Gear List: Woodland Deer Stalking

Last time I posted one of these Exploriment asked why I hadn't listed the gear I was to use, so here's the kit list for woodland stalking when you're the 'sport' or client. You're not likely to need a Survival Kit in the woodlands of southern England, but a first aid kit is never a bad idea, and if you do actually contact with deer, those latex disposable gloves are a must.

Annoyingly the weather has warmed up a bit in the last couple of days, but so its not really a cold-weather kit or a summer's-morn kit but somewhere in-between.

Boots: While Muckboots are ideal I've hurt my ankle so I've opted for Lundhags Ranger boots as I want a bit more support and, optimistically believe we'll be packing big beast out of the woods.

Gaiters: keep muck and water out of your boot tops. Essential.

Hat: this one has a light in it and came from a bargain supermarket. As well as its camouflaging effect a hat is essential for keeping your rounds together when emptying the rifle. You wouldn't want to drop one from the highseat.

WestWinds Arctic Smock: Windproof, amazingly breathable, waterproof enough, and as quiet as the grave.

Plus Fours: 'old's cool' I know but once you get over looking a complete dweeb [the deer dont care] these are fantastic. Get a pair you'll be surprised how utilitarian they are.

Glue: we'll come to that in a future post

Chorizio: Fatty and Spicy, just what you need to keep you going towards the end of the outing.

Double-Bastard sharp knife: I'm using my 'posh stalking knife' the Falknieven TK6

Head Torch: ZebraLight

Bushnell GPS: borrowed from HunterX

Ear Defenders: for sighting in unmoderated rifles

Binoculars: I'm loving my Eden's and warmly recommend a chest harness over a neck strap. Less than £15/$20 buys you a whole lot of comfort. Or you could make your own in an hour.

Buddhist superstitious string: cant hurt

Base layer: wicking plastic with sent suppression (actually seems to work-who knew?)

Merino wool layer X2

Neck Gaiters AKA Buffs X2: after Rifle, Glass and Knife these are pretty vital, a lot of warmth and comfort in a very small package for very little cost.

Stalking report to follow

Your pal
SBW

Merino Buff and The Antarctica Shirt Review

Det finns inget sådant som dåligt väder bara olämpligt kläder

As they say in Sweden or

"There's no such thing as bad weather - only inappropriate clothing"

To cut a short story long: Any amount of cold is tolerable (in the right gear) but even the smallest draft down my neck seems to suck the warmth from my soul. About 20 years ago when i first met MCP we worked a cycle messengers and would have to stand around in the cold wearing lycra waiting for the next job. Fortunately I know BoB (Brother of Bushwacker) a man whose had more mountain time in one winter than all the armchair warriors on the bushcraft forums have had in their lives, and at the time went by the nickname 'inspector gadget'. Some people thought he was called that because he had a lot of kit, true but not the reason, it was because he has the experience and insight to truly inspect gadgets, when he says 'Quite good, I'd have one' you know it'll out perform any claims made on the box and last three to four lifetimes of hard use, in foul weather. I have had tools that have literally collapsed under the weight of one of his sighs.

He sent me to a shop called Survival Aids in London's Euston station, where you could buy silk underwear and 'snoods'. Don't get exited ladies. These were sets of long johns and tops that seriously kept you warm while weighing nothing. The optional extra was what we now know as a Buff, but then called a snood, in navy blue silk. Boy do they work! Really NOTHING KEEPS YOU WARMER. I've had loads of different ones over the years and wouldn't think of going anywhere cold and windy without one. So after last swagmas's great gift of a Merino wool icebreaker turned out to be such a boon in the frozen north, when I saw Buffs were bringing out a Merino Buff I knew I'd have to get one - they seem a hell of a price at £21 - but i consoled myself that the Survival Aids ones were about £12 twenty years ago and took the plunge.

