As many of you know, I'm Director of Marketing for Gun Safety Innovations.  We develop and manufacture hunting products.
 
Recently I've gotten some feedback that our web site may not be doing enough to appeal to hunters.  I'm a woman and don't hunt.  My designer is a woman and also doesn't hunt.  We've both been raised around hunters our entire lives, but we don't claim to be experts on what might appeal to hunters.
 
This is why I really need your help.  The site is here: http://www.git-r-slung.com/.  
 
Please go explore and let me know what you like and what you don't.  I'm not so much looking for web design tips as I am for what appeals and doesn't appeal to people who are hunters.  Is the site boring?  Should we change our menu? Do we need a new logo? Can you quickly see how to place an order?  If you were designing the perfect site for hunters what would you add?
 
I know this is asking a lot, but it would really be a big help.  Any feedback you can give me would be greatly appreciated.  I'd also love any recommendations about other sites for hunters that you think are good ones.  It always helps to go and see what others are doing.
 
Thanks so much for your help.
 
Kristine

OK Kristine,

Here are a few things I noticed.....:)
I'm pretty much a "call 'em as I see 'em" type guy, so they woon't be  "candy coated"

1) In your main menu to the left, there is the "Hunting Michigan" link....To me this may limit your market area. I know you have all states listed elsewhere, but I would take that one down off the main menu, unless you are leaving the impression that the gunslinger is only to be used while hunting Michigan.

2) hunters from Southern states especially use portable deer blinds. There are shortage of big-straight trees in Texas for example.....I would utilize & market those types of blinds for the gunslinger as well.
In my opinion, you need to become as generic as possible to target the broadest range of potential customers possible. Hunting conditions & situations vary greatly throughout the US. I percieve a tree blind as being mostly an "eastern" factor, & you may be missing out on hunters in the South & West.

3) When instructions & photos of the Gunslinger are used on your website I think it would be agreat advantage to you legally to have written instructions that a round should never be in the chamber while using the gunslinger to raise or lower the rifle from the blind. (The proceedure should contain these instructions with a photo of the rifle with the bolt in the "open & empty" position....
You don't want to condone the use of the gunslinger with a fully loaded weapon of any sort......Someone will file suit on your company if an accident occurs & the unloaded proceedure from your company in not covered in all literature & photos.

4) I would have more photos of people with animals actually taken with the gunslinger in use. It portrays that success in the hunt is not hindered in any way by using the Gunslinger.....Perhaps a photo gallery section that hunters can post their game & pictures tastefully of course would help convey that message.

OK, I'm done now...:)

Hope this doesn't offend & is of some help. (You asked...)

Barry

Barry,
 
Thanks for the feedback.  I appreciate it.
 
Just a few things I wanted to note.  
 
We selected Hunting Northern Michigan because that is where our company is located.  Maybe we should retitle it "Hunting in our Home Territory".  We certainly don't want to imply that deer hunters in other states shouldn't use our product.
 
I've got to confess, I don't know much about portable deer blinds.  I will do some research on those.  The photos that we had taken were taken with the type of stand that is typically used up here.  We may want to think about taking some pictures with other types of stands.
 
I will have to check our instructions again, but I believe they do instruct that a gun should always be unloaded when entering and exiting the stand.  We also always use unloaded guns for the photo shoots, but you're right, we don't show that it is unloaded.  I'll make sure we get some of those shots in the next series of pictures.
 
We have developed a Family Photos page where we hope to have photos of people who have used the Gunslinger on successful hunts.  Our difficulty now is that, with the product being so new, we haven't had anyone using it yet.  That should change soon and then we will hopefully get more pics.
 
Thanks for the feedback and the suggestions.  I really appreciate you taking the time.
 
Kristine

Where it doesn't mention the unloaded gun is in the "About the Gunslinger" link on the left. Just a thought. You do mention unloaded gun in the safety section. :)

I think it is great you want our input.....

