Dress for Outdoor Success ~by Dave Olsen

My friend asked me, “How do you live up in South Dakota when it is so cold? Do you guys really go outside?” Then a terrifying thought hit him as he said,”I think I would die spending a day out in sub zero weather.”

Well folks, we do live in an extreme place. Oh granted there are many places much harsher to spend time in than South Dakota, we get a wide range of weather from 100F plus in the summer to -40F below zero. Due to these extreme climate changes South Dakota is a great place to test outdoor gear.

The answer to my friend was simple. We dress, prepare, and plan appropriately for the weather. The most important of these is dressing appropriately for the activity at hand. It is possible you can put on too many clothes on a sub-zero day. If you do, it causes you to sweat inside your layers; you don\’t want this to happen because your clothes will become wet from the sweat. Then the cloth will freeze from the cold temps in turn causing your body temperature to drop.

To avoid that scenario you need to ask yourself the following questions.

#1 Plan: What am I doing to be doing outside today?

#2 Prepare: If my plans call for different activity levels – What do I need to take with me?

#3 Dress: Dress for the weather and for the day.

Today I spent most of the day outside with South Dakota temps around zero or less. I am going to mention some items I use. Please keep in mind I have no sponsors for this article; I just want to share what works for me.

Next to my skin I wear silk long underwear. I find silk to be my favorite for a light weight insulating layer, it moves well under any type of secondary layer, dries quickly, and wicks moisture away from your skin. Next layer of clothing I wear is fleece sweat pants and a sweat shirt. Yes I know, I am not going to win any fashion shows wearing sweats all day, and some days I wear jeans but no matter the winter weather I always wear layers. My outer layer today is Carhart Arctic bib overall bottoms and a Carhart arctic coat. For my feet I wear Wetland Muck boots with cotton socks, (I find the wetland boots work very well to minus ten or so) a bomber rabbit fur lined hat, Kinco insulated gloves and a silk wild rag around my neck. Of course eye protection from the bright sun glaring off of the snow. I spent over six hours in zero degree temps today and was not cold at all wearing the above items. For years our family has worked, hunted, and played outdoors year round. We have bought cheap gear, and some extremely expensive gear.  I will tell you GEAR makes all the difference in the world.

Thinsulate and other new fibers are awesome stuff. Know how many grams plus the temperature rating in the gear you are buying. Take time to read some reviews, You will spend more time enjoying the outdoors and less warming up or worse, suffering from exposure.

The Muck boots I wore today weigh about 5 lbs. I use them for hunting in the fall, all winter, and throughout the spring. The Wetland Muck Boot is an extreme boot for extreme field conditions. They are rugged, durable, comfy and very warm. These boots keep my feet warm and dry even in the most unpredictable temperatures of South Dakota. You can find them via http://www.hanksclothing.com/muck_boots_wetland_premium_field_boot_buy. html

Arctic Carhart clothing holds up to the rigors of ranch work as well as hunting. Mine are still in service after ten years of hard use. I have put in a few zippers and patched a spot or two where the fence has bitten me, but the quality is unbeatable. I give two thumbs up to the folks at Carhart, this stuff works. I have many of their products and love them all. I prefer Black; it soaks in the suns warmth giving that little extra on the days when you really need it. It also makes it easy to be spotted in the snow. Shop for these products via   http://www.hanksclothing.com/carhartt_arctic_wear.html

Silk wild rags can be purchased in many places, don\’t think you\’re going to stay warm by being cheap, 100% silk is the only way to go in this item. Here is a vendor I have not used, but I like the fact they guarantee the items they sell http://cowboywildrags.com/index.html

Silk wild rags are one of the coolest looking things you can wear to keep you warm.

Gloves, I should have mentioned two rules earlier, if your feet or fingers get cold, YOU ARE COLD! Buy the right gear for the activity you are taking part in. Here are a few of my favorite places to shop for gloves; yes I know I am a bit of a glove junkie. http://www.kinco.com/prods/L03.php http://geierglove.com/ http://www.sullivanglove.com/scripts/default.asp

Silk underwear is my choice, but some folks enjoy others; try them to find what works best for you and your body. Compare all kinds all prices and shop from a source you trust. Buy American made when possible. http://www.wintersilks.com/ three weights of silk http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/guide-gear-china-silk-clothing- .aspx?a=40252 china silk http://www.underarmour.com/ Under Armor http://thesocksite.com/100-cotton-midweight-waffle-knit-thermal- underwear-p-559.html Cotton

Heat escapes out of the top of your head so choosing a warm topper is a must. I prefer a rabbit fur lined bomber hat. I have several depending on the outing. The fur lining is soft and light weight, making this very comfortable as well as toasty warm. http://www.madbomber.com/store/

Over the years growing up watching my father, I learned to value good gear and how to take care of it so it can take care of you. Don\’t be afraid to pay for quality; research, shop, and purchase wisely. Quality never goes out of style and chances are it will not wear out or fail when you need it most. If we can help you with any gear purchase please feel free to give a call. We are consumers just like you. The above mentioned sites are for reference and research only; we are not affiliated with them. Here at the ranch we don\’t make any clothing or get paid to mention brands, we work hard and play hard putting our gear to the test every time we go out the door. When we find something we like, we not only use it, but try hard to share what we learn with others along the way so they might spend more time comfortably enjoying the great outdoors too.