Basically you get a tube of fine woven Merino wool, if 'Betty Swollox' have knackered a pair of merino long johns you could just cut off a section of leg and save yourself the £21. But sitting the freezing cold wearing old underwear round your neck might not be your thing, in fact when i put it like that it's not my thing either.

One nice surprise is that they're about 1.5 X the length of a regular Buff so you and have it as hood and neck warmer simultaneously. Very good - even at over a score I'm still giving them a thumbs up - top piece of kit. If I do feel the company has a failing its that every time they send anything out to you (last bits were free so i shouldn't complain) they send you a new set of Buffs stickers -I don't need any Buff stickers - anyone can tell I'm Buff ;-) and an 'instructional DVD' which is frankly just more landfill.

They do eight different colours and I hope it's only a matter of time before they take up my suggestion and bring one out in Blaze Orange, as it would add 'arm band' and 'hat band' to the list of uses a Buff has, and as we know would be an important safety aid (and legal requirement) for hunters.

Recently I've been following a blog called Bashing Bambi - basically the adventures of an english chap who has a bit of woodland to raise pheasants on, does a fair bit of stalking, (english for deer hunting), likes military history, bad jokes and spends his weekends selling dog accessories and chronicling the sartorial crimes of the english upper classes AKA 'the Ruperts''.

At the bottom of his blog there are a couple of links to merchants he reckons have good stuff, and that's how I found Stalkersuk.com a small site where a keen stalker is selling some things he's found useful himself. At very reasonable prices.

I ordered the Antarctica Shirt in a Nomex/Merino (30%/70%) wool mix for £44 inc postage, and very good it is too. They are available in any colour you like as long as it's green and as soon as I'd unpicked the horrible logo it's a very nice lightweight outdoorsy top; long back, holes to put your thumbs through so your wrists stay warm and a stovepipe collar. The sizes come up quite large, I might even buy another in a size down. Thumbs up again.

Your Pal
The Bushwacker

BUFFS - The Review

Having run into Henry from Buffs at the start of the Mongol Rally '09, who very generously gave me and the kids some Buffs I've had the opportunity to test them afield and learn a little bit more about them.
What's a BUFF bushwacker?

A Buff is a seamless tube of very stretchy material that I would wear around my neck or stretched over my head, [yes THAT stretchy!] If you're young and hot [or in middle youth and still hot] you could also wear it as a dress or boob tube type top. Or If you're folliclly challenged [ in the common parlance - a slap-head] you could wear one as a Do-Rag.

You wouldn't be telling us about it if it didn't do something more than that, surely bushwacker?

Glad you asked, you know me so well, here's the clever bit.

Because of the way the material is knitted Buffs offer a very high grade of protection against UV light, in fact 95% which is better than many sunglasses. So when spending the day fishing, near snow covered slopes, or on the water they offer the kind of UV protection that we'd usually have to resort to environmentally questionable and expensive sun creams to obtain. They also do a range of Angler Buffs in all kinds of fish skin prints which are pretty cool.

OK so that's fishing, snow and water sports covered, anything else?

Yes, for lots of hunting applications, Rabbits, and Turkeys for instance, face camo can be a real help. Henry didn't have a any of the types of 'Camu Buffs' to hand when we met but there's a match for pretty much any pattern you might choose. Obviously my first question was 'do the dies contain optical brighteners?' i.e the chemicals in washing powders and cloth dyes that make clothes look bright, clean and vibrant to the human eye, but which literally make us GLOW to the eyes of a deer. Henry didn't know but was good enough to pass my question on to Sarah at Buffs HQ who passed word back telling me she thinks not.

Cool, so great for Summer, late Spring and early Autumn [Fall] then?

The Buff folks are keen outdoors people too and they've long stocked a Polar Buff which is basically a regular buff stitched to a fleece tube. Not bad, I wore a fleece tube while commuting by scooter all winter and it was a godsend, but the latest development is what's got me exited - the new 100% Merino Buff.

