Perry

G/Day Folks, I had a heap of Scrap Leather that was not really big enough for projects but too big to throw away. Usually I make Archery Finger Tabs from it or use it for incerts in fancy Knife Sheaths, Armguards etc. I have a fascination with Primitive to pre 1900 Hunting Equipment and over recent years have been culling my modern gear for Equipment styled after the Primitive / pre 1900 stuff with a few modern cheats like press studs and shock cord. The Goal is to make myself mishmash of Primitive to Colonial Era Kit to suit my needs. I am also endeavouring to replace Gadget's with greater Bushcraft Skills I am slowly finding patterns and working out how to make this gear Period Correct. I can only say it's lazyness that I used the Press Studs and Shock Cord with these first Possibilities Bags. The Pattern I used is actually an Old Style Sporan and is quite simple to put together and able to be easily made into different style Possibilities Bags This small Possibilities Bag is fitted with a neck Cord and will be used to carry a Compass, a some Dried Fruit and Nuts. Its the right size to use as a Camera Case and I have incorporated a Belt Loop into it. I used Kangaroo Hide, this piece is good and thick yet soft and strong This Larger Bag has a Shoulder Strap and a Belt Loop. I'll use it to carry my Binoculars, Fire Kit etc. I do not like to carry something that has less than one use and thought "Why the hell not" so laced a panel with 4 Cartridge Loops onto the front of the Bag. These Loops will accept my .44 Mag, 35.303 [pictured] and 45.70 Cartridges [soon as the PTA comes through for it]. This particular one is very much a prototype and the Leather is perhaps a little thin, then again it is Kangaroo Hide so is very strong for it's thickness and all I had Next projects will include 100% period correct Possibilities Bags and a Black Powder Bag. I already have a Leather Water Bootle that holds 1950 ml, cant lay claim to making it but have been using it for years with no trouble. So I'll be good to go for my typical Morning / Afternoon Hunts regards Jacko

Interesting thread Folks. I just bought an Ultrafire C2 and a tape switch from Deal Extreme as I wanted the single mode for use with the Tape Switch and am happy with them for my use on my Browning .22. I am impressed with the Run time of the 18650 batteries also. I can not help but wonder how much more throw the light would have with a smooth reflector and a converging glass lense ?? Fenring will the mods you listed swap into my C2 or are they only suitable for Torches like the Solarforce. I am considering purchasing a second Torch and based on what I've read in this and other threads the Solarforce looks like a good well priced option. regards Jacko

If you want to take some time to look through that website you will find a number of similar Torch's that come with Tape switch's for between $20 and $30 inc free postage and a selection of Mounts I'm looking quite seriously at one for a cheap walk about light on my BL22 regards Jacko

I can't give specific brand advice but can suggest you look at a layered clothing system. After years of Day hunting the Northern New England I ended up cutting back on the bulk of my warm clothing. A few years back while hunting the Northern New England in August we woke to a brisk -14 and all I wore was a Good Leather Boots, wool socks, Tshirt, regular Auscam camo gear and an lightly quilted Auscam vest, a bennie under a Cap and gloves. Yes I was still cold but not uncomfortably so. Within 10 minutes of leaving camp and starting too climb a challenging hill I'd heated up to the point I needed to open the vest, another 10 minutes I'd removed it and the Bennie, the gloves followed. I had room in my combo hydration / small day pack to pack these small layered items but little else Mates wore thermal under garments under there Auscam gear, Balaclava's, Gloves and had heavy Jackets. In the end their Jackets became cumbersome as they had to tie them around their waist's as they would not pack into their hydration / day packs. In my view Layered clothing systems are the go but you must bare in mind packing them about for the remainder of the hunt when you and the rest of the Day warms up. It will boil down to whats best suited to the area and duration of your Hike / Hunt. regards Jacko

The best advice is still to get down to a club and have a look at what folks are using but if you are confident in knowing your draw length, arrow spine etc drop into a dealer or order on online I have bought gear from this mob in the past and find them good. http://www.archeryshop.com.au/ Here'a a link to some other Aussie archery shops. http://www.xmarks.com/site/www.archerymart.com.au/ Sadly I find it much cheaper to order arrow components and other accesories from oversea's, often 50% cheaper including frieght. I like Lancaster Archery Supply/ Tradtech Archery, I have received goods in under a week when ordering from them http://www.lancasterarchery.com/ Most Bowhunters in Australia use a Bow Quiver but they can unbalance a bow and they do add weight. Any of these links have a wide range of Bow, Hip or Back mounted Quivers for you the choose. Good luck with your new gear. Archery even Compound Archery is the greatest game on earth. regards Jacko

With some miles already under your belt you should be able to handle 60# if you have been shooting 50# for that long. Still, they must be bloody big cats to need 60# A modern 60# Compound is capable of taking anything that walks this continent. I'm interested if you are using sights, release aid etc or are you shooting barebow. Arrows, carbon or Alloy, Bow Quiver ? etc as this has a bearing on what type of Compound is best suited. A long axil to axil Compound is best suited to a finger release while the myriad of short axil to axil Compounds are better suited to a releaase aid, sights etc I'm not one for brand loyalty with Bows, anything on the market in your price range will be a good shooter, especially if you compare it against bows from 3 or 4 years ago, it's likely these cheaper bows share yesterdays top of the line models features. In the end it will boil down to what grabs your attention and suits needs If you are looking for a challenge, why not buy yourself a Traditional bow, plenty of good bows on the market in that same price range. It's still regarded as somewhat of a Holy Grail, taking a Deer with a Trad bow. regards Jacko

