[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.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Not gonna work #8233

grumpy wrote: It’s a favorite of folks who like tough, versatile sleds. There’s a whole subculture out there of “pulk” builders who use the Paris sled.

What is a pulk builder?

Here’s a site with good info on building pulks:

Pulks

For deer hauling, I remove my rigid poles and use a rope that is looped across my chest. It’s easier to deal with possible snags in the woods that way. I pull by the deer’s neck, with the rope also tied into the sled cross ropes. That way the deer stays firmly in the sled.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Not gonna work #7721

mhay wrote: I was posting as you were. I see your sled . It appears there is no snow . That sled does the job on typical hardwoods leaf litter ? Impressive ! And , congrats on the deer .

Understand the UPHILL hunting too.

In snow I’d be sitting on the deer riding it down over the break ridge in my favorite hunting area .:D:D Probably hit 40 MPH.

It slides very nicely on almost any surface, including leaf litter, slash, barely concealed granite (I’m in NH) and gravel. It’s a favorite of folks who like tough, versatile sleds. There’s a whole subculture out there of “pulk” builders who use the Paris sled.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Not gonna work #7703

Here’s a pic of 120 pounds, dressed, on the Paris sled after a drag of just over a mile through the New Hampshire woods. The toughest part of the trip was getting this deer up onto the tailgate. Granted, it was on woods roads for the most part, but the sled handled things very nicely during a detour around a huge deadfall. It helps to hunt uphill if possible …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Not gonna work #7697

Never, ever carry when you can drag. (It’s even better if a dog or two is available for the dragging, but I digress.)

I use the Paris Expedition sled to haul deer out of the woods. I also use this sled to haul winter camping equipment into the woods. During an ice storm I used this sled to haul wood into the house. Other people have used this sled to haul winter camping equipment to latitudes far north of 80 and to lung-sucking elevations on Denali.

Get thyself to Aubuchon Hardware, stat: Paris Expedition Sled

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: video yourself shooting #60349

R2 wrote: Didn’t realize what perfection was til I filmed me and learned quick that me it ain’t.

28″ draw, ha! Pause before release, ha! After all these years shooting I’m surprised I hit what I do. Solid bow arm. Wat dat?

Actually not that bad but you don’t wanna see:D:D.

I have greatly improved since I watched me. Nice to know what others won’t tell. Busted ego a good thing maybe.

Yeah, what he said.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: video yourself shooting #57525

I’ve done it with both a Handycam on a tripod and an iPhone stuck anywhere I can get it to stay put. I’ve also put the iPhone atop a 3D target, to put a little more pressure on me. Having the video is a great tool for improving form, IMO. Like you, I found out things about my release that I was not aware of.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Practicing the "Cold Shot" #57403

Looks like she’s expressing an opinion on your brace height.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Hunting canoe #36715

Jim,

Like some here, I grew up paddling in canoe country (might have passed Mr. Moe on a portage or two!)

Some of your neighbors over there in the Pacific have the solution figured out already:

Outriggers and the Canoeist.

In fact, it’s probably how some of them populated Oz way back when …

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Anti attack! #32059

Well, there are still a few left in the East. I found evidence today of this year’s crop just behind the caution tape I put up around my backyard range. It was quite amusing to see how Mom had stayed just outside the tape as she led Junior past.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Otzi Exhibition #30937

Something to ponder: On a planet populated by upwards of 7 billion people, the number of us who can actually relate personally to how this person found daily sustenance is quite small. And it doesn’t include anybody riding training wheels, in my book. 😀

Here’s to the memory of a fallen comrade in the brotherhood of the bow.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Treed Partridges and trail cams #30920

On this and all matters (be they related to hunting or not), my personal opinion is that the only basis for justifying any choice is personal preference. You can’t show me any choice in life that is not rooted in it, notwithstanding any protestations to the contrary from the various purveyors of various creeds through the millennia.

To wit: I will use a selfbow or a glass-laminated recurve, but I won’t use high-tech limbs or a riser that was never part of something growing out of the ground. I won’t use a trail cam to scout, but I will use a computer to scout. I own a GPS receiver and am expert with it, but I won’t use it to record the location of sign. (Stopped doing that several years ago.)

And I hunt with both traditional bows and a scoped rifle. 🙂

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Some camping advice… #20857

A person who spends half an hour making up homemade pancake mix that will still need a fresh egg when it’s done isn’t getting enough Krusteaz in her diet.

And BTW, it makes a pretty good backcountry fish batter as well.

[Charles Ek]

in reply to: Bows in the Military #13683

Not since this guy:

“On the 27th of May 1940, whilst in command of a mixed force holding the village of L’Epinette, near Bethune, during the retreat to Dunkirk, Captain Churchill, who had been slightly wounded on the 25th, became the only European for centuries who, in the action of war, had killed an enemy with the longbow. Climbing into the loft of a small granary, through a vertical opening in one wall, normally used for hauling up sacks of grain, he saw, some thirty yards away, five German soldiers sheltering behind the wall but in clear view of the granary. Quickly and quietly Captain Churchill fetched up two infantrymen and instructed them to open rapid fire on the enemy but not to pull the trigger until he had loosed his bow, took careful aim and loosed the shaft. At the same time as the bow string twanged, the air was shattered by the rapid fire of the two infantrymen. Captain Churchill was delighted to see his strike the centre German in the left of the chest and penetrate his body; the remaining Germans of the party slumped to the dusty ground… Five years before the first atomic bomb exploded and nearly 600 years after the Battle of Crécy an English archer had incongruously and briefly returned to the ancient battlefields of France.”

Longbow at Dunkirk

[Author]

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