Keep Moisture at Bay and Keep Your Hunting Gear Safe

There are few things that bring more joy to a hunter than the thought of heading for the woods, the marsh, or the shoreline to spend a few days in camp, enjoying the time of the year we love most, all while relaxing, recharging our mental batteries, and hopefully punching a tag and putting some antlers on the wall and some wild meat in the freezer.

And from the deer and big game species that so many of us love to chase annually, not to mention the ducks and upland game that make our retrievers and bird dogs whine with canine anticipation, there are few things that we depend on more to bag our game each fall than the high-tech firearms, gear, and gadgets that drive the hunting industry forward and make the pastime of hunting more efficient and successful.

Rust Stop

Showing up at camp, or heading to a storage shed, or even an isolated corner of the garage, and finding that gear collection in pristine condition brings a smile to the face and the promise of future success to our hunter’s minds. 

But on the other end of the spectrum, if that visit to the supply closet finds our gear rusted and ruined in a damp and musty enclosed space, then the biggest frowns of the year are likely to ensue.

Thankfully, such a bitter, rust-filled experience doesn't have to be the norm according to Outdoor Sportsman Group magazine publisher and North American Whitetail TV show co-host Laden Force, who lives in the big buck-rich Midwest where damp, enclosed spaces are the norm. 

That’s not unexpected since part of the Midwest’s recipe that keeps the headgear on top of big bucks maxed out antler wise is a good bit of stormy weather and plenty of precipitation that fuels high-protein plant growth and enables native vegetation and local agricultural to give a big nutritional assist to whitetails as they grow big head bones each year.

The Rust Recipe

Force says that while such moisture helps big bucks grow to their full potential, it can also work to sabotage the gear and best laid plans of hunters, himself included.

"We do our best to make sure that we're storing and preventing any unforeseen damage from a corrosion aspect to our products,” said the Missouri resident. “We always want to keep that gun that pretty blue color that it was when we bought it. We always want to keep that bow and all of its components without rust when it comes to screws and modules and all that fun stuff. But the reality is that there is still an influence of moisture in some of our safest places that we store our utensils."

For Force, whose livelihood depends on hunting good spots with equipment that works properly in that once in a lifetime moment, keeping rust at bay in gun safes, gear closets, equipment bags, high-tech fiberglass hunting blinds, and even hunting cabins is an ongoing battle every year as the various seasons come and go.

But in recent years, he’s also learned that the battle can be successfully fought and won, as long as an outdoors enthusiast will use the right products to keep moisture at bay. 

The Remedy

To combat the negative effects of moisture and to protect his gear, Force uses Star brite’s “No Damp" moisture-absorbing and dehumidifying products. The proven, season-tested technology from the Florida-based company keeps working to help remove unwanted moisture from an enclosed area 24/7.

In a product line that serves as the ultimate chemical dehumidifier, Star brite’s moisture-absorbing products work to remove airborne moisture and humidity in places that outdoors enthusiasts are likely to need it most to keep rust and damaging moisture at bay, such as their gun safes, permanent deer blinds, gear lockers, and hunting camps.

But rust is only one danger from unwanted airborne moisture, since the invisible H2O can also stain, warp, and cause other forms of water damage, not to mention leaving behind musty odors that big bucks are likely to bolt from if they get a whiff of it during the fall.

But with the company’s unique and concentrated pellet technology, Star brite’s No Damp products work to absorb more moisture per ounce than regular flake formulas do, while also outlasting more conventional dehumidifying units.

"I've seen the results of what happens,” said Force. “Last year, myself, I employed a No Damp bucket in a permanent Redneck hunting blind. I set it there in August when we were filming some content for North American Whitetail and thought I'll just put it to a field test and see what this does over the next couple months of hunting in this blind. And by the time that I had reached the rut in mid-November, I had times when I would go in and actually pour the absorbed moisture out of that container around the pellets and could physically see the amount of moisture the product was pulling out of the air and helping to keep the internal portion of that blind moisture-free. And there wasn't mildew residue on my windows or shelves either. When I walked in, I felt like I was walking into a relatively fresh environment inside that blind.”

That experience has made a believer out of Force, who now insists on utilizing Star brite products whenever he can.

“So as an outdoorsman, a hunter, or a recreational shooter, don't be a fool, and make sure that you're protecting those products,” he said. “Employ a moisture-absorbing agent in your gun safes, your blinds, your gear closets, your gear totes, all those areas where you've invested a lot of your hard-earned money into your tools that you're going to use in the field. Keep them what they are. Help make them last longer.”

That’s where Star brite’s No Damp products shine, even if they don’t always get the spotlight during the closing credits segment of an outdoors television show.

“It's only going to allow for your products to provide more usefulness to you,” said Force. “And maybe even your next couple of generations.” Generations that will enjoy things like hunting rifles, shotguns, hunting gear, and big buck mounts that will be valued and appreciated for decades to come—free of rust and water damage of course, thanks to Star brite.