jack32, am I correct in assuming you are an inexperienced archer. 70# is way too much bow for a begginner. You will develop bad habits and risk injury. Trust me you do not use the muscles you use in Archery very often and they need easing into a heavy draw weight. Even at the bottom of it's adjustment range it will be too much bow. You really need to start with something in the 50# peak range. You will learn the correct form with out having to struggle breaking over the cams on the bow. A 50# peak weight Compound will still push a razor sharp 2 blade broadhead clean through a Big Boar so fast you'll swear you missed. It will be much easier on you physically while you are new to Archery. By all means upgrade after a year or so. I have seen this pattern 100's of times and it always ends badly. Please attend a club and get the correct advice. You can buy a new Compound good for a beginner for well under $500 and a quality 2nd hand bow for the same. Please think again. I see Archers that should know better in a pointless search for more speed, performance, flatter trajectory etc etc shooting 70# bows and their freckle puckers and unpuckers every time they draw the thing, their form is bloody terrible. The smart ones wake up and drop down to 60# max - and they have been shooting for years. I shoot a traditional bow which has nothing like the performance of a modern compound. I shoot 45# to 50# bows paired with 550 to 600 grain arrows travelling at around 170fps is plenty for any game I hunt. As a young fella I shoot much heavier Traditional bows and Compounds than your looking at. I am paying the price now. I have had xrays / scans etc done and my skeleton shows the exact wear patterns the medievil archers had. I am in danger of not being able to shoot a hunting weight bow due to this wear and tear. I have all the strength in the world to shoot very heavy Traditional bows but am restricted to a 50# max due to being a young #### and not listening to older more experienced heads. With modern equipment of any type there is no need to shoot the heavy draw weights of past times. You could expect a 50# Compound with a 500 gr arrow to shoot at 240 fps minimum which will streak across any sensible hunting range and put a world of hurt on most game animals in Australia. A lighter arrow will give the speeds I indicated earlier but has less momentum and will not penetrate as well. I know folks that have successfully used a 50# to 55# Recurve bows to shoot Scrub bulls cause thats all they had. They simply used very heavy arrows. It's not the best choice but it demonstrates what even a Trad bow is capable of in the hands of a cool experienced Bowhunters hands. PM me with the area you live and I will search for the closest club, I may even be able to find someone willing to teach you how to shoot and how to select suitable gear. regards Jacko

Dozens of compounds on the market fit that description. Best advice I can give is to find a local Archery club and go along to try before you buy, get some lessons on how to shoot properly and listen and learn from helpfull folks advice about what too buy before you do and make an educated purchase. In my 30 years plus in Archery I have seen hundreds and hundreds of people turn up at a club only with hock shop, gun shop or sports store mismatched bows and arrows. Invariably they don't like to hear they got ripped off. Some grit there teeth, buy matched gear and become capable archers - others disappear sadly to start flinging arrows in the general direction of Pelicans or Wallabies and give the greenies ammunition to have Bowhunting banned. Sorry to sound heavy jack 32 , I just want to see you buy the right gear and become proficient in it's use Shooting a Bow is not easy, regard a hunting arrow as a razor sharp knife traveling at 260 fps and you begin to realise the damage a Compound and matched arrow is capable of. You will become more proficient more quickly with a Compound and modern accesories but proficient in 3 weeks does not mean ready to hunt, it will take time to develop muscle memory and the skills to become a good shot under field conditions. regards Jacko

goswasere' I'm a Wog myself I'm not adverse to spending cash on hunting toys, dropping a bundle as we speak on a SMLE with and a mix of the previous generations inventiveness and modern " improvements??". As for more "productive things", that's why I use the signature I do regards Jacko

No angst or having a go in my comment camfish. Its not just on forums, face to face younger folks talk about the same topic with different voice inflection, tone and choice of words , this comes through on forums as well. Youthful exuberance vs life experience. I had hoped that folks would understand I was having a go at the marketing crowd and not younger folks in my post. Younger folks have spent there lives being bombarded with marketing crap and it's clouding needs from wants - consumerism gone mad. I have the advantage of a little experience before the marketing era and do ponder how for generations before this one hunters feed there family's without using all the marketed gizmo's and other crap that's on the market today. regards Jacko

Marketing has really got a foot hold in Hunting today. To the degree that their hype replaces fact and in some country's game laws have been designed around these marketing lies misconceptions Having said that I do hunt in camo cloths now day's. One reason is they are cheaper than a quality pair of Blue jeans and a decent checked flanno. There is also no doubt that in some situations camo is of benefit. The hard part is sorting the marketing crap out. Tez338, Guess I'm an old fella as well - I see the attitude you talk of ALL the time on forums and immediately know the general age range of the fella posting Old enough to remember when a hunter could get in close wearing Blue Jeans and a checked flanno shirt. Game wasn't armored back in them days either, could kill it just fine with a sporterized .303 and didn't need a 460Loundenboomer and a computer program regards Jacko

Not that there's anything wrong with that Happy Jack regards Jacko

I use M2D camo. It is based around long grass which blend very well with the vast majority of vegetation in all the area's I hunt from 1000 k west of Brisbane to the New England ranges http://www.m2dcamo.com/

I have at least more than a few knives myself and none of them are suitable for everything I find myself using them for , guess I'll just have to keep collecting until I get the perfect knife . My missus does not get it either. regards Jacko

Gidday all Perry here ,answer to Jacko as well - been into archery / bowhunting for over 30 years . Done some rifle and shotgun hunting inbetween as well . Just bought a new Rossi leveraction that I'm keen to hunt with regards Perry