There are dozens of basic hunting laser rangefinders out there. Most rangefinders accomplish both close range e.g 4 or 5 yards to the furthest rating of the model you are interested in. All at a cost from 50 dollars to many hundreds. My criteria is simple. Compact, reliable, battery operated, handles angle distance, cost effective.

If you are going to spend thousands on hunts in far off lands, you need quality and reliability. 

Usually that means a brand name like Leupold, Nikon and SIG for example among many. As a bow and rifle hunter consider the following criteria;

Good customer ratings. e.g Amazon.

Ease of use

Light weight

Reliable measurements

Angle compensation

Display in a bright color

Some magnification

Battery operated

Water resistant

A lanyard for carry around neck

Carry case.

Warranty

You can accomplish all of this today for under $200. Seek to find youtube video reviews to narrow your choices like below.

Good Luck!

Go To TimneyTriggers.com

Perhaps you are considering a crossbow hunt and need to fly to your destination like me.  I have booked a 2025 trophy spring black bear rifle/crossbow hunt in Alberta, Canada.  I will bring my 10 Point Turbo S1 Crossbow along. Hunters in Alberta are allowed two bears.

I went online to look for a hard crossbow case.  This case below is said to fit all 10 Point Crossbows since 2019. The cost was $250, a bit high. However, the case was designed for specific 10 Point crossbows. The internal dimensions allow similar crossbows with varying fit quality like mine. 

 Ten Point says the case is hard enough for air travel, as a checked bag, but must have TSA airline approved locks. The case does come with some protective foam. I have added more. The case also has some exterior connection points for strapping to an ATV. 

Some air-traveling  crossbow hunters suggest to keep arrows and broadheads separate in other checked luggage. We shall see. I purchased a broadhead case from Muzzy below for $10.50. Keep those blades razor sharp. 

Fly Safe.

Well, I found a few deer tracks but not rubs or scrapes in a new area. On the way back to my truck, I found a few new birch polypores, a mushroom like fungus growing on dead birch trees.  As a kid, I called them steak mushrooms. They are easy to identify correctly as they have no look alikes.

As it turns out humans have been using birch polypores across Europe and North America as medicine for centuries. Most famously, Otzi the Iceman of 3300 BC used polypores for whipworms he had in his gut and carried pieces of the polypore on his necklace. One species for medicine and the other for firemaking called a tinder fungus.

They look like a radial fan growing on dead birch trees. A tawny brown color, like deer fur color on top and white on the bottom.

The birch polypore is a wonder of nature. It is anti-bacterial, anti-viral, anti-inflammatory etc.. And when fresh and sliced thin can be a bandaid applied to a cut or scrape it can aid in healing minor wounds. As a tea it has several medicinal qualities.

https://www.mushroom-appreciation.com/birch-polypore.html

Check it Out!

Purchase Premium Prepped brass in increments of 25, 50, and 100.

Nosler.com

Just a quick note to hunters and hikers, I have not seen many ticks this fall.   A good thing!

BUT

Don’t be fooled, be prepared. 

Stay vigilant an spray clothing, boots, backpacks,tents etc with Permethrin to avoid deer ticks. 

My favorite spray is made by Sawyer.

Nosler.com 

 I rendered bear fat from the bear I harvested last week and made special bear fat candles in honor of my early New England heritage.

Below is my very first bear wax bayberry candle. Bayberry is one of my favorite candle smells.

My first lighting of my bear fat candle Nice!

There are recipes on line to create your own for you to check out. Food grade Stearic Acid, wicks, bees wax, and  I purchased on Amazon. I had jelly jars to make the candles.

My Bear Oil/ Beeswax Candle Recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups rendered bear fat

1/2 cup food grade stearic acid beads

4 Tbsp bees wax

Premade wax wicks

Bayberry Oil 30 to 60 drops. Use a dropper. 

In a few small pots, heat water to make a bath to melt the beeswax, stearic acid beads and heat the rendered bear fat.

You can use canning jars to melt your ingredients while in the water bath show above.

Add the hot bear fat and hot stearic acid to a bowl and stir.  Now add melted beeswax to the bowl and stir.

Finally, add drops of your essential oil like my bayberry oil.

Stir and pour your mixture into candle jars with standing wicks shown below.

I used cooled moldable wax buttons to hold wicks in place to the bottom of jars.

 The Bayberry smell is reminiscent of Williamsburg, Virginia in the 1700’s. Enjoy!

Good Hunting!

I had lots of slow-stewed (6 hours) shredded bear meat on hand as part of processing my bear leg bones.

Accordingly, I made black bear tacos with the shredded meat and it was spectacular. Enough meat for 4 later meals. 

My favorite Taco seasoning mix is Ortega brand powder mix. I added two tsp of the mix to 1/4 lb of meat with a splash of water to the shredded meat in a frying pan and mixed/sautéed till warm. 

Place on a soft fajita. I flip my soft fajita over my gas stove flame to toast it a bit. This gives a fresh cooked flavor to the fajita.

Add meat, salsa and veggies, sour cream and shredded cheese. Wow! My wife gave it a big thumbs up too!!

Enjoy!