Conversations In Gun Shops Pt2

Myself and the BLF (bloody lady foreigner) have been in spain for the past few days visiting her folks for Navidad and Año Nuevo. It's been a lot of fun being brand-new, stuffing my face with all kinds of delicious pork products and trying to learn to speak Spanish. There hangs a tale: I've been learning my Spanish from BLF (bloody lady foreigner), which has weighted my vocabulary in 'certain directions' as she swears for the Spanish national team.

One afternoon having eaten all kinds of wonderful things she suggests we walk off a few calories with a visit to the Armeria. I'm fascinated by gun shops and the strange nonsense you hear from characters on both sides of the counter. Gun shops are also the first port of call to learn about the local hunting culture, and as so much about hunting is numerical or made up of familier concepts, it could also be the chance to practice my Spanish, so we wander down there.

Gun Shops the world over all follow certain themes, and they are also a window into the local conditions and traditions. In Alicante the clothes are a bit lighter for the rainless plains of Spain, the locals favor a lightweight boot over our warm and waterproof boots but mostly its the same kind of stuff you'd see in your local gun shop from London to Loudon county.

Unlike the green north this Spain is a land of long dry plains and dusty jagged ridge lines - only just greener than the set of a spagetti western. Hunting here takes place over large distances; running Hares down with rapid longdogs called Galgo, an extencive tradition of Falconry, they are serious about hunting conejo (rabbits) but the real obsession is the Red-Legged Partridge, or 'Perdiz'. The rich guys use the same driven game tactics as in the UK, the country folk or 'campesino'  hunt them over dogs during very long walks. To reduce the distances walked, and as Partridges can't be eaten after they've been shot with a high velocity rifle, the locals hunt them in a style of hunting I'd not seen before.

If you can't get to the prey, you must get the prey to come to you. 

The armeria stocks the kit for 'Reclamo'; hanging above the counter were several models of 'Reclamo' a sort-of 'Judas Trap' for Partridges. The plan is to capture or breed a mature male bird, house him in a portable birdhouse, which you can take to the hunting ground and have him call the girls to your waiting gun. Saves on all that walking.

By the time all this had been explained to me the BLF's patience with being my personal google translate was wearing a little thin, so I resorted to talking cartridge choices with the shopkeep. Pretty easy in any language, numbers are numbers, Remington and Winchester are the same in any language, even for people who are in the habit of adding or missing out vowels from words. I dont know my letters yet so I wrote on the back of a business card, remembering to start the question with the upside down question mark, enquiring after the whereabouts of the bunny-whacker of choice the 17HMR, "22 minimum" came the reply to which I thought I said "that's unfortunate in England we use them to hunt rabbits" Elfa and the gun shop guys blushing faces told me I'd actually missed out the 'e' and said "that's unfortunate in England we use them to hunt c***o" which sounds similar-ish, but means something very different.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

More soon

SBW

Piers Morgan: 2nd Amendment Scholar

Sorry guys but a deal's a deal: You bought him, you're keeping him.

SBW

Twitter feed is HERE

Vintage Firearms: Krico Stutzen .243

Myself and our pal Shooter are off out for the day tomorrow so all the unfinished blog posts will have to wait until next week's 'Horse and Fish day' is over and slept off.
In the meantime Roestalker is selling this rather nice woodland stalking rifle a
Krico in .243, being Roestalker he's made a little video. Myself; being a bit lazy and having a growing appreciation for old rifles I'm reposting it.
Keep warm
Your pal
SBW
PS Eat like a Horse and Drink like a Fish - my birthday!

Andy Richardson: Goose Hunting In Scotland

My pal Andy Richardson is something of a legend amongst sportsman traveling north of the border, with an impressive track record of guiding for lowland Roe deer and Pink-Leg Geese. What a lot of people dont know is that Andy is as handy with a camera as he is with Rod, Gun and Rifle.

Last year Andy and Myself took comedian Paul Merton for a few wee jaunts in the Kingdom of Fife with, err, amusing results. You can read all about it..