You're right. It wouldn't be hard to change that text to advise that the gun should be unloaded when raising and lowering it from the stand. Good Tip.
 
I think it is great that you are wililng to give your input. You don't know how valuable the opinions and advice I get here are to me. After all, our product and our site are geared toward hunters. Who better to tell us what they'd like to see than all of you on this forum.
 
Here's hoping I get a lot more feedback. (Yes, that's a not so subtle hint:D )
 
Kristine

How about a clear pic of the entire rifle with the gunslinger attached.  Also, if you are lowering your rifle down muzzle first...what keeps dirt and debris from getting pushed into the barrel?  Is it designed to hang just off the ground when lowered?

Hi probably a stupid idea but have you thought of ebay? all the guys i know get most of their shooting gear from there, also we live in the UK and when i saw the site i kinda switched off cos i thought it was aimed at the USA, even though we have great deer hunting in Scotland!
 
Maybe ive missed the point, sorry!

Glenn, I guess we need to get some better pics on the site. It would depend on the height of your stand, but the product is designed to keep the gun from hitting the ground at all.
 
babbyc1000, Ebay has been suggested before, and we are considering it. We would also welcome any visitors from "across the pond". Do they deer hunt from tree stands in Scotland? I've been trying to do some more research on deer hunting in Europe but haven't come up with a lot so far.
 
Thanks for your feedback guys. I appreciate it.

well it depends on the area, im not big into deer myself but simplest thing would be to go to google and look for derr hunting in scotland, one thing you could do is try BASC (british association of shooting clubs - i think thats what it stands for) to see if they could help!

Thanks, that's a good idea.  We certainly don't want to exclude our friends who deer hunt in other countries.

no problem! i reckon you could do well over here, shooting's really expensive, a set of plain rifle scope weaver rings cost me £25(near $50) so thats why most of my mates go to ebay, they get the stuff from the US site (theres more variety) and it works out cheaper, even with shipping costs!

Hey guys and gals,
 
First of all I just want to thank those of you who took the time to go look at the site.  It is greatly appreciated.  
 
Second, I want to let you know some of the things that we have planned as a result of the suggestions we've gotten.
 
We're going to add a short video about the product to the site.  This will show how the Gunslinger can help you avoid accidents and also demonstrate how easy the product is to use.  
 
We're going to try and find some hunting and shooting games to add to the site.  
 
We're working to get some testimonials (and perhaps photos) from people who have used the product.
 
We're going to add a newsletter to keep people updated on the latest developments in the hunting world and in our company.
 
I'm also considering doing a page about Deer Hunting in Europe for all you deer hunters across the pond.
 
This list could go on and on.  I just wanted to let you know that we are listening and your suggestions do make a difference.
 
Please keep them coming.
 
Thanks,
 
Kristine

Another update. Games have been added to the site. We've also got some testimonials from our field tests. Our Deer Hunting in Europe page is in the works.
 
See, I never stop working to make things better for all of you. :D
 
Seriously, thank you to those who took the time to take a look at the site.  It is greatly appreciated.
 
Kristine

Just to update everyone on our efforts to include our friends across the pond...
 
We've started working with a site in the UK. It is here: http://www.thestalkingdirectory.co.uk/
 
Go on over and check it out. Our banner ads should be up there soon.
 
I'm also going to do some more writing for our site to make it more international.  That should be fun.  We've also done some more updating on the site and the store.  And we've added our first retailers.  If you live near Clare in Michigan, or in La Crosse,  Rice Lake or Ladysmith in Wisconsin, you should check out our site to find a retailer near you.
 
For those who may have forgotten;)  our site is here: http://www.git-a-gunslinger.com
 
Feedback on the changes and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
 
As always, I am grateful for everyone's help and advice.
 
Kristine

nice site, tho im disappointed to see so much tweed about, ha ha ha!!
 
only joking! im looking now, maybe start stocking up for christmas!