by Woodsbum
Last week’s post drew several comments and suggestions about other types of fires that I should cover. Here is one that I have seen variations of before. It works really well in snow or conditions where you want a reflector type fire that will burn for a long time. Notice how he does a variation of the feather stick and just does small, shaved sections. I am not sure how well this will work in the PNW, but I will definitely give this layout a try.
by Woodsbum
Every once in a while I run across something that strikes me as a no brainer, but needs to be said. The H fire is one of those things.
In this video a SERE instructor goes over the H fire and how to use it. He uses a green stick to set up his canteen cup, but it can also be used for heat. The video doesn’t cover it, but if you take a few rocks and place them around your small fire they can be heated and used as everything from bed heaters to hand warmers. Back in the day, my old Boy Scout leader used to have us heat rocks with small fires to help keep us warm while we were sitting around during classes. We also used the H fire idea to hide our Sterno fires and white fuel stoves when I was in the military.
The base concept of the H fire really has multiple uses and you should keep this design in mind as a way to either hide or protect your fire as the situation dictates.
by Woodsbum
One question I get a lot is about hunting calibres for beginners. I get this question so much that I have been tempted on numerous occasions to just make a list of my personal top 5 and distribute that at my hunters education classes. Lucky for me that some guys over at Guns.com have taken it upon themselves to make their own list.
****************************************************************************
While hard, long and flat rounds like the .30-06 and .308 appear to dominate the North American hunting rifle scene (and even the popular .223 is making a name for itself as a surprisingly capable deer round) these cartridges are not really the best choice for someone who has never stalked whitetails before, let alone shot a gun. What should a fledgling deer hunter look for in a starter rifle? A caliber that has proven itself capable of getting the job done, a reputation for at least ‘minute of deer’ accuracy but also manageable recoil that won’t send a rookie running back to the cabin with a sore shoulder.
There are actually quite a few choices out there with such a proven history (.270 Winchester for instance), but here are my top five:
Many hunters, including myself, started their hunting career with a .30-30 and all you need is a random sample of local hunters to realize that this over 100-year old round remains one of the best and most loved deer calibers in the woods. While not a long range affair (past 200 yards and you start getting into artist territory) it will bring down mobile venison and anything smaller at your standard distances.
The 170-grain bullet was designed for the brush and, boasting low recoil in small carbines like the Winchester 94 or Marlin 336, it is compact and well suited for a new shooter stalking denser forest. If the lever action isn’t your style, H&R chambers their Handi Rifle in .30-30 that can be used either open or with a scope mounted.
The .243 Winchester came out in 1955 as a necked down .308. It was an instant hit and remains so today, especially with folks conscious about meat preservation. With a 100 grain bullet pushing 2,900 fps the .243 quickly gained a reputation for being a lightweight deer round. A little light for black bear, it does well on whitetails and pronghorn antelope out to 200-300 yards and it does it without all heavier recoil that comes with larger rounds—in fact it’s pretty much a perfect compromise between zip and kick.
I know two women who hunt exclusively with the .243 and both have used them for years and shoot quite well with them. The fact that nearly every manufacturer in the business chambers either a bolt-action or a semi-auto rifle in .243 Winchester is a testament to this rounds popularity.
When I was younger, a friend of mine was dating a woman who hunted with nothing other than a Ruger .44 Magnum semi auto rifle. According to her, it was the only rifle she was ever comfortable with and she killed many deer with it. While certainly not a beginner’s handgun round, even in a rifle, the .44 Magnum is well suited to new shooters who have never had experience with a larger caliber but would like an introduction.
At close ranges of a 100 yards or less, a 200 or 240 grain bullet will take down any white tail deer or a black bear with little effort as long as the shooter does their part and puts the bullet through vitals. Recoil is low in rifles and there is very little muzzle blast, which is ideal for new shooters while the pistol caliber often means more rounds in the tube. For someone looking to use a .44 Magnum rifle, Henry Arms, Marlin, Rossi, all make lever action rifles and H&R chambers their Handi Rifle in this hard hitter and comes ready for a scope to be mounted right on top.
While not quite as popular as the .243 Winchester, the .257 Roberts has certainly earned its stripes over the years. Ned Roberts took the 7x 57mm case and necked it down to .25 caliber to make one of the best .25 caliber cartridges ever designed. Known to most simply as ‘the Bob’ the .257 Roberts is in the same league as the .270 and is better in my opinion than any of the 6mm rounds out there.
The most common load encountered is the 117-grain bullet, which averages about 2,800 fps. While infamously loved by many but never as widely seen other calibers, Ruger and a few others chamber rifles in .257 Roberts. You can also usually find a used Remington on the shelves just waiting to be snatched up, sometimes for bargain prices.