How To Get On TV

Fieldsports In Scotland Part One

Recently he's been rifling though his address book to put together a video archive of Scotland's leading sportsman showing their passions and techniques. This time of year the chaps are hard at it Goose shooting over the beet crops.

I'll be posting more of Andy's videos as the series develops.

To join Andy for a days sport, pop me an email [contacts at top of page] and I'll put you in touch with him. Some lucky sports might even have dinner cooked by me waiting for them at the end of the day! and if you're very good we'll take you 'Estuary Rabbit Hunting'.

More as soon as I find the time to write it up
SBW

DeerStalking: The Search For Muntjac

 Trigger jerk: and it's sighted 1 sq high at 100 yards!

Shooter: "I've got some stalking! and one of my radiators won't get hot. What    should I do?"
SBW: You had me from stalking, I'm on my way

Because this report comes to you from the real world, not from the fantasy land where rich plumbers exercise their R8's on their way to exercise their R8's mid-week, it was more like "I'll be there soon, to soon-ish, early next month, or how's the month after that for you?" Eventually the day dawned, the radiator got hot, Mr Mercedes joined us and we set off for an evening stalk.

As usual we were plagued by bad omens and incompetence:

Shooter (driving): coming up on the left there's a field with a herd of Fallow, every time I go past, if they are there, I dont get a deer.
SBW and Mr Mercedes: Groan
Shooter: Look! loads of them!
Mr Mercedes: Groan
SBW: Jinx

The ground is a 300 acre walled (but not gated) estate to the north east of London, in an area we'll call Campo de Muntjac. It's home to some Roe and lots of Muntjac. The chaps who run the outfit are very friendly and funny lets call them The Keeper and his pal The Rumbler.

On a short drive across the we startled a small deer, and as we set up the shooting bench we disturbed a Roe. Hmm maybe we've swerved the jinx?

On the estates you're required to prove your proficiently with a rifle before stalking, on your first visit if you weren't asked to I'd take it as a sign of a poorly run outfit. At Campo de Muntjac they have a 100 yard range. Its traditional to make disparaging remarks about ones accuracy and eyesight before shooting. There'll be a good natured understatement competition, and you take your place at the bench. In the US I've been handed a rifle with the words "its hot and ready to rock" in the UK I just cant imagine anyone doing that. The Rumbler set his Howa up on the bags bolt closed on an empty chamber and I took my place at the bench, Mr Mercedes had already shot his super tight group and Shooter was telling The Keeper that I'm a famous blogger, no pressure then.

My sighter was within the 'ring of death' so I ploughed on with the second a definite improvement, the third looked better at first sight but is actually a square low as The Rumbler has sighted his rifle one high at 100 yards

As usual in england while the whole thing is deadly serious, due to our laws against earnestness no one can acknowledge that. As my group had tightened with each shot the guys were well satisfied and proceeded to regale me with the traditional tales of the German/Scandawegen/American who was here last week/ month who was SO bad even thought his rifle/scope cost SO much. Formalities out of the way we split up to take our seats, Mr Mercedes saw another Roe as he was taking his place.


As The Rumbler and I were setting off, who should reappear but our pal Shooter or "bolt-less" as he's also known. Made it all the way to his seat, without the bolt for his Remy. How we laughed.

Our highseat was pretty luxurious, it even had a roof. The Rumbler and your pal settled down to watch the wildlife, after a while there came a strange rumbling sound, like a brewery really. I ignored the first few but after a while I started to snigger and looked round, The Rumbler, for it was he, looked almost apologetic for a moment, but the couldn't keep a straight face either. Much sniggering ensues.

SBW: Are you hungry?
The Rumbler: I ate before I came out
SBW: Have some Chorizo it might settle your stomach

Our picknick was interrupted by the sound of a Muntjac's bark, and coming towards us too! We both glassed and glassed, I offered up a few prayers but Mr Muntjac decided against visiting our clearing and buggered off.

Shooting light faded fast and it was time to make for home. The Rumbler worked the bolt, so we could exit the highseat with an empty chamber and fumbled the round which promptly slipped between the slats of the highseat's floor. I've done this before and I cant tell you how delighted I was to see someone else make the same mistake (mine bounced off the metal rung of the ladder and The Bambi Basher was without mercy in his mockery).