Dave is a Team Huntress Outdoor Ambassador, South Dakota Hunt Safe Instructor, outfitter, certified concealed carry, competition hunter and President of Pheasant Phun Inc. As an avid outdoorsman he enjoys a wide variety of outdoor activities.

See the original article at TeamHuntress.com

Tags: activity, article, clothes, dress, family, feet, plans, skin, spring, summer

I know, that title doesn\’t make a whole lot of sense, but somehow after what happened yesterday and how I feel today, and what I feel like I should do tomorrow it all makes perfect sense.  In short, yesterday I got talked into going chukar hunting with two of my sons, Todd and Tom.  Today I feel like I got hit by a bus and tomorrow I got this hankering to go see a psycho to find out why I let myself get talked into this excursion.  Worst of all I have only to look in the mirror to find the guy who introduced these two to the joys of chasing these feathered fiends all over the hills.  When the three boys were small and woke up on Saturday mornings between September and January, wondering where dad was, if he wasn\’t elk or deer hunting, they more than likely heard that he was chukar hunting.  So I\’m sure there was a certain amount of curiosity as to what this chukar hunting was all about, especially since there was very little meat that came out of these hunts.

In this barren country there is some real beauties such as this water fall which we found a short distance from the road.

Now I\’m reaping my reward for getting them cranked up about such a hopeless cause.  My mind is still saying yes but the body is calling me some awful names.   Deep inside I knew better, but it wasn\’t until we stopped at the base of the hill and looked up that I had to face the fact that my smarts had stayed at home.  Roaming the hills for elk is one thing, but chasing these berating little birds is another.

Looking down river on the Snake. This is looking at the south slopes where the snow line is higher.

The boys were kind enough to give me the south slope of the hill to hike up on as the north slope became snow covered shortly after leaving the pickup.  We had hiked for an hour, seeing no birds and hearing no shots, before I started getting those familiar feelings of being snookered by my own mind into thinking this would be fun.  Shortly after I was reasoning with myself and coming up with the sane idea that there was no birds around and I might as well head back down.  Just then I heard my first bird calling and as close as I could tell it was coming from way up in the head of the canyon.  To those that haven\’t heard the chukars\’ call, it sounds like their name ‘chukar\’, but to those that have hunted them it sounds more like \’sucker\’.  I don\’t know what there is in that call that makes us do stupid things, but all thoughts of reason and the pickup disappeared and I headed back up the canyon.  Looking across the canyon I could see the boys struggling in the snow but they had evidently heard them too and were heading up the hill.

Lunch break, Todd and Tom. Thank goodness for the ridges which gave some relief from the deep snow.

Within thirty minutes I too had reached snow line even on the south slope, and shortly thereafter found out what the boys had been dealing with.  I had kind of thought they were over doing it that morning when they put on there heavy boots as I chose my 6″ hikers.  Sons are now smarter than dad.  It was the kind of snow where you could walk on the crust four or five steps then you\’d fall though.  First it was up to the knee, then it became up to the high center mark.  I was exhausted, but those birds sounded just around the corner.  The next time I fell though the crusted snow I lost one of my 6″ hikers and it\’s just as well as I had to take the other one off too as it also was needing to be emptied of snow.  I hadn\’t gone 20 feet when the bottom went out again.  I was just standing awkwardly in this hole wondering if it would work to call AAA to get me a tow truck to pull me out when less then 10 yards ahead of me two chuckers took off.  I should have saved my lead but I didn\’t come this far or work this hard just to watch chukars fly off without a fight.  They were far enough out there by the time I got situated good enough to shoot that I\’m sure all those #6 shot were responding to gravity long before they got to the birds.   I was thoroughly disgusted with myself and was having a little talk with self when a third bird barrelled out from the same bush.  Bird going down hill, pull below it and fire.  This bird was going down hill, but was still on the rise.   Self, your brain has got to react faster then that.  I had reached my limit so I sat there and waited for the boys to come around to where I was.  As they came I saw at least 4 covies leave the area ahead of them.  These birds had evidently been well educated and were leaving early.

Getting below snow level we spread out for one more shot. Nice thought but not very productive.

When Todd and Tom reached me, they dined on their cold pizza and I on my chicken sandwich as we discussed our disgust for these birds.  These were some of the most uncooperative birds we had ever seen.  One thing we acknowledged was defeat and we might as well start our 1600′ vertical decent to the pickup.   When we cleared snow line we spread out along the hillside to give it one last try.  Hope springs forever, you know, for hunters.   Tom got caught blowing his nose when a bunch of 15 got up and he gave them a ‘fair thee well\’ send off.  About twenty minutes later I had a long shot at the same bunch I think.   So as Todd put it, I was 0 for 4, Tom was 0 for 1 and he hadn\’t missed all day so he did the best.  I couldn\’t argue with that.  It still doesn\’t give us much to eat though.

