Outdoor News | How to Make a Fire Starter

Building your own Fire Starter “What Does it Take?”

Whether you’re out camping or trying to stay warm in the winter, a fire can be hard to start without a fire starter. Of course, flint and steel is the most trustworthy, foolproof way of starting a fire, but if you don’t have any available, fire starters are the next best thing. The purpose of a fire starter is to get the fire burning quickly no matter the conditions. You can buy them in the store, but it is just as easy to make them. Fire starters also make great gifts for scouts and scout leaders, campers, or anyone who has a fireplace.

Here are a dozen different ideas on how to make your own:

Take an empty egg carton and fill each cup 2/3 of the way full with sawdust, pencil shavings, shredded paper, charcoal, pistachio shells, or dryer lint. Pour melted paraffin or candle wax over the top and let it set. Cut or tear apart the cups.
Roll cotton balls in petroleum jelly until they are completely covered and saturated. Store them in a plastic container. Use two or three of them at a time to light your fire.
Put cotton balls in melted wax until they are fully saturated with wax. Pull them out and let them dry, and store them in plastic containers.
Melt wax in a double boiler. Line cupcake pans with paper cups and fill each cup about halfway full, and put a wick in each. When the wax is almost dry, press a pinecone into the top

Homemade Fire Starter Tutorial – The funniest bloopers are right here

Roll up newspaper and tie it with twine every few inches as you will need to cut the rolls into two or three inch strips. Holding the ends of the twine, dip the newspaper into melted paraffin.
Take small used candles (used birthday candles or stubs from taper candles) and roll them in waxed paper. Twist the ends closed.
Tie a piece of twine around a charcoal briquette. Holding the ends of the twine, dip the briquette in paraffin.
Stuff dryer lint into toilet paper or paper towel rolls. Roll it up in wax paper and twist the ends to close.
Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and lay pinecones down. Put the pinecones into a 225 degree oven for 20 minutes. Turn off the oven but leave the pinecones inside for at least 2 hours. This is to dry all the sap. Line two shallow boxes with foil and fill one with sawdust. Dip your pinecones into the wax three or four times to make sure it is completely coated, then immediately roll them in the sawdust. Put them in the other box to dry.
Cut a cotton cord into 1” strips and dip in paraffin wax. Let them dry and store in a plastic container or bag.
Save your old cardboard. Cut it into 3”x3” pieces. Dip them in wax and let them dry. They stack easily for storage.
Wrap a dozen wooden matches together with a piece of twine or dental floss. Soak the wooden ends into paraffin and let them dry. This will make them waterproof and make them burn longer. Lightly dip the heads in the wax to waterproof them as well. To light the matches, strike them on a rock.

Melt your wax you use a Double Boiler!

Be sure that you when you melt your wax you use a double boiler that is made specifically for wax, since wax is highly flammable. Note that old crayons don’t seem to work well when making fire starters.

If you melt down old candle wax, your fire starters will give off a nice scent. If you’re making fire starters as a Christmas gift for people to use in their fireplace, you can find a nice holiday scent that will liven up the room.

For those who are campers, you may want to pack a pencil sharpener with your gear. You can use it to easily shave pieces of wood and make kindling on the spot.

Having a nice fire to sit around is great. Starting it isn’t always so easy. If you take the time to make firestarters, you won’t have to struggle the next time you build a fire.

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Hunting News | Moose Being Harassed by Snowmobiler

Snowmobile Joy Rider Chases Moose in Colorado

A video posted on YouTube makes hunting news nation wide! The Video shows a snowmobile chasing a moose on a trail in Grand County, Colo. This prompted the Colorado Division of Wildlife to post warnings about ethics and interacting with moose and other wildlife because this is considered wildlife harassment! This education campaign was aimed at snowmobilers and snowmobile rental companies. Wildlife officials say they are getting call in reports about videos posted on YouTube that show people chasing and harassing moose while riding snowmobiles.

“Moose React Differently” To Humans than Deer or Elk!

Moose don’t see people as threats and they will stand their ground, or possibly attack. “You can’t just ‘shush’ them off a trail”. Moose don’t behave like deer or elk, they do not seem afraid of people and is harassed they may turn and charge you like the video shows. The snowmobile unethically chases the moose at a high rate of speed. At one point, the animal turns around and appears to charge the camera. No one was reported to have been injured, but officials are concerned that behavior like this could lead to injuries or death of moose and snowmobiler’s.

What to do if a Moose Attacks!

