How the classy hunter goes afield...

[JeffOYB]

Here's the get-up I've been wearing during muzzleloader deer season this year in Michigan...

<IMG SRC="http://outyourbackdoor.com/articles2006/jp.fancy.outfits/jp.muzzleloader.down.sm.jpg">

New Stetson Winston hat, vintage Woolrich Shirt-Jac, vintage Pendleton shirt. The old German Wirehaired Pointer stays home.

 

[Matt Deckard]

Very nice avatar.

We have coverered adventure gear, though straight hunting is always interesting. My granfather used to go out with his Octagon barrelled shot gun and bring back a few beasts for eating now and again.

Great avatar.

 

[The Reno Kid]

I went elk hunting in November but I'm afraid I dressed strictly for warmth. I even had a rabbit fur-lined Mad Bomber hat. I looked pretty silly, but I was warm. Got my elk too!

 

[priestyboy]

Very Classy! I love to see that someone else knows that there is a "proper style" for outdoor activities.

Not that I have style but I vintage dress for the occasion.

I blend a little of the "leftover from the war" into my vintage clothing choices for my fishing and outdoor activities. Khaki pants, USMC Boondockers and slide buckle khaki web belt. The Pendleton shirt jacket and a Moose River stingy brim fedora complete the ensemble. I carry along my M-422A flight jacket (for effect) in case it gets a little chilly.

To add to it all, I use a vintage Shakespere rod/reel combo, vintage camp chairs and a vintage USN thermos. I even went to the extent to acquire a 1946 fishing license pin for the shirt jacket.

All I need now is the 1946 Mercury woody or a Piper Cub with floats!

 

[JeffOYB]

I'm glad there are others out there who notice that outdoor sports involves fashion.

I'm not totally against the newstyle camo-uber-alles approach, though. At one point I ruled against camo, banning it to the outer dark. I accept it now in a transgressive sense, but that's not classic.

When it gets really cold out, warm is the only virtue, eh?

Say, I really like that overall vintage approach that the second poster mentions. There are so many ways to build in QUALITY to the outdoor pursuits and, frankly, all of them involve vintage! Or at least classic style (some new items have it).

I've long wanted to do a two-part article comparing the experience of two adventures: one done hyper-modern (ultralight, carbonfiber, goretex, etc.) style, the other done with wicker, wood and wool! Leather, too. With one you bring freezedried food and "leave no trace" with the other you bring steaks and wine and build campfires (while leaving no trash). Or maybe just catch and shoot your meat. A camping trip wants firearms but that's not the post-modern way. People talk about it being 'wrong' or 'unethical' to bring firearms into wilderness. Huh? On one of my outings I stumbled onto bears 3 times, all in the wrong ways (accidentally got between a sow and cubs, etc.). I swore then that I'm packing heat. A vintage revolver, of course.

Oh, here's something: I go to a deer camp with some new hunters. Other camps come visit us. They're of the modern style, with shiny plastic rifles. I've shown our camp another way and everyone so far is biting: so we use classic old rifles, with Savage 99's starring in the lead role. The other camps go for new, new every year. We keep going for acquiring family heirlooms. New can be good but something worth handing down seems better to us.

What fun!

 

[JeffOYB]

PS: Here's something else: I have something I call "urban camo." The right combo of nice vintage clothes works as totally fine camo. So you can go hunting in such an outfit (or fishing---shallow water fish are shy, too). But you can also stroll a neighborhood or countryside and not attract negative attention.

Now, something else that has changed since vintage days is that we're a paranoid indoor nation. So when I go strolling I'm as a rule the only person out and about in the countryside. That's how it is in our semi-rural/burban region anyway. It's rather dismaying but at least it's not crowded.

What's more, when I grew up around here the vacant land and woodlots were just that and open to hikers, hunters, etc. Today there's almost as much open land but any that isn't farmed or in process of development is usually posted against humans. (It's interesting that our local mega-developers often take decades to ruin some land but in the meantime it's open to the public, which is nice.) I'd say that nothing in human behavior has changed since a few decades ago, in fact people are far tidier and far fewer even have an interest in going outside. But the land is posted. Or if it's not the owners just forgot to. Everyone is hateful and afraid. This can be taken for granted. That's our milieu. And that's where urban camo fits in. If I want to stroll along a riverbank a half mile from any dwelling, not in any hunting season, not bothering anyone, I now can. And no one will panic if they notice me above the TV thru the picture window. Because they don't notice me. I don't do this often, not that I know of, but it's nice to know that I'm not causing any alarm. I use polite good judgement. Seeing a person out strolling a quarter mile away is truly enough to give most of our big-lot (mansion on 10 acres) residents a heart attack. It's not for everyone, I know, but for those who grew up in the land of the free and Woody Guthrie, I hope my theory isn't too bothersome.

 

[Harp]

Weapon

What cal load and range for your weapon? One eighty yards or better?
Maximum effective range? (I presume smooth bore not rifled barrel)
Very impressive togs, old boy. Also, what is the loader's weight?

 

[The Reno Kid]

While my clothing wasn't vintage for my elk hunt, my weapon was. I used a WWI U.S. military issue .30-06. It looks a bit rough, but it is deadly accurate. It was probably made by Springfield Armory but it's hard to tell. The only marking on it is a tiny U.S. Army Ordnance Corps grenade symbol stamped into the barrel.

