Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Primitive Skills

BTW,as long as you got the neurons firing, think about a shelter built over a hammock between two trees.

It comes in handy.

So why would you stay out in the weather and suffer unnecessarily?

These old skills are very cool but also a lot of fun. When my wife and I are on our frequent roadtrips and hunting/fishing trips we will use really bad weather days to see how we would do if broken down in a remote area. Sometimes we use only what is in the truck. Sometimes only what is in our packs. I have found this keeps us honest when making our preps. Something as basic as a small lightweight tarp can be a gamechanger. Trying to make a fire during a pouring Nov. rain in the forests of Idaho w/ a firesteel will inform you as to the importance of prepacked tinder.

I recently watched a video of Dave Canterbury testing an axe. He did everything from cutting down a tree to shaving tinder from the log. Neat stuff, thanks to all for the new sources to investigate.

mike r

I've been flintknapping since 1996, and have gotten serious about it in the past 7 years. Been building and hunting with selfbows since then also.

Both have been a serious addiction, especially the flintknapping. I love working local cherts like Ft. Payne and it's variant Buffalo River. Love working Dover chert also. My cousin and I just got back from a rock run out to Craig Ratzat's Keokuk quarry in Quawpaw Oklahoma a couple of weeks ago.

Gathering materials like bow wood and chert is almost as much fun as making weapons from them.

As a teenager, I about wore out the "Foxfire" series of books at the local library. I did all kinds of stuff shown in them, and especially enjoyed the chapters on snares, traps, tanning, etc. You've gotten me interested into seeing if I can find a set of them..........

Do any of you guys dabble in this sort of thing?

You know, like flint-napping, shelter building, hide tanning, making cordage or whatnot?

I'm starting to take an interest in these old skills for no other reason than they fascinate me.

It's kind of amazing what Indians could accomplish with a rock.

HAJ, be careful. A group of real users on this site tweaked my interest in axes and their application. It is expensive but I am proud to say I still have all my fingers and toes. I have been working to improve my survival skills all my life but still feel constantly challenged and humbled. I am just starting to learn how to fish, this schidt can be hard, and expensive. Have fun!

mike r

HugAJackass, a good book on knapping that has helped me when I was having some problems understanding what I was doing wrong is The Art of Flint Knapping by D C Waldorf. It has some illustrations that make it easy to see what is going on and what should be going on. That doesn't mean that knapping will be easy, because it isn't. Like most skills it takes practice.

There are plenty of videos out there that show you how to do everything from making the tools to finishing up the notches without busting the point. The book will help you to make sense of what you are seeing on the videos.

Don't hesitate to give it a try.

There is a Hennessey Hammock about 5' from me as I type this...

....

Hammocks look comfy!

These old skills are very cool but also a lot of fun. When my wife and I are on our frequent roadtrips and hunting/fishing trips we will use really bad weather days to see how we would do if broken down in a remote area. Sometimes we use only what is in the truck. Sometimes only what is in our packs. I have found this keeps us honest when making our preps. Something as basic as a small lightweight tarp can be a gamechanger. Trying to make a fire during a pouring Nov. rain in the forests of Idaho w/ a firesteel will inform you as to the importance of prepacked tinder.

I recently watched a video of Dave Canterbury testing an axe. He did everything from cutting down a tree to shaving tinder from the log. Neat stuff, thanks to all for the new sources to investigate.

mike r