For those of you planning a hunting trip, it’s very important to prepare ahead of time and gather the essentials for a successful trip. After you have made sure your hunting license is valid, scouted a spot, checked the regulations, and set dates, you need to ensure you have all the accessories, equipment, and proper attire for your trip. Big R carries anything and everything you need for your hunting trip.

     Let’s start with apparel. Two superior brands to choose from are King’s Camo and DSG. Right now, the XKG series from King’s Camo is the new design released for optimal performance that includes all lightweight apparel and accessories. The new products that were added in XKG provide more options to dial in your layering. New materials, lighter fabrics, and new colors were used to diversify the expanding line-up to meet any conditions thrown your way. One thing I highly recommend is the reversible poly beanie. It’s comfortable and highly functional. The shell is made of sleek compression four-way fleece. It’s fully lined with blaze or white acrylic knit and reverses from full concealment camo to blaze orange for visibility safety. Basically, it’s very efficient and effective. Another clothing item worthy of investing in is the XKG Pinnacle Jacket. It’s a warm, technical, mid-layer, high-functioning jacket for every day of the season. The stretch fabric increases comfort with a design facilitating a full range of motion. We also carry XKG Ridge Pants designed for performance, comfort, and durability. It is the highest-performing lightweight pant in the XKG series. Check out our website to explore other King’s items we carry. Now, on to DSG. It’s the perfect brand for women. This brand is breaking the mold for fashionable and functional hunting clothes for women, a niche market where female clothing is typically an afterthought. It’s important to wear properly fitting clothing and to be dressed for the weather. DSG uses technical, high-quality, and brand-name materials that give confidence. This brand makes base layers, mid-layers, casual clothing, and other hunting gear to prepare you for any hunting season. One of my favorite pieces we carry is the Kylie 4.0 drop seat bibs which come in multiple styles & colors. It is the perfect hunting bib! Designed with you in mind, these bibs have a drop seat feature for quick access when nature calls. Bibs convert easily to pants to fulfill your comforts and needs by unzipping and removing the top bib portion. Our DSG outerwear cold weather beanie comes in six different colors from bright orange and pink to four different camo prints. It’s made of polyester and spandex with D-tech material and a soft lining. It will provide the warmth you need when you’re hunting, hiking, or working outside. One size fits most. Again, visit our website or your local store to discover more about DSG. We carry pants, vests, gloves, neck warmers, and more!

     Let’s move on to some accessories. This includes items like knives, knife sharpeners, cases, binoculars, scopes, rangefinders, hunting calls, etc. So, let’s get to it. Knives are important tools for processing your kill and assisting you with basic everyday tasks. So, having at least one or a few high-quality, durable knives is best. Our outdoor edge wild-lite 6-piece set contains 3 knives, a blade sharpener, gloves, and a sturdy case for your home processing or field dressing needs. The heat-treated blades are made of top-quality stainless steel to help give you an accurate, clean cut. Another very useful product is our Warthog classic II knife sharpener. Visit our site for some razor lite replacements blades, suspension multi-tools, and more. Next up: Game calls! These are very necessary when hunting because they attract animals. One of our more popular ones is the Rocky Mountain hunting Steve Chappell Signature Series elk diaphragm. It is built on the wildly successful GTP frame, and this call is designed to specifically reproduce a very accurate estrus cry of a cow elk. The Primos Hoochie mama call is also one of our favorites. It is hard to master a sound you seldom hear, like the sounds of cow elk. However, you can have it mastered with the Hoochie mama cow elk push call. You just push the bellow for perfect cow elk sounds with that distinctive sliding note. Holsters are another accessory to keep in mind. A few high-quality recommendations include the DeSantis Pro Stealth series, check out the Glock 17/22 Holster with premium padded ballistic nylon with an ambidextrous clip that can be switched for left-handed carry; or the DeSantis Sof-Tuck built from no slip-suede and can be worn strong side, cross draw or on the small of the back. Blackhawk also has great holsters to choose from, including our line of Blackhawk nylon hip holsters or the Sherpa CQC holster that’s perfect for concealed carry. Big R carries a large selection of scopes and rangefinders, an important tool for scanning and locating animals on your excursion. One of our top picks is the Vortex Diamondback HD 20-60X85 (straight view) with a sleek, snag-free exterior that is O-ring sealed to prevent internal fogging and works great in low light. We also carry tons of rangefinders with DNA lasers, first-rate binoculars, and combo kits. It’s important to keep good communication throughout your journey, try investing in our two-way radios. Our Midland T75 VP3 2-way radios prevent losing communication among your party. These walkies include an impressive range of up to 38 miles, weather scan technology, and safety for all your adventures. These are just a few of the many accessories you will find at Big R.

     Now, for one of the most important pieces of equipment, weapons! What is your ideal weapon? What is most reasonable? Well, we have tons of options from rifles, to bows, to pistols, you name it! Let me give you a few options to choose from. For all you archers out there, we carry everything from bows, fixed blade, and expandable broadheads, to quivers, gloves, and cases. Take a look at the Rocky Mountain steel warhead SS 2 Expandable Blade with a precision-machined compact stainless-steel ferrule with a 1.5-inch cutting diameter and a hybrid-tip design that cuts on contact yet has the strength to bust through bone. Our pistol selection is on point, with the Sig Sauer P320 XTEN 10MM, made of top-notch materials, has black polymer grips, a capacity of 15 rounds, and is only 33 ounces. Check it out! Of course, we carry lots of rifles as well. Our Savage Arms Apex hunter XP .308-win rifle is highly suggested. It pairs a model 110 rifle with a 3-9x40mm vortex crossfire 2 scope that comes mounted, bore-sighted, and ready to hunt. The platform provides accuracy and adjustability like no other package. Plus, its length-of-pull can be easily adjusted to fit any hunter for better comfort and consistency. Browse our website to see what else catches your eye.

     Finally, here are a few extra items you may want to consider for your next hunting trip! If you plan on camping out, I recommend looking into our outdoor gear. We have sleeping bags, tents, self-inflating pads, stuff storage bags, chairs, and more. You will also need food and snacks. We carry a wide variety of premium, freeze-dried meals thanks to our friends at PEAK Refuel. Easy to prepare and ready in minutes, these gourmet meals in a bag are packed with protein and will keep you going out on the trail. When it comes to processing your game, Craftworx has tons of food processing appliances to help you process, cook, and store your meat. A couple of other things to think about are drinkware and coolers. Yeti has a wide selection of high-quality products to choose from. I hope this information is useful and helps you better prepare for a successful hunting season! Remember - almost anything, BIG R’s got it!