As part of its ongoing effort to make hunting easier for the camouflage-clad demographic, Cabela's Inc. has released an application for Apple's iPhone and Google's Android devices.

Using GPS, the Cabela?s Recon Hunt application provides hunters with extensive outdoor and navigation features to track wildlife. Detailed topographic maps, a digital compass and weather forecasts are also included, all put to the test by a group of hunters during extensive field trials.

?A group of Cabela?s employees, some of the most active hunters you?ll find, tested the app in typical hunting scenarios and evaluated its features over a months-long development phase,? said Kristin Lauver, spokeswoman at Cabela?s, Sidney, NE. ?These employees were already going to be in the field hunting, so we set them up with the app and welcomed their feedback.?

Cabela?s is a specialty retailer providing hunting, fishing, camping and related outdoor merchandise.

The application is powered by Trimble Outdoors.

The application is available for $3.99.

Outdoors made easy
Fortunate for hunters who find themselves in the middle of the woods with no nearby cell towers, the Recon Hunt application functions without signal. Power-saver technology monitors how the application is used in order to preserve battery power. Furthermore, the application uses the GPS built into the iPhone or Android to track users? location.

Hunters can access the Trips & Guides section of the application from the home screen, where a list of all the users? previous trips will be stored. By clicking on a particular date, users can examine their previous trips, looking to see where they left off or what media markings are attached.

Users can also collect waypoints, tracks, photos, videos and audio clips, as well as track the weather and sun and moon phases. 

Hunters can located wildlife with the application

?Our app is just another way for us to connect to and communicate with our customers,? Ms. Lauver said. ?It?s ultimately a vehicle for customer service and brand management."

To promote the application, Cabela?s is spreading the word via Facebook and Twitter, and through demonstrations at outdoor conventions and expos. The chain also hosts activation days at its stores, where customers can get help setting up the application on their mobile devices.

Shop on the go
Provided they have Internet access, customers can use the application to connect to Cabela?s online store, which sells hunting supplies such as archery, optics, decoys, game calls, treestands, blinds, radios, lights, navigation and GPS tools and other accessories.

Cabela?s online store is optimized for use on mobile devices.

?Our customers trust us to provide them with not only quality gear, but also extensive outdoor information, and our app allows them to take both of these services with them wherever they go,? Ms. Lauver said.