American Mountain Men

[Kansas Jake]

Well stated and I agree.

 

[Alaskan Woodsman]

Correct...If your not of the spirt, you don't
belong...simple. I have to wonder, how many
of the commenters are mambers of The AMM.....

I think any of our members who comment in this topic and are members of AMM would be proud to say so. In fact several times in this topic some of our members have said they hope a AMM member will give his opinions on the questions being asked.

The fact that no one has responded leads me to believe the answer to your question is, so far, no AMM members have responded.

I've said that too Zonie, proud to mention being an AMM member, yet I think many of the answers I've received have been very helpful. In 1973, my last year of high school, I took a an advanced history class, studied Jed Smith, wrote a paper, and really learned quite a bit from the book journal that he wrote.

The whole topic has since been fascinating, moreso since I've been retired and am not studying my profession as much and can relax with more of those things that also interest me.

I think it is quite possible that some members have responded and I've studied their chapter papers quite a bit even before starting this discussion.

I know what I know and don't know what I don't know. The beauty of learning is interacting with others who are like minded and willing to share their thoughts on what they've learned. This endeavor even of itself is becoming quite satisfying.

I can make another shooting bag, some leather pants (any good patterns out there?), moccasins maybe so, learn sign language (that'll be fun), and other cool things that will enhance MY experience. I like shooting but rendezvous up here are a blast too and there are plenty of skookum MM types that attend and some that visit our summer time affairs.

It is a pleasure to interact with all. Every outdoor activity has it's snobs but you don't have to take what they say that way and can often learn much by just listening and asking questions.

We are all students of the Mountain Man era whether we realize it or not. It and other persuasions are the spice of life that keep us entertained and stimulated.

 

[Alaskan Woodsman]

So true Tenngun, my thoughts on AMM too. :thumbsup:
I don't think I can attend any of their functions.
I'm just too far away, but their organization
is interesting and I'm glad they share what they
will so that I may consider other people as interested
or more interested than I and I can learn from their
endeavors. I learn from people on this site too.

 

[Electric Miner]

So, I ask again, how many members do they have?

 

[Bo T]

About 600. As posted on one of the chapters websites.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

Looking over their requirements for membership I think this may be the hardest one to achieve.

16. Must have at least three full years of membership in the AMM.

That 3 full years of membership in the AMM is only required for the "Hiveranno" level member. Not required for Pilgrim level or Bossloper level membership.

Pilgrim membership requires an invitation.

twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[ohio ramrod]

I see no reason to join a club that has specific membership rules when a person can accomplish the same level of historical & period accuracy on their own. The very same can be accomplished with a small group of like-minded friends and you'll probably have more fun than stressing whether or not you'll be accepted by an organization....

:metoo: :thumbsup:

The reason I got into buckskinning was so that I could "do it my way" with what I made myself. I am a long time buckskinner but am a "free tapper type" I do it my way! :hmm: :hmm:

 

[Gene L]

I don’t see much support for “surplus military guns” being used by civilians. They belonged to the government. There are not a lot of M16s in civilian hands today. 1800-1850 is not 1950-1970 when there was a flood of post war surplus military guns being sold to civilians.

Mountain men were professionals. Not young men on their own hook heading to the mountains with whatever they had.

I believe most of the arguments about guns that should be acceptable are based primarily on what resides in a fella’s gunrack as opposed to actual research.

There are many hundreds of examples of actual guns that went west during this period. It’s not a big unknown that requires us to guess.

You don't see M 16s surplus because they're fully automatic. What you do see as surplus is 1903s, Krags, 03A3s, and Garands. So it's reasonable that surplus military rifles were available in the trade era, probably more so because the government wanted to open up the area.

I would imagine that one didn't start off being a professional, just like in real life, one had to learn with what he had to become a professional. Or what he was issued from the fur trading companies.

 

[rich pierce]

Yep, things can be reasonable and never happen.

Nobody could head west on their own hook, untrained, not in a fur company, and trap beaver and make it back with their furs.

Horses, mule, traps, guns and accoutrements, knowledge of the land, and experience are all expensive. And a lone greenhorn with 2-3 traps, a Brown Bess, and one Horse would be competing with well equipped fur companies that were stripping it bare and were getting re-supplied in the field. And nobody to cover your back. Not sure what the attraction or dream is, to use a Bess throwing an ounce ball inaccurately and unable to hit anything smaller than a buffalo at 70 yards in the open prairie. Figure 10 pounds of lead would get you 160 shots compared to 320 for a .54 rifle, and use the same amount of powder for half the number of shots.

But there’s no point in reasoning. We have actual data on what went west. Don’t have to guess or reason.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I see no reason to join a club that has specific membership rules when a person can accomplish the same level of historical & period accuracy on their own. The very same can be accomplished with a small group of like-minded friends and you'll probably have more fun than stressing whether or not you'll be accepted by an organization....

:metoo: :thumbsup:

The reason I got into buckskinning was so that I could "do it my way" with what I made myself. I am a long time buckskinner but am a "free tapper type" I do it my way! :hmm: :hmm:

Glad you are enjoying doing it yer way.
The thing about AMM that always puzzled me was how the members could so often leave a 'normal' life and travel away from home. From talking with some, I surmised most did not have jobs but received some kind of government check for their income. That allowed them to live a lifestyle most of us couldn't manage.