If a moose turns on you and attacks, it can be a life-threatening situation. Although moose have shed their antlers by this time of year, their hooves are their primary defense and they will kick and stomp on any perceived threat. If you see a moose put its head down and their ears lay back, it’s a sign that an attack is likely. Put a large object like a tree or large rock between yourself and the moose, and get out of there as soon as you can.

If a moose attacks you, its recommend standing up if you are knocked down, and fighting back. If you have your dog with you, keep it in your control at all times while in the backcountry. Moose do not distinguish dogs from wolves, their primary predator in the wild, and will aggressively attack. Dogs often run to their owners for safety and that can bring an angry, thousand-pound moose into conflict with people.

Snowmobiling is Fun! But Don’t Chase The Animals!!

People need to use ethics and understand that harassing wildlife is dangerous, unethical and against the law. A snowmobile can be an great way to see Colorado’s backcountry, but people need to take some precautions when they encounter wildlife. Also anyone who encounters wildlife to view it from a distance and, “Don’t feed, don’t approach and don’t harass.” In other words, wildlife harassment is against the law, “Use your head and leave them alone”!!

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Hunting News | Minnesota Hunter Finds Record Book Elk Stuck in Mud

Record Book Elk in Minnesota Makes Headlines

On the morning of December 12 with hopes of filling his whitetail tag this Minnesota hunter stumbled upon a once in a lifetime find. A huge 9 x 10 Minnesota elk pinned flat on its back, alive, with its record book antlers stuck in the mud. After evaluating the situation the hunter was able to free the animal, though it died from the ordeal two days later. By following his hunter ethics he was able to to claim a trophy from this tragic occurrence that should rewrite the record books for Minnesota and the world.

“Bull Elk’s Antlers Stuck in the Mud”!

After Looking at the pictures and reading this article the big bull elk appears to have jumped the fence and lost his balance and rolled too the ground. As the winter wears on and his strength dwindling from the rut and head gear of that magnitude it is not hard to see this happening. The big bulls rack green-scored a gross of 475 5/8″, with a net of 456 4/8″on the Boone & Crockett scale. With such an awesome green score alone, the record book elk ranks as the third largest nontypical in the world and the largest ever in the state of Minnesota.

Trying to Recuse the Big Bull!

The hunter and his friends decided that something needed to be done to help the animal. He was an old bull and passed his prime, but you don’t want to see him suffer like that if you can help him. The hunters borrowed a two-by-four from a local rancher, which they used as a lever to pry the rack from the ground. It took a few minutes, but were finally able to get him partially turned to his side and he flopped over, made it to his feet and staggered off. With the holes in the ground his antlers had been dug down in the mud 8 to 10 inches. Two days later the big bull elk died.

Contacting the appropriate Conservation Agency

So many times a person finds a trophy caliber animal deceased dead and turn in there find to the state conservation or DNR and loose the animal to those agencies. Its awesome to see a person get to keep what they found!

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Knife Component Anatomy | Learn the Parts of a Knife

Do You Know All the “Parts of a Knife”?

At first glance, the knife components seem obvious. In actuality, a knife has several components, each with its own designated name and important function. Learning and understanding the parts of the knife will help you figure out what kind of knives to purchase when outfitting your gear for the next outdoor adventure you embark on!

Parts of the Knife “Blade”!

The blade is where all the action of the knife takes place. Its basic components are the spine, the edge, the point, and the grind. The blade spine, or back of the knife, is generally the thickest part of the blade. The thicker the blade spine, the stronger the knife. Once called a bevel, the grind of a knife is where the knife is uniformly relief cut to start the taper to the cutting edge of the blade. The edge is where most of the attention is exerted. It extends from the choil or bolster to the tip of the knife and is sharpened to razor cutting sharpness. The point determines the blade style like, drop point, tanto and clip point, and pierces the object to be cut. The term “Full Tang” means the entire length of the knife is one piece of steel and is the strongest the knife made. When inspecting a full tang knife you will see the handle scales on both sides of the tang.

Parts of the Knife “Handle”!

The handle enables the knife to be wielded properly. A finger groove may be carved into it for a better grip; and, if the knife is designed for impact, there will most likely be a guard to protect the hand and fingers. It must be balanced for proper use and may have metal bolsters to strengthen the handle as well as protect the edge of the scales. Front bolsters can be part of the hand guard to protect the fingers, and the rear bolsters are at the butt.

Differently Designed Knives Have Additional Parts!

The basic parts of a outdoor knife each have their own components or specializations. A survival knife may have top serrations on the blade spine for cutting rope or textiles; or the rear bolsters may have a hole drilled in it to attach a lanyard, making it more easy to find in the dark and can even aid in unsheathing. There is an entire world to discover in the field of knife anatomy.

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