The color I want wasn't in stock yet but as soon as it arrives I'll be doing an 'unboxing' review. I'm expecting great things, as regular readers will know, after receiving that Merino Icebreaker top for swagmas last year I'm a total convert to Merino wool. Its almost water and windproof, it combines the super insulative qualities (wet or dry) of wool, with the stretchy comfort of a cotton lycra mix. It's now my default choice for all but outer wear.

Warning to potential buff owners - The Littlest Bushwacker has already had her Buff misappropriated by EX Mrs SBW who is now wearing it as an Alice band, and she would have taken Bushwacker Jnr's too if he hadn't caught her in the act. Keep 'em close or lose 'em.

More soon

Your Pal

SBW

Mongol Rally - Making Life Less Boring

A few years ago in an attempt to make life less boring some nutters set out to drive to Mongolia. Obviously they failed but it wasn't the car that let them down. Their lack of visas was all it seemed that stood in the way of an adventure that would take them across some of the worlds most demanding roads in a car costing less than £1000 with an engine of only 1200 cc. A nine year old suburban shopping cart basically.

Of course the sensible thing to do would be to go in a Landrover, but where's the fun in that?

A year and an internet campaign later 6 teams set off - london to Ulan Bator - 10,000 miles or approximately one third of the earths surface. 4 of them made it. Every year a few more make the start and the number finishing goes up too.

The rules are hilariously simple.

Totally unsupported. Totally. The Adventureists will help you get started, get your papers in order but from the moment you leave it's all on you. here's the warning they issue to potential entrants

These adventures are genuinely dangerous things to do. The website is written in a light-hearted fashion but you cannot underestimate the risks involved in undertaking this kind of adventure. Your chance of dying can be very high, some past teams have been seriously injured. These adventures are not a glorified holiday. They are an adventure and so by their very nature extremely risky. You really are on your own. If it all goes wrong, that's it, tough.

No cars over 1200cc

No cars over £1000

If its over ten years old you must bring it back.

If it's under ten years old it's auctioned off for charity in Mongolia and you fly home.

This years start was four weeks ago from Goodwood house a massive stately home in the countryside just outside london. 300 teams set off, with a further 200 from Milan[o] and Barcelona between them. The Northern Monkey, Bushwacker Jnr, The Littlest Bushwacker and myself attended on your behalf.

Lots of different motors had been chosen by the teams, The Rally's rules stipulate that a participating car must "generally be considered to be crap." this crew had gone for the Daihatsu Hijet known for being cheap as chips a chugging on for ever. A recent rule change, the Mongolian government now asks that if your conveyance is over ten years old you have the common courtesy to scrap it in your own backyard, means that some of the better old school options are no longer practical. A citroen 2CV or Diane van is easily prepped into a serious off roader and with its air cooled 600 cc engine fits the rules and is easy to fix. The car with the highest number of successful finishes is that archytypal shopping trolly the Daihatsu Charade. One, bought for £150 on e-Bay, is credited with a 20 day finish with NO BREAKDOWNS.

We met Beth and Keith from Maine calling themselves The Mainiacs. Beth had wanted to go for five years, her husband had flat out refused to go, she'd spent most of the time looking for someone crazy enough to go with her, flown to england bought and prepared the car (a 2000 Hyundai Accent) covered it in inflatable lobsters and was setting off in high spirits. Four weeks later they've finished!

You can read about their adventures here

We also ran into the most excellent Henry from the UK arm of BUFFS, who are sponsoring the event. Proving himself to be one of the good guys he gave the kids a Buff each and then as if his good-guy-ness was in any doubt,he flashed up a buff each for myself and TNM. Top Chap.

Just in case any of you were wondering what a crazy pig-dog would look like in a Buff, The Northern Monkey was on hand to settle any debate!

The application time for next years event is coming up fast , have a look here to find out more.

Your pal

The Bushwacker.