Author Archives: Many Rifles

When Life Gives You Lemons, Make a Ranger Hat

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Part of the fun of moving is seeing how the dogs react to the new environment. Because of the new baby our stuff is more or less in controlled chaos and things that would normally be up from paws and teeth are too close to the ground. The buckskinning room is still in progress . . .

Anyway, I came home the other day to find that one of our dogs, Cheyenne, had gotten her paws on my nice tricorn hat. She managed to chew most of it up, but upon giving it a second glance, it seemed like a good candidate for a modified ranger “jockey cap.”

The work in progress.

Cheyenne – orchestrator of the ranger jockey hat project.

The final product. It needs a plume or some other cool decoration.