The Bowhiking Chronicles #050112: The Shakedown

Sheyk-doun; verb A shakedown is a period of testing or a trial journey undergone by a ship, aircraft or other craft and its crew before being declared operational. Statistically, a proportion of the components will fail after a relatively short period of use, and those that survive this period can be expected to last for [...]

The Bowhiking Chronicles #050112: The Shakedown2025-06-27T11:05:07-06:00

Glassy Eyed

From The Traditional Bowhunter's Handbook If you want to take high quality, life-like images of your trophy in the field, you ought to keep a set of taxidermy glass eyes in your hunting pack. When you get ready to shoot your photos, simply slip the glass eyes over the animal's eyes and under [...]

Glassy Eyed2025-06-25T09:18:06-06:00

Rebuilding a Target

About a month ago I went to our local archery range to find a pile of really shot-up 3-D targets in the parking area, which had been replaced with new ones

Rebuilding a Target2025-06-18T13:32:43-06:00

To Start—And Feed—A Fire

The man on the Yukon trail wasn’t worried. “Fifty degrees below zero was to him nothing more than 50 degrees below zero.” He would be at camp, with friends and a fire, by evening. Winter’s sun was elsewhere, the whiteness oddly dark. Morning wore on without marking time. The man’s spit crackled in [...]

To Start—And Feed—A Fire2025-06-13T09:00:57-06:00

Umbrella Blind

I enjoy hunting with traditional longbows, but the same issues arise every year with my usual hunting methods: tree stands, ground blinds and stalking. I don't have enough patience to sit for long hours in a tree stand; most ground blinds are not tall enough for shooting longbows; and with stalking, I've had mixed [...]

Umbrella Blind2025-06-11T09:42:30-06:00

Fumble Fingers – A Treestand Feature

Most everyone has had a case of the Fumble Fingers from time to time. Here are a few funny and frustrating fumbles by Robb Sager The Startling "Bear" I lowered the predator call from my lips while scanning the dense timber. A cool evening breeze rippled the leaves causing a sea of motion [...]

Fumble Fingers – A Treestand Feature2025-05-30T08:36:06-06:00

Plan to Stay Hydrated

We have all read articles about the importance of staying hydrated, especially in warm weather hunting. The dangers of not drinking enough water could lead to low levels of moisture and electrolytes in your system. Two things happen when you have a sudden drop in your body's moisture level: your kidneys start to [...]

Plan to Stay Hydrated2025-06-04T14:25:01-06:00

Campfire Cooking Skills

I was around 10 years old when I established some of my first campfire cooking skills. There were two distinct memories from those times which I suspect formed the basis of my campfire culinary career. The first was an early fall bowhunt for grouse in the pine sandhills a couple miles from our [...]

Campfire Cooking Skills2025-06-04T14:44:27-06:00

Natural Cover Scent for All Seasons

We all struggle to control our scent as we prepare for outings in the fall, but what about spring? Many seasoned hunters have realized that minimizing scent helps tremendously during turkey season. Why you ask? Because turkeys and deer warn each other. If a deer goes on alert with a turkey around, the [...]

Natural Cover Scent for All Seasons2025-05-28T13:25:24-06:00

Make Fire Starters with Cotton Balls and Vaseline

Have you ever been outdoors in damp or rainy weather and needed to start a fire, but had nothing dry enough to use? Here is an old trick that Scoutmasters have taught for years. Buy a bag of 100% cotton balls and a large jar of Vaseline or other petroleum jelly. Saturate the [...]

Make Fire Starters with Cotton Balls and Vaseline2025-05-21T15:31:26-06:00
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