Field gear

Glass on the 30-06…. Again..

Posted on June 1, 2022 by akadventurer

put a scope on my Remington 700 again, something I swore I’d never do.
Last time it wore glass was fall of ’15. I’d put a scope my buddy Swany gave me, on it just the fall before… Great gift, great scope, fit the gun well, worked fine etc. Theres a post on that Somewhere on this blog..
I just discovered that I Hate the feel of a rifle with a scope, and the added hassle of taking care of it.. Not that I throw a rifle around anyway, but can be Much less careful without a scope on them, and the balance and weight and area to grab it is so much better!

Back story being the rifle always had a 3-9×32(Navajo Rhino, yes thats a scope brand/model! that was put on it when it was new in ’67) on it as long as Dad had it, but the adjustments broke on me in ’13 and I ran it in just its iron sights that year and loved it. Went back to a scope basically out of assumed habit that time. It took exactly 2 hunting trips, 1 year for me to decide No, and I went to a peep sight and fiber optic front, since all my hunting was moose, low land, and sub 100 yards.

But at this point for the hunting I’m really enjoying, high country alpine tundra, and caribou, its harder without a scope, its simply long range hunting at probably moving targets.. Too steep of a curve with even a good peep sight, for me anyway. At this point.

SO, once again, scope is a gift from a hunting buddy, its been on his 30-06(a sporterized vintage 100 year old Enfield!) for at least 20 years.. He retired the rifle last fall and offered me the scope knowing I wanted to try one again for our high country hunts.

The one Swany gave me was a 3-9×40, older production Tasco World Class. Great scope, but bulky, and it now lives on my Marlin model 60 .22
This one is a Simmons, 3-9×32, much less bulky, still old enough to be well built, and been surviving on an ’06 in Alaska for decades, I (should) will know not to worry about it.

Putting it on now since I have to go do a range trip to check sight in anyway before the bear trip, and figure what the hell, can’t hurt. Ironically the longest ranges for bear this trip will probable be 100 or 150 yards at the extreme max. Even with the scope on and max point blank of my load being around 320 yards, I probably wont let myself shoot past 150 to 200 extreme max anyway… But we’ll see.

I have a terrible feeling I’m going to hate it again, but trying to give it a fair chance.

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Thankfully rings and bases I had for the Tasco work for this. Want to say its Leupold rings on,,, Can[t remenber the bases. Been a while… lol. Had to steal the screws from a new set of Weaver rails, couldn’t find the ones for these bases, must have stole them for something else.

Yes it seems to sit well back… SO did the Tasco. I actually need it back a touch more for perfect eye relief, with the recoil pad I have on… But its good enough. If I REALLY like this, I’ll cut the stock and re-mount the recoil pad at a good LOP for me and fix it… Should probably do that anyway its a touch long regaurdless of the sights, but not as a problem.

One nice thing, the peep sight base is fully side mounted, so I’m leaving it. Its also index marked, and the rest of it as an insert is locked, and marked, as is the front sight… IE it can drop in and I’ll know if anything is off. I think the allen wrench for the rings and a screwdriver are going Everywhere with the gun, with the rest of the peep sight, if I ever need to swap back.

Categories: Backcountry, Field gear, Guns, Gunsmithing, Hunting, Rifles, Scopes and Sights, Shooting, Traditional

Curly Ferro Rod Handle. OKC22

Posted on January 15, 2022 by akadventurer

This months OKC22 challenge is collecting and lighting 5 natural tinders with ferro rod.
I cant stand ferro rods, and dont use them. I find real flint and steel faster and easier! 

As far as I knew,  I didn’t own one, other than the blast match style ine a friend gave me, thats in my ATV hunting gear… cant strike that with the knife.


Then I remembered this little guy I made, a 3/16″ rod set in a muley deer tine with a scraper years ago..

Figured I’d try that, but its a short shower of sparks, and hard to use with a bigger knife..


 Then, I happened  onto pics I had of a bigger ferro rod I’d forgotten. If I still had it. Found it quite by accident after giving up, looking for something else lol.
Was getting ready to remove the handle and replace with something better,  when I got deja vu…

Went and dug around and found the one I started to do that to like 4 years ago… Went ahead and did that one instead.

One of my peeves with these things is the ever epic short grip. So I grabbed a block of curly maple(close enough to the curly oak on the knife) , drew out a design and put a nice sized grip on it.

Wanted as much rod length exposed as possible,  found it a super tight fit in 9/32″ brass tube(hammered  in, it is NOT coming out).   Fit 1/4″ into the tube, then 2″ of the tube set in the wood handle.  Extended the rod reach, and in theory when its used up(if ever) I can remove the stub, add a new rod to the handle.

