Fear of the Forest?!

[shortrange]

Until it gets dark anyway then your visual landmarks aren't so easy to c everything starts looking the same have had one bad experience with no gps boy was I happy to find my buddies when I dis

I agree. I have got caught out when it was getting dark. Sometimes you get wrapped up in stalking and it's dark all of a sudden. Time to make a fire and pull out the rain poncho. The sun comes up reliably every morning.

[Singleshotneeded]

If I have a gun and a compass and map I'm as comfy in the bush as I am in my living room. My subconscious, though, is just plain weird...when I was young and into my forties I wandered around northern grizzlies while hunting moose with my .270 Win and Nosler Partitions. The last few years I've done the same with a 30.06 and 168 grain ttsx ammo. Now I've picked up a Husky 9.3X62 and I'll be shooting Hornady 250 grain GMX rounds on trips up north. At this rate, by the time I'm 60 I'll be hunting with shoulder launched laser guided surface to surface missiles...what's the recoil like with those things...they come with Limbsavers?

[blu-nsr]

Wow. This thread has far exceeded my expectations. It's great to hear so many other perspectives and experiences. For someone who does let their fears, worries, or concerns hold them back there is a general consensus here which could enable you freedom from your self imposed constraints;

-To be 'afraid' is a normal response to unfamiliar stimuli. Managing and dispelling that fear will only happen if you get familiar. (easier said than done right!) Take your time working up to the 'solo mountain hunter', it won't happen overnight.

-Fear will not kill you but PANIC will. If you feel panic SIT DOWN and get your breathing, heart rate, and thought process under control before proceeding.

-If you spend any amount of time in the forest you will undoubtedly get 'spun out' or 'turned around'. These are much different than being lost and by not panicking you will find your way out.

-Know your equipment and test it in field conditions. Know where your rifle is shooting. Know how to deploy your bear spray. Learn how to use you gps or compass BEFORE you NEED it.

-Carry the equipment you need! (seems simple but many don't) Make sure you have a first aid kit, a compass, a minimum of 2 methods of making fire, a days worth of food, a small tin cup for boiling water, extra warm clothing, and anything else that pertains to your perception of 'needs'. This can all easily fit into a very small day pack which could easily save your life. These items will not save you from home or from your truck.

-Be mindful of your surroundings and remain focused, alert, and aware.

-Watch out for 'city folk' (they're dangerous!)

-Trust in yourself. You cannot gain confidence in your gear or yourself by not trying.

-Have fun out there and enjoy the vast stretches of OUR land.

[Jelvis]

--- > I'll give you a darn good way of feeling better when heading off into bush country, we'll say off a straight road for instance. You park the truck in your spot. Get out check everything yah got to take along. Lock-up then.
Stand away from the truck a bit and take a compass reading.
--- > Here's the trick, a simple but very important for muley hunters around Kammy. When starting out take a roll of ribbon with you and as you enter the forest hang a foot long bright ribbon about eye level as you go in (every plain of sight can take a ribbon.)
--- > Now when you come back out, you follow the ribbon markers and take them off as you go Hugo or wait til seasons over. Cuz this spot might have been good and now you have an in and an out you feel secure with.
Some ribbon is made to degrade and are made to fade out by the makers.
Jel -- Tye a lil ribbon round the old oak tree -- it could save your butt from a cat tast trophy

[Walksalot]

I love it when I hear "if you find your lost don't panic". I have known some people who were true woodsmen and they admit when they first realize they are turned around there is a sense of ones heart starting to beat a bit quicker(panic). Maybe not for ones self but for the family and friends waiting for you to come home. One of the hardest things to do is when you find yourself, after checking the compass, that you are going in the exact wrong direction is to wrap your head around the compass is right and your natural sense of direction is wrong. Many times I have blindly followed the compass to get me out of the bush. Always have a direction you can take to "bail out" of the woods knowing you are going to hit a road, cut block or some other "catcher's mitt" that would be very hard to miss. A compass goes in straight lines and if you stray 100 yards off your initial bearing you will come out 100 yards from your original departure point when heading back. With practice you will be able to follow a " rough bearing" which is a bearing through the woods which is not a straight line. You are hiking through the woods checking you compass frequently and when you see you have strayed off your bearing you compensate by drifting back in the opposite direction. It is amazing how accurate you can become. There is a tendency, when first starting out, to take a bearing on a tree and walk to it, then take a bearing on another tree and walk to it. The problem is that you are concentrating on the tree and not looking around for game animals. The whole secret is to get comfortable with your compass and continue to use your compass from the get go and not bring it out only when you realize you are turned around. I have concentrated on the compass and not gps because I too have had my gps go south. If I could only take one direction finding tool into the woods I would take my compass seven days a week and twice on Sunday. Having said that, a gps does take away from having to "dead recon" a bearing back to your departure point. When the gps works it is nice to be able to find truck on the way point list and hit go to.

