Today I enjoyed the outdoors. I chose to carry......

Armored farmer said:

I've been mushrooming when I can. This is busy time of year for us.
. Sometimes I hop out of a tractor and make a 10min circle in the woods.
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I have found enough of the tasty fungi to have a few fried up with a porkburger(local favorite)
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As you can see...I carried my fun little GSG 1911-22 this spring.

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Congratulations on the mushrooms!!!! Love the little 1911 - that is just to much fun!

Walked the 11 mile Cades Cove loop (+ a couple of short trails) yesterday. This is our first time walking the loop. If you are heading to the Smokies please note that on Wednesdays you can only walk or bike the loop no cars allowed May through September.
It was nice walking this historic valley.


My wife has a tool always with her in our 1st Aid Kit.


Just a cheap Wal-Mart clearance knife that actually works well for its intended purposes.

Backstory: I read a discussion about "Get Home Bags" on another forum. One of the participants wrote about a friend who was fifty pounds overweight who kept a plate carrier, a field pack and an M1A in his trunk as his "Get Home Bag", he said he was fairly certain the guy couldn't get fifty FEET with all that crap on him and was pretty sure the fat guy would die of a heart attack before he made it out of the parking lot.

That comment made me think. I have a "Get Home Bag" , it contains "The Ten Essentials" and weighs about 25 pounds with the water bladder full. I'm not going to discuss the Bag itself or its contents because that's outside the scope of this discussion BUT the best "Get Home Bag" in the world is of no use to me if I haven't actually tried it under field conditions. So every Sunday I do a 7 mile hike with a 1000 foot elevation gain in the mountains while wearing the pack. That's my enjoying the great outdoors time too.

I always have my Glock


I always have my Buck 110 and my Gerber Multitool and the Gerber Strongarm lives in the pack. The knife on the bottom is a Bucklite Model 422.



This Sunday I also had my Benchmade McHenry & Williams 710.



And if anyone is interested this is the pack.



It's a 20 year old Camelback 3 day Rally Pack. It's about 18 liters and weighs 25 pounds.

Night Rider said:

Backstory: I read a discussion about "Get Home Bags" on another forum. Once of the participants wrote about a friend who was fifty pounds overweight who kept a plate carrier, a field pack and an M1A in his trunk as his "Get Home Bag", he said he was fairly certain the guy couldn't get fifty FEET with all that crap on him and was pretty sure the fat guy would die of a heart attack before he made it out of the parking lot.

That comment made me think. I have a "Get Home Bag" , it contains "The Ten Essentials" and weighs about 25 pounds with the water bladder full. I'm not going to discuss the Bag itself or its contents because that's outside the scope of this discussion BUT the best "Get Home Bag" in the world is of no use to me if I haven't actually tried it under field conditions. So every Sunday I do a 7 mile hike with a 1000 foot elevation gain in the mountains while wearing the pack. That's my enjoying the great outdoors time too.

I always have my Glock
View attachment 1076592

I always have my Buck 110 and my Gerber Multitool and the Gerber Strongarm lives in the pack. The knife on the bottom is a Bucklite Model 422.

View attachment 1076593

This Sunday I also had my Benchmade McHenry & Williams 710.

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And if anyone is interested this is the pack.

View attachment 1076596

It's a 20 year old Camelback 3 day Rally Pack. It's about 18 liters and weighs 25 pounds.
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@Night Rider the conversion of hiking backs would make a great thread of its own. Thanks for sharing...

WisBorn said:

@Night Rider the conversion of hiking backs would make a great thread of its own. Thanks for sharing...

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Not on topic for this forum

Night Rider said:

Not on topic for this forum

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I guess your right.

Went shooting today with the Glock19. Also carried a SAK Trekker.



Hung out with a lizard too

After some load testing today, I drove farther up the canyon looking for somewhere new to nose about. I found it. An unnamed trail I hadn't previously explored? Well how could I resist?


It got tight and steep and rough pretty quick, but after maybe a 1/4 mile things improved.


I explored around some rolling semi-forested hills. Bumped 3 deer that I wasn't expecting to see. And heard a turkey gobbling away a few hundred yards off.



I took the new 686+ with me. I'm starting to really like it.


It's not the middle of nowhere, so after I found a dirt road, I followed it back til it dead ended, and then made my way back down this hill to where I parked. Nice little area though.

Wandering around the Mountains today



Took the Glock


The Buck and the Multitool were a given.



And my Benchmade Griptilian

Finally in the low 90s here in Florida and getting dry. Took my new Buck Budgie out this weekend as well. Got a photo of a young wild turkey.