As The Keeper arrived he was greeted with the sight of our butts in the air as we searched the grass under the seat for the dropped round.

The Keeper: You two look as though you're having fun
The Rumbler [pointing at his stomach] Its been awful, terrible rumblings
SBW: I had to give him some of my sausage
The Keeper:  Whoah! too much information!

More soon
SBW

PS be sure to check out Shooter's blog HERE

Birger Stromsheim RIP

Birger Stromsheim, has died aged 101, considered the greatest of the “Heroes of Telemark”. A group of Norwegen hunters who escaped to scotland where they were trained and armed by SOE for their return to Norway. In 1943 they launched a daring raid to destroy a crucial part of the Nazi atomic weapons programme. The sheer audacity of their attempt makes them heros by any measure, the fact that they succeeded is truly remarkable. If anyone can claim to have 'saved your asses in WWII' its Mr Stromsheim and his colleagues.

His Obituary is HERE
Ray mears made an excellent film about the raid first part is HERE

SBW

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

Remembrance Sunday

"Any officer who goes into action without his sword is improperly armed."

My fascination with WW2 continues, and particularly the Special Operations Executive, where remarkable people did remarkable things before slipping back into the anonymity of civilian life. Last year I told you about my heros Gabcik and Kubis, and the amazing story of their attempt to kill Reinhard Heydrich the wartime governor of what we now know as Czech (home to nymphs of several kinds).

This year its the turn of 'Fighting Jack Churchill' AKA 'Mad Jack Churchill'. My kind of army officer: mad as a box of frogs, bad-ass to the bone, and probably dangerous to know. Honor bound to get you into a shit-load of trouble, but just think of the storytelling afterwards!

Do I have your attention? Ok how about

He made the only confirmed kill with LONGBOW in WW2, yep, a LONGBOW!
Lead the charge by playing the bagpipes too. You can read the whole remarkable story HERE

Today, find the time to raise a glass to the memory of those who suffered so we dont have to, not just the dead but for the wounded who are still suffering, and when ever the opportunity presents itself, in whatever way you can, do something to ease their way.

“No Prince or Lord has tomb so proud / As he whose flag becomes his shroud.” Jack Churchill
SBW

The Rather Be Hunting Guy

Is actually going hunting! Well who'd a thunk it!

Unboxing Review: Muck Boots FIELDBLAZER

The lovely people at Muck Boots have sent me a pair of their new FIELDBLAZER boots for testing and first impressions are they've made some improvements from the older, smellier, pair I've already got. Muck Boots have had Quiet, Warm, and Dry nailed since the first pair they made. Where theses look like an improvement is they've beefed-up the reinforcement for added support around the ankle and protection for your toes, which I thought was pretty much the only way to improve on the concept.

The new soles are a bit better too, horizontal strakes might not look as grippy, but are far better at self-cleaning than most studded patterns.

I paid cash for the last pair and would happily recommend them for woodland stalking, and especially for any kind of hunting where you have to sit in a chilly Highseat/Treestand.

Thanks again guys
SBW

Orvis Customer Service Reviewed

True Story:
I was visiting my 'rents and saw a familiar sight on the kitchen table
SBW: You've got the new Orvis catalogue?
MOB (mother of bushwacker): Yes and they do mens clothes now as well
SBW [wearing a quizzical smirk]: Do they sell anything else I might like?
MOB: Not that I know of

Its easy to mock brand diffusion, to complain that a heritage sporting brand has become a clothes shop with a few rods out the back, my mum was totally shocked to learn that Orvis sell fishing gear.
But seriously people, Orvis' customer service is second to none. No one does it better. If you search the fly fishing forums you'll find example after example of people posting how they were seduced by AN Other brand and how disappointed they were when they needed a repair, and how its back to the lovin' arms of Orvis from now on.

A massive shout goin' out out to Jimmy and Declan of the Orvis store in London's Dover St. Really nice guys, loads of good advice and they proper went above and beyond when it came to sorting out my waders. Customer service done right. Thanks chaps.