Could have cut/carved/sanded, but I went and put it in the metal lathe.

Siting here with a first coat of wipe on poly drying. 🙂

Categories: Bushcraft, Custom, Customized, Field gear, Fire Starters, OKC22, Preparedness, Woodwork

Sharpened Bush Knife OKC22

Posted on January 15, 2022 by akadventurer

Found my knife I’ve entered in the One Knife Challenge at BCUSA dull as dish water(bopping around fir several years without a sheath)

Got out the stones, went through all 4 up to translucent Arkansas

Much Better

Usually I finish with a trip to the power strop(buffing wheel) but didn’t bother here, it was alrwady verry fine and smooth, no bur to speak of. Don’t need laser fine edge right now, maybe later.. will see how it carves.


I entered this intending to use a new knife I had on order. But then they were delayed,  wasn’t sure if it would come in time… So I chose the Damascus scandi intending to use my one free swap later.


Now I have the other newcone(details to be posted soon), and couls swap, But I think I’m staying with the scandi… I made this knife over 15 years ago, and its had little to no use.. Might as well get to use it,  especially since bushcrafty stuff us what I made it for! 


Need to make a sheath of some sort too. It use to be in a hollowed out elk antler beam and leather deal I made, but the antler warped one winter… Not sure what I’ll do now.

Categories: Adventure Metal Works, Adventures, Bushcraft, Custom, Field gear, GetOutdoors, knives, OKC22, Outdoors, Woods tools

Got a new hat!

Posted on December 24, 2021 by akadventurer

Turned out to be a little spendy @ about $35 including shipping from Canada, but I figured what the hell, they only had 200 made, and will probably never be any more. Well built hat too, verry solid construction.  Little short top to bottom compared to what I’m used to, but its pretty comfy, probably get used to it. First I’ve had without the top button, really like that idea! (Anyone thats ever driven an old leaf sprung truck on a rough gravel road will fully understand this!!)

Its from a YouTube channel/ project I’ve been following for a few months now, a rebuild/restoration of a vintage 1970s Cessna 172B.


 BTW, They have a cool cooking channel too, if planes aren’t your thing… B-)
https://youtube.com/c/GlenAndFriendsCooking

This is kinda a departure for me.. I don’t really wear ball caps much, hard to find ones I find comfortable,  (since the narrow brim style came about approx 20 years ago…and won’t bloody leave!) I’ve only ever had one I truly like, and I’ll have been wearing  it literally 20 years this summer.

And, nor do I really do brand or channel stuff… But its been a cool project to follow,  and I certainly don’t mind supporting that, it was just too cool to pass up.

Categories: Clothes, Field gear, Hats, Just Plain Fun, New Gear

Field Notes Covered!

Posted on September 22, 2020 by akadventurer

Been trying to post this for a week or two. For a while now I’ve wanted to make a leather cover for the Field Notes I carry. Like, a year… or more.

But every now and then I stop carrying thrm for a while. Like this sum

mer I stopped because it was one less item that I would be touching in stores, out and about, that I couldn’t really disinfect in any way. I went to using my phone for to do lists and time cards at work(covid free zone cause no one else is there.. well, mostly), and memorizing shopping lists.
At work its been ok, except where I need to take fast notes, measurements, and layout diagrams.
And it never worked for lists.
So I’ve gone back to carrying the notebooks. And to wanting a cover to help keep them from disintegrating.
I had a cover before, got in late 2011 but it was made for a thicker Moleskine book, which I used it with for a couple years off and on. But to not be too floppy when I transitioned to field notes in 2014, it had to have at least 2, 3 better, in it. Too thick to carry easilly. Which I did do for a while.
But it became too cumbersome, and I went to naked single notebooks. And then found that the naked notebooks get torn up a lot.
After a while I went to wrapping all new Field Notes in a layer of heavy duty packing tape, to keep them more colorfast, and less fragile. But even then they can still get pretty beat up before I get through one. Especially if there is a lot of carry and little use, like this summer.
So anyway. I don’t have time to make anything. Or really to think about making anything. The old rule rings true, you can have time to do things OR money to do things. Not both.
I love the job I have, ain’t complaining. Just missing having time for other things… 😉
So anyway, I broke down and started shopping/browsing. And after A LOT of narrowing it down, I bought a couple things that normally I’d prefer to make.
I wanted simple thin leather, 3 to 4oz flexible but abrasive resistant… And real leather.
And the front and back pockets that slip over the cover on the book. Thats really hard to narrow down, so many makers do the Midori/travelers style with the elastic bands in the spine, no hold for the covers. I want to open the leather, and the notebook as one, not have to open each separate.
And Just those pockets. No credit card slot, no pen holder, no hold shut strap. And hug the notebook like second skin, not a arctic parka 3 sizes too big.
And not $100 freaking bucks…
So.. I found what I liked, then what I REALLY liked, and at a bit more than I wanted to spend (figured about $25 was good for paying a craftsman, where they profit but I don’t get gouged) I figured what the hell and did it. Was About $35.
Super glad I did!!
So it turned out to be thicker leather than I wanted. And it doesn’t hug the edges of the book as close as I’d have liked.
Its actually bigger in footprint in both thickness and area, as the old cover I had. The old cover I stopped trying to use because it was too big in pocket, and uncomfortable.
This amazingly disappears, I can’t feel it at all!!
Yeah, anyway, shut up and show pics AK, I know…
Old and new

