Hunting Equipment

[Ron LaClair]

...another view could be that "Hatchet Jack" might not have died if he'd had a cellphone and GPS to call in air rescue after the Grizzly attacked him.


And to an extent I agree with your point about 'living off the land'...always thought it would be interesting to learn and do all that.

However, I am neither trained nor capable of doing that, and at age 60 with a 5 year old quadruple bypass in my chest, I have no time or interest in starting down that road...I don't go into the woods alone anymore without a cellphone...don't need a GPS where I hunt but if I did, I'd sure have one of those too.

I agree, I'm gettin long in the tooth myself and I don't want my tomestone to read......

"Here lies a traditional man

He thought it cool to live off the land

He might have lived if he believed in phones

but now he's just a pile of bones"

:haha:

 

[roundball]

...another view could be that "Hatchet Jack" might not have died if he'd had a cellphone and GPS to call in air rescue after the Grizzly attacked him.


And to an extent I agree with your point about 'living off the land'...always thought it would be interesting to learn and do all that.

However, I am neither trained nor capable of doing that, and at age 60 with a 5 year old quadruple bypass in my chest, I have no time or interest in starting down that road...I don't go into the woods alone anymore without a cellphone...don't need a GPS where I hunt but if I did, I'd sure have one of those too.

I agree, I'm gettin long in the tooth myself and I don't want my tomestone to read......

"Here lies a traditional man

He thought it cool to live off the land

He might have lived if he believed in phones

but now he's just a pile of bones"

:haha:

:crackup: :crackup: :crackup:

 

[KampKool]

How come the cell phone service in the state forest land is so poor? I don't get many calls but it seems that I only have limited reception near the cabin & none in most of the places I hunt...

 

[roundball]

How come the cell phone service in the state forest land is so poor? I don't get many calls but it seems that I only have limited reception near the cabin & none in most of the places I hunt...

The ongoing nationwide project of setting up antenna towers has been / is being systematically done in a priority sequence starting around the most major population centers.

Then along side of the most heavily traveled highways, then gradually spreading out further and further into the more rural and less densely populated countryside.

It's a lot better today than it was...I couldn't even use a cellphone where I hunted 10 years ago...then I could intermittently reach a tower with an aftermarket high gain antenna...and now to my present day convenience of pulling a phone out deep in the woods after dark to let my Honey know I got one and would be home a little later than normal!
::

 

[ashtar13]

I'm no expert here, but from what I learned, back in the old days people usually hunted their own land. If water, clothing or anything else was required, they just went home. As for treks, I thought that pack mules and/or horses were involved. They would make a spike camp, and go a little ways off to hunt, but not so far from camp to not keep an eye on.

People like myself have to drive miles from home to hunt. My cell usually stays with my car, along with backup water, powder, and the such. This is my pack mule. I try to keep only enough on me to hunt that day with. If I go on a weekender, I take a lot with me, just see my list, because I like to start at one place and end at another. It is much like backpacking. I just have a habit of taking too much.

To lighten up I think I would take some type of tarp, some water bottles, a little food, flint and steel w/ char cloth, matches, a strong knife or a belt axe w/ small knife, a basic 1st aid kit to handle bleeding ,and at least a whistle to signal for help. With some research, I think I could make this all "traditional". Water sacks instead of bottles and the such. But I would take at least enough to be as competent as someone from the past.

I've read that lead and molds were taken on treks many years ago. I wouldn't do it today, but I think that some people underestimate how much people use to carry long ago. Reading a book called "The Mountain Men", I was very surprised at all the stuff they carried. And it's not hard to find pictures of colonial period hunters carrying what looked like heavy bags or packs along with a possibles. I just feel that some modern stuff thrown in, for us not ready to risk it all, is not all that bad.

BTW, nice poetry NWTF Longhunter. :front:

 

[Hoyt]

I take a cell phone because I always hunt alone and most times over an hr. from an open road. Like Roundball I've had open heart and my old ticker is on the blink again and I'm pushing my luck right now by trying to get through one more hunting season before turning myself in for more surgery. I did this once before and ended up having a heart attack while bow hunting in Camp Blanding alone. Managed to get out and to hospital for a balloon.
This is another reason I carry cell phone..

This big diamond back almost crawled in my lap a few yrs. ago when I was spring gobbler hunting. I was sitting down leaning against a little pine calling and he came up from behind me and his head was even with my knee..when I turned my head to the right and first saw him stretched out parallel with my right leg. His big old head was up and tongue flicking as he sensed my heat. He was almost in my lap..I could have just reached over and touched his head. I have no idea how I managed to jump up and back around behind that little pine in the picture..all in one motion, and fast enough that he couldn't have struck me if he had tried. He didn't he jumped just as far and fast in the other direction and piled up in about 20" high pile of coils rared back in a 45degree angle and let loose with the rattles.
I was sitting against the little pine with the turkey vest and he was where I placed him for the picture when I first saw him.
Did him in with a stick.

I thought about letting him craw but wanted to hunt the area the next day and if he bit me with my bad arties..a cell phone really wouldn't do any good anyway.

 

[Ron LaClair]

BTW, nice poetry NWTF Longhunter.

Thanks, I've been writing poems for years, here's one of my favorites, It may not show up good enough to read.

 

[Maestro]

GPS, Cell Phones, 2-Way radios, tree stands, flashlight, handi-wipes, pee-jug, rubber gloves, etc, all of this for a "traditional hunter", HUH??? I carry a knife, fire starter, water and jerky and a piece of rope (plus my possibles). Hunted all over the USA and Europe for close to 40 years, never needed anything else. If you look around you, your environment will supply you with anything you might need in an emergency, just got to learn how to use it, just like our forefathers did when they went huntin!

:hmm:...another view could be that "Hatchet Jack" might not have died if he'd had a cellphone and GPS to call in air rescue after the Grizzly attacked him.
::

And to an extent I agree with your point about 'living off the land'...always thought it would be interesting to learn and do all that.

:RO: I'd have to agree - it's a nice thought and all.. being that PC... but I always take a cell phone (if nothing else modern) with me. Safety first. I've got a wife & kids that need me alive & healthy and I'm actually glad for some of the things the 21st century affords.

When I started hunting, I'd pack along everything but the kitchen sink... didn't take long to wise up. I go as light as possible with the bare minimum (but that does include the cell phone). :thumbsup:

BTW, Ron... you certainly are multi-talented!

 

[roundball]

Ron, this is truly excellent piece of work...I went through a spell for a couple seasons sitting on stands where I found myself coming up with a few little ditties, but nothing like yours...goofy stuff like:


In Harm

 

[Ron LaClair]

Thanks guys. I also have a bow hunting version of that poem and you can see and hear it on my web site. About 2/3rd of the way down the page, click on "THE GHOST OF ARMSTRONG CREEK: WINDOWS MOVIE FILE"

http://www.shrewbows.com/