More fly fishing adventures soon as your pal SBW and local blogger The Lighthouse Keeper have a play-date with some Grayling.
SBW

Stalking Red Stags In Scotland

I've been reading/watching Roestalker's blog for a while now and he's getting very good at filming his Hunting/Stalking. The patience he must have to nonchalantly film for what seems like ages before taking the shot is amazing. Well worth a watch.

SBW

Steve Bodio's Eternity Of Eagles: Background

Sometimes we must make concessions to modernity 

For anyone who's already interested in Steve Bodio's An Eternity Of Eagles. Living On Earth has an interview which you can listen to HERE or read HERE

I've been way busy: so not much to report, lots of new blog stuff on the horizon, and some neat new kit to review. In sad news for kit-Tarts everywhere: horror of horrors, due to a strict one-in-one-out policy, I have to chop-in one of my packs in the 80l class to make way for a new arrival. Dreading it.
SBW

Halal Slaughter: Questions And Controversies

While out on the town drinking a few nights back I met up with [Lunches With Sharks -you'll meet him later] and a group of his friends I was introduced by LWS  as 'The Hunter'.  I'm accustomed to getting a broadly interested and positive response to being introduced like this. For the most part North london's 40-something dads are in favor of hunting for the pot, and reluctantly approving of pest control. For starters we chatted about hunting in the UK, the number of Deer there are these days, Fox predation, the Badger controversy, all the usual stuff. But where's the fun in that?  Without exposure to new and sometimes surprising ideas there is no learning, no expansion of my worldview. I like the slightly troubling thoughts that take our knowledge in new and sometimes surprising directions, and I like to test them out on other people, hopefully clever people. With that in mind whilst out on the town I've told this story a few times, and the faces people pulled tell me this one is perhaps, not for the hard-of-thinking.

If you've read a bit of this blog you'll already know that my preferred outcome for my dinner is that the animal was just mooching along, minding its own business, when out of nowhere an arrow or bullet severed a major artery and the animal was already dead when the bang or twang reached its ears. For me there is no better way for the animal to meet its end. The way for most food animals in the western world is, er, slightly different. It's entirely acceptable to have the animal severely traumatised, then stunned, before being skinned alive-ish. There is little time for compassion in industrialised animal husbandry. There is another method, one that people have heard of, disapprove of, yet seem to know little about. The intersection between wilful ignorance and distain has proved to be an interesting hunting ground in the past, so I thought I'd shine a flashlight into the chasm of my own ignorance and learn a little more about how other cultures relate to their food. Starting with Islam.

When you ask the average English or American person about the practice of Halal slaughter, they start pulling faces, and words like 'barbaric', and 'sickening' are used. The speaker is seldom able to describe exactly what they are objecting to, just the feelings the very word 'Halal' evokes. Occasionally you meet someone who'll tell you "they just slit the animals throats"this statement is accompanied by a look of distaste. Hmmm anyone for wilful ignorance with a side order of distain? I dont know about you but that just about makes me drool with curiosity. We have found the edge of the map. I have to know more.

Here's a video made by some chaps who are adherents to the Muslim faith, demonstrating their slaughter practice, and giving their explanation of the effects that they believe make up the process. It's not particularly graphic, part one of the video deals with the method of submission so no blood is spilled.



What interests me about the practice we're shown is the neurological effects, and particularly the resonance between the slaughtered and the slaughter-man. The practice of keeping the animals together as much as possible makes a lot of sense. As a herding animal the goat will obviously be much more relaxed when in a herd setting - where many eyes and ears can keep a look out. Separated from the herd, the animal wants to rejoin the group as soon as possible, going into distress until its reunited.
The slaughter man we see obviously takes his responsibly to the animal seriously, he seems un-hurried and benign towards the animals, there's no beating and shouting. As he intones the words of his religious conviction he seems lost in a revery, which then seems to affect the goat, it calms right down.
Its as though once disorientated by being tipped onto its back, and having it's head pushed back, the goat takes its que from the slaughter man who is exhibiting great calmness. As he covers its eyes, and strokes it the goat really does look so relaxed that it could doze off at any moment.

