer. Temperature swings of 40 or even 50 degrees are common, so thermal versatility is crucial.



This is a clasp I attached to hold my camo hat when I'm wearing orange for moving around.



This shows the inner pockets that hold insect repellent in the green bottle, my box call and my bird knife. Note the strap and clip that keeps the knife from falling out. I have a similar strap and clip sewn into the pocket of my hunting pants for my car keys.



Remember when I talked about the need for thermal flexibility? These are three head covers. The orange I wear alone when I'm moving. The camo covers I wear under the mesh cap. There's a thin one for when it's cool and a fleece one for when it's cold. I've worn the hat all three ways, with fleece, with fabric and just mesh on the same day. In the bag is a neck scarf with cooling crystals. It's really nice when it's hot.

http://www.watercrystals.com/nscarf0704.htm










Swampchickin234

Looks to me like you have you're personal system down pat. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Marc

My vest is also 20 years old...  Mainly cause I am having difficulty finding one that fits me (apparently most turkey hunters are in the NFL)...  I like the modifications you made...

Do you get to hunt the vineyards up in Napa?  I went to school at Davis, and always wanted to kill a turkey in one of those vineyards...
Did I do that?

Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.

natman

I don't hunt directly in a vineyard, but I can see one from the woods where I do hunt.

Of course there aren't many places in the Napa Valley where you can't see a vineyard.  ;)

Marc

I had some friends in Napa when I was at school at Davis...

I could have hunted the area, but knowing how much the vines were worth, I decided to stick to other areas...  I did not want to risk causing damage to those vines, and it would have been tough hunting their place without putting a few pellets into some grapes...

Very pretty area, with a surprising amount of wildlife...
Did I do that?

Fly fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.