Hunting Abo

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

  I made this post on another forum...mostly full of other people who may not understand or agree with "my ways", but figured I should share is over here on PA as well.  More widely accepted on this site I do believe.....  anyways ----------                       
Since George was looking for more primitive topics, and I am inclined to agree, I figured I would make a topic about moving further into abo hunting, beyond my equipment. Those that know me know I make all my own gear and only hunt with selfbows, natural shafted arrows (usually cane) and only stone points. It all started with me several years ago by making my own bow to hunt with, the same year I killed a doe with an osage bow that I made and arrows I made from dowel rods. I was off and running and trying to get more primitive as the years have passed. Now I make everything and honestly am running out of things "to make". So I have decided this year I would take my whole approach to hunting differently. I haven't used any commercial camo in several years and I have loved the nostalgic look of the brown Dickies and Plaid shirts...however very traditional, not very primitive. I always hear controversy between the plaid guys and the camo guys and decided this year I'd take it further. Last year I got some skins to wear and made some moccasins...but let me tell you, hunting in FL..or anywhere for that matter in early archery season is just too hot to be wearing skins. I hoped to find some interesting alternatives and realized that in a primitive word, simplicity was the order of the day. When it's hot out you go without the clothes... Now I am not talking about "naked castaway" or "naked and afraid" here.. it's actually just a coincidence that these new "naked" shows have been airing on the tv. I have been planning my low clothing trek since last winter. I have spent all spring and summer thus far in shorts and bare feet to get a tan and toughen my feet up. In fact I hunted barefoot several times in turkey season. I also use to stalk Mule deer barefoot when I lived in Montana. I don't plan on being naked either.... that's pretty much not socially accepted and pretty much unnecessary. I would wear a breech cloth...but that is just as socially unacceptable... so I have decided to just wear simple shorts as my "modern day breech cloth". I know there will likely be many people who scauff at the idea of a man being shirtless or shoeless in this day and age. Fact is my own 10 yr old niece has labeled me a "hobo" for wearing only a pair of shorts. Like it or not, one thing to remember is people lived with minimal clothes for thousands of years, and many cultures around the world still do.

The reason behind all this is to not only fit the visual roll of the primitive hunter, but also to bring me closer to my environment. Since spending most of my time in barefeet, I can stalk much quieter and it has slowed me down in the woods a lot. I also feel that going shirtless will bring on a lot of the mosquito problems that the natives had to endure and force me to use plant alternatives as insect repellants. But Why? why would I choose to do this? same reason we all choose to hunt the way we do. Challenge and a sense of accomplishment of doing things just a little bit harder.

so go for it, give me your input, positive or negative, we are all entitled to our opinions, just keep it clean and be respectful. - Ryan

[Gus]

Man I think this idea is Cool as Heck.

I have a long way to go yet.
Still working on building All my own kit.

As kids, 11 through 14 years of age, my group of friends and I hunted Russian Boar with Homemade Spears. Hand forged spear points in the Roman style hafted on Bodark Shafts.
We didn't know nothing about Osage Orange. But Bodark was the toughest shaft material we could come up with.
We hunted shoeless in shorts down around the Guadalupe River Delta. Near a place called Green Lake.

We weren't completely primitive as we carried Pistols as back up... 
Our spears took more than our fair share of wild Hogs.

-gus

[Olanigw (Pekane)]

No hate from here.  I'm doing more barefoot stalking for practice.

I've noticed that the sole of my foot "breaks" before a stick does.

[PrimitiveTim]

Short shorts man!  Like what runners wear     I'm wondering if mud could act as both a mosquito repellent and scent shield.  Covering my body in mud seems like a really fun idea but I'm not really sure how that would work out.  After the mud dries it cracks and I'm sure mosquitoes would bit through those cracks.

Barefoot... there really is no reason to wear shoes once you get used to going barefoot in Florida.  I imagine in rockier places like out west it would be more of a challenge. 

Let us know when you come up with some ABO mosquito repellant   Personally,  I think natives just got bit a lot. lol

[crooketarrow]

  I love what your doing. I've slowly progressed backward also in a lot of ways. I've built everything I have also, over and over and slowly adapted to what works here in WV. I started out stand unting because thats what I knew. I killed lost of bucks same with gun hunting I quit in 05 after 2 strokes in 06 turned me into a total ground hunted. Even though I could use a latter srand there's not way I

[crooketarrow]

  Climb aloff ever again. I hav'nt progressed back to bare foot and skins yet. You'd diffently have to have skins and mockens here. But if I wore a hat it be off to you.
  GO FOR IT

[4dog]

My guess is there are no grassburrs there,cuz i will never hunt barefoot in texas, scorpions,centipedes,grassburrs and fireants,all make for a crappy day in the thicket,but good luck to ya,a bigger man than i.....lol

