Hunting Gear
By Alex Strickland
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Horse equipped for hunting trip
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Hunters around the world long for a chance to come to Big Sky Country to pursue their chosen sport. Be it bow hunting elk, bagging that elusive bighorn sheep, or even stalking a bear, Montana is holy ground for outdoors men and women ready to test their mettle against nature. But the Treasure State has more to offer the avid hunter than only the animals that call its mountains and valleys home. Montana is also home to a variety of small companies that make their mark in the hunting world with products born of experience and proximity to wild lands. Just east of Missoula, on a plot of land outside Bonner that Meriwether Lewis would have been able to see as he walked by in 1806, sits Ruana Knife Works Inc. Now run by Mike and Mark Hangas, Ruana Knife Works fashions extremely functional, heirloom quality knives for customers across the state and the world. “My grandfather, Rudy Ruana, started making knives in the Missoula area in the ‘30s,” says Mike Hangas. Rudy’s philosophy is still evident today, Hangas says, and it can be seen in the quality craftsmanship of each handmade knife.
That attention and commitment to detail has catapulted the knives to popularity and made them much sought after by collectors. “Our customer base has done almost a complete reversal,” Hangas says. “Approximately 80 percent of the knives we make are for people who are collecting them rather than using them; whereas as recently as 20 years ago, the opposite was the case.”
But just because many people buy Ruana knives to put on the shelf doesn’t mean they aren’t still made with years of heavy use in mind. “We start with the roughest raw materials—a piece of antler, a piece of steel or aluminum,” Hangas says. “The knife has to last longer and be as durable and functional as possible.”
Demand has gotten to be such that Ruana no longer has dealers around the country but, rather, does all its business retail. The company also offers an easy online ordering process. “We could do more production,” he says, “but we want to keep the business in the family.”
Not all Montana companies making a splash in the outdoor market were born in the state; they just like it here better. The wide open spaces brought “Bullet” Bob Sauter to a little cabin outside Butte where he started Northwest Custom Projectile, a modest company with a huge impact in the sporting world. Sauter makes custom projectiles for small arms, putting his own twist on the boattail design that makes his bullets a prime choice for firearm enthusiasts.
Sauter tailors projectiles to a customer’s individual uses, which allows him to serve both a big-game hunter readying for an African safari and an elite target shooter looking for an extra bit of accuracy. “Let’s say you go into store and buy a box of bullets, and they don’t perform to your expectations for whatever reason,” Sauter explains. “We do different jacket wall thicknesses, different tapers. We design around a customer’s use.”
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Knife and antlers
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Sauter’s projectiles combine the accuracy of the boattail design—one known for its consistent flight —with the complete seal of a flatbottom bullet. “Boattail bullets typically have a lack of consistency,” he says. But the rebated edge that Sauter has designed makes the range consistent over multiple shots, something that is imperative for enthusiasts in any number of pursuits.
Justin Taylor had a whole list of issues he encountered when he went bow hunting in the Flathead Valley. He had too much equipment and no way to transport it without damaging his rig or getting everything in such disarray he couldn’t sort it out quickly. So Taylor founded Packer Creek LLC, which now operates out of his home in Polson.
“My ideas develop from lack of product on the market,” Taylor says, “I’m just trying to solve problems that every hunter has.”
Taylor makes hard-sided cases for bows and all manner of accessories from turkey-hunting broadhead points to nocks and other field tips. The plastic boxes protect from any outside impacts and the high-density foam inside keeps gear in place so it doesn’t dull from rubbing against each other while in transit. “There are so many accessories in archery—small accessories—that you either carry a big tackle box type thing or use my product,” Taylor says.
Another Montana company trying to free hunters’ hands and protect expensive equipment is Belgrade’s Quake Industries, a manufacturer of gun and game slings, straps and optical protection, among other items. Quake’s “The Claw” line of slings caters to traditional and bow hunters and includes specialty products for muzzle-loader enthusiasts and a model that has shooting sticks stowed away in the sling itself. “The Claw’s” specialized design allows hunters to bring their rifle or bow to the ready instantly and keeps the sling from getting caught in the movement and impeding that perfect shot.
Quake also produces optical accessories, including binocular covers to protect lenses in the field and an infrared flashlight. Made to be paired with night vision optics, the infrared beam is invisible to the naked eye and offers a distinct advantage to the equipped hunter. In addition, Quake makes gun cleaning accessories and all-terrain seats perfect for a long day in the field.
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External Frame pack
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The Treasure State may be a hunter’s paradise, but sometimes it’s inevitable that even the Montana hunter must travel, and when they do, there is that nagging concern about entrusting equipment to the airlines. That’s where Big Sky Case Covers of Missoula comes in. Their padded foam soft cases are custom-made to cover hard gun cases and give a little extra insurance against both rough treatment and theft. The cover’s design eliminates the need for Velcro or adhesives, only a heavy duty, rain-guarded zipper is needed to secure the case. The 3/8 inch padding and Cordura nylon exterior protect against bumps and scratches and come in four different colors to make picking out your gun on the baggage claim carousel a cinch. Not only are Big Sky Case Covers designed to take a beating, they’re made to look good doing it. And if a few long trips have left the case looking scuffed and dirty, that durable nylon has one other benefit—it can be thrown directly into the washing machine.
Cross Creek Trading in Chinook produces what they call “simply the best take-down pack frame in the business.” And boasting a mere two-pound weight and quick assembly time, it seems hard to argue. Perfect for hunters who don’t like to keep a squeaky, rigid frame on their backs for the whole day, the Quick Packer can be carried in a day pack or fanny pack all day and assembled quickly with no tools when it’s needed. Despite its feather-like weight, the Quick Packer is guaranteed to carry at least 100 pounds. Cross Creek also manufactures game bags made from seven oz. cotton so meat can breathe and game processing tools with the same high standards and practicality. Their hunting line also includes an electrified bear fence to protect camp sites from nosing bruins in the backcountry.
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