Little tips that can make a big difference?

[ftrovato]

No cotton underwear. Chaffing Chaffing Chaffing!

 

[ftrovato]

Bag balm is better for cheeks and noses and better than chapstick on the lips too. Is also great to help heal small abrasions or chaffing you might get. I alway carry a small tin of it. When bird hunting I carry a large tin as the dogs feet get treated with it every morning and night.

I'm a big fan of bag balm and I like your recommendation! More uses than I've ever thought of....great stuff.

 

[Grumpy gumpy]

Re: gators
If I’m on foot I wear gators and steel cap boots, but living here, everything is trying to kill you, even if it can’t, it will still try.
And the I use pull throughs that I’ve sprayed with G96 before putting them in a small screw top container
Gumpy

 

[Altitude sickness]

Pilar, I have used that knot also. It’s a favorite with hard core hikers and scramblers. To be a proper knot. It’s got to be easily untied. Having to use a rope wrench because you tied a mess isn’t a knot.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Pilar, I have used that knot also. It’s a favorite with hard core hikers and scramblers. To be a proper knot. It’s got to be easily untied. Having to use a rope wrench because you tied a mess isn’t a knot.

It's a balancing act. Easily untied can mean easily comes untied. Double bow knot is not easily untied but I have found for my style of hunting (i.e. on the move all day long in rugged conditions) it does untie itself with annoying frequency, especially with "standard" boot laces. I have tried surgeon's knot + bow knot and find that combination does not hold up any better than regular bow knot. My final knot is essentially a surgeon's bow knot bringing the bow twice through the loop rather than just once. It's not quick to untie but why should that be important? I don't need to untie until the end of the day. Then I've got plenty of time to fiddle with untying. In the middle of hunting in subzero weather, retying a knot, especially with old arthritic fingers, can be frustrating.

Waxed nylon braided laces are the best for durability and holding a knot ... if you can find them. The wax makes them "sticky" and great for knots.

 

[Sika98k]

I use bore snake to clean my rifles ... but not the way most do.
1) Drop the brass end through open chamber.
View attachment 655785
2) Step on it and lift the rifle to start pulling bore snake through.
View attachment 655788
3) Once looped end reaches near the chamber, place rag soaked in solvent through the loop.
View attachment 655789
4) Continue stepping on the snake and lifting the rifle until the rag is pulled through. The tighter the rag fits in the bore, the better it will clean it. With this method I can use 30 caliber bore snake to very effectively clean my 404 Jeffery's .423 caliber bore.

I thought we all did it something like that. Personally I’ve given up on boresnakes. A good clean with Thorroclean every 40-50 rounds does a great job.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

On the subject of boots, here's what I built to dry mine out. ABS plastic sewer pipe, 9"x10" plywood, and cheap hair dryer from Walmart. It all fits in a daypack I bought for a couple of bucks at Salvation Army Store. This gets tossed in the cartop carrier on my hunting trips. Pretty much indestructible and dirt cheap. The sewer pipe is screwed to the plywood base from underside. Only drawback is I can only use the low heat setting for hair dryer. High is too hot. It warps the sewer pipe (and I doubt it does the boots much good). I also have a longer piece of pipe for drying out my waterfowl soft case. I can close off one side with a short piece of pipe that's capped.

 

[Randy F]

$35 to $50 bucks. No noise. Plug it in and fagetaboutit.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

View attachment 656613$35 to $50 bucks. No noise. Plug it in and fagetaboutit.

My brother bought one of those. It got broken. I seem to recall the pipes were thin? The hair dryer for my setup can be noisy on high but that gets too hot anyway. Even on low it will dry out my Muck Boots in fifteen to twenty minutes. I have never used it for waders. Mine are breathable and never had a leak. Drying them out has never been an issue. I think the heat fom hair dryer might be too much for them anyway. Can't remember what I paid for the hair dryer but I'm guessing around fifteen bucks. The pipe and a couple of elbows were left over from plumbing the utility sink in laundry room. That stuff is cheap. We also use the hair dryer for taxidermy to quick dry glue and paint. I wish I could use it to dry my hair. Wish I had enough hair to need a hair dryer!

 

[ZG47]

View attachment 656613$35 to $50 bucks. No noise. Plug it in and fagetaboutit.

I bought one, about twenty years ago, getting towards autumn. It paid for itself within 3-4 months by extending the lives of my work boots. It has not been broken because I store it up high when not in use.

 

[KJE81]

I use a similar one like this one, seems to hold up well. Drying the childrens shoes several days a week, the four year old is an expert on getting her shoes wet when its snowy and the eight year old is quite good on getting his damp aswell...

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I use a similar one like this one, seems to hold up well. Drying the childrens shoes several days a week, the four year old is an expert on getting her shoes wet when its snowy and the eight year old is quite good on getting his damp aswell...

View attachment 656645

Interesting! I presume it mounts on the wall? I remember what it was like trying to keep our little ones' winter duds dry. Back then we had one of those old style canister hair dryers with hose that hooked up to a hairnet affair. We just ran the hose into one boot at a time. Slow process! Haven't seen one of those hair dryers in years.

 

[KJE81]

Interesting! I presume it mounts on the wall? I remember what it was like trying to keep our little ones' winter duds dry. Back then we had one of those old style canister hair dryers with hose that hooked up to a hairnet affair. We just ran the hose into one boot at a time. Slow process! Haven't seen one of those hair dryers in years.

Exactly, wall mounted and can handle two pairs of shoes at once, so perfect for our needs.

