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Post by brokennock on Feb 12, 2023 9:54:06 GMT -7
But, but, but,,,, where is the para-cord, duc-tape, canteen cup, heavy knife for batoning firewood, tampons for first aid bleeding control, fero-rod (x3 because 2 is 1 and 1 is none), and mystery material fire starter chemically impregnated tinder?! You can't last more than 3.445 hours in the woods with what you have.... What if... What if.... What if.... ?? 😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆😆 Wellllll...I have 25-30 feet of linen cord I made, there is some Vet-wrap in the First aid kit as well a cloth strips in my gun bag, a small tin cup for tea (that goes along with a Kettle that is tied outside the pack), a large hand-forged knife on my belt that could be used for batonning (I'd rather use my hammerpoll axe), flint & steel, gun lock, burning glass and a thong for friction fire gives me 4 and the charred fungus is nearly impossible to put out once it catches a spark. I figure I could make it a good 4 hours before dying of hunger, thirst and exposure... How does the thong help? ? I would have thought it would reduce friction...... Unless one is married and it isn't your wife's.... Plenty of friction then.
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Post by Black Hand on Feb 12, 2023 10:10:03 GMT -7
How does the thong help? ? I would have thought it would reduce friction...... Unless one is married and it isn't your wife's.... Plenty of friction then. Looks nothing like... though it certainly could generate heat...
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Post by bushfire on Feb 12, 2023 14:28:36 GMT -7
Thank you all for the great suggestions and photos. Its great. The only thing I won't forgo is my PLB and first aid. I hunt some remote country and a requirement to have, my wife won't let me hunt without it by myself on multi day trips.
Blackhand - when you take a deer how do you incorporate it into your bag?
I might try growing gourds next spring. Hopefully a better season than this. Tomatoes, squash and melons did poorly this year. Summer hasn't been ideal.
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Post by Black Hand on Feb 12, 2023 14:42:36 GMT -7
I drag deer with a rope (much easier with snow or grass) and used a travois one time. The easiest was putting a friend's deer on my toboggan. Where I hunt is not too far away from the vehicle. Is dragging more efficient? Based on my cursing, not always...
Gourds are tricky to grow from what I understand. Easier to buy.
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Post by hawkeyes on Feb 12, 2023 16:17:00 GMT -7
I've got approximately fifteen or so dried gourds ready to be made into vessels... IMO if I'm carrying water in a period manner the gourd is the way to go as the vessel itself is light, but not the water. I've made several leather costrals and truly from a woodsman situation I don't like them. Their weight alone is a deal breaker for me.
Seems everyone has their ways of making things work for them. The key here is the individual and skill level. I've tailored my skills to the do more with less mentality. I truly hate hauling gear around, especially if it's heavy and cumbersome and period gear is without argument both in many regards. For my purposes I base my period load on several factors which always change and evolve given the four seasons but there are individual pieces of kit that cannot be sidelined.
My period items that always accompany me are as follows:
.100% wool blanket, absolutely no substitute. . Means to procure fire, flint and steel with a tinder box of fungus. . Vessel to collect and boil water which is a period eared brass or copper kettle. . My gourd bottle, water is heavy and I usually "try" to avoid carrying it. . Simple provisions of corn meal, oat flour and always a dried protein source.
Other than the obvious knife, hawk, clothing and shooting accoutrements that's all I keep on person within my haversack in a period manner for necessities. I do always carry a small first aid kit of modern supplies tailored to treat various trauma injuries that could result being alone. Obviously given the season or pace of an outing additional supplies may be necessary but the above items always accompany me. Nature truly provides a multitude of resources, especially in the woodlands. My efforts of foraging for various things is something I always practice and rely upon. During the fall months at weekend shoots abroad squirrel around the fires is always a staple cooked in numerous ways.
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Post by bushfire on Feb 15, 2023 16:11:38 GMT -7
Hawkeyes, do you have any photos of everything as it is altogether and kitted out?
I know what you mean re. water and weight. Unfortunately where I am often water is in short supply. I've had 3 or 4 day hunting trips where I can't find any water at all.
My foraging skills are poor to be truthful. Despite the fact that we haven't preserved that tradition very well in Australia, it's illegal in my state to collect native foods from public land anyway. That doesn't mean I have tasted the occasional mistletoe fruit or sucked nectar from a flame heath flower but I haven't developed the skills to rely off the land because of that legal barrier. Australia is the wild west when it comes to introduced species, but very much a nanny state regarding anything native be it plant or animal. I tend to take dried venison and fruit/nuts for snacking and flour a carrot, potato/swede and a small onion and a stock cube for stew and damper if I shoot edible game. Also carry oats and typically noodles or similar for meals.
When you say you'll shoot a squirrel meat, are you targeting them or are you hunting say deer and just shooting them for camp meat? If the latter are you using a smoothbore and taking both shot and ball?
A friend and I did a four day backpack hunt a few years back in the high country. On the second morning I shot a deer and took as much meat as I could carry back to camp (it was a bloody gruel from I ended up) and we used that over the next couple of days which was far nicer than dehydrated meals. It was very cold/snowing so it kept ok. But I did, through necessity, leave a fair amount of that deer on the ground which didn't sit well with me. I'm sure the dingoes which were howling around us that trip didn't complain at the free meal I suppose. It's probably an authentic 18th century way of procuring meat, but I still feel obliged to use more of an animal than that as a rule.
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