I took a 4 day run out to the ranch this week. I had three stated goals for the trip… 1) arrow a pig in the dark, 2) arrow a deer in the light, and 3) start a fire with sticks, string, and a knife.
Without the companionship of KC, I think I might have gone stir crazy. Here we are taking a break before coming home this evening.
It rained the first two days I was out there. This made finding dry tinder for my stick and string fire next to impossible. I ended up using shavings from a mesquite log for my tinder. Hindsight, it might not have been a good choice.
I assembled a bow from a live catclaw bush and a length of nylon rope. I initially thought the string should be tight, like an archery bow. As the exercise proceeded, I found that a slightly loose bow was easier to use. For the fire stick, I selected a straight section of a dead catclaw bush, cutting off the claws (on both sticks) to prevent injury and snagging on the bowstring. For the fire plank, I used a section of split mesquite that was laying around the campsite.
Using the knife, I sharpened the bottom of the firestick, smoothed the top of it, and carved out a receiving notch in the fire plank. A second mesquite log was carved out to be used as a bearing surface for the top of the firestick. I later found this bearing to be too rough and replaced it with the top of a coke bottle into which I fitted a small section of an aluminum can for a smooth, hard surface that would not melt from the friction.
Here is what I had to work with…
I had to work at it for a few minutes before I got the hang of spinning the firestick without knotting up the bowstring. There is definitely a technique to it.
I got the firestick and the mesquite to smoke, allowing the embers to fall off onto my tinder. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the tinder to flame up. The firestick burned out the fireplank hole until the point of the stick began dragging on the tinder board.
Maybe next time, I’ll get some dry tinder and a flame.
On my way to the Gorilla treestand this morning, I saw my only deer of the week. Unfortunately, it was an hour before sunrise and all I could see at about 75 yards were two green eyes reflecting from my hatlight. There were no deer arrowed this trip.
Last night, I went out to the Icebox tripod about an hour and a half before last light. I was all set up with a red light mounted on my stabilizer, my night sights, and my homemade lighted nocks. I set up the movie camera just in case the pigs showed up early. Luck was with me. A group of four or five showed up at sunset and proceeded to gorge themselves with corn. After three minutes of adrenaline pumping through my heart, I decided I could take no more. I let loose the lighted nock arrow and caught the whole thing on video. The arrow was a clean pass-through, entering just below center elevation on the pig and passing down through the vitals. The pig ran off and expired in the brush, about 60 yards from the point of impact. Unfortunately, my home computer is down and I can’t transfer the movie. I’ll get it posted once the machine comes back to life.
Knowing that rule number 1 requires a picture for proof, I waited overnight and then through two hours of high humidity (and wet electronics) to get the following still photo this morning. I’m not real good at estimating weight, but I measured from the snout, along the top of the back, to the base of the tail. This pig measured 46 inches by that standard.
Without the companionship of KC, I think I might have gone stir crazy. Here we are taking a break before coming home this evening.
It rained the first two days I was out there. This made finding dry tinder for my stick and string fire next to impossible. I ended up using shavings from a mesquite log for my tinder. Hindsight, it might not have been a good choice.
I assembled a bow from a live catclaw bush and a length of nylon rope. I initially thought the string should be tight, like an archery bow. As the exercise proceeded, I found that a slightly loose bow was easier to use. For the fire stick, I selected a straight section of a dead catclaw bush, cutting off the claws (on both sticks) to prevent injury and snagging on the bowstring. For the fire plank, I used a section of split mesquite that was laying around the campsite.
Using the knife, I sharpened the bottom of the firestick, smoothed the top of it, and carved out a receiving notch in the fire plank. A second mesquite log was carved out to be used as a bearing surface for the top of the firestick. I later found this bearing to be too rough and replaced it with the top of a coke bottle into which I fitted a small section of an aluminum can for a smooth, hard surface that would not melt from the friction.
Here is what I had to work with…
I had to work at it for a few minutes before I got the hang of spinning the firestick without knotting up the bowstring. There is definitely a technique to it.
I got the firestick and the mesquite to smoke, allowing the embers to fall off onto my tinder. Unfortunately, I was unable to get the tinder to flame up. The firestick burned out the fireplank hole until the point of the stick began dragging on the tinder board.
Maybe next time, I’ll get some dry tinder and a flame.
On my way to the Gorilla treestand this morning, I saw my only deer of the week. Unfortunately, it was an hour before sunrise and all I could see at about 75 yards were two green eyes reflecting from my hatlight. There were no deer arrowed this trip.
Last night, I went out to the Icebox tripod about an hour and a half before last light. I was all set up with a red light mounted on my stabilizer, my night sights, and my homemade lighted nocks. I set up the movie camera just in case the pigs showed up early. Luck was with me. A group of four or five showed up at sunset and proceeded to gorge themselves with corn. After three minutes of adrenaline pumping through my heart, I decided I could take no more. I let loose the lighted nock arrow and caught the whole thing on video. The arrow was a clean pass-through, entering just below center elevation on the pig and passing down through the vitals. The pig ran off and expired in the brush, about 60 yards from the point of impact. Unfortunately, my home computer is down and I can’t transfer the movie. I’ll get it posted once the machine comes back to life.
Knowing that rule number 1 requires a picture for proof, I waited overnight and then through two hours of high humidity (and wet electronics) to get the following still photo this morning. I’m not real good at estimating weight, but I measured from the snout, along the top of the back, to the base of the tail. This pig measured 46 inches by that standard.
