Archery Trade Association Show promises to be better
January begins the show season for sportsmen across this great country of ours. While there may be a handful during the first part of January, it’s not until I travel to the ATA show, that I feel it’s show season.
Since the COVID-19 shutdown, last year was the first year back, so the 2023 Archery Trade Association Show promises to be better than pre-COVID-19.
As we have discussed before, the ATA Show is not open to the public; one must be a member of the ATA and follow all of their rules and guidelines. ATA is what is called a dealer’s show. If you are in any archery-related industry and member of the ATA you are allowed to attend. For this reason, industry leaders bring the new product lines for the coming year.
A stroll around the show floor in Indianapolis would lend one to believe that the archery industry is in great shape for the present and new hunters.
While there are hundreds of new products introduced each year, I was able to hand pick a few that I will be sharing with you all in the coming weeks for your consideration this upcoming season.
First of all, our friends at GPO USA announced their entrance into the reflex sight market with the introduction of a new GPO Spectra Reflex sight. For quick target acquisition made for pistols and MSR shooting, nothing helps more than a high-quality red-dot sight. This new introduction offers next-generation red-dot technology from GPO with the highest-quality dense polymer lenses that are fully multi-coated with GPO’s proprietary GPO bright high-transmission technology.
“All GPO products are the result of decades of market experience, combined with German engineering skills and trusted production partners, all 100% tested in Germany,” said Mike Jensen, GPO USA’s owner and CEO. “Any company that manufactures riflescopes and observation optics today must know the shooting sports customer, what they use optics for, and precisely what matters to them. That is our mission. And we’ve used this knowledge and experience to design and manufacture the next generation of reflex sights with our new GPO Spectra Reflex Dot Sight.”
The features and benefits of this new sight are voluminous. The built-in photo sensor adjusts the brightness of the 3mm red dot automatically depending on the outside/inside light conditions. There is no rubber push button which easily damages during extended usage; the device is all-the-time ready to go. A built-in motion sensor will switch the device automatically on or off, extending battery life up to an astounding 25,000 hours.
Also, the battery is placed in a sealed drawer on the side of the device, making it unnecessary to dismount the device and zero it again when changing the battery. The battery drawer can be removed without tools, and the time to change the battery is less than one minute. Also, the windage and elevation turrets offer tactile clicks by turning and adjusting them with a small tool. The user can feel each of the clicks which ensures the adjustments needed for precise zeroing.
Measuring just .90 inches tall by 1.04 inches wide by 1.6 inches long and weighing a scant 0.78 oz., nearly 15% less than comparable sights, the GPO Spectra Pistol Dot Sight will mate with virtually any modern semi-automatic handgun, or it comes with a picatinny rail mount for any modular sporting rifle. The polymer lens measures 0.87 by 0.63 inches. It features a black anodized aluminum housing, is fully waterproof, and is powered by a single CR1632 battery.
My friend Trent Marsh helped introduce to the hunting world the newest in trail cameras from Spypoint. The FLEX-S from Spypoint has harnessed the power of the sun with an integrated solar panel charging an internal lithium battery. Season-long autonomy is within reach, which means fewer trips and less disturbance, paving the way for the best hunting season of your life.
“We’ve been pioneers in a lot of ways, but perhaps no innovation has meant more to consumers than our integrated solar technology,” said Alexandre McElhaw, SPYPOINT general manager. “We’ve saved our customers untold thousands of dollars with our affordable cameras and class-leading photo transmission plans but saving on batteries with our solar technology is such an obvious and quantifiable benefit, we wanted to extend it to users of the FLEX-series of cameras as well.”
The FLEX-S has an internal lithium battery, but also allows for eight AA backups, or the addition of the LIT-22 battery pack. When the internal battery percentage dips to a certain point, the FLEX-S will toggle over to the backup batteries until the solar panel has recharged the internal battery to a suitable level. At that time, the camera will toggle back to the internal battery. This toggle feature optimizes battery life and performance for both battery options.
FLEX users have been raving about the quality of the 33MP photos and 1080p videos with sound, and how good both look in the app. The FLEX-S will continue delivering the same brilliant photo and video quality as well as the easy-to-use features Spypoint users have come to rely on, like test and format buttons, GPS functionality, and the ability to update firmware remotely.
The Spypoint FLEX-S will use the same true dual-SIM configuration to connect to the best network regardless of the service provider, but with some connectivity improvements. It comes with two preactivated SIM cards already installed, so when the camera is in use, it will automatically connect to the network with the strongest, most reliable signal available. Hunters can deploy the FLEX-S without worrying about carrier model selection. Getting into the field and receiving photos and videos has never been easier.
“The FLEX-S builds on a camera that has already seen a great deal of success and that has wowed customers with incredible photos and videos. But this isn’t just adding a solar option to an existing camera,” added McElhaw. “This is in many ways a new FLEX, an even better FLEX that hundreds of thousands of customers are already thrilled with. We got here by pushing the envelope and bringing new, exciting ideas and products to the marketplace, and we aren’t going to stop doing that now.”.
The Spypoint LM2 is the evolution of the revolution. No company has done more to change the face of trail camera technology over the last two decades than Spypoint, and the LM2 is the next model that challenges functionality and affordability so any hunter that wants to use this technology has it available.
“Big performance in a compact, affordable package. That’s what the LM2 represents,” remarked McElhaw ahead of the product launch at the ATA show in Indianapolis. “There is a lot of power in this little camera, and we expect it to be a critical piece of scouting and planning for a lot of hunters this fall,” he added.
The LM2 offers hunters 20MP photos so no detail is missed while scouting. While the new LM2 antenna maximizes available signal in a given area, ensuring that those photos are viewable in the app to help hunters plan their hunt better than ever before. The half-second trigger speed and 90-foot detection and flash range make it harder for even the shyest of bucks to make it past the LM2 without getting their picture taken.
“The LM2 is exciting for us because of the legacy that it represents. Spypoint has always been committed to offering hunters cameras that are affordable, easy to use, and reliable. Combine that with our plan offerings, including a free option, it doesn’t matter if you’re the most dedicated hunter in the county or just starting out, Spypoint has a solution that works for you. The LM2 fits right into everything else we are offering. It truly is the evolution of the revolution.” concluded McElhaw.
Both these Spypoint cameras will be later this summer.
Read More: Archery Trade Association Show promises to be better