After attempting to hike up around 10,000', falling over in several feet of wet slushy snow that had a good 6" of water under it, and then struggling to get back out of the ditch and onto the road.... I decided to try somewhere lower.

Back to a familiar spot, but with a new direction. No wandering through burn scar today.


I decided to go slow and use the binoculars. I've started learning that when I hear a muffled "thump,thuh,thump" I need to freeze and wait. Then I get them curious.

They were only 75 yards off, and took their time deciding what to do.

I took a break at the top of a hill as I saw a hunter (after turkey, judging by the call) slowly walking through a lightly wooded area. Nice view for a break though.


I decided to go a different direction and leave him to his hunt. But first I snapped a pic of a new gun in some worn squeaky leather.



There was sign everywhere up there. Not just from Mule Deer, but also Elk and Black Bear. Some from within the last 24 hours.




I'm guessing the abundance of sign is due to the spring time growth, and all the surrounding burn scarred land, forcing animals into smaller pockets greenery.


It's good news for me though, because now I know where to find them.

Enjoying the heck out of this interesting thread with all the great pix. Nothing new around here and been too busy lately to even turkey hunt yet. Although I got out to my friends property today to change SD cards on trail cams and hike around a bit and enjoy spring. The bigger trees are finally starting to green up and all the lower vegetation has been greening up good for the last couple weeks. Near Lake Ontario spring comes a few weeks late due to that huge lake that hasn't yet warmed up much ( water temp off Rochester was listed at 38 degrees today), Few miles south of the lake shore is a whole different deal. Took a pic of the new blind that replaces the one that got destroyed by a falling tree in a wind storm late last year... . A lot more greenery today than when the blind was put up back on April 18th... ... Today's the first day this year I was out in the woods in a T-shirt and I was loving it. To stay on topic I was toting the Single Six like usual.. and planning to plink at a small steel target at his small shooting range on my way out... ...But I wound up enjoying the woods so much for so long that I didn't have enough time to plink on the way out. So today was all carry and no shooting but it was a great outdoor, springtime experience anyway.

I wish I was able to post pictures like the awesome ones in this thread, but today I walked the concrete jungle. In a few weeks I have some wilderness work, but I doubt desert landscape will be all that appealing. In any case the sidearm of choice today was the trusty P365XL. Not all that great of a post, just doing it to say thanks for all the great views above


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Cr4fty_P5ycho said:

In a few weeks I have some wilderness work, but I doubt desert landscape will be all that appealing.

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I think desert landscapes can be beautiful if the photography is done well. Hard to take good pictures with a cellphone, but you should give it a try.

You're over the edge of the wild now and in for all sorts of fun wherever you may go.



As always, took the Glock.



Buck 110 LT.

Sometimes I feel guilty posting here. I am always outdoors and always enjoy it. Even with the flooding last week.
It’s just not very exotic.

This is my office today.

It’s exploding into pink and red with the tulips popping out.
Since their kitchen was falling off their house down the embankment, we cut it off and built a new one. New foundation, twice as big, heated floor, custom cabinets, steel roof, attic storage and a new deck. And a P-32 in my jeans through all of it.


We went to the HayMarsh. My favorite place to tromp around and look for mushrooms. We didn’t find anything.
But these were in the yard when we got back. I knew they were there but have been trying my best to ignore them.
A small corner of the Honey Patch. I wish the pictures were better, I just can’t get ‘em all in!
About a pounds worth by the time I picked them. Some were dry and I left more. I only get the good ones. There were six white Morels when I plucked the rest. I gave those to my dad with some of the heist. It was easier hiking the three miles without holding onto orange bags.


I’ve been about a hundred miles on my bike this year so far. Some of it down the RiverWalk.

Much of it at night. I like to leave in the evening before sunset. I have an obnoxiously bright headlight, but use it only sparingly. On moonlit nights I use nothing. It’s almost like day on the trail. I see deer lift their head to watch me as I cruise by their bed.
It’s neat to know I set this bridge. I literally do everything. You should see my birthday cakes…

Still faithful, and as photogenic as ever.

I’ve had her out at the awake a week or so ago. Months of working dust and a short ton of lint flew out at the first shot. And all ten hit the admittedly large mark that was the microwave box I had. She needs some attention, there is a rust mark on the chamber from me sweating me arse off as she sits quietly in my pocket. But that’s just character, it’s how I know she’s mine.

