On 2/17/2014 2:18 PM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
> In article >, George Shirley
> > wrote:
>
>> On 2/17/2014 9:58 AM, Dave Balderstone wrote:
>>> In article >, George Shirley
>>> > wrote:
>>>
>>>> Not to mention a large supply of various weapons and ammo for them,
>>>> include a few bows and many arrows. Sling shots are good for small game
>>>> and don't make a lot of noise. A large cache of Victor traps and lead
>>>> for the slings and for your ammunition, reloading equipment, steel for
>>>> arrow heads (chipping flint is a real job), stash of bow wood and arrow
>>>> shafts, wouldn't hurt to set up a small smithy.
>>>
>>> Firearms and ammo a definite. I've been considering a bow, maybe a
>>> crossbow. A fellow I work with built a powerful recurve bow out of PVC
>>> piping. Yew and Ash are more traditional. Of course, learning to fletch
>>> arrows would be a good skill too.
>>>
>>> Oh, did I mention duct tape? Lots and lots of duct tape...
>>>
>> My ancestors here in the New World made bows from Bois de Arc, aka Osage
>> Orange, native tree with inedible fruit. When I was in my early teens I
>> made lots of bows from the straight limbs or from saplings. Cut,
>> skinned, dried in the attic for about six months to a year. Really good
>> wood for bows here in the New World. River cane made excellent, easy to
>> make arrows. I used arrow heads cut out of galvanized sheet metal, easy
>> to cut and sharpen, not very heavy. Bois de Arc makes good spears and
>> quarter staffs too. Made a recurve bow once too, based on the Mongol
>> horse bows. Went to the local abattoir and pulled a lot of cow horn out
>> of the discard pile and went from there. Took a good while to do it
>> right and, since I didn't have a horse at the time I sold it.
>
> I'm WAY too far north for Bois de Arc, alas. Ash, oak, and maple are
> fairly common here, maple (box elder) by far the most common. I'm not
> sure what would be suitable for arrows... Lots of willow but it may not
> be stiff enough at the diameter I'd want.
Ash should work pretty good. You can always dry and laminate the various
woods, with the harder woods in the middle. Not difficult to do, my
eleven year old great grandson has some laminate bow wood we cut
together drying in the attic of his home.
>
> Back to preserving, my elk hunt is on for later this week, and we hope
> to get some boar as well. Bacon, ham and smoked chops from the boar,
> hopefully, and as for the elk... sausage, jerky, and lots vacuum sealed
> and into the freezer.
We eat a lot of pork/venison sausage links that we smoke a good bit. We
still put them in the freezer. Very tasty depending on how you season
it. I can't handle it with a lot of cayenne in it anymore but still
tasty with sage and/or seasonings.
>
> My tummy is growling in anticipation. Wish I didn't have to drive 5
> hours to get to the hunt zone, though. My Envoy doesn't get the best
> mileage towing my trailer...
>
> djb
>
I don't know of anything that gets good gas mileage towing a trailer.
It's the sacrifice to the Gods of the Woods hunters and fishermen make.

George