By Jeff Johnston FE Hunting & Shooting Editor
The high-end hunting/shooting gear company that teamed with FE to bring us the “Full Bar Chest Rig” offers a slightly larger chest rig specifically for turkey hunters. Being a devout turkey hunter, I find it perfectly fitting.
Here’s the thing: For the person who sometimes likes to dick around in the spring woods a bit and maybe shoot a turkey if a stupid one happens to come in, a pair of pants with a pocket is fine for holding a few shells and a call. But serious turkey hunters routinely need crow calls, owl hooters, a half-dozen mouth calls, a slate call and strikers, a box call for windy days, chalk, sandpaper, brush clippers, binos, rangefinder, shells, a face mask, gloves, a flashlight, and perhaps even a thermacell and a GPS. Most importantly, ESP [Emergency Shitter Paper]. Armageddon’s Turkey Chest Rig holds it all and, unlike a vest, it does so while keeping it all right in front of you so you can quickly see and reach whatever you need when you need it.
Armageddon launched the turkey rig last year, and after a season of using it, here’s what I’ve concluded:
Waxed-cotton canvas is the best all-around material for a bino harness that I’ve tried so far; It keeps my stuff dry, it’s quiet, and resists briars and burrs, which is important because the forward-facing harness is the first thing to enter the fray. I found that the front pocket is big enough to hold a breakfast burrito and keep it away from my body heat. I wish the side pocket was big enough for a rangefinder, however, and I also must mention that when a box call is loaded in the main pocket, it doesn’t leave much room for full-sized binos, but that’s fine because I opt for my little Leica 8×20 compacts over my 10x42s for turkey hunting anyway.
There were times in the last season where I wished it held more stuff, but then I was reminded that if it won’t fit in the harness I likely don’t need it. And as the season waned on into May, I found myself appreciating the chest rig more and more because it’s so much cooler and lighter than a vest. Finally, I found it was great for farm pond fishing after the morning hunt.
Cost: $280
Pros: Holds all of your necessary turkey gear so it can be accessed quickly; not so big with so many pockets that your stuff gets lost
Cons: Wish one of the side pockets were big enough to hold a beer (for fishing)
