Hunting stuff from the past 12 months
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Thought I’d add some hunting stuff from the past 12 months. Pics are either personal favourites for their technical/artistic merit, memory, or the challenge presented in acquiring it. Feel free to share some of your own for those that hunt.
Tracked a wounded bear for 4 hours one morning through brush that too often was so thick and gnarly it could have been less than 10 feet away, sight unseen. I’ve been in some hairy situations throughout my life, this one was a constant reminder of how mortal I am
To give you a sense, at one point we had to spread out looking for sign. In some cases on knees, nose to the ground and part the undergrowth to peer into the thicket.
From the same trip.
As a general rule I’m not a fan of trophy shots and grip/grins, I consider them a necessary evil. When ever I’m afforded afforded the chance I try to do them differently. Here I tried to convey the sense of respect most hunters have for their game, by intentionally having the bears paw, over and on the hunters upturned paw
Hunt Camp, for me anyways, give me a rustic cabin with no real comforts. I don’t need running water, or plush beds. Give me a place to sleep, some food to eat and a few guys to spend time in the crisp November woods and Im a happy camper.
Spent another week in the brush just before Christmas. Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet. On this morning we got all three
Counting Crows. A first for me, and what turned out to be an real education in just how smart Crows are.
Took a few tries, but here I finally got what I wanted, which was the action cycling a round and the ejection.
In the with the new, out with the old
Wily Coyote. Even this former US armed forces, and consultant has trouble dialling them in.
And finally what is perhaps my favourite shot from the last year, that I had another hunter take of me. I’m blessed, first to live in a region that is so rich and diverse in fish/game, secondly because I get to do what I love, have a passion for, and get see so much, experience so much. Everyone should be so fortunate.
Great Stuff John. I really like the blood shot and the Bear paw.
Funny how we collect all the finer things in life but getting back to the simplest means makes us the happiest.
That is an amazingly fine rifle stock. What is that, a lever-action Weatherby Mark V .30-30 or something along those lines?
Great stuff John. I am a huge fan of Sitka camo, largely because of the technical aspects of the clothing. I feel like the green Optifade Forest is *too* green, however, even though I hunt in Georgia where it stays lush deep into deer season. My stuff is all the blander Open Country–the same shade my boy Vlad Putin wears. Hahaha. I am sure Sitka was psyched when those pics circulated the internet…
Personally I think the crow hunting shot with the flying shell is my favorite, but the blood was no doubt hard to capture. What provinces were these shot in, John?
Zach
Everything is from different parts of Ontario…and now the obligatory shill/pump…:).If any of you ever get a chance to come here fishing or hunting, take it, don’t think twice, it’s god’s country. Think about this, Ontario is over 1 million square miles, in some cases 6-10 times the size of many States, yet has a population of just around 7million. You can fit many states into that, and have just a fraction of the population density.
That my Browning White Gold BLR in .308. I know theres a craze toward synthetics, especially in black camp wrapped stuff but I will remain a sucker for the classics and woods 🙂
Sitka. Actually it was Brett (thanks Brett) that convinced me to start using their product. I have now pretty much replaced every article of outdoor gear I owned. Still a fan of some makers like Merril, columbia etc, but…….It (Sitka) just works and is really durable, Im very hard on most of the stuff I’ve acquired. I wear different pieces, all year long, for hunting, fishing, photography, camping……That bear track is a prime example. We started at first light, about 6 of us, everyone was wearing hunting gear appropriate for time, temps, conditions. Just after sunrise, early on the trail, it was frosty at the outset.
I was wearing that set (had a core shirt under the soft shell). Acording to the GPS units we covered a little under 3 miles in 4 hours, so when we gave up the ghost it was 11am and getting hot. All the other guys were sweating buckets and very uncomfortable. Me I was fine, the core wicked my sweat and I simply vented, I could have easily kept going.
