[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Rookie Mistakes #51596

Can’t remember ever making any mistakes. But this guy learned from his last year: ALWAYS bring two

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Takedown sleeve choices #51589

Thanks for the info. Two Osage staves are on their way to me, and I’ve spent the better part of the day researching sleeve construction.

I’ve pretty much settled on composite carbon and fiberglass with epoxy for the sleeve construction. I’m very familiar with epoxy from building a kayak two years ago, and I’ve found some great online resources for carbon sleeve design and construction. Once the leather grip cover is in place, ’tain’t nobody gonna know what lurks beneath when I’m shooting my “trad” bow. I’ll just have to assemble it under cover of darkness. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Field Photos #38097

Doc, go put your wallet in a safe deposit box and give the key to someone responsible. OK, now you’re ready to look at the Nikon Df camera.

BTW, it will work with your old lenses …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Deep Woods Hunt #36170

If I ever find my way out of the woods, I’ll be sure to let you know. 😀

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: a video of a "outside of the box" hunt #32412

On the subject of the video in question – Jason, I really enjoyed seeing someone else use a tactic I use, particularly with a detailed analysis of the terrain and cover included.

On the land I hunt, I have the advantage of knowing it almost as well as the deer and coyotes do. We have ever more hunting pressure in this area on publicly-accessible land as development continues and more private land is posted. I frequently “employ” other hunters as drivers without them being aware they’ve been hired for the job. 😉

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: a video of a "outside of the box" hunt #31554

The “God’s dog” phrase originated among the Navajo. They called wolves “big coyotes”.

If I lose a deer to coyotes, it’s because they are better hunters. Not because they’re “cowards” or “buzzards”. Nor do I own that deer until it is in my possession.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Yet another broadhead design to ponder – from 1000 years ago #12705

David Petersen wrote: This guy has found three of these in the same area.

Not sure what your source for this is. The hunter found just this one, according to the article. The other guy quoted is a Norwegian museum director, who describes this as the fourth arrow of its type found in Sweden.

Here’s a brief article in English from Sweden, stating two such arrows have been found near each other. There are some good pictures of arrow details:

Arrows frozen for 1,000 years found in Sweden

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: A wife's perspective #12110

I’m man enough to have sent this on to my wife, who suffers similar torment while we’re out walking the dogs. She’s not ever going to accompany me hunting, but it sounds like the two of you have pretty much the same disparity in pace in the woods that we do. Or as she says to me on a frequent basis: “Big deal. I’ve seen deer tracks before.”

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Coffee on the Rocks #36853

Some of you may be familiar with this:

Camp Coffee, by Jerry Vandiver.

“Oh, but run out of coffee … it’s the end of the trip.”

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Falcon/Hawk ID #35841

This is one of the best comparisons of the three accipter species that I’ve ever seen:

IDENTIFICATION PRIMER: Accipiters, by Michael Tove of the Carolina Bird Club.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Falcon/Hawk ID #34603

You would know the difference instantly if a Northern goshawk hit you in the back of the head, which is a not uncommon occurrence in these parts. It’s a significantly bigger bird and notorious for being a fierce defender of its nesting area.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: MREs #33331

You hate meal planning for trips because you haven’t seen a copy of NOLS Cookery yet.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Vintage pics…cool site #19499

Thanks very much for posting this. I’m going to try to identify the snowshoe hare hunters from Minnesota. I suspect they might be from the Duluth area, in which case they might have known my late father!

Lots of good stuff on other parts of that site as well – wish my understanding of French were better.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: deer bedding area #16796

Forgive me if you’ve heard me say this here before. As a former SAR dog handler, I had this advice for people:

“If you’re breathing, the dog will find you. And if you’re not breathing, the dog will find you.”

Every organism that inhales and exhales gives off a scent trail from the exhalations that can be detected by dogs,coyotes, wolves, deer, bear, elk, moose, etc. All the scent-blocking (sic) clothing and all the scent-disguising sprays in the world cannot alter this fact. Unless you can hold your breath for several hours or you hunt in a recirculating air apparatus, you WILL leave a scent trail that a deer can detect. Whether the deer will react to that is another question.

And if you should stop breathing permanently, the gases produced by decomposition of your flesh and bones are what the dog will use to find your remains …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Quality, yet affordable knife suggestions? #8831

My Norwegian and Finnish relatives will get mad at what I’m about to say, but the Swedish ones will be pleased.

Buy a Mora, as so many others have said. When you start making the big bucks after graduation, treat yourself to one of Heimo Roselli’s Finnish knives and never let it out of your sight: Roselli knives

I have one of each of the above, plus a Helle plus a Brusletto (latter two are Norwegian-made). The Helles that very recently started coming into the U.S. have handles that are inferior to mine, IMO. I’m a little nervous about what I’m seeing from this very fine knifemaker.

[Author]

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