The snow storm hit us about half way down and kept us moving till we hit the road at the bottom.

The thing that scares me the most about myself after that day is, if the season were still open next Saturday, I\’d probably be fool enough again to have another go at them.

This article by: BaseCampLegends.com

Tags: article, chucker hunting, hill, hills, hunting, monday-morning, north, pickup, road, time

Late fall/early winter is a great time to start tying up some patterns to restock the fly boxes depleted by another year on the water, lets not abandon the fishing quite yet.  I have had several great days on the river this past month.  It does get a bit hit and miss as the weather and the water temps cool but when you hit it right the fishing can be outstanding.  I have still been running into some great baetis hatches around here and so with that in mind I thought I would share my favorite pattern when fish are sipping the Blue Winged Olive Duns off the rivers surface.  This pattern is basically a Sparkle Dun with a biot body, and I use a CDC feather for the trailing shuck instead of Z-lon. I like the Sparkle dun because it is so versatile.  I think fish feeding on emergers, duns, and spinners could all find a reason to take a well placed Sparkle Dun.  This version is quite simple to tie, it floats well, and is fairly easy to see even in the small sizes that will often be required.

Lets get started with the materials:
• Hook: #18 or smaller Tiemco 100 or equivalent dry fly hook
• Thread: Olive 8/0
• Wing: Olive Deer Hair
• Tail/Shuck: One Natural Brown CDC feather
• Body: Gray Olive Turkey Biot
• Thorax: Medium Olive Fine Dry Fly Dubbing

1) In the winter months the bugs that do hatch tend to be small.  For our rivers in Southeast Idaho I usually tie this pattern in sizes from #18-#24.  You can definitely go larger or smaller if needed.

2) Tie in a clump of deer hair about 2/3 down the shank of the hook.  I make about 3 good turns while holding the back of the hair so it stays on top of the hook while the tips flare out.  Then clip the backs as close as you can at a 45 degree angle.

3) Next I pull up about 1/3 of the hair and make a wrap in front of it, then proceed to pull up another third, again making a wrap in front of that, then finally pull the remaining hairs straight up and wrap in front so that all the hair is standing up on the fly.  Then be sure to build up a good thread dam in front of the wing as if you don\’t, when the fly gets wet the wing will lean forward on you.  Then wrap the thread back to behind the wing and tie down the loose ends on that side.

4) Now tie in the CDC feather on top of the hook shank.  I don\’t worry about how long the tail sticks out as I cut it later.

5) Continue securing the CDC feather wraping back to where the shank meets the bend.

6) Now I trim the tail to about 3/4 hook shank length.

7) Next tie in a Goose or Turkey Biot Quill with the notch facing left.  Advance the thread to just behind the wing.

Wrap the biot using nice even wraps toward where you stopped the thread, then tie it off and clip the excess.

9) Next I simply dub a nice football shaped thorax using 2-3 wraps behind the wing and 3-4 in the front of it.

10) Finally make a nice even thread head and tie off the fly.  Dab some head cement on there and you are ready to fish.

Play with the color scheme to match other mayfly hatches in your area as well.  I like this pattern tied in appropriate colors for the summertime PMD hatches too.  Most of all have fun and catch some fish!

This article by: BaseCampLegends.com

See the original article at TeamHuntress.com

Tags: article, blue, general outdoors, hair, hook, linkedin, month, pattern, river, sparkle, tips, weather, wing, winter

The sound of antler tines colliding with juniper branches in the early morning light brings my senses to high alert. The frozen ground gives away the bulls position as hooves skid on slick rock and stone. I see three bulls moving through the dense juniper and cedar brush, the first two move through the morning too quickly to allow for shot. As the third bull enters a small opening I utter a low whistle, stopping him in his tracks and take careful aim.

The sound of a rifle shot echoing away on the early morning wind always seems so alien to me, I usually hunt with bow and the birds are still singing and the forest sounds still heard even after the killing shot has been released. As I approach the old bull his last breath is escaping on the breeze, the smell of elk hangs heavy in the air. I say my prayers to the creator and thanks is given for the harvest, I offer up some grass and water to the bull, an old way of honoring our fallen prey. The sun begins to rise over the eastern mountains while magpies start to chatter from the surrounding trees in excited anticipation of the feast that will remain after the bull is butchered and packed out. I wonder aloud, how many trails has this old bull has walked, how many dangers has he escaped, what hunters has he eluded, only to find his end here on this red earth on a cold October morning. When I reach the end of my journey on this earth, will I meet death with as much honor and strength ad this old warrior? Probably not.. but I will recall in my last moments …so many mornings like this, filled with the chatter of magpies, the smell of rich earth and the sight of new sunshine.. And know that I have been fortunate to have known the wilderness, to have felt her embrace and to drink from her natural splendors.. yes brothers and sisters of the wild places.. I will be able to say that I have lived…not just existed.. Hawk a/ho

This article by: Journey with Red Hawk

See the original article at GotHunts.com

Tags: article, away-the-bulls, bull, creator, earth, hunting, surrounding, warriors-final