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

Yeah we have tons of fire ants and centipedes and a fair amount of scorpions... and what we call sandpurs which are likely the same as your grass spurs....violent little balls of thorns. My feet are tough enough now that I know when I step on one, but they don't dig deep like they used to. I can just brush them off now... but yeah the first few sucked.. Growing up I never wore shoes around the house and my feet were tough enough.. but the last decade or so my feet got soft. since going back to barefoot, I have been able to walk summer time blacktop, step on spurs and thorns without too much worry.  I am actually really enjoying having tough feet again.  not wearing through shoes nearly as fast and laundry is was down too..lol I also have socks now when I need them.  Anyone can do it they try..just take s few weeks to toughen up.. when I started back to barefeet I couldn't walk across the yard without limping from a stick or tiny pebble.  after a few months I find that I traverse rocky parking lots littered with broken glass without so much as a hobble...pretty handy at the boat ramp

[nclonghunter]

Wow, you have opened a lot of mental doors with this one. First, let me say congrats on your focus and purpose. What you describe in a short story is a big commitment and you are literally "walking the walk".
I am not certain how far back in time you are trying to go, or how far ABO needs to go to. One mental door views the discovery of Otzi in the mountains wearing fiber sandals or shoes, with goat hide leggings and other articles of woven clothing. He also carried a bow and stone tipped arrows. Looking at Otzi, I would feel comfortable wearing woven fiber clothing and brain tanned leggings, which cap'n all be reproduced today.
I have down a considerable amou t of 18th century reenactments, making skin leggings and cent ssem moccasins from deer hides. I have trekked many miles wearing the leggings and mocs while wearing a breech cloth. Many Native Americans from Florida to Canada wore the basic style of clothing. Brain tanned deer hides tied loosely are cool and protect you. It is also interesting to look at Otzi's clothing and gear and see that even though he was on another continent and many moons separated from a 18th century Creek Indian, what they wore and carried are greatly similar.
Daniel Boone and many 18th Century people did not wear shoes and had feet tough as leather. It was said wearing mocs was just a decent way of going barefoot. Native Americans had tough feet but carried mocs with them. I suspect it just kept small twigs and briers from becoming  wedged between the toes and causing damage. Around camp I would not wear mocs, but when traveling I wore them. You can make your own woodland style mocs and decorate them for wearing at special times.
There, you have some new projects to brain tan and make some useful items. Maybe even a bag to carry your needed fire kit in. Two brain tanned hides sewn at the top with a neck hole can give some additional protection to the upper body as well.
Just some things I look at when viewing history...

[Ryan_Gill_HuntPrimitive]

thanks nclonghunter.  yup I agree with you for sure.  there are times I might wear mocs especially if hunting a briar patch!!  I made a couple pairs of mocs last year. A braintain set and a commerically tanned set.  also have a set of skins to wear when the weather gets cool enough.   One thing I have noticed about myself is. I wear shoes out super quick. I could buy a $150 pair of boots and walk the soles off them within 6 months. I used to struggle to force myself to "buy" mocs with hard bottoms just to keep myself in a good pair.  Since making these and only wearing them when I need to and not just all the time, I am not going through footwear nearly as fast.

that being said i think that primitive peoples would have wanted to save their mocs for when they were truly needed and not wear em just to wear em. This way they would last much longer. It wasn't as simple as going to the store getting new ones, so I imagine they wanted them to last as long as possible.   So when you need them I believe in using them, but I also want my feet tough enough to go without when I dont need them.  now that my feet are good and tough, walking in mocs feels like a really comfortable pair or socks! It should be an interesting hunting year though, I hope to learn a little more by walking a few miles in their....no shoes.

[Marks]

Wow that's a big straw. Now you need a Giant juice box. 
  Ok so it wasn't that funny.

I miss having tough feet. I used to never wear shoes growing up and I could run on gravel no problem. I used to leave home in the morning wearing shoes and come home at night barefooted. The next morning when I needed them I'd have to think about where I left my shoes.  When crocs came out around when I started college I started wearing them and now that is what I wear 99% of the time. They are easy to slip on and I can wear them in stores/restaurants as well as in the creek fishing. Now my feet are soft. I think my wife would be mad if I went back to bare feet. Our carpets would suffer as I would have "kmart" feet all the time.

[Gus]

Ohhh... its a straw...
At first I thought it was a BIG Peace Pipe... 

Nice Duds...

-gus

[iowabow]

I think this a great post and I am head down the path with you. Been tanning hides to replace other stuff.

[Saxton]

  I also feel that going shirtless will bring on a lot of the mosquito problems that the natives had to endure and force me to use plant alternatives as insect repellants. But Why? why would I choose to do this? same reason we all choose to hunt the way we do. Challenge and a sense of accomplishment of doing things just a little bit harder.

so go for it, give me your input, positive or negative, we are all entitled to our opinions, just keep it clean and be respectful. - Ryan

What are using for the insect repellants ?

[sleek]

I like to stand in camp fire smoke to chase the bugs off.... Last for quite some time.