Forest line. Im not over the top crazy about the greens myself, think I like you would prefer it was a little more muted. Typcial habitat here and Nov climate, to me the greens are like you said too bright.
But the pieces work wonders. Couple days during that Dec hunt, it was -18. I wore a base layer (Merino), core shirt, their kelvin pants/jacket (Primaloft) and then the fanatic as my outer. Two mile hike through rough terrain into the stand and 2 more back out, plus on average 3.5 hour sits.More than comfortable.
Their waterfowl line is exciting me. I have a couple pieces,I may actually start using it more for big game, just due to the more natural browns and earth tones.
We spend inordinate amount of time in the elements. Have all kinds of great gear, be it Rods, reels, boats. No hardware does anyone any good if/when we stay home because its nasty out, or go home early because we are cold/wet. Pound for pound, our wear is to me, the most important stuff. For durability, design and function, there aren’t many (imo) that stack up well against it. Have it, use it, highly recommend it..although not its sticker 🙁
<div class=”d4p-bbp-quote-title”>John Bennett wrote:</div>
Sitka. Actually it was Brett (thanks Brett) that convinced me to start using their product. I have now pretty much replaced every article of outdoor gear I owned.Nice spread JB – I like the frosty look to the BW crossbow shot. Oh, and yes I have been known to make wallet-depleting recommendations from time to time. Sitka’s waterfowl stuff is great as well.
Great shots as always John.
I really like the subtle lighting you do on the subjects – it really lifts them out of the background.
Where’s the camo gear from ?
www.dsaphoto.com
A picture is thousand words that takes less than a second while a thousand words is a picture that takes a month.
Thanks guys.
David, we are discussing Sitka Gear
Think technical clothing like Simms, Patagonia, Merril, Columbia, Under Armor, thats been marketed to consumers for various outdoor activities from sailing to mountain climbing years meets hunting.
These days, more hunting manufacturers are getting on board and offering similar products. Barretta, Under Armor etc. It’s not cheap (lol, yeah thanks Brett) although strangely enough I’ve found that some pieces are on par or cheaper than the same piece, offered by a non hunting manufacturer.
With respect to the technical aspects, and layering aspects it works. I’ve spent a ton of good money over the years on stuff that didn’t. So false economy there, yeah the “other” stuff is cheaper, but does it do what I want/need?
With respect to design ( cut, fit, zippers,pockets). Its superb, the pieces are well thought out. Pockets where you want them, zippers, and when you layer pieces, they are designed to mesh and fit with their other pieces, so you don’t get the pinching or gathering of material, you commonly get with mismatched pieces.
With respect to durability. At least this far, Ive yet to have a seam blow, a zipper bust, stitching come loose, nor have I worn through material in high wear area’s such s knees, elbows, seats, nada. I can’t even begin to guess how many hours, how many miles I’ve humped, bushwhacked, gone fishing, hiking and logged in my mountain set, and other than being just a little faded, its much as it was the day I opened the box. A first for me with respect to compatible pieces Ive bought and abused over the years.
They now have 3 lines. I have sets from all 3.
~Mountain: Is really designed and better suited for the person that active. Bush whacking, mountain hunting, etc where exertion generates body heat. Products that were designed with the West Coast geology/climate in mind~Forest: Is geared more towards the Eastern Whitetail hunters, where you commonly sit in elevated tree stands for long durations, so the pieces tend be heavier, with more insulation and the climate tends to be damper
~Waterfowl. Where you largely sit still in stiff biting winds and the elements can get nasty. Ive picked up a few pieces of this now, with the main ones being their Patanal ( A goretex shell) and now their Boreal ( 600 fill power down and goretex). I’ll have a better feel for it after this Waterfowl season. Can say, on the day I went Crow hunting above it was roughly -5c, light wind. I wore a base layer, a core shirt, the primaloft jacket and the Patanal shell (it has some micro fleece insulation). In all we sat for about 4 hours, starting before sunrise and wrapping up around 11am. I was more than comfortable throughout.
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