Fieldcraft Who taught you?

[Jon Lester]

Re: Who taught you?

I guess the Marksmenship Part came from Dad. He was a member of the Marksmenship DET. of the 3rd AD.,so shooting was just a way of life. There never was a start.
In the extreame SW corner of WVa during the early 70s every man that could walk hunted and fished to some point and the corn we carried to the woods wasn't for the deer feeders back then. It was just the way it was. I guess I was much older before I met groups of males that had no knowledge of hunting Trapping snares and deadfalls. Funny I looked down on them and they did me. I guess where you were standing determined who was right.

I try to carry it on with my children and they seem to pick it up well enough, but this is entirely a different world that they have.
Not sure progress is improvement but a small scale simulated Moonshine still would NEVER go as a 4th grade science experiment now

 

[Arch]

Re: Who taught you?

J.L. Often where you are standing influences how you stand. My in-laws originated in that part of the country. My father-in-law left at 16 to become a Seabee and took a round in the shoulder while constructing an airfield on Guadacanal. He's gone now, but he could do more than I could ever think about. He didn't have to call an electrician or plumber, he could do it all. Transmission problems? He could fix it. Drive a semi, bus, backhoe, any carpentry needs, incredible gardens that could feed many families, best cornbread I have ever had, snares, home made fishing lures, the list goes on and on. One year on Christmas Day and before children, he and wis wife visited my home to see their daughter. He was already in his early 70's. We started drinking beer about 10 AM and then he sent me to the grocer for 2 more cases. We sat out in the cold on my front porch and finished those beers while he told me his story. It remains a favorite Christmas although the women are still mad when it comes up. I have made some jokes about West By-Gar myself a time or two, but the truth is that some of the most self-sufficient people I have known hail from that state.

This question is a good one but perhaps a better one for some of us is: Who are we teaching? I have been thinking about that a lot lately.

 

[bohem]

Re: Who taught you?

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Captain Kick-Ass</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Michael N</div><div class="ubbcode-body">My parents were divorced and I didn't get to see my Dad much . My Mom and and I lived in a backwoods cabin every summer with no utilities or running water . It was just me and an old Boy Scout manual I found in the cabin with an odd trip to go fishing or hunting with my Grandad . </div></div>

I'm with Michael on this. I did more crap in Boy Scouts than anywhere. I went to several Wilderness Survival camps and did a lot of Water Survival training. The Army just cares about teaching how not to drown. </div></div>

I couldn't agree more.


My dad was around and cared quite a bit, but he generally only remembered what he read in Boy Scouts 20 years earlier.

I did a lot of the survival techniques in BSA, one week long survival camp and I usually kept an even weight, one of the guys actually managed to gain 2 lbs one time.

 

[DaveV]

Re: Who taught you?

Wikipedia

 

[tennessean]

Re: Who taught you?

My father is a woodsman. I was born in Florida and spent many hours with my Dad in the swamps and canals, fishing. We moved to Tennessee when I was six where my parents purchased some land on a lake surrounded by TVA property. Some of my fondest memories are of the walks my Dad and I would take where he would teach me how to identify trees and plants and explain there uses, what the wood was good for, how it burns, edible plants, how to build a shelter, etc.
That land was a paradise for a boy growing up. I spent countless hours in those woods by myself or with my Dad, rifle or shotgun in hand.
It was nothing for me to be miles away from home, across the lake in a canoe my dad built from scratch. We had a large bell at the house and when Mom wanted me or my brother back home she would ring the bell and I would beat feet back to the house.
That land was sold yaers ago and I can only hope to find a similiar place for my children to grow up.
I still remember the "how to walk and stalk in the woods" lesson. I have started teaching my four year old already. I became a deadly squirrel and other small game hunter in those woods.
I don't get out as much as I used to. At times I feel awkward when I go for a walk outdoors, like it is unfamiliar to me. It saddens me that I don't feel at home in the woods like I used to.
Thanks for this post, it is cause for reflection.

 

[kennyfisher4413]

Re: Who taught you?

A mix between my dad when I was younger and the Marine Corps once I was out of highschool thats where I learned the majority of it.....