"these animals are Bilingual they always know the name when its mentioned no matter what language and they always feel the heart of that slaughterer if he belives in that word or he dosent"

The first part I'm not yet convinced by, but the second part is looking at least plausible. Most people who hunt will tell you that they believe animals have a sense of our intention, go out without a gun the place teams with game, the same walk with a gun nothing about, a common theme in stories from woodland stalkers is 'I was watching the deer from a hidden place, when a dog walker yapping on the phone wearing a fluro cagoule walked into the scene and the deer ignored them'. Just as many hunters report having a sense of there being hunt-able species in the area, it would seem animals have a sense of there being predators in the area. If this is true (its at least anecdotally true) the slaughter man has obscured his intention by going into his revery.

Lets turn this on its head for a moment; if he's made loads of threatening noises, banged a stick on the ground in between whacking at the animals with it, the separated the animal from its heard before of and ministering more of the same. He would have pushed all the buttons that tell the animal to be hyper alert. Instead by pushing the other set of buttons: he's basically hypnotised the goat.

How would you like your dinner to die? Is this what you were expecting? What other traditions do you think I should be investigating? I welcome your thoughts and comments: have at it.

More of the usual nonsense soon enough, thanks for reading
SBW

Book Review: Steve Bodio's An Eternity of Eagles

A while back I reviewed Stephen Bodio's haunting eulogy to Betsy Huntingdon and pion to New Mexico 'Querencia'. HERE. So I was delighted when a very nice lady wrote to me to say that I was on the review list for Steve's latest work 'An Eternity of Eagles' .

I first came across SB a few years ago when he started to comment on some other blogs, I started to read his blog, and in conversation another blogger (who I had just complemented on his writing) said
"but we all wish we could write like Steve B". As Steve's blog was largely notes to friends and in-jokes I searched for some more of his writing, found this piece about a trip to the Steppes to hunt with Egales and Kazakh tribesmen, and was hooked. Steve's other works have included highly rated studies of fine shotguns, Pigeons and Long Dogs.

The 'An Eternity of Eagles' is quite different to the works I've read so far, it could be thought of as a tour not of some far-flung lands but of a library collected during many many years as a student of Falconry.  It lands pretty squarely between scholarly tome and coffe table book, and is none the worse for doing so. For the casual reader there is a touch more detail than they might be expecting and for the budding Raptor obsessive a tantalising glimpse of where future reading could take you.

“There is so much brute wisdom, sophisticated science, blood magic, and flat out terrific prose in Stephen Bodio’s writing that he makes me think of Merlin, educating Arthur by turning him into other animals for a while. An Eternity of Eagles is worthy of its great subject, which is not only eagles but the earthbound mortals who marvel at them.”
—Jonathan Rosen, author of The Life of the Skies: Birding at the End of Nature

I was going to type up a few choice examples from the book; or try to give you a compressed version of the chronology of our ancient relationship with these fascinating birds, the evolution of the practices of training and hunting with them, and their roles as totems in so many disparate cultures. But instead I'll make you this offer. Buy the book, if you've read it and dont like it, I'll buy your copy off you and give it to someone who will appreciate it.

More Soon
SBW

Deer Crossing Donna

The Deer Crossing Warning sign (W11-3) is used to alert motorists in advance of locations where unexpected entries into the roadway by deer might occur. Size is 24" diamond shape and easily read by deer and motorists alike
A couple of posts ago I asked Deer Collision What Next? Prevention is better than cure right?

The LSP has found a woman on the internet who has all the experience and commonsense required to stop this from happening to other people

Donna has been in three separate accidents involving Deer, she feels its irresponsible to put the signs up on the highway or the interstate. She would like to see the signs moved, so the Deer 'know where to cross'

No one seems to be listening to her. I feel her frustration.

LISTEN HERE

Crazy is as crazy does
Your pal
SBW

Review: Fallkniven F1 v's Fallkniven TK6

I've had an F1 for a long time, as you can see I've used it, abused it and anticipate continuing to use it in the style to which its become accustomed for many years. The TK6 hit the door mat a few months back [read the unboxing review HERE] and I thought you might like to hear a bit about the differences.

