Top Ten Bargains of the Year

Over the last year I have reviewed over 50 thousand pounds worth of hunting equipment and clothing and here is my top ten bargains of 2016.

All the items I have reviewed and tested have been put through their paces and I have come across some amazing bits of kit from Thermal Night Vision to Trousers.

What I have featured in this review is the top ten affordable items that I use regularly and are the best value for money that help you get the job done 100%.  …

10.

At number ten is an a amazing piece of kit that I tested From John Rothery Wholesale (Bisley), I loved this item so much I purchased one for myself,

The Night Searcher Ranger XML hand held portable spotlight,

High Powered LED lamp that has shine out to 400 metres, the best thing about this is its weight, it truly is an ideal bit of kit for lamping foxes, rabbit and deer while on the move. The battery is so light you do not even know its there and its 4 hour battery length at full power ( 8 hours on low power) and 2 hour charge time is just so handy.

Retailing at around £120 a perfect inexpensive and very useful bit of kit that is a must for your hunt bag.

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9.

At number 9  is my go to trousers, Light weight flexible as well a quick drying even in the wettest conditions.

I have went through so many pairs of trousers over the years and these, for the price, are the best value for money.

Percussion Solgne Trousers rrp, £34 

For this kind of money and comfort you cannot go wrong and I wear them in all weathers and temperatures as low as -20 degrees C

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8.

Number 8 had me swithering whether to put it so low on the list but out of the 200 products I have tried and tested this year I have to say this has been very very useful to me.

Not a complete substitution for nightvision but very very close with being invisible to foxes but the jury is still out in regards to rabbits as I have been caught out a few times with a weary lamp shy bunny.

But it is the best lamp by far I have ever used.

Laserware Glacier ND 50, RRP £200 for the whole kit.

Really a spectacular laser torch that truly intensifies what you  see through your scope with phenomenal range. I have had a few foxes and rabbits with this and it is still a piece of kit I rely on.

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7.

At 7 we find the first of our Nightvision entries. Definitely worth a place on the top spot.

Pulsar integrating their top end Digisight with a range finder is a brilliant piece of equipment and an excellent idea.

Unbelievable power and accuracy and easy to zero makes the

Pulsar Digisight N870LRF  rrp. £1499,95

This is a dedicated night vision scope but what lets it down is the price. I was actually in two minds to add this in or not as the price is very High and not always affordable to the normal hunter on a budget, but, other than the price this is a very good Nightvision scope, light versatile and can be used day or night.

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6.

Number 7 shows the power of Nightvision in the second of our night vision products,

Over the last year I have tested some phenomenal bits of nightvision equipment but for the price this one stands out a little.

The adaptability of this kit ensures its place on the top spot and it is still being tested by me but I see its place in my kit.

NiteSite Wolf . rrp £650

A truly great add on kit allowing you to turn your day scope into nightvision very quickly, its light and easy set up means you can carry it in your vehicle or to your sit up point to integrate from day to night without carrying extra equipment. It works well with both RF and CF rifles and is very accurate. Great piece of equipment but mainly the price allows it to be obtained by those on tight budgets and cannot afford thousands of pounds on high-end Thermal or Nightvision.

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5.

number 5 is a scope that I truly thought that I would not like to begin with, but, it surprised me and still very much does.

For the price this scope is amazing, giving you high-end Glass for medium end pricing.

Delta Titanium HD 2.5-10×56. rrp. £550

This scope is of Polish design but uses the same Glass manufacturer as Nightforce and due to this it is a great low light scope at a very low price.

I would recommend this scope to anyone especially if they do not have a lot of money, it constantly surprises me and definitely hold zero even after storage for long periods.

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4.

At number 4 has to be another Nightvision scope that truly is a piece of kit that I truly love and for a price that just cannot be beaten in the Nightvision world.

The Yukon Photon 6.5 S  rrp. £419.99

for under £500 this is an amazing low budget but high end scope, easy to zero and perfect for those that shoot day and night.

Add a good IR torch to the side of this unit and you have an unstoppable Nighvision scope that is perfect for both CF and RF rifles. There is no surprise to why this is the best selling Nightvision scope on the market.

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3.

Is a piece of clothing that I just cannot be without these days , It is great in cold weather, warm weather and wet weather. It can completely replace a cumbersome jacket and with great pockets the

DeerHunter Bonded Fleece Smock rrp. £45

is a brilliant jumper/jacket/smock that keeps you comfortable in all weathers while out stalking, shooting or fishing etc.

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2.

As we are coming to the top I already had in my mind what number 1 and number 2 was going to be but I decided that as I have tested 6 different rifles this year in private I had to include the best budget rifle I have tested and that had to be

The Browning A-Bolt 2 rifle in .243 rrp. £550 

I have tested a couple of centrefires this year and out of the 4 I have tested at this price range the A-bolt (which I purchased myself) stacked up better than the Howa 1500, Weatherby Vanguard and Remington 700 sps. I also tested a Sako 85 and a Mauser all in .243 but price was over the £1000 just for the rifle so have counted these out. I do add the smoothest out all I have tested was the SAKO, But,  The Browning stood up with the High end rifles with accuracy providing me some great pleasure and although I have access to the Howa 1500 in my arsenal I found the hassle that the Hogue stock gave me cause for concern and its inability to be a straight off the shelf hunting rifle as there was further investment involved in rectifying its problems taking a £1200 package to nearly £1500, where spending £550 on rifle and moderator for the Browning and adding the previous mentioned Delta scope to it made it a phenomenally accurate and consistent rifle.

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FINALLY THE HOLDER OF THE TOP SPOT 

1.

There is no Surprise to me of what is the top spot and although the competition is high it is still the

BESTARD EXPLORER BG3 BOOTS . rrp. £210

These boots have been thoroughly tested since February in clear fells, lochs, hill grounds, fields, middens the works and still they hold up to the weather and the water and the cold that the Highlands of Scotland can throw at it.

No break in and continuous comfort throughout the whole period I wear these boots daily and they still have beaten all the big brands hands down it is crazy what I have put these through and they still are going strong.

the Day Joshua  from www.ballistech.ie spoke to me to test these I was dubious to his claims of being better than I have tried before, But and I hate to say it, I take everything back I said that day. These are amazing boots and consistently perform and I expect so for a long time to come.

So our Number one slot is to the BG3 Explorer Bestard boots.

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Thank you to everyone that has supported me in 2016 it has been fun testing all these products .

Big thank you to the following companies for their constant support

Thomas Jacks Ltd

Ballistech in Wicklow

Laserware UK

John Rothery Wholesale Ltd

Please be aware that this top ten is my own opinion taken from a huge list of items I have tested and reviewed, I have deliberately left out high end Thermal equipment and High priced items because these are not classed as budget hunting equipment which is the point of the article to highlight what is available to those hunters on a budget like myself.

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Just to add not all products I tested this year stood up to any task.

The worst product I tested this year was

Primo Trigger Stick rrp £180 

brilliant idea and great concept and to start amazing sticks but after a few weeks of usage they were broken and useless, truly not as good as an unbranded  set bought from ebay for £20