Another round from days gone by is the venerable .35 Remington. Originally chambered for the Remington Model 8 semi auto rifle in 1908 it has found its way into lever action rifles and is still one of the best close range deer cartridges for brush hunting.
You will most commonly encounter the .35 Remington in Marlin 336s and its 200 grain bullet moving at 2,000 fps gives it a clear edge over the .30-30 in performance. While more powerful than the .30-30, the recoil of the .35 Remington is still less than that of the .30-06 and 7mm Magnum rounds. In rifles like the Marlin 336 you still have a compact rifle and, chambered in .35 Remington, you will have a bruiser on deer but not bruises on your shoulder.
***************************************************************************
I actually grew up using the 30-30 and the 6mm Remington as my first calibres for hunting. They both worked great for me and were surprisingly easy on my shoulder as a new hunter. The 6mm is about the same as the .243 in case you didn’t know. The 6mm is faster and is actually close to the .244 Remington, but you get the idea.
Of these calibres listed I was surprised by, but ultimately agree with, the .44 mag as a rifle calibre. As years have gone by I have thought quite a bit about getting a lever action rifle in .44 mag for new hunters and deer hunting out of a tree stand. This configuration seems like it would fit perfectly between the bow hunting ranges and most rifle ranges: kind of that tree stand range mentioned earlier.
Although I have numerous firearms, I only have one rifle that could be a beginner calibre. This is something that I will have to evaluate myself since I am wanting to get my wife into hunting and high power shooting.
As for the rest of this article’s top 5, I would agree that they are great beginner rounds. The fact that the .270 wasn’t included does make me thing, however. Finding rifles that shoot the .257 Roberts is not really going to be an easy task. Maybe they included it because there might be a few of these hanging out in grandpa’s closet? I am also not that sure how many .35 Remingtons I have seen sitting on gun shelves in the last 20 years, but I could probably count them all on one hand.
It is not going to be too long before I have to start thinking about what rifle I want to get my wife to start shooting long range with. Having this list as a starting point will help me out, though. Hopefully, it will help you as well.
by Woodsbum
Great news!!! We have made a couple prototypes and now have a solid design for our AOD Wilderness Hoodies and AOD Wilderness Shirts.
To help us get a good perspective on functionality and fit we made several for testing. This guy got one as a prize at a bushcraft outing this last weekend.
Wilderness Hoodie
He earned it after getting embers from all 7 different wood combination primitive fire kits that people had made and brought with them to the gathering. The hoodie is 80/20 wool blend and this particular one is unlined. This kangaroo pocket has a large zipper pocket inside to hold keys, firesteel, etc. Future AOD Wilderness Hoodies will have a little different pocket design made of lined canvas. The canvas pockets will have flap pockets on the outside with D-rings to attached lanyards to.
The flap of fabric you can see at the neck is designed to either fold down completely, attach 1/2 way up the hood to cover the neck, or can attach all the way up to turn into a face mask/hood combination.
All seams are flat sewn for comfort and each edge is bar tacked for strength. There are slits of the side to keep movement from being restricted while active.
As far as warmth and comfort, wool blend was chosen for both the Wilderness Hoodie and Wilderness Shirt. I wore mine to sleep in with only a summer overquilt in temperatures down to the mid 40’s and was perfectly comfortable. My shirt is flannel lined where as this particular hoodie is not lined at all. Lined or unlined will be an option as these beauties are made.
Final run of both hoodies and shirts will have the canvas pockets and an Age of Decadence patch sewn on the front to give it some style!
I will take some pictures of my AOD Wilderness Shirt this week to show you how the long, lined version looks and give a report.
by Woodsbum
Today I decided that a great edible plant to cover would be the camas. The two varieties that grow here in the PNW are the Great Camas and Common Camas. Considering that fact that I live near the town of Camas, it actually made me happy to cover it here.
Camas around here have a blue bulb that is edible. Be careful because it is actually very similar to the Death Camases that are poisonous. The bad ones have white flowers where the edible ones have blue. They actually grow in similar areas so it would be easy to confuse the two.
The best tasting preparation for the blue camas varieties is to roast or boil the bulb slowly and then dry it. You can find the blue camas in foothill regions or on moist plains.
If you travel around the foothills of Western Washington much at all it is very common to run across the blue camas. From what I have been told the best time to harvest this plant is in the fall once the flowers have withered. The bulbs taste very similar to a sweet potato. From what I understand the bulbs can also be dried and pounded into a flour for baking.
Next time you are out in the bush here in the PNW and see some of these guys, harvest a few bulbs and try them out.