I’ve misplaced my EDC blade. A bright blue out the front switch blade. A dagger blade to keep one edge sharp for finer cutting during the day. I’ve looked everywhere. Perhaps it missed my pocket and it now resides in a flower garden below a very fine deck.
To my fortune, the one time this month, I replaced it with a black and copper one identical to it, for ten dollars less. Another Gen2 white one with the carbide gripe tape panel was ordered too so I may feel the difference. A Boker auto was also on sale. It has a better steel for the blade, sv90?, or something. And was too good a price not to get it. I think it isn’t popular because it kinda looks like a filet knife. Sharp and automatic is all I care about. I like the instant away more than the instant open.
Pictures when they arrive.

The P32 is a stupid little excuse for a gun. It's a Kel Tec. It's a .32. What kind of combination is that? Who in the world would depend on something like that? Ridiculous.

I sure like mine.

Enjoying the beach in Florida this week.


My Bond Arms Rowdy with 410 shotshells may have been a better choice for angry birds. But the Ruger LCPII in a sticky pocket holster is just so nice to carry.

Walked Castillo de San Marcos and Saint Augustine today. Is it wrong to want my own mortar? Just for a lawn decoration and the 4th of July....

This past weekends hikes, a very hot weekend.

Sunday's

My new autos. ~$50 ea.



A Boker Lohtak, an AKC F-16 and F-20, and a 1911 for size.

The F-20 is just a little too big in the blade, another 3/8” past the F-16. But I like the curve the handle has. I’ll grind it shorter because I’ve already chipped the tip opening a bathroom door some human thought funny to lock on the construction workers. When ya gotta go and no building can keep you out..
As retribution for their possessiveness of a toilet they have a sky trac parked in front of their salon for the weekend, maybe till Tuesday. I can’t wait to get back to Lake Mecosta, I have three more decks to build. Infinitely more pleasant than working in town.

The black and brass is the replacement for my blue F-16. But it’s so pretty, I probably won’t carry it much. I have a lemon for some artificial aging on the insert. I suppose I’ll need to get another blue one to feel right.

The Boker was more than half off. I wouldn’t have bought it if it were not so, and compared to these “budget” OTFs it would not be worth the extra. The D2 blade seems much more fancifully curved than the pictures online. The case has casting flash and pits and the top of the blade has two pits that were not ground out. Was there not enough steel? All these are simply painted, but this one has a few bubbles and paint occluded the pocket clip holes. Which is strange because a driver had to go in to put the screws on. Not what I would expect from a $170 knife. However, I do like it. The action is smooth, the handle contour is great. No excessive blade end play. It is the new EDC until a double edged blue one shows up on sale.

To be fair, none of the AKCs have loose blades.

And I’d hate myself for being foolish enough to lose a $400 Microtech.

Spent most of the week hiking the AT in the Shenandoah NP. We enjoyed handing out trail magic mainly bananas and peanuts to the AT hikers.
When heading from Saint Augustine to Gordonsville we stopped at a Hotel in Fayetteville NC. Have you ever had that feeling that you booked the wrong place.
I normally place my CCW on the nightstand, but the night we stayed in the hotel I put both the carry guns on the table.

I think the ported barrel 41 mag might be a bad idea to pull the trigger in low light. It is a much better woods carry than nightstand gun.
Just a few trail pictures.

We did see one rattlesnake.
I tried to capture a change of seasons picture six weeks apart.

WisBorn

When heading from Saint Augustine to Gordonsville we stopped at a Hotel in Fayetteville NC. Have you ever had that feeling that you booked the wrong place.

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Had that same feeling while I was driving out west. Right off the freeway the hotel was one of the national chains but still I felt like I was in a dodgy part of town. I normally leave a gun under a magazine or a book on the nightstand so it's nearby yet out of sight. This trip I think it was a Colt Combat Commander in .38 Super. Before going to sleep that night I had locked the door, put the chain across, and wedged one of the chairs underneath the door knob.

Sure enough around 2:00 AM, someone tried to get in my room. Whoever it was used a key to break in but the chain and the chair kept them from coming in any further. That and my yelling "Who's there?" and levelling the Combat Commander at the door caused a hasty retreat by the would-be intruder and I went back to sleep. Informed hotel management about the incident and they seemed to treat it as a common occurrence. Made a mental note never to use this hotel chain ever again and went on my way!

After some chronograph testing, I went for a wander in the woods. Following sections of a power line cut, and various logging roads, just looking around.



I was also breaking in the new holster and speedloaders pouch for my 686+.


Earlier on in the day - but after the chrono testing - I'd spent some time practice with this rig. Using some short cut logs dispersed on a hillside like bowling pins. Some closer, some farther away up the hill. I've started using a dump pouch for performing reloads with revolvers. Keeps all the brass and the speedloaders in the same place.