 

[Twisted_1in66]

That could be, but I would imagine a number of them had fairly large vacation packages at work too. I worked up to a month's vacation per year by the time I had 15-years in. My brother, working for a different company got 5-weeks vacation and he took all of it at once one year, hiking up the Sierra Nevada from Bishop to Tioga pass in Yosemite.

Certainly easier to meet their requirements if you don't have a job, although getting the gear would be pretty tough without a decent income. Also, they have a time requirement of no less than 3-years to reach what I believe is their "full member" status.

So, it could be you are right, but doesn't necessarily have to be so. :grin:

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan

 

[wulf]

As said before...'lots of opinions '........

 

[tenngun]

That’s a truism for many of our variations of hobby. Putting together a British regimental outfit or a Union horseman is going to run in to a few bucks.
A civilian can put together an outfit a little cheaper, but our sport is a money pit.
All of it’s done just to please our sensibilities. A TC half stock flintlock shoots little different then the most hc rifle. Cook up a pudding or camp coffee won’t taste any different if it’s cooked in speckleware or backpackers light camp pots.
But...
We buy our tin and copper, our linen and wool, we get our wedge tents that sleep the same as a nylon dome.

 

[Snakebite]

I see no reason to join a club that has specific membership rules when a person can accomplish the same level of historical & period accuracy on their own. The very same can be accomplished with a small group of like-minded friends and you'll probably have more fun than stressing whether or not you'll be accepted by an organization....

:metoo: :thumbsup:

The reason I got into buckskinning was so that I could "do it my way" with what I made myself. I am a long time buckskinner but am a "free tapper type" I do it my way! :hmm: :hmm:

Glad you are enjoying doing it yer way.
The thing about AMM that always puzzled me was how the members could so often leave a 'normal' life and travel away from home. From talking with some, I surmised most did not have jobs but received some kind of government check for their income. That allowed them to live a lifestyle most of us couldn't manage.

So they are all unemployed and on the government dole? I wonder who you've been talking to. That's some assumption. I'm not a member and don't really have a desire to become one, but I certainly would not make the assumption some of you do. Back when I was into buckskinning, I made time to go to rendezvous' and shoots. I had buckskins and a custom rifle. And a job, my check did come from the government, but it was for protecting this country, for 23 years. And I still have a job, which a lot of people should be grateful for because I'm paying their Social Security.
Personally I respect the AMM, they are really into their hobby which I don't think you could afford on welfare. What's wrong with that. I've met some, some were rather arrogant and some real nice guys, just like any organization out there.
A lot of assumptions and opinions. If you don't like them fine, but saying they don't have jobs and are on the government dole is pretty asinine, IMHO. And yea, everyone has opinions, we know what they are like and they stink.

 

[Electric Miner]

I don't think he said welfare anywhere in his post. He said government check which you, yourself, said you received. It also includes those retired and getting a SS check. When you're retired, you fall under 'unemployed'.

His point was that most people can't just take off from work and spend the bucks required for this group.

 

[Snakebite]

That wasn’t the implication I got. Maybe I misread the tone of the post but I don’t think so. Regardless I’m not going to get into a p’ssing contest here, seen that too often.

 

[tenngun]

That too applies to much of our sport. I could have a lot more fun if it wasn’t for this working thing.
Joining a group like AMM takes time and lots of it. Just as some military groups. One can find lots of groups that try to be as hc but are less regimented. Coalition of historic trekkers comes to mind.
You can’t fault them for doing it right. They are a little narrow for my taste and I couldn’t invest the time, but I admire what they do.

 

[Bo T]

I'm not sure where everyone is getting the high cost? I crunched the numbers and (not including travel) keep coming up with $1500 (on the low end). Of course this entails making your own clothes and pack which can add up the time. But that is at home time.

 

[tenngun]

that is pretty minimal cost depending on what you can make yourself.
Trouser will run three skins. Coat maybe four, So that's dressing seven hides, or buying seven. I don't think the AMM uses much of the tandy golden skin fur co any more. Woolen can get a might pricy as can linen. I can dress a skin but cant weave my own hc cloth.
You can modify a knife to be hc or buy one. One would want to stay away from a show type knife.
Moccs require a generaly thicker hide to last. I can wear through brain tanned deer skin moccs pretty quick. Boots and shoes were sold in the mountains. As were stockings.
Ax, belt ax, shovel, traps, saddle and packs get a little complex, most of us lack the skill to make them. Shooting equipment were mostly comercel made. Hc bait bottles and bottle holders are not too hard to make. You can get by with very little cooking equipment but that's going to impact your in field comfort. Only a narrow range of guns are used. They wont be higher cost but are less common.

 

[Electric Miner]

You can't ignore the cost of travel, and for many people, $1500 dollars is a lot of money. Especially for younger people, or people with a family they are trying to raise. That has a tendency to limit it to people who are wealthy, retired, or both.

I'd love to know the demographics on the American Mountain Men.