Deer hunting revolution? A Pa. man's patent-pending shooting rail updates the tree stand
A Pennsylvania man wants to revolutionize the way deer hunters use their rifles and crossbows from a tree at the same time he hopes to help government leaders understand the importance of hunting and fishing.
Jeremiah Pfadt, 26, is going through the patent process for a new shooting rail for tree stands. And earlier in August he was appointed to serve on Gov. Josh Shapiro's Advisory Commission on Next Generation Engagement.
The commission, with 21 members, was created to gather information regarding younger Pennsylvanians’ experiences and needs; review, evaluate, and assess programs affecting them; provide the governor with information and recommendations regarding how best to meet their needs, and serve as a liaison from the governor’s office to the community.
“I’m making sure our rights are protected as hunters and outdoorsmen as well,” the avid hunter, angler and farmer said about the volunteer two-year term. “I’m going to work hard to make sure that people like us have a voice, especially the upcoming generations.”
He’s also striving to help hunters be more accurate when taking that shot of a lifetime at a trophy deer.
The Brokenstraw Outdoors Shooting System
He got the idea for his adjustable height shooting rail while hunting with hang-on tree stands and not being satisfied with the limited options for shooting rails.
“I’ve never had one that I liked, I’ve used shooting rails and tree stands my entire (hunting) life," Pfadt said. "The big driving point for what I designed, I like to be able to stand the last 35 or 40 minutes of daylight when deer are really moving so I can move around and make sure I’m checking out all the areas that I need to check out. There’s no quick and easy way to adjust your shooting rail to be that high, and if something sneaks up you and you have to sit back down or adjust yourself to make sure you get a clean shot, those chances of scaring a deer go up pretty high."
His adjustable-notch design permits the hunter to sit or stand. “You just grab the rail, pull it up to where you feel comfortable,” he said.
The 15-pound product is being manufactured near his home. “It’s all built in America with American steel,” he proudly said. “The way that we have it built, bent, cut out, welded together and powder coated is top tier."
The frame for the rail can stay on the tree year-round where permitted and the rail can be added or removed with several pins.
The sturdy construction also allows hunters to have a safe hold when they are climbing in and out of a stand.
The Brokenstraw Outdoors Shooting System, or The BOSS, sells for $330 through his website, brokenstrawoutdoors.shop. “We're in our very, very, very opening stages of our company, so we are going to build tree stands, climbing sticks and other shooting rails,” he said. Sales started Aug. 1.
Brokenstraw Outdoors, of which he is president, was named after Brokenstraw Creek in Warren County, Pennsylvania, which flows by his family’s hunting camp.
Pfadt works in logistics and does farming, but “I’ve been an outdoorsman my entire life. One of the biggest reasons I started worrying about shooting rails is that I want to have a sturdy shot. Just for the ethical part of it, you got to have a sturdy shot to be make a good shot when you’re cold and the adrenalin is pumping trying to freehand and shoot something. Making sure you got a good kill shot is tough to do when you’re in big clothes, cold and excited.”
He said the design is patent-pending. “It’s a protected idea. I got the utility patent, not the design patent, so it’s a little more detailed than just the design patent. Anything that’s even like it can’t be copied,” he said.
“The biggest difference is how it slides up and down to be adjustable.” When the frame is on the tree you have 24 inches of motion to have the rail placed where you want. That feature helps when multiple people of different heights use the same stand.
Other rails he's tried were not sturdy and only had one ratchet strap. “Ours uses two, top and bottom. Just the frame itself is sturdier than anything you can buy,” he said.
The shooting rail can also be applied to a tree without a tree stand to give those who hunt from the ground a steady rest to shoot. “I’m planning to put one up for turkey season as I can be sitting on the ground with that rail wherever I need it to be and putting a (camouflage) skirting around me."
His father, Chuck Pfadt, 56, has been hunting for 44 years and believes the shooting rail will help hunters have better accuracy when they have those exciting encounters with deer.
He now hunts with his two adult children, Jeremiah and Nicole, and with this shooting rail, it can be easily placed for the height of everyone.
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“It’s something I can use, and my daughter, who is maybe 5 feet 4 inches at the most, can hunt out of the same stand and adjust the shooting height,” he said.
The two men believe it will be a popular design for outfitters who have different hunters using their stands through the seasons. “It can be installed once and once they get customers in,” the company president said as the height can be adjusted as often as needed throughout the years.
“There are always things that come along and revolutionize the sport and I think this is one of them,” Chuck Pfadt said.
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Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for Paste BN Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors,Twitter @whipkeyoutdoors and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.