Honing the skills of a woodsman

[GUYZER]

I agree with you ALwoodsman and bartcanoe!!
Here are some pics of some of my trips.






MAY THE SPIRIT OF FRED BEAR GUIDE OUR ARROWS.

[fmscan]

Guyzer, Your post made my day, wonderful pictures, I for one am VERY poor on woodsmanship. Your pictues are a lesson in themselves. Thank you for your post.

[GUYZER]

Thank you for your nice words fmscan.Woodsmanship is easy to learn and Mother Nature is your best teacher.Just go out into the woods and experiment by yourself.That my friend is the way to go!!

MAY THE SPIRIT OF FRED BEAR GUIDE OUR ARROWS.

[Thumper Dunker]

I'm lucky I might Be in this wacked out state But I can and do go hunting all year long. Sneaking up on ground squirrels and jack rabbits is great practice fore larger stuff. Worked in a nursery after high school while taking some Ornamental horticulture classes. Drove my hunting buddies nuts telling them what wild flowers was what ect.

[LB_hntr]

Excellent Topic!!!
I love to practice all sorts of wilderness skills with my kids. We try to make a game of it and each week we pick one skill and practice it. The kids love it and we enjoy spending time togther doing them.
 When ever we have company over they are amazed when i hand my 9 yr old son a fire rod and his knife and tell him go make a bon fire and get rosting sticks ready. the kids have lit about 40 fires each with nothing but a fire rod and striker and natural materials.
This spring we are going to focus alot on shelter building like debris huts, etc.
 We are pretty good with a few wild edibles but this year we are going to learn different ways to cook cattail and make ash cakes from them.
The woods has so many wonderful, yet forgotten things it can teach us.

[Roger Norris]

Awesome pics GUYZER!!

I feel one of my  weak points is id'ing the trees and vegetation. I'm fine with most of the tree's, but the shrubs and grasses elude me me, I'm working on it. ;0)

[MacRae]

I have always (but not in an unhealthy way!) been fascinated with fire.  There is something so primal and magical about it...so, I can make a fire in just about any situation...and always have a bunch of ways to make fire on me when in the woods.  My favorite though?  Flint, steel and char!

Where I lack?  Edible vegetation...

[GreyGoose]

One thing that keeps me from dong as much hunting as I'd like these days is time spent with my son and his Scout troop. My consolation is the satisfaction of sharing camping, woodcraft, ans knowledge and love of nature with youths, and I never regret the time spent - I just wish there were two weekends every week!

[KSdan]

Actually- I would like to see TG/mods add a section on Woodsman skills.  With some guidelines we could keep a running thread of tips and skills.  Would be AWESOME and VERY TRAD in my mind.

[perry f.]

Now Rob, I believe you weren't the only one who made a fire without matches on that backpacking trip.

[Rob W.]

I had forgot about that. Magnesium doesn't count.    :D

[Roger Norris]

Ron LaClair has always told me that nothing hones woodsmanship like a trapline. I believe he is correct. It sure gets one "noticing" things in the bush.

[ChuckC]

I would also like to see a section devoted to helping us learn more about being in the outdoors (not just survival).

I would like to learn more about edible plants and other food sources, how you folks construct and use shelters, especially non pre-made shelters, secrets to making and using fires and everything else.

Sounds both fun and worthwhile.
ChuckC

[Fattony77]

I would absolutely LOVE a woodsmanship thread! What a fantastic idea! I know there's a ton of stuff I would like to learn. I am terrible when it comes to plant identification. Including trees that I should know the differences between.

[Submarinokotbw]

Great Thread! I was not raised in an outdoorsy family. Sure I got outside as a kid and had access to the wilderness, but I have been teaching myself outdoorsmanship since I was in middle school.

Me and my little sister used to noodle for trout in streams behind our house as a kid. 6 in one day was our record.

I have taught myself to identify 100 trees by their bark, leaves, location, branch pattern, and other signs... I even used to know their scientific names too  

I have cautiously learned to identify 16 different types of edible mushrooms over the past 8 years, and they have become part of my fall harvest routine.

Still trying to learn how to start a matchless fire comfortably.

Taught myself how to bowhunt starting four years ago, which is by far my favorite part of outdoorsmanship yet. Though I will admit that without any mentorship it has not been without its frustrations. It continues to be the aspect of my outdoorsmanship that I am the least confident with. I often find myself wishing I had more friends or family members with experience that can help me. I know with patience and experience I will become more comfortable though. I just get impatient sometimes feeling so behind the eight ball at 31 years old  

Thanks for starting this thread. I am always looking for new ideas and help.

[cahaba]

Woodsmanship is something that I am always in need of improvement and is a never ending learning process. Just the simple act of having patience is a fading skill in todays fast paced world.

[Hopewell Tom]

Bowwild is right. Learning tree names was a big step forward for me. I went to Forest Ranger School for my Forestry learning and having the names opens your eyes incredibly. It's a great navigation aid if you get "turned around". You can recognize trees you saw before.
Guyser, you da man! That's woodsmanship in pictures. Those are cozy camps, for sure.
Fire building HAS to be the main thing and practice is how you get and stay good at it. Being able to see where the fire starter material is in the sopping wet/snow is an ART FORM.