Hunting is one of the oldest practices of humanity, and every new generation improves on the tools, techniques, and weapons of the previous one. Today, you aren’t hunting with your grandpa’s old Winchester. You’re hunting with a state-of-the-art firearm featuring all-new materials, camo stocks, and attachments. Let’s talk about the best shooting accessories for hunters to ensure your hunting gear list is up to snuff.
1. QD Sling
The concept of a sling is pretty basic: you can carry your gun hands-free, allowing you to hold a flashlight, move underbrush out of the way, and drag and skin game without setting your gun down. That’s why slings are a hunting rifle accessory you’ll see on every hunter’s gun. However, if you want to line up a shot without your sling getting in the way of your grip or your stabilization, they can be awkward and slow to remove.
That’s what makes QD slings so great. Quick Detach (QD) slings make it easy to detach and reattach your sling from and to your weapon and add a sling to a weapon that never came out of the factory with one. These hunting rifle accessories come in various materials and coloring, ensuring you have something durable and blends in with your environment.
All you need to do is attach two QD sling mounts to your firearm, then connect the sling to the mounting points. When it’s time to take your shot, you can detach and stow it within seconds.
2. Bipod
Many hunters, especially forest hunters, don’t see the need for a rifle bipod. After all, a log or the node of two small tree branches can provide plenty of stability. However, if you’re hunting in wide open spaces or there aren’t branch formations meeting your needs in the direction you want to shoot, a bipod could be one of the best hunting rifle accessories you can invest in.
The best part? There are bipods designed for every kind of shooter and environment. Find yourself shooting in a variety of locations and need something versatile? Go with a bipod with individually adjustable legs, ensuring you can get a clear shot in rough terrain. Hiking long distances to get to where the game is? Find something made with a lightweight material like aluminum or carbon fiber. Worried it’ll get in the way of your hands if you don’t have time to set up the bipod before taking a shot? Just get a bipod grip hunting rifle accessory and get the best of both worlds.
3. Optics
Optics have always been a staple of hunting rifles. However, we’re not just attaching miniature telescopes to the tops of firearms anymore. Today’s manufacturers of shooting accessories for hunters have designed cutting-edge optics with all sorts of features.
For example, for hunters who hunt at night or ranchers protecting their animals from predators, night vision or thermal optics are a necessity. Holographic sights have better light transmission, no parallax, and can be used at any range. And typical long-range scopes in today’s consumer market provide adjustable magnification ranges from as low as 3x to as high as 16x, with specialty scopes going even higher. While optics have always been great to have, modern optics are the best hunting rifle accessories you can find if you want the most capable rifle possible.
4. Lens Cap
Most optics (especially long-range scopes) come with a lens cap. For ones that don’t, this is an invaluable addition to your gear list. While hiking, it keeps dirt and grime from getting on your scope. When you’re ready to take your shot, you can raise the cap to shade the lens like the brim of a hat. This keeps rain, snow, glare, and any other environmental conditions from getting in the way of your perfect shot.
5. Underbarrel Laser
Optics are fantastic for accuracy, but unless you have night vision or thermal optics, you’ll be screwed when the sun starts setting. If you are hunting in low-light conditions, an underbarrel laser is one of the best hunting rifle accessories you can get. You’ll be able to line up your shot without even needing to aim with an optic, preventing the game from getting away from you before you can take your shot.
6. Ear Protection
If you’re hunting regularly, you have to take care of your ears. There are a few options for that.
The first are suppressors. No, suppressors don’t mute gunfire like they do in the movies. However, they do dampen the sound, causing a little less damage to your eardrums.
The other isn’t an attachment, but it is an accessory all firearm owners — not just hunters — should use: shooting earplugs. Despite their small size, these almost completely filter out the noise of a gunshot. Investing in this hunting rifle accessory preserves your hearing with every successful harvest.
7. Rifle Bag
If you want a little more protection for your firearm or don’t want to carry it on a sling, a rifle bag will get the job done. Load up your bag with not only your rifle but also any ammunition or accessories mentioned above. You’ll be able to take everything you need for your gun with you into the wild hassle-free.
Explore Parts and Accessories at Wing Tactical
Wing Tactical has been offering gun parts and accessories for fellow firearm owners since 2013. In addition to our selection of the best hunting rifle accessories, we offer a huge collection of AR-15 parts and Glock parts. As a veteran-founded company with a commitment to never offering parts, we wouldn’t use ourselves; all of our parts and shooting accessories for hunting are nothing less than top-quality. Plus, you get access to fast shipping, with same-day shipping available for orders placed before 1 PM EST.
Find hunting rifle accessories and more today at Wing Tactical!