The game is in the bag when hunters bring along the best equipment for stealthy stalking in the bush.
The most popular products purchased by hunting enthusiasts generally tend to be a blend of the latest items available and the tried-and-true "necessities" for heading out into the fields and forests.
Screamin’ Reel customer service representative Joanne Dyck holds down the fort at the sporting goods department inside Donex Pharmacy & Department Store in 100 Mile House.
Aside from guns and ammunition, or bows and arrows, the typical hunter's standbys today often include deer, elk or moose calls, Global Positioning System (GPS) units, binoculars, buck knives and camouflage clothing, Dyck says.
She notes the game camera has gained popularity in recent years, with customers especially looking for those in spring and summer for reconnaissance in potential hunting areas.
Then they will review the motion-activated video footage or photos to track the movements of the game they will target that fall, she adds.
"The game cameras are more popular than the spotting scopes just because they can set them up and leave them and come back and check them.
"Some of them you can actually look at the pictures right on the machine, you don't have to take the card out and go somewhere else [to a computer]."
Dyck says she sees some customers come in for spotting scopes and rifle scopes, eye protectors and so on, which are also purchased as gifts from families and friends, rather than the game calls and other items that may involve a hunter's personal preference and choice.
"We are starting to sell more of the Trigger Sticks now, which is for holding the gun steady when you are out somewhere where there is no place to lay down or lean up against."
Some are a tripod and others have just one or two legs to brace the firearm upon, she explains.
Dyck adds several all-new products are coming in for the store's annual fall hunting sale, including rifle slings, and camo wraps for guns to disguise them out in the bush.
One of the top new items this season at the Screamin’ Reel is the Rack N Roll buck rattle that imitates rutting bucks, and straps to the thigh for easy, one-handed operation, she says.
"That's something new this year, so I'm hoping it goes well."
Dyck explains it imitates the banging antlers from two mature bucks fighting it out.
"When a [live] buck hears that, he's coming in to see what's going on."
Products successfully introduced over the past couple of years at the store include a human scent masking spray, she says, adding "if the deer smell you, they're gone."
Another product applies the scent of a deer in distress to attract predators, such as bear, coyote and wolf, Dyck notes.
This can often be helpful to ranchers for predator control measures, as well as to recreational hunters, she adds.
"We sell quite a few of those in 100 Mile."
When families visit the Screamin’ Reel, children are more and more often included in sporting equipment purchases, such as items to hone their target skills, she adds.
"We are getting the younger ones – girls, actually, getting prepared for hunting. We've been selling the little bow-and-arrow kits, which kind of gives them the idea of how to target practice."
Setting up a hunting camp involves plenty of additional gear, she notes.
"We've got the sleeping bags, and all the different things you might need."
Dyck says she has first aid kits, bear bells for family members hanging out in camp, bungee cords for carrying equipment and plenty of clothes for the whole family.
She adds there are men's, ladies' and children's apparel options from lighter-weight, super-soft camouflage fabrics to polar fleece in a pink/camo combo, and more coming in for fall.
"The soft fabric doesn't make any noise when you are in the bush."
A limited supply of gun-cleaning kits, targets and ammunition is also in stocked at the store, Dyck notes.
She says the Screamin’ Reel makes an effort to continually expand its stock of the most sought-after hunting gear each year.
"We sure try. We want to hit everybody's needs."