Mike, your attempt on another thread to extend the hand of friendship was misinterpreted by some, so I'm going to try to head things in the right direction with a new thread.
Some folks seem to have a real problem disagreeing without being disagreeable. There are great differences between the goals and interests and priorities of reenactors and buckskinners and muzzle-loader hunters, but no reason at all for antagonism.
I wonder if I am the only one who doesn't really fit in any group? I go to the woods as often as I can with a flintlock and Longhunter gear, but I don't care much if I kill a deer, and I have no interest putting on my primitive outfit to try to show tourists what the 18th century looked like.
I've met very few men in the woods who know enough to critique my gear, and I'm not going to freeze my ass off in the woods this year waiting to learn what the experts have decided about proper winter coats on the Southern frontier--I'll make mine out of a couple of surplus Italian army blankets (actually, it'll take three to fit my portly frame) which I've picked up for about ten bucks apiece, and I won't much worry whether the cut and color are period correct.
If I went to a juried event I'll bet I'd have to run around naked in my mocs, with my rifle, hunting bag, and scalping knife because none of my other gear would pass muster. So what? If I wanted to go to a Harley rally, I wouldn't ride in on a moped and expect to fit right in.
If you want to hunt in Levis with a TC, its ok by me. If you are a real hunter you will kill a deer before I find sign. If you want to hunt in period correct clothes, great--the renactors are your best source of info on the proper gear. Just don't expect that any amount of PC will put venison on the table if you don't learn the skills of a hunter. I've known some reenacters whose outfit was perfect but who couldn't hit a barn door with their rifle and couldn't actually start a fire in the woods with a blowtorch.
It's a matter of interest and priorities, and most of us could learn a great deal from the others.
Years ago I knew a fellow who was a great woodsman and a musuem quality living historian. He proposed doing a PC canoe trek down a river in Georgia. I said: "Great, we'll have to paint our canoes to look like bark." This wouldn't do for ol'e Andy--we had to build dugout canoes because that was the only thing he could document for that part of Georgia. A few of the boys cut a tree and actually started burning and chopping out a boat, but of course, they never even got it in the water, much less did the trek.
Its a matter of choice and priorities--do you want to learn about primitive watercraft or do you want to shoot squirrels from a canoe with a flintlock this fall?
I didn't alway agree with Andy, but he was my friend and I learned a lot from him. We lost touch some years ago and I'd love to find him and ask if he ever made a dugout canoe.
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If at first you don't seceed, try, try again.
Some folks seem to have a real problem disagreeing without being disagreeable. There are great differences between the goals and interests and priorities of reenactors and buckskinners and muzzle-loader hunters, but no reason at all for antagonism.
I wonder if I am the only one who doesn't really fit in any group? I go to the woods as often as I can with a flintlock and Longhunter gear, but I don't care much if I kill a deer, and I have no interest putting on my primitive outfit to try to show tourists what the 18th century looked like.
I've met very few men in the woods who know enough to critique my gear, and I'm not going to freeze my ass off in the woods this year waiting to learn what the experts have decided about proper winter coats on the Southern frontier--I'll make mine out of a couple of surplus Italian army blankets (actually, it'll take three to fit my portly frame) which I've picked up for about ten bucks apiece, and I won't much worry whether the cut and color are period correct.
If I went to a juried event I'll bet I'd have to run around naked in my mocs, with my rifle, hunting bag, and scalping knife because none of my other gear would pass muster. So what? If I wanted to go to a Harley rally, I wouldn't ride in on a moped and expect to fit right in.
If you want to hunt in Levis with a TC, its ok by me. If you are a real hunter you will kill a deer before I find sign. If you want to hunt in period correct clothes, great--the renactors are your best source of info on the proper gear. Just don't expect that any amount of PC will put venison on the table if you don't learn the skills of a hunter. I've known some reenacters whose outfit was perfect but who couldn't hit a barn door with their rifle and couldn't actually start a fire in the woods with a blowtorch.
It's a matter of interest and priorities, and most of us could learn a great deal from the others.
Years ago I knew a fellow who was a great woodsman and a musuem quality living historian. He proposed doing a PC canoe trek down a river in Georgia. I said: "Great, we'll have to paint our canoes to look like bark." This wouldn't do for ol'e Andy--we had to build dugout canoes because that was the only thing he could document for that part of Georgia. A few of the boys cut a tree and actually started burning and chopping out a boat, but of course, they never even got it in the water, much less did the trek.
Its a matter of choice and priorities--do you want to learn about primitive watercraft or do you want to shoot squirrels from a canoe with a flintlock this fall?
I didn't alway agree with Andy, but he was my friend and I learned a lot from him. We lost touch some years ago and I'd love to find him and ask if he ever made a dugout canoe.
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If at first you don't seceed, try, try again.