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Inside (came with a single graph craft notebook, a pleasant surprise)

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And the outside showing why I splurged and got this. Some of you will remember a slight obsession I have with compass rose designs… Just couldn’t pass this up! Its laser engraved, and surprisingly deeply.

Here is a link to the nakers shop, if anyone is interested.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/LostSkeletonsBrandCo

The only disadvantage to using this is any of the Field Notes quarterly eddition I get, I don’t get to see the fancy covers. And since I just got several packs of special editions, I’m feeling this loss. But just because I have the cover doesn’t mean I ALWAYS have to use it.
So I think I can find a happy medium where I will still get to see the more special notebooks.

Categories: Compass Rose, EDC, Field gear, Field Notes, Journal, Leather, New Gear, Notebooks, Soft Goods, Traditional

Snack knife to Hunting knife.

Posted on July 30, 2020 by akadventurer

Little post a few days ago mentioned getting this knife back into my travel kit.
Good thing I did!
Its actually not been in the truck, but in my lunch/snack box. One day a little while ago, transfering gear to a friends truck to go shooting(target) I grabbed the snack box for a light lunch.

That meant that later I had a sharp single blade thats easier to clean than the twin blade I was pocket carying, when an impromptu bunny hunt came up..

:D

Little fur ball kept getting curious about the sound or something and running out into the range (gravel pit) we were using.

He knew I’ve been wanting to rabbit hunt a while, so my buddy said go for it if I wanted. 3rd appearance of the critter, 2nd active stalk I managed to connect before he completely disappeared again.

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Great knife for the task, thin point was easy to control, handle comfortable, good reach, and laser sharp.

Guy that was with me gave a couple ideas and left me to it, so I just basically taught myself to clean/skin a rabbit. He said I did great especially when he found out I’d never cleaned anything but fish before!

:D

Was too hot and tired that night to do the grilling we’d planned, but roast bunny is on the menu soon. Will take pics!

Categories: Adventures, Alaska-Life, Case Knives, Cowboy, EDC, EDC/MT use, Field gear, Food, GetOutdoors, Good Friends, Good Times, Hunting, knives, Outdoors, Pocket knives, Preparedness, Summertime, Traditional, Truck EDC, Truck gear, Wildlife

About that Muskrat.

Posted on July 26, 2020 by akadventurer

Yeah, backup blades of the same type aren’t my thing. I’m more for multiple blades in different styles, for different tasks.
I can see how it would be, as these were originally meant as a skinning blade. Use it till dull, swap blades and keep going without having to change your way of doing things to compensate for a different blade. But I don’t do that kind of repetitive work that warrants a direct replacement blade.
So, yeah.

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Ended up with a nice lambsfoot profile. And just about the same length of edge as is on the sheepsfoot in the stockman.

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Usually I do the back or pile side blade for this, but the curve of the frame leaves more access to the nail nick on the front/mark side blade, than if does the other. So I did the front. The main blade used will be the straight edge anyway… Might as well make it the mark side blade, usually considered the “main” blade side.

Slight swedging and blend of spine edges.

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Might touch the “peak” on the spine a bit to straighten the overall look of the blade. Then again I might forget. It doesn’t really need it.

Categories: Case Knives, Cowboy, Customized, EDC, Field gear, Grail Item, knives, Life-Philosophy, Modifications, Pocket knives, Re-purpose, Theory/Thoughts, tool mods, Traditional

Snack knife.

Posted on July 24, 2020 by akadventurer

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Just a little thought from several weeks ago. Finally got this one back to its proper place, as snack knife in the truck. Its been my favorite for summer saidage and cheese for a few years now! That blade is like a laser. Case Stainless and Yellow Delrin 4.125″ Slimline single blade Trapper.

Categories: Adventures, Alaska-Life, Camping, Case Knives, Cowboy, Daily-cary-log, EDC, Field gear, Food, Food Gear, GetOutdoors, Good Times, knives, Pocket knives, truck, Truck EDC, Truck gear

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