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Hey guys – I have long despised the rapid demise of woodsmanship. It’s a theme I have heard/read from the pages of Traditional Bowhunter Magazine…from Dave Peterson, Fred Asbell, and Don Thomas especially. Anyway, I thought you all may be interested in my new blog; http://www.traditionalwoodsman.com. It’s brand new, not much content yet, but there will be good things to come. It’s not just about archery, but all archery content will be “traditional”.
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I checked out your blog and look forward to following it. I to aspire to be a good woodsman but am mediocre at best. I grew up I Maine and had a stepfather who was a naturalist. I spent a lot of time hiking around with I’m and knew the flora and fauna of that are pretty well. And then I moved to Colorado after high school and have not really learned about my new home as thoroughly as I would like. And I’ve been out here for a while.
There are many aspects/skills of woodsman ship that apply no matter where you are, but I think it starts with knowing about your surroundings.Josh
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new moon wrote: I checked out your blog and look forward to following it. I to aspire to be a good woodsman but am mediocre at best. I grew up I Maine and had a stepfather who was a naturalist. I spent a lot of time hiking around with I’m and knew the flora and fauna of that are pretty well. And then I moved to Colorado after high school and have not really learned about my new home as thoroughly as I would like. And I’ve been out here for a while.
There are many aspects/skills of woodsman ship that apply no matter where you are, but I think it starts with knowing about your surroundings.Josh
Thanks Josh!
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But Jim Beam, good as it tastes, is poison insofar as hangovers. That’s because it hasn’t been filtered for conjuners, toxic byproducts of distillation. Pay a little more for, say, Jack Daniels or my favorite working-mans bourbon, George Dickel, and you’ll save a lot of headaches. Or go Irish, as per Tullamore Dew or Bushmills. A topic I know all too well. 😳
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Dickel is darn good for the price. Buffalo Trace is one of my current faves. It blows Maker’s out of the water for pretty much the same price, imo. When I want to splurge, I’ll take Woodford, and when someone else is buying, it’s Blanton’s.
Great idea for a blog – curious to watch this one develop.
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There is an artesian well in Norway Michigan….I may have this wrong, but the water comes from 1800 feet down, I think. Regardless of the accuracy of that depth, the water i the most pure H20 we have ever tasted. We always stop and get 10 gallons in our jugs marked “for whiskey only” on our way into Shrew Haven. One year LaClair and I pulled up, and I blundered while opening the door, and dropped a grocery bag containing 2 bottles of bourbon and a bottle of Jameson Irish Whiskey. The bourbon broke, the Jameson was fine. Coincidence? I think not. 😆
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I have to agree with you there, Roger!
Be careful now our Web Moderator is partial to Tullamore Dew! 😀 At least that’s what he takes on his antelope hunts with stick & string. (Trying to keep this Traditional Bowhunting oriented or risk getting pulled!). 😆
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Well I mostly agree with all your boozy suggestions, except I’ve never had the op to try several of the high-end names mentioned here. And I have to agree with Homer re Beam, from painful personal experience back in my ragged youth.
Now back on topic: It seems clear that one distinct marker between trad bowhunters and the hi-techies, is that we cherish and want to maintain traditional woodsmanship skills, while they mean nothing to the “get ‘er done asap” modern crowd. They are out to kill, while we are out to embrace the fullest possible hunting experience and the more we do for ourselves using the least possible technology, the happier we are. I don’t resent “modern” hunters so long as they are ethical and fair chase. I mostly just feel sorry for them because they’re missing the heart of the matter. To use a couple of slightly risque analogies and risk getting edited (indeed, I too am moderated and that’s a good thing):
“A young man fears that if he doesn’t hurry, he will miss out on something. An older man knows that to go too fast can lead to missing out on everything.”
“An old bull and a young bull are standing in the pasture when a group of heiffers appears at the far end of the field. The young bulls says ‘Let’s run over there and make love to one of them.’ The old bull responds, ‘Let’s walk over there and make love to all of them.'”
Or, “Take time to smell the roses … especially if you’ve spilled Tullamore Dew on them. 😛
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Dave.. I agree with everything you said. I really think that the modern techies do not feel they are short cutting anything, which is really the sad part, because without modern gadgetry – they are literally lost and helpless babes in the woods. It amazes me.. and I am not that old.. (well certainly younger than some of you!). But I still get the question at 3D Shoots, “Can you hunt with that?”.
Many have not been down the long and winding road in the wood. Because technology has provided all the short cuts before they even started. Technology may pre-empt the skill, but the skill is never truly lost, only masked for those who do not understand.
I had a Compound friend of mine who spent a week in the allegheny mountains with me a few years ago. He couldn’t wait to take out his new GPS Device Which after five hours in the woods only told him.. he’s lost in the middle of friggin nowhere? I found him and all I used was the sun and a compass.
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Great question, Josh. My list includes basic hunting skills — stalking, ambush, scent and sound control, etc. — knowing how to field dress and later butcher the animals we kill, map and compass reading, knife sharpening, firemaking under challenging circumstances, backcountry sanitation, tracking and reading sign, survival skills — emergency water purification, wild foods, emergency firebuilding, emergency shelter construction — backpacking skills, and many more. Not to say that we all must know all these things to be woodsmen, but rather that we strive to learn when we can rather than dodging via technology. Like so many things in life I think being a woodsman is as much attitude as action. For starters.
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It looks like I missed the good part about booze…..
Homer layed out a great list.The skills you need the most are the ones you use wether it’s be because you have too or you want too. The most important thing is being willing to pass the skills knowledge on.
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Along with all those wonderful skills. We all have to realize that the backcountry and / or the back 40 is bigger than you or I. Not being able to do something like hike 10 miles in a day doesn’t make anyone less of a man or a woman. It is not about competition. It is about wisdom and knowing the signs.