[Jelvis]

--- > Don't forget hunters, batteries go dead at the most important time so use a real Brand Named metal compass which works on magnet not battery.
--- > Compass points north, so when your looking down at your compass taking a reading, keep it level so the needle free rides and rotates to stop pointing north, then make adjustments in direction accordingly.
Jel -- A compass won't fail you, it points north everytime -- no batteries to go dead or weak --
------ Have at least two good compasses on you, in your pant pocket where it's easy to get at and use it

[MRP]

Interesting reading. All I can think about is being out there away from here. When out there all I think about is the short time there is till I'm back here. Retirements coming.

[HarryToolips]

I love it when I hear "if you find your lost don't panic". I have known some people who were true woodsmen and they admit when they first realize they are turned around there is a sense of ones heart starting to beat a bit quicker(panic). Maybe not for ones self but for the family and friends waiting for you to come home. One of the hardest things to do is when you find yourself, after checking the compass, that you are going in the exact wrong direction is to wrap your head around the compass is right and your natural sense of direction is wrong. Many times I have blindly followed the compass to get me out of the bush. Always have a direction you can take to "bail out" of the woods knowing you are going to hit a road, cut block or some other "catcher's mitt" that would be very hard to miss. A compass goes in straight lines and if you stray 100 yards off your initial bearing you will come out 100 yards from your original departure point when heading back. With practice you will be able to follow a " rough bearing" which is a bearing through the woods which is not a straight line. You are hiking through the woods checking you compass frequently and when you see you have strayed off your bearing you compensate by drifting back in the opposite direction. It is amazing how accurate you can become. There is a tendency, when first starting out, to take a bearing on a tree and walk to it, then take a bearing on another tree and walk to it. The problem is that you are concentrating on the tree and not looking around for game animals. The whole secret is to get comfortable with your compass and continue to use your compass from the get go and not bring it out only when you realize you are turned around. I have concentrated on the compass and not gps because I too have had my gps go south. If I could only take one direction finding tool into the woods I would take my compass seven days a week and twice on Sunday. Having said that, a gps does take away from having to "dead recon" a bearing back to your departure point. When the gps works it is nice to be able to find truck on the way point list and hit go to.

Very well said, and with practice with a compass, you can get that proficient and comfortable with it..

[HarryToolips]

--- > Don't forget hunters, batteries go dead at the most important time so use a real Brand Named metal compass which works on magnet not battery.
--- > Compass points north, so when your looking down at your compass taking a reading, keep it level so the needle free rides and rotates to stop pointing north, then make adjustments in direction accordingly.
Jel -- A compass won't fail you, it points north everytime -- no batteries to go dead or weak --
------ Have at least two good compasses on you, in your pant pocket where it's easy to get at and use it

Also good advice, just keep in mind there is the odd magnetic field pocket that can make your compass go a bit wonky, so pay attention to how freely it appears your needle is swinging...and it's good to adjust your compass for magnetic declination, you can find this info online for your area, for example, region 8 is around 16 degrees positive I think..most maps 'north' is true north, so this way you can use your compass in conjunction with a map effectively..

[Jelvis]

Always remember a long straight walk, is how long? In the average mule deer spot in Kammy and north Thompson you don't need to walk in a straight line out anywhere by compass for long.
-- walk in 50 yards and walk parralell to the road your parked on then you come out on the road.
Your not racing your hunting slowly along and stopping every twenty feet and peering around
-- In the actual bush you can walk parallel to a road and see wild country 50 yards in.
When actual hunting mules here your maybe 100 yards from some old logging trail or pipeline or something.
Don't get caught up with images of way back in the wilderness in Kamloops country this iz super southern interior of highest quality mule deer ranging from high to low and close to civilization like ranches and farms and fields.
When in the bush a hundred yards is a good distance to prowl with a gun looking for a muley - yet keep watch on your compass
Jel -- Your eyes will be opened here at the amazing topography and muley's --