 

[carebear]

Post a picture and Michaelson can tell you the name of teh guy who carved the stock.

(and I might be able to date it with a serial number prefix)

 

[carebear]

It'd be neat to see a modern day hunting camp like the ones pictured in the old Winchester etc. ads.

Lots of wool and canvas.

 

[BellyTank]

I love canvas and duck(cotton)- just bought some...

Vintage camping and outdoor gear-I'm all for it.

B
T

 

[scotrace]

Going Afield in Style

This stuff is nice.

 

[Feraud]

What cal load and range for your weapon? One eighty yards or better?
Maximum effective range? (I presume smooth bore not rifled barrel)
Very impressive togs, old boy. Also, what is the loader's weight?

He mentioned muzzleloading deer hunt. I assume an .50 caliber rifled barrel at least. Effective range is about 100 or 125 yds? It has been a while for me and my muzzleloaders.

 

[Atticus Finch]

Hi JeffYOB and All,

I also like dress a bit vintage when I hunt. To me, hunting is mostly about tradition anyway. The problem is, here in the Old North State, hunters are required to wear bright orange that is visible from 360 degrees around the hunter. While I applaud this law, it does spoil the vintage look I'm usually trying to achieve.

Atticus

 

[boomerchop]

Great outfit. Moving evermore in the natural direction myself, whether hiking, bicycling or just traveling. Wool, leather, canvas, Can't beat it and it's quiet too.

I am curious about the first picture though JeffYOB. Just what are those horses doing flying around in that tree behind you?

 

[JeffOYB]

Ha... I was wondering when someone would notice the horses! Good eye! My wife is an artist, mostly fabric art (her scarf sales beat my book sales, but the race isn't over!), but she's also into folk art, being such an artist herself, so for whatever reason she likes the idea of rescuing old toy springer horses and the looks of them hanging in our trees. Good clean wacky fun.

About our elk-hunting Springfield shooter: Perhaps the perfect rifle! An all-time great. Can't go wrong. But isn't it WW1 mostly? I have the WW2 hero: an M1. Not so hot for hunting, but wondrous for paper targets at 1000 yds. (I've only shot 200 yd paper, myself, but small paper...and iron sights, just like the 1000 yd shooters. It's amazing how accurate one can still be.)

About my muzzleloader: it's a more traditional .45 cal. I'm a Michigander. My shots are typically 50 yds (25-70). It's fine for that range. I loaned it to a pal who got one with it a month ago. It's accurate. He dropped it in its tracks. I love how it's not so loud or harsh kicking. Stylish, in a word. (The stock has feathering on it under where I'm holding it.)

Yeah, a traditional-style hunt camp would be great to do and to see pics of. We came close when I was growing up. All the 5 uncles and several cousins would go up north and we'd stay in the old family WW2 canvas tent with wood stove and smoke-stack and sleep in a big area of hay at the back of the tent. We had tables, chairs, cupboards. We used the same old logs as always, left in the woods. We'd drive deep into the woods on a 2-track to the old family spot on public land, tie the logs up in the trees, as ridgepoles and the like, then set up the tent. Great fun. My oldest unc still wore red plaid wool then.

Yeah, orange is a problem for a classy hunter, but I've come to accept it, even appreciate it. There's some style there but not classic. I often skirt the rule---see the orange in the pocket in the pic. I put on the vest when hiking out. Then I hang it near my blind. Otherwise, in the pocket with part of it hanging out, not 360 but something anyway.

--Jeff Potter

 

[Harp]

While my clothing wasn't vintage for my elk hunt, my weapon was. I used a WWII U.S. military issue .30-06. It looks a bit rough, but it is deadly accurate. It was probably made by Springfield Armory but it's hard to tell. The only marking on it is a tiny U.S. Army Ordnance Corps grenade symbol stamped into the barrel.

Starlite Springfield '03 WWI or M1 Garand? Both fire .30-06 as I recall.

 

[Harp]

About my muzzleloader: it's a more traditional .45 cal. I'm a Michigander. My shots are typically 50 yds (25-70). It's fine for that range. I loaned it to a pal who got one with it a month ago. It's accurate. He dropped it in its tracks. I love how it's not so loud or harsh kicking. Stylish, in a word. (The stock has feathering on it under where I'm holding it.)
--Jeff Potter

Not overly familiar with MZloaders, thought at least a .45 or.50, looks
a beaut.

 

[Big Man]

Vintage hunting camps

Well, maybe this is "too vintage", but it sure is fun.

We have a group of folks who enjoy 18th century hunting and exploring. All of us use flintlock rifles or fowlers (usually in the .50 to .75 cal range), and wear clothing and use equipment documentable to the period.

I would like to begin doing some things more in the 1920 - 1930 time frame, and have evolved (or digressed ?) to this look.

The shotgun in this photo is a single barrel 12 ga Spencer, cir. 1930. For deer hunting, I have an old .45-70 Springfield Trapdoor or a 1903 Springfield (.30-06). Ironically, this is the "style" of hunting I grew up with. I didn't realize then that I was emulating the vintage style. [huh]

 

[Harp]

Great pix/post Big Man.:eusa_clap
You must be fond of that 1903 Springfield. One storied rifle.