Of all the skills survival is the most important. Orienteering, map reading and using a compass. How to make a fire, dressing in layers, understanding hypothermia and the warniong signs, or for that matter heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
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We tend to focus on the ‘technical’ skills, but I think that continual awareness and observation, with all the senses, is the foundation of all backcountry skill, and often doesn’t get emphasized enough.
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Woodsmanship equals all the skills, nature-knowledge and attitudes I learned back in the Boy Scouts. But that was long ago and “country,” with scout leaders who mostly had been farm boys and served in WWII and/or Korea. It was so thorough that when I went into the Marines, even though I was a skinny weakling, I had major advantages at the rifle and pistol ranges, map and compass reading, camping, survival, and more, all learned through years in the Boy Scouts and Explorers. I worry that today, with the lack of highly qualified leaders, it ain’t what it used to be, at least not in the big cities. It’s like a major problem recruiting young people to hunting — where opportunity to hunt, fish, camp and hike used to be just a short bike ride away mid-century, now it’s a major and expensive travel proposition for most. It’s like a narrowing funnel, this gradually decreasing knowlege or and interest in wildness and woodsmanship among adults, and shrinking with every generation. I know there are exceptions and more power to them. dave
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Dave,
Interesting that you brought up Scouting. I went through the rank, Cubs through Eagle, and it was a great experience for me. Now, I’m passing it along to my son and daughter. I just took a leader position in my son’s cub den and I know it’s going to be a challenge. We live in a rural/suburban area west of NYC known as the Poconos. Those of us locals often refer to it as the sixth borough of NY. We’re lucky to has some woods here and some beautiful parks.
The first challenge is for me to stay organized to keep it all together. The second challenge just might be keeping the boys focused on getting muddy rather than plugged in. The word woodsmanship is not found in any official Scout motto or creed, but it’ll be lighting the way for me in the new adventure. I appreciate all the insights I find in these forums. Forever a student. peace, dwc -
DCW — As Dave suggests, we need more qualified and enthusiastic mentors for our youngsters, and the Scouts, when properly led, is the next best thing a boy can find to having his own outdoor family. You’ll do great, I’m sure, and thanks for taking it on. The Scouts were significant in my life as well. Homer
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Homer,
Thanks for your thoughts and encouragement. Life can be complicated, but the balance is so often found in the trees and streams. When my kids are bouncing off the walls, even a short trip out through the woods brings them back to Earth.
Scouting faces many challenges, not the least is the competition for a boy’s time. School work, sports, not to mention time spent on a computer, are all things that compete with Scouting. Let’s hope we can keep it real and that will hold a great enough interest to keep the boys on track.
Thanks, dwc -
I hear trappers make the best woodsmen/women 8)
successful ones anyways 😀
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trapperDave wrote: I hear trappers make the best woodsmen/women 8)
successful ones anyways 😀
I would agree. My friend Ron LaClair has taught me more about pure woodsmanship than anyone, and he relates it all to his avid trapping days. He would take a month off of “real” work and spend the entire time in the bckwoods after fox, coon, muskrats…I’m telling ya, a few bowseasons roaming the woods with Ron has been a real “schooling”.
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For those here who haven’t seen Ron LaClair’s video of shooting half-dollars out of the air, whap, whap, whap, faster than I can breathe, it’s an awe-inspiring and humbling event. Google him by name or go to the Shrew site, then follow tabs to videos. Fun to see no matter what bows you shoot. I could shoot a hundred arrows and not make a single hit. Geeze …:roll:
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rnorris wrote: [quote=trapperDave]I hear trappers make the best woodsmen/women 8)
successful ones anyways 😀
I would agree. My friend Ron LaClair has taught me more about pure woodsmanship than anyone, and he relates it all to his avid trapping days. He would take a month off of “real” work and spend the entire time in the bckwoods after fox, coon, muskrats…I’m telling ya, a few bowseasons roaming the woods with Ron has been a real “schooling”.
my wife finally broke me of that. I worked constructio for years as was known to quit many a job during October and November to pursue whitetails, beaver, fox and coon. Id work part time at the local furbuyer when the catch was runnin low. Turned it into a bonafide animal Damage Control business for a few years till the economy and insurance costs drove me to the factory I work in now. -
:)Not enough can be said about how important woodsmanship is.My dad started my brother and I with archery at an early age, but the divorce of my parents of my parents at the early age eight left me without a mentor. We continued to hunt and fish as we were brought up by grandparents,but my Pap worked hard all his life in the steel mill and only had an occasional break to be with his grandsons.
My skills developed over the years,but never really blossemed until I fell in with other traditional bowhunters. Just says something about the traditional way.:) -
Seconding SteveMcD’s Templeton Rye…..great for a manhattan or just over ice…
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David Petersen wrote: For those here who haven’t seen Ron LaClair’s video of shooting half-dollars out of the air, whap, whap, whap, faster than I can breath, it’s an awe-inspiring and humbling event. Google him by name or go to the Shrew site, then follow tabs to videos. Fun to see no matter what bows you shoot. I could shoot a hundred arrows and not make a single hit. Geeze …:roll:
Tell me about it….I go long stretches thinking I’m a pretty good shooter, and then the Old Timer schools me.Ron is left handed, and he shoots my bows right handed as well as I do…
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Smithhammer wrote: We tend to focus on the ‘technical’ skills, but I think that continual awareness and observation, with all the senses, is the foundation of all backcountry skill, and often doesn’t get emphasized enough.
Yep…aka ‘curiosity and patience’..what is that critter over there and why does that plant only grow there? That along with the tough to learn skill of sitting still and quiet, just immersing yourself in all that is going around you in nature.
And at days end, a small glass of Drambouie as you reflect on what you’ve learned!
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