Little tips that can make a big difference?

[ftrovato]

No cotton underwear. Chaffing Chaffing Chaffing!

 

[ftrovato]

Bag balm is better for cheeks and noses and better than chapstick on the lips too. Is also great to help heal small abrasions or chaffing you might get. I alway carry a small tin of it. When bird hunting I carry a large tin as the dogs feet get treated with it every morning and night.

I'm a big fan of bag balm and I like your recommendation! More uses than I've ever thought of....great stuff.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Re: gators
If I’m on foot I wear gators and steel cap boots, but living here, everything is trying to kill you, even if it can’t, it will still try.
And the I use pull throughs that I’ve sprayed with G96 before putting them in a small screw top container
Gumpy

 

[Altitude sickness]

Pilar, I have used that knot also. It’s a favorite with hard core hikers and scramblers. To be a proper knot. It’s got to be easily untied. Having to use a rope wrench because you tied a mess isn’t a knot.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Pilar, I have used that knot also. It’s a favorite with hard core hikers and scramblers. To be a proper knot. It’s got to be easily untied. Having to use a rope wrench because you tied a mess isn’t a knot.

It's a balancing act. Easily untied can mean easily comes untied. Double bow knot is not easily untied but I have found for my style of hunting (i.e. on the move all day long in rugged conditions) it does untie itself with annoying frequency, especially with "standard" boot laces. I have tried surgeon's knot + bow knot and find that combination does not hold up any better than regular bow knot. My final knot is essentially a surgeon's bow knot bringing the bow twice through the loop rather than just once. It's not quick to untie but why should that be important? I don't need to untie until the end of the day. Then I've got plenty of time to fiddle with untying. In the middle of hunting in subzero weather, retying a knot, especially with old arthritic fingers, can be frustrating.

Waxed nylon braided laces are the best for durability and holding a knot ... if you can find them. The wax makes them "sticky" and great for knots.

 

[Sika98k]

I use bore snake to clean my rifles ... but not the way most do.
1) Drop the brass end through open chamber.
View attachment 655785
2) Step on it and lift the rifle to start pulling bore snake through.
View attachment 655788
3) Once looped end reaches near the chamber, place rag soaked in solvent through the loop.
View attachment 655789
4) Continue stepping on the snake and lifting the rifle until the rag is pulled through. The tighter the rag fits in the bore, the better it will clean it. With this method I can use 30 caliber bore snake to very effectively clean my 404 Jeffery's .423 caliber bore.

I thought we all did it something like that. Personally I’ve given up on boresnakes. A good clean with Thorroclean every 40-50 rounds does a great job.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

On the subject of boots, here's what I built to dry mine out. ABS plastic sewer pipe, 9"x10" plywood, and cheap hair dryer from Walmart. It all fits in a daypack I bought for a couple of bucks at Salvation Army Store. This gets tossed in the cartop carrier on my hunting trips. Pretty much indestructible and dirt cheap. The sewer pipe is screwed to the plywood base from underside. Only drawback is I can only use the low heat setting for hair dryer. High is too hot. It warps the sewer pipe (and I doubt it does the boots much good). I also have a longer piece of pipe for drying out my waterfowl soft case. I can close off one side with a short piece of pipe that's capped.