Tips & Tactics

Hunting’s SECOND Handiest Item?

Hunting’s SECOND Handiest Item?

By David Johnson and Tim H. Martin

Don’t Trim It — Zip It!

— Tip Submission by David Johnson

I’m one of those hunters who believe the less brush cutting and trimming you do, the less likely Ol’ Big Boy is going to notice your intrusion into his world.

Instead of hacking tree branches, I use zip ties to pull back and secure obstructing foliage from of my shooting lanes.

I also use zip ties to brush in my blinds and stands. Zip ties secure leafy branches to the blind a lot easier than string or wire.

— Editor’s Note by Tim H. Martin

David Johnson’s tip got me to thinking about how useful zip ties are for hunters. Subjectively, I would rank them as an outdoorsman’s second most useful handy item, right behind duct tape.

A cameraman once showed me a big bag of assorted zip ties he kept in his pack. I commented that he’d never use that many. He said, “I’ve already gone through one bag that size this season.” It was only October.

Before our hunting trip was over, I was amazed at how many things we used zip ties for.

The cameraman used zip ties to secure cameras underneath a UTV for unique ground-level footage of the tires churning through mud, which he used in the TV show.

We used them to tie extra gear to our treestand pull-up ropes, saving a second trip up the tree.

When it came time to drag my deer out of a ravine, an XL zip tie looped in each of the deer’s hocks created handles. It was a great way to get a grip on the buck’s tail end and keep from stinking up our hands.

Our water bottles, pee bottles and lunch bags were zipped to treestands for easy reach. I’d never thought of that before. He simply cut them loose when we were ready to leave.

That season, I also used zip ties to repair broken backpack straps, secure a camera mount to a stand, fix a pop-up blind that had caved in, brush in the bottoms of treestands, attach tags to deer, position a flashlight to a bunk slat for a makeshift reading lamp — too many uses to name.

I highly recommend purchasing a large assortment of zip ties, as well as a small pair of surgical scissors to cut them loose. You might be surprised how quickly you’ll go through a bag in one season.

Come to think of it, maybe zip ties are THE handiest item in hunting camp.

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