I bought my F1 both in the states; and a while back, so it was a serious bargain - the knife I chose it against was a Gerber LMF which has also gone up in price over the last few years and now looks like very poor value for money. Whereas the F1 is still at least two or three lifetimes worth of knife.

The TK6 on the other hand is pretty much the same price as it was when it first came out. Not cheap, but with a few notable exceptions, quality seldom is. By staying the same price while other knives have gotten more expensive, in real terms the TK6 has actually gotten cheaper [you can tell yourself].

The F1 is a survival knife: so its for making firewood and shelters

The TK6 is a hunting knife: so its for dismembering beasts and cutting up snack foods.

Both knives are designed in Sweden by Fallkniven and made in Seki City Japan. When the F1 came out VG10 was a rare 'super steel' it's still super [and it's still steel - ber boom] but now you can buy a VG10 knife for $40, and there are other makers also offering laminated VG10 blades, so the rarity has died off a bit. VG10 is a fantastic steel for edge retention - I once gutted, skinned, and butchered a Fallow doe with a Spyderco Urban without needing to refresh the edge, that's a steel that holds an edge. At 59 HRC its a hard blade, the edge is more resistant to folding over, but obviously hardness is often accompanied by brittleness - I've chipped the tip of my F1 more than once, the first time splitting a stick and the second time dropped point first onto a granite worktop - although here the F1 beats any non laminated blade as the lamination takes care of any concerns about cracking or bending; I've prised floor boards up with mine and hit it with a brick hammer, it's still rocking on. You can see Fallkniven's testing HERE. And my reviews of the F1 HERE and of Fallkniven's sharpening service HERE. After a few years of using the F1 I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one.

The TK6 is a different beast; a shorter blade in the drop point style, made with a blade of '3G' (which is  Fallkniven's proprietary name for a lamination of  VG2-SGPS-VG2 steels) that is first hard to blunt and then hard to sharpen. At 62 HRC, SGPS is a very hard steel. So much so, that for me at least, Diamond Stones are a must. I've long wanted the TK6 as the next step in the search for my 'little-big-knife' a sort of field-scalpel on steroids. I love it, the blade shape works, there is just-enough handle, and the edge holding is other worldly.

Fat blades are not 'slicers' and never will be, so I wouldn't class either as being a very good kitchen knife, the TK6 being much better as the blade feels narrower. The F1's massive strength comes at the cost of always feeling a bit 'fat in the cut' whereas the TK6 feels a lot thinner. With the absence of any nearby Deer Stalking opportunities, when The Lighthouse Keeper and myself Fished the Usk, I prepared two Squirrels and skinned a road kill Pine Marten, here the TK6 really found its niche, its the most convient skinning knife/field scalpel I've found yet: Superb!

Enough blade length to prise away hide, but still short enough for a tip-protected cut when first opening the animal up. So no need for one of those silly "look at me I'm a hunter" gut-hooks.

I know I'm a Fallkniven fanboy so in the interests of fairness I have to have a bit of a moan about the fit of the TK6's handle, neither design has the casting quite right but somehow I'm more inclined to give the rough and ready F1 a pass and say that as part of the premium Tripple Krona range the fit on the TK6 is a bit of a let down. This isn't such a big deal for me as it's always been my intention to customise a TK6, it has the steel and blade shape I want, and some of the other features I'm going for aren't available off the shelf. If you were set on keeping the factory handle a bit of work with a scalpel and some sandpaper would sort it out, but you should bear that in mind before you order one. That being said, I seriously love mine, it's a lot of that perfect knife I've been looking for.

"There is no 'perfect' knife but you'll have fun looking for it" SBW

"There's no bore like a knife bore" Raymond Mears

The custom project, some huntin' with raptors, and air rifles, some stalking, and of course more kit reviews on the way.
Your pal
SBW

Eddie Huang: The New Anthony Bourdain?

From the ever brilliant VBS Chef and writer Eddie Huang goes on his first hunt, comes face to face with his dinner's demise and learns that [raised] Rabbit tastes like a cross between Chicken and Gator.

