HOOKERS!

Ever had one of those, “Why didn’t I think of that” moments?  I sure did at a recent Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers conference.

It’s not that I wished I’d invented the Etch a Sketch or the electric bread slicer and eventually ended up on Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous. It’s that this invention is a really cool idea.

It’s called the Hooker Deer Drag. I could make one quite easily from a length of cold-rolled steel or a half-inch re-rod, but I didn’t think of it. My home made versions probably wouldn’t come with a cushy handle grip, either. That’s part of the $49.99 you pay for a pair of the HDDs.

Here’s the deal. The fun part of deer hunting is getting ready. The exciting part is spotting a deer and hoping it comes within range. The challenging part is making the shot. The drudgery part is dragging 150 pounds of dead weight out of the woods. Even where I live here in the Flatlands of Indiana you always have to drag dead deer uphill.

I’ve shot big deer. I’ve shot little deer. When you shoot a little deer there’s always a bunch of people driving by, stopping to help or showing up out of nowhere to ridicule you for shooting a little deer. When you shoot a big deer you are the last man on Earth. Great! You shot a big deer. Now load that dead weight into the back of your truck ala lonesome - after dragging it uphill, 14 miles, through the brush, snow and chisel plowed fields.

The HDD would make the job simpler. Look at the photo and you can see in your mind how it works. Go to www.Hookerdeerdrag.com and see more photos. Order one. Or if you have five feet of cold rolled steel, an acetylene torch and welder handy make a pair for yourself. Cushy hand-hold is optional.

ZIPPO MULTI-TASKER

Food Network star, Alton Brown likes tools that are multi-taskers. So do I.

Krissie Mason shows off her 4 in 1

And who knew Zippo, yep, the company that makes Zippo lighters, was into making multitasking tools - or any tools, for that matter? I wasn’t even sure Zippo was still in business, thinking perhaps Bic, the ball point pen and disposable butane lighter company, had bankrupted them.

At a recent meeting of the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers, I learned my lesson. Yes, Zippo is still in business and still making their famous wind proof lighters.  They also make hand warmers, fire starters, a variety of other products including a perfectly multitasking tool every deer, turkey or waterfowl hunter might just want to get.

It’s bow saw that doubles as a hatchet, or is it a hatchet that doubles as a bow saw?  Either way, if you are in need of a tool to clear some shooting lanes, construct a blind or perhaps to gather some wood for a camp fire, this is it! It’s neat, compact. They call it the 4 in 1 Woodsman. I had to look up the fourth task after chopping, sawing and pounding tent pegs. Evidently it’s good at pulling tent pegs, as well.

The 4 in 1 retails for around $80 so that’s only twenty bucks per task.