With the price of gas soaring and no solutions in sight to meaningfully lower it, driving back home each night from my hunting properties isn’t going to be a very affordable option. So, I’ve been dusting off my camping gear and am gathering it together to be ready when I am. Now, when I camp out, I’m a minimalist. I don’t carry a lot of excess gear into the field, I pretty much just stick to the basics and forgo the unnecessary comfort items.
I have a few extended trips coming up over the next couple of weeks which will have me sleeping out in the woods. I’m kind of looking forward to it, too. Sleeping bag, tarp in case of rain, and a small pot for cooking and boiling coffee. Pretty basic. But, I think the most indispensable piece of equipment I’ll be carrying is my belt knife. Over the years I’ve carried a number of Bowie-style knives, which are great for cutting poles for constructing a lean-to shelter, firewood, making kindling, cutting and driving stakes, digging, cooking, and making meat. This year, I’ll be carrying one of the toughest and best-handling knives I’ve had afield yet; the Freedom Hunter by Carpinetti Custom Knives.
This knife features a heavy, nine-inch, full tang blade with an oak burl handle, custom forged for me out of 1095 high carbon steel. It feels good in my hand and will surely get put through its paces as I’m headed north towards Cedar Key to hunt hogs around Tiger Island. I’ll be carrying my new takedown recurve bow to do my hunting, but the processing and camp chores will fall to the new knife I’ll be carrying on my belt.
My next trip will be down to the Big Cypress region of the Everglades as I set up a primitive camp from which to hunt Burmese pythons. The state of Florida has decided that for this public access hunt, the snakes must be euthanized on-site. I’m not a fan of that, because of the heat, but I’ll do it however they dictate and the big knife will surely get utilized for that chore as well. I’ve promised Mr. Carpinetti, a local blacksmith and bladesmith, to put his creation to the test.
One thing that always makes camping and hunting more enjoyable, is the presence of friends. I’d love to have your company. If any of you would like to join me hunting hogs up at Tiger Island or even capturing pythons in the Everglades, I hope you’ll reach out to me. I’ll bring you up to speed on the specifics of the trips and with luck, we can make it happen. It’s almost guaranteed to be a good time.
I surely thank you for reading along with me each week and as always, if you have any feedback, give me a shout at [email protected]. God Bless and good hunting!