 

[dogcat1]

Listen to your PH. If you trust him, shoot when he says shoot....

Best tip - fly business class, if you cannot afford that, save until you can....


Use a travel agent.

Buy trip insurance.

Take $2500 in cash or more.... just in case.

 

[ftrovato]

Listen to your PH. If you trust him, shoot when he says shoot....

Best tip - fly business class, if you cannot afford that, save until you can....


Use a travel agent.

Buy trip insurance.

Take $2500 in cash or more.... just in case.

I think the saving for first class is the best advice one can give!

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Listen to your PH. If you trust him, shoot when he says shoot....

Best tip - fly business class, if you cannot afford that, save until you can....


Use a travel agent.

Buy trip insurance.

Take $2500 in cash or more.... just in case.

1. How do I know if I can trust someone I don't really know? Last safari my new to me PH said shoot. Twice I asked him "You mean the one on the left." Yes. Didn't look right to me (blue wildebeest that was way too dark in color) but I shot it as per instructed. "Good shot!" Walking up to it he says "You shot the wrong one." Wait ... what happened to "Good shot"? He says it's just a young bull. Turns out it's a yearling cow! Then at payup time he tried to put the screwup on me!

2. I've flown all four safaris steerage class with the unwashed barbarians. Saved more than $2K each trip! That can buy several more trophy animals and a veritable pile of culls. I have met some nice folks in the next seat. I'm not a walking walrus so usually fit in those seats okay. I'm not going to sleep on a plane anyway so no point in paying extra for sleeping legroom. Driving 24-30 hrs every fall to hunt Montana is no problem so I can live with economy to Africa.

3. Never used a travel agent and so far no problems. Even managed to bring guns every trip. It's doable but takes patience to wade through the info and instructions. Also saved me enough to buy an extra animal each trip, at least one.

4. Have never bought trip insurance but probably should. I'll have to price it.

5. I used to bring $1500 in money belt but always had more than a thousand left over. It can be applied to final bill for hunt but looking after the cash, especially enroute, is a hassle. I always forget I have the money belt on and it gets picked up on xray during security check. Then I'm officially flagged and get heavy duty screened (rightfully so). At least no finger up the butt ... not yet anyway.

 

[Russ16]

I think the saving for first class is the best advice one can give!

100% on a non-hunting overseas vacation I’ll book a cheaper hotel to pay for the business/first class seat.

 

[Rimbaud]

Antihistamine and eye drops. Kudu coats have an oil that causes an allergic reaction for some people.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

Antihistamine and eye drops. Kudu coats have an oil that causes an allergic reaction for some people.

Waterbuck have nasty oil in their fur for sure. Never noticed anything with kudu. Interesting. Benadryl is always good to have along especially in a strange environment. At the end of August the wildflowers in South Africa are just starting to bloom. I'm not prone to hay fever but I can see how some folks from the Northern Hemisphere who are prone might be blind sided that time of year in South Africa.

 

[Pilgrim]

1. How do I know if I can trust someone I don't really know? Last safari my new to me PH said shoot. Twice I asked him "You mean the one on the left." Yes. Didn't look right to me (blue wildebeest that was way too dark in color) but I shot it as per instructed. "Good shot!" Walking up to it he says "You shot the wrong one." Wait ... what happened to "Good shot"? He says it's just a young bull. Turns out it's a yearling cow! Then at payup time he tried to put the screwup on me!

2. I've flown all four safaris steerage class with the unwashed barbarians. Saved more than $2K each trip! That can buy several more trophy animals and a veritable pile of culls. I have met some nice folks in the next seat. I'm not a walking walrus so usually fit in those seats okay. I'm not going to sleep on a plane anyway so no point in paying extra for sleeping legroom. Driving 24-30 hrs every fall to hunt Montana is no problem so I can live with economy to Africa.

3. Never used a travel agent and so far no problems. Even managed to bring guns every trip. It's doable but takes patience to wade through the info and instructions. Also saved me enough to buy an extra animal each trip, at least one.

4. Have never bought trip insurance but probably should. I'll have to price it.

5. I used to bring $1500 in money belt but always had more than a thousand left over. It can be applied to final bill for hunt but looking after the cash, especially enroute, is a hassle. I always forget I have the money belt on and it gets picked up on xray during security check. Then I'm officially flagged and get heavy duty screened (rightfully so). At least no finger up the butt ... not yet anyway.

I will second all of this. I will add, when I book my own flights (which I always do) I always leave plenty of room between flights to accommodate delays and other contingencies. I also consider higher fare classes that allow me a choice of seat and the option to rebook for free/low cost if I misconnect. Unless you are dying to hunt with your own rifle, renting the PHs is probably less expensive and definitely a lot less trouble. Flying over the pond, even in business class, isn't that fun and so I usually have other destinations besides the hunt and bringing a rifle along in many cases is impossible. The rifles I've rented have been good quality with noise suppressors and are probably better than rifles I would have brought.
I'm sure plenty of the lower caste readers here such as myself don't fall into the "rich" category. It's easy to avoid doubling the cost of your trip with minor sacrifices in comfort and doing some of your own legwork.
I suspect many hunters bring more crap then they need to. I'm able to take everything I need in one carry on suitcase. Besides some camo clothing, underwear, toothpaste and other bare necessities, I take some binoculars and a range finder. I don't take knives or other crap, I would just be getting in the way if I tried to help skin or gut. The camera on my phone with a clean lens has always been plenty adequate for good pictures. For flights, I feel noise canceling headphones or ear buds are a must. Noise adds a lot to fatigue and discomfort.