Prep.

Autumn weather predominates, despite the occasional incursion of stubborn Tropical Summer here and there. Hunting season is not far off now. :)

Along with that comes the ongoing scouting of hunting areas, the preparation and repair of kit and clothing.

This year I have my new Scythian bow, 49# @ 28" of draw. She will have all new arrows of her own, spined and fletched by myself. I have some fine medieval leaf shaped hunting heads of appropriate legality, along with several of the swallow tail type points. Those latter, however, need sharpening and shaping to reach appropriate weight for use. I shall work on those over the Winter. Those take bigger shafts as well. The leaf shaped points take 5/16ths shafts.

I have been considering footed shafts of ash and cedar; that would give the forward, point bearing portion the strength of ash and the following, fletched bit of cedar would lighten the arrow weight, allowing it to fly faster and further. There are jigs for making footed shafts, of course, along with the one for tapering shafts, should I want to go from 11/32 down to 5/16ths on some of the other arrows. It has the same effect as footing in some ways; it lightens the arrow overall.

Thanks to my Lady, I have some very nice brown and green wool from which to make new garments for general rambling as well as Hunting and Rangering. I am one of those nutjobs who has no qualms about wearing 'garb' at any time and in any place; I do as I please and as long as no one is hurt by it, there is no harm in it. Just me being me.

Some new hoods are in the works too, as well as some cloaks...mostly without hoods, but at least one with. I like the mantled hood and cloak combination as it is more flexible. It may be too warm for a full cloak, so it stays rolled and bundled with my blanket while I wear just the hood and mantle, for example. With archery there is no need to wear orange so I can go full on proper kit.

I am polishing and working over my hunting horn too; a friend from the Ranger forum (thanks Jon), sent me some spare horns for the purpose of practicing the art of scrimshaw. From those to my actual horn. I do have to modify the baldric for the horn a little; the horn can slide out of one side of the carrier strap. I am looking at a groove around the horn into which the strap will slide and stay put. The other option is to use glue and set it in place that way. Not epoxy, mind, since I may someday have to remove it, but more of an art glue. We shall see.

I am thinking of taking one of my Ranger stars and adding it to the horn baldric. I probably will.


I have a nice quiver, suitable for hunting and target shooting. It can be mounted in a variety of ways; on the back, at the waist, across the back, vertically. Maximum flexibility. Surprising, since it is a commercially available quiver. It is popular with the Northern Rangers for certain.

'We sound our horns for our Patrons' grace, Guide us and Guard us upon the Chase.
May our hearts be filled with Strength and Cheer, and our hunts yield game through the year.'

Eledhwen