Could he really be 'The New Anthony Bourdain'?

More Soon
SBW

Falconry In English Idiom

English language idioms derived from falconry

These English language idioms are derived from falconry:

Expression	Meaning in falconry	Derived meaning
in a bate	bating: trying to fly off when tethered	in a panic
with bated breath	bated: tethered, unable to fly free	restrained and focussed by expectation
fed up	of a hawk, with its crop full and so not wanting to hunt	no longer interested in something
haggard	of a hawk, caught from the wild when adult	looking exhausted and unwell, in poor condition; wild or untamed
under his/her thumb	of the hawk's leash when secured to the fist	tightly under control
wrapped round his/her little finger	of the hawk's leash when secured to the fist	tightly under control

rouse	To shake one's feathers	Stir or awaken
pounce	Referring to a hawk's claws, later derived to refer to birds springing or swooping to catch prey	Jump forward to seize or attack something
to turn tail[	Fly away	To turn and run away

I've been off sick for the last couple of days, and spending the time wisely have spit it three ways: watching films of Birds of Prey, reading websites about Birds of Prey, and sleeping.

One of the many great things about Falconry is that the written history of the sport is so diverse and there's so much of it. It's been years since I read anything written in the older forms of English so it's been interesting [read challenging] to get back into it. Of course the marvel of English is the way the language constantly evolves to suit the needs of the speaker, taking words from other cultures and languages, and idiom from popular culture. Today there is an financial advice website that advertises itself on TV with an aristocratic Meer Cat who ends every explanation of the company's services with the word "Simples". It's become a popular way to end 'explanations' and 'discussions' on web forums.

Back in the day, when folks flying Falcons was a common sight, these phrases entered the language and are still with us today. There is at least one example missing from the Wikipedia list and I'm guessing a few more? Let me know in the comments when you think of them.

My Addition:

Expression To 'Hawk up'	Meaning in falconry                                                                    The sound of a hawk expelling the indigestible parts of a meal	Derived meaning Clearing phlegm from the throat

More soon

your pal

SBW

  

Deer Collision - What Next

It's that time again, on both sides of the pond as the weather cools the deer become more mobile, extending their wanderings in search of extra calories, and the chance to pass on their genes. Sadly for many of them their end will not be at the swift unseen hand of the hunter, but in collision with a car or truck.

• Do take note of deer warning signs, by driving with caution at or below the posted speed limit. Such signs really are positioned only where animal crossings are likely. 
• Peaks in deer related traffic collisions occur October through December, followed by May. Highest-risk periods are from sunset to midnight followed by the hours shortly before and after sunrise. 
• Be aware that further deer may well cross after the ones you have noticed . 
• After dark, do use full-beams when there is no opposing traffic. The headlight beam will illuminate the eyes of deer on or near a roadway and provide greater driver reaction time. BUT, when a deer or other animal is noted on the road, dim your headlights as animals startled by the beam may ‘freeze’ rather than leaving the road. 
• Don't overswerve to avoid hitting a deer. If a collision with the animal seems inevitable, then hit it while maintaining full control of your car. The alternative of swerving into oncoming traffic or a ditch could be even worse. An exception here may be motorcyclists, who are at particular risk when in direct collisions with animals. 
• Only break sharply and stop if there is no danger of being hit by following traffic. Try to come to a stop as far in front of the animals as possible to enable it to leave the roadside without panic.

If the worst does happen, or you are first-to-the-scene when it's happened to someone else, here's the drill.

• First of all, stay calm.
• Avoid contact with the deer, its hooves or antlers.
• Call the emergency services or ask another driver to do so.
• Set up road flares [or warning triangles] if you have them in your emergency kit.
• Contact your insurance policy provider.

In the USA not all insurance policys cover Deer Collision so it maybe a good idea to check with the lovely people at comprehensiveinsurancequotes.com to see if its worth getting cover in your state.

For a more detailed look at the issue in the UK see the excellent Deercollisions.co.uk

More soon
SBW


PS There's more read Deer Crossing Donna