Day Trip with Steak Lunch

I took the day off the spend some time in the woods and cook a steak for lunch.  I found a nice spot which is somewhat clear and started setting up camp.

I started by making a little fire ring and made a fire.  I needed to get some coals started in preparation for a steak lunch.

The weather started to get a little questionable so I put up a tarp in case it rained.

Made a little tripod for the fire area but did not use it today.

And steak!

Experiments with Different Natural Tenders

Today I experimented with five different types of tender which are available on my property to see what works the best for starting a fire.  I'll put the in order of what worked the best to what to the most effort to light.

By far the easiest to light was some fat wood curls.  This took almost no effort as expected.

Next was some dry grass which I pulled apart and rubbed between my hands to get it nice and fluffy to catch a spark.

The next option was bark from a Juniper that I rubbed back and forth in my hands until adequately broken up and somewhat fluffy.  It started after a few tries but was not the easiest of the items I tried.

I also tried just simple curls made from a Cedar Elm and they lit rather easily.  The thinner the curls the better.

Last, I was able to light some pine needles.  I cut and scrapped these with my knife to get them to catch a spark.  I thought they might light easier but they actually took a little work.

Bark River Knife Set - North Country EDC &Featherweight Fox River

This set of Bark River knives were purchased along with a dual knife sheath for hunting.  The smaller of the two knives is a Featherweight Fox River and works exceptionally well for cleaning a deer.  The slightly larger of the two is a North Country EDC which was selected for skinning deer.

The knives are exceptionally nice.  They are both first production knives.  At this point they have only been used to process one deer.  The downside I noticed then was that the handles would get slippery with blood.  

Bark River North Country
Overall Length: 7.775
Blade Length: 3.5
Blade Thickness: .156
Steel: A2

Bark River Featherweight Fox River
Overall Length: 7.125
Blade Length: 3.125
Blade Thickness: .093

Steel: Elmax

Hunting Review - 2017

On Labor Day, I setup my feeders and cameras again this year.  

I managed to catch a picture of a 10 point standing a little back from the feeder.  He was only in this single picture.  The camera took pictures from the beginning of September to September 23rd when it ran out of batteries.

I also caught the following 12 point in a few pictures but he was only at the feeder for a single day.  

I swapped camera cards and batteries on the weekend of October 14th.  When I retrieved the cards the first weekend of the hunting season, I had no new pictures of either the 10 or 12 point.  I then began to focus on this 8 point which was the largest of those I found regularly visiting the feeder.

I hunted an extended weekend at the lease with plans of shooting the eight point but I never saw him.  I actually did not seem him as much on the game camera after it was swapped out on October 14th.  

I decided to hunt with my son the next weekend (November 11th) to see if we could get his first buck.  I kept my eyes out for the large 8 point but did not see him.  Additionally, we checked the camera and he had not been to the feeder in the last week either.  

Without the option of shooting something I felt would be memorable, I decided to also take my wife and help her to shoot her first deer.  We managed to shoot her first deer the weekend after Thanksgiving.

I let the game camera run the rest of the year and did not see the larger 8, 10, or 12 point.  

DPMS Oracle AR-10 Build (Part 2) - Hand Guard Weigh-In

I've purchased a Diamondhead VRS-T hand guard for the AR10 along with a low profile gas block.  The stock pieces are of such poor quality they made the firearm look and feel cheap.  I selected Diamondhead as I have a similar hand guard on my AR15 and love it.

I removed the front components which are being replaced by the Diamondhead hand guard and slow profile gas block.  These parts weighed exactly 13.3 ounces.  

I weighed the new Diamondhead parts and they collectively weigh 19.3 ounces which is obviously 6 ounces more than the stock hand guard.  I knew it would be close and expected it might weigh more.  My goal was to decrease weight but this was an area in which I was willing to make a consolation.

The new gas block did not come with a roll pin for installation so I will need to pick one up in the next few days.  

Ben Akin Wapiti

This Wapiti design knife was produced by Ben Akin.  It was designed as a hunting knife which was also capable for camping chores.  The blade is 5" in length with a drop point design.  The spine is ground at a 90 degree angle for scraping ferro rods or hides.

The knife is exceptionally well balanced with the balance point being about where you second finger is at on the handle.  This makes the knife feel as if it weighs almost nothing despite being 9 3/4" in length.  This also ensures there is good control of the blade without any fatigue from use.

The blade itself is made from 01 tool steel which has been heat treated and oil quenched.  The blade them received a double temper cycle to improve toughness.  The flat grind makes the edge exceptional at cutting.  

The handle is made from bocote with black g10 liners and pins.  The handle is bonded together with Acraglas.  

I obtained this knife through a trade using an online forum.  When the knife arrived, it did not have the appearance of being maintained very often.  I spent some time cleaning up the flat edges with some 800 grit sand paper and then used a strop to clean it further and then perfect the edge.  A little Obenhauf's on the handle and sheath fixed them up to what is seen above from the starting point below.

Restoring Grandad's Bucheimer Holster

Before my granddad passed away, I purchased both his shotgun and revolver from him.  The revolver came with a Bucheimer AL-3 holster.  The holster has seen quite a bit of use over the years and is very worn is spots.  The leather is also rather dry and brittle in locations.  I decided I'd clean it up a bit today.

I cleaned up the holster with some water and a towel.  I then coated it with Fiebing's dark brown leather dye and then with some Obenauf's leather preservative.  The sheath has a much more consistent color now.  The Obenauf's helped the leather condition some but it still rather brittle in spots and the stitching has come loose but perhaps the leather will improve if I continue to treat it.