Each year, my friend and fellow outdoor writer Don Mulligan sends out his list of outdoor products and gear that have provided less than desirable results.

Mulligan is an avid hunter, who in addition to perusing mid-west states, also spends three to four weeks each fall hunting Alaskan big game. He does this on his own, free of guides and outfitters. The equipment he uses can mean the difference between an enjoyable hunt and fighting for subsistence.

From his rural Boone County home, Mulligan also writes a weekly syndicated column for 100,000 Indiana newspaper readers. His outdoor articles and photos appear every month in at least a dozen nationally distributed magazines and he is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.

As a benefit to Tribune readers, I wanted to pass along Mulligan’s annual Outhouse Awards — exposing the 10 worst outdoor products of 2006.

1. Cabela’s 3-D archery target

Once an arrow is embedded in these targets, they were nearly impossible to pull out without breaking the shaft. “Granted, I tested them with very fast 400-grain carbon arrows,” said Mulligan, “but they were only tipped with field points.”

2. Sims Barrel De-Resonator

This donut shaped piece of rubber fits over a rifle’s barrel and is supposed to counteract the harmonic resonance as the bullet travels through the barrel. The result is supposed to be tighter groups. This product was tried on a .300 WSM and a .243 from a shooting bench. In both cases it caused bullets to move around the target inconsistently. Once removed, both guns returned to less than one inch groups.

3. Sealskinz Gloves

Mulligan says these failed miserably on his fall moose hunt to Alaska. Though they didn’t leak, the insides became soaked with perspiration and once wet on the inside, they stayed wet for two weeks. Other gloves dried much faster.

4. Ford Trucks

Little inconveniences make them a source of frustration every day for owners. For example, the passenger door locks every time the truck is driven and it is necessary to hit the remote two or three times to unlock it. Though the auto-lock function can be deprogrammed, it needs to be constantly reset. “This and other annoyances might make sense if this were a soccer mom’s mini-van,” explained Mulligan, “but on a four-wheel drive truck?”

5. Slay herbicide

This product is intended to kill broadleaf weeds in clover. Its effectiveness in Mulligan’s food plots was minimal at best. Besides being expensive, the directions on the bottle are indecipherable and incomplete. Mulligan had to contact the plant where the stuff is bottled just to find out how much water to dilute the concentrate with. Unbelievably, the information is not in the book of instructions that comes with the product.

6. Danner snake boots

These are this year’s expensive Gore-Tex boots that leak. Most Gore-Tex boots eventually leak, but these pricey treads leaked after only three times in the field.

7. Eureka 10x10 bomb shelter tent

Mulligan has lived for a month at a time in the Alaskan wilderness in smaller Eureka tents without problems, but this one almost caused him to get hypothermia. “The 10x10 is too tall and unsupported to sustain any kind of wind, which Alaska is known for,” he explained. His blew down in a storm and was unfixable. He had to ride out the storm soaking wet until his pilot could fly in a new tent the next day.

8. Orvis Gore-Tex waders

The pant leg materials are constructed with five layers for durability. Unfortunately Orvis didn’t pay attention to the details on other parts of their stocking foot waders. After less than a week of admittedly rigorous use, the gravel guards wore through in spots. At well over $300, these should be a lot tougher.

9. Cabela’s coast lock snaps

At less than $4 a bag, these might not seem important — until you’re ready to use one. Coast locks are the little wire snaps that are used to connect fishing line to a lure. After finding an entire bag of Cabela’s brand coast locks would not open, he returned them. The next bag was the same

10. Cobra bow sight

“The thin wire pins and minimal sight guard on these sights are a disaster waiting to happen,” Mulligan explained. In the real hunting world, bows are dragged up trees, through brush and even on occasion — dropped. The unsupported, minimally protected pins catch and bend far too easily, rendering the bow unusable until re-sighted in.

Honorable mention

All double rail ladder stands. They are too heavy to easily erect and have too many spots that creak in the wind. … Collapsible foam turkey decoys. They never regain the correct form in the field, especially if it’s cold.

Hunting results

Here is this week’s list of area hunters who encountered success, collecting deer weighing 150 pounds and above, during the final segment of this year’s muzzle loading season. This list, which includes county of harvest, was made possible through the help of our local deer check-in stations which are; Burlington Locker, Bryant’s Outdoor Store, Full-Draw Archery, Jack’s tackle and Simpson’s Deer Processing.

Carroll County: Travis Rose — 199-pound, 12-point buck; William Parr — 165-pound, nine-point buck

Cass County: Clint Sheffield — 165-pound, 14-point buck; Daniel Kanable — 180-pound, eight-point buck

Marshall County: Ken Halbrook —180-pound, 14-point buck

Miami County: Glen Gamblin —180-pound, eight-point buck; Brad Parsons — 150-pound, seven-point buck

Pulaski County: Gary Miller — 150-pound, 10-point buck

Tipton County: Troy Vandevender — 150-pound doe; Richard Ponder — 158-pound, eight-point buck

John Martino is the Tribune’s outdoors columnist. He may be reached through the sports department at (765) 454-8574.