Avery 3MM Dog Vest

[Nevada Jim]

My 3-1/2 year old male yellar Lab is a real fan of your vest, especially in sub-freezing temps. In fact he has three of them. One he outgrew, and another that has gotten pretty well "ripped and torn" ... which is graphic evidence of how the vest protects the chest and belly areas. http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/Colby/Cappyreturn.jpg

However, I have had the same problem with all THREE vests. The starting end of the zipper tends to pull apart where the backing material meets the vest. I've had to cut additional backing material from other fabric and attempt to sew and super glue it back in place. Any other suggestions?

[Tom Matthews]

Jim,

Please do two things for Avery and one thing for me:

1. Please take some up-close digital shots of exactly where the problem is occuring and e-mail them to Jason Thompson at:

jasont@averyoutdoors.com.

I'm sure I know where the problem is occurring, but I really want to see your vests to know more about what you are experiencing so that we can correct this permanently.

Next, send the vests back to us for repair or replacement. Contact Kevin Lee with Avery at 800 333-5119 and identify yourself as "Nevada Jim" - he will be expecting your call. We will handle the freight both ways so please get with him quickly so you are not without them long.

Another reason we want these photos is that we are building Question & Answer sections for all of our product lines, and we want to use them in this section along with your original message board post. If we can load each section up with anything and everything that our customers have experienced with our products (god and bad) as well as how each situatioin is resolved, we will save a great deal of time going forward. WE NEED YOUR HELP!

2. Please remember to submit any and all hunting photos (like the one you sent) to our Photo Contest. You can get the details by clicking on the red starburst on our home page. Avery is giving away over $10,000 worth of product to monthly category winners so it makes no sense not to do it. The photo you sent is of great quality so I can see you have the equipment necessary to get involved. Why not try, right?

3. I am totally intrigued with the terrain surrounding your duck hole, your blind, etc. Where was this photo shot? When was it shot? How does that blind work? Do you have any other photos of it from the front? What kind of ducks and geese do you shoot there? (the one on the ground looks like a widgeon - my absolute favorite duck!) Is this near Las Vegas? What are your seasons? What would it take to be invited to go on a hunt there with a video camera????? I love the look of that area - it's almost as if you are hunting in the desert. Can you fill me in?

Sorry for the long response to such an easy question.

Tom Matthews

[Nevada Jim]

Hi Tom ... Thanks for the prompt reply. I will contact Kevin Lee as requested and appreciate the typical great customer service attitude from Avery.

As for your questions ...

"I am totally intrigued with the terrain surrounding your duck hole, your blind, etc. Where was this photo shot?"
110 miles north of Las Vegas near Ash Springs, NV where we have a lease on a 1,300 acre cattle ranch.

"When was it shot?"
Last January about two weeks before the end of the season. Common to have opening light temps of 15-20 degrees and then be 55 by 10:30 a.m.

"How does that blind work? Do you have any other photos of it from the front?"
http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/Colby/theblind.jpg
It's 6' X 10', has a man door on the one end, a "Cappy door" front center, and two tops that fold up and back for shooting during the day.

"What kind of ducks and geese do you shoot there?"
Virtually all puddle ducks from the Central and Pacific Flyways. That includes divers in the area but few on our lease because it's flooded pasture land. We kill lots of Wigeons but, in harvest rank our bag consists of; mallards, gadwall, all 3 teal, pintails and most other species are only a few per season. We have a few Honkers but, believe it or not, light geese are protected in that county!

"The one on the ground looks like a widgeon - my absolute favorite duck!"
Hahahahaha ... please take a 2nd CLOSER look at the photo. The "species" on the ground next to Cappy and me is a "Bovinuspoopus" fairly common on cattle ranches. :D

"Is this near Las Vegas?"
As indicated above, it's 110 miles north in the "Pahrangat Valley", a 25 mile long by 1 mile wide agricultural strip in the otherwise barren desert that is irrigated by a series of natural warm springs in the area. There is a State Refuge (Key Pittman) on the North end of the valley (3 miles to the North of our blind) and Pahranagat NWR on the South end of the valley, some 20 miles from us.

"What are your seasons?"
This year we open on 10-12 and run continuously through 1-24. 7/day limit under the liberal framework now in place. The Youth hunt is the weekend after regular season closes and we always take youngsters and newbies with us every year to introduce them to this wonderful sport.

"What would it take to be invited to go on a hunt there with a video camera?????"
If you're serious, merely select a date and you'd be more than welcome to hunt with us. Wife Carol and I hunt every Friday/Saturday through the season. However, I'm such a "duck slut" that Cappy and I can easily be talked into weekday hunts too. One absolutely assured way of being able to hunt with us would be to insist that our buddy JASON comes with!

"I love the look of that area - it's almost as if you are hunting in the desert. Can you fill me in?" Haha, it IS the high desert on South Central Nevada. If you or anyone else on Staff is a member of Waterfowler.com, Look at the current Autumn issue, on pages 54-56, for a feature article done about us and "hunting ducks in the desert."

Ironically, John Moline (WF.Com editor) had arranged a video hunt with us for this fall but had to cancel due to a scheduling conflict. The article was written as a substitute.

Here are a couple more pics that might help give you a better impression of the area:

http://www.retrievertraining.net/images/cappy.jpg
Typical spring pasture area where we train Cappy before we flood low lying pastures in the fall. Incidentally, over Cappy's shoulder some 14 miles, is "Area 51" if you know of that Top Secret AFB that "doesn't exist!"

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/Colby/Cappyentry2.jpg
Cappy on his way on a marked retrieve.

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/Colby/Cappyentry.jpg
Same Cappy when he sees a cripple hit the water!

http://www.hunting-pictures.com/members/Colby/JimCappy&I.jpg
Ths is looking North from the blind. We had a young fella (Jason may remember him, Shawn Colby) from MT come to hunt with Cappy and me in January. This pic is called "Old Fut with two pups!" ;)

[The Poult]

Jim,

Since I am not as familiar with the terrain as I will soon be, what larger cities surround you?

Basically, where do you do any shopping for waterfowl gear in a dessert?

Todd

[Nevada Jim]

Todd ... If you look at a NV map, Ash Springs is 110 miles north of Las Vegas up Hwy 93. It's about the same distance from Mesquite, NV in a triangle with Mesquite (on the UT border). Large towns? Hehe, Ash springs is under 100 population. All the Burma shave signs are on ONE post. Alamo, the only other town between Las Vegas and Ash Springs (10 miles south) is 2,500 or so. It has a small motel where we stay on Friday nights.

Look at the Map here ... http://www.amerisar.org/nvmap.htm

Ash Springs, where our lease is, is located where the hwy to Caliente makes the 90 degree right hand turn.

Almost forgot shopping. Other than Walmart and a few sporting goods stores with terrible selections, there isn't anything available in the Las Vegas area. The vast majority of our gear shopping has been done on line at Herters (in the past) Cabela's and Bass pro Shop.

Ummm ... if you were to decide that Avery NEEDS a NV outlet, I sure know someone who would pay to work there! ;) Did you know that NV has NO income tax, no inventory tax, no inheritance tax, no value added or transfer tax, as just a few of the incentives to locate a business here? In addition, we are within easy overnight delivery to a 20 million plus population base bewteen CA, UT and AZ. Hmmmmm?

[The Poult]

Jim,

Thanks for getting back to me. I just wanted to be sure that we were not missing any good opportunities.

Outlet possibilities....there is always opportunites for growth & distribution. When we get a plan of action in place for the west. I will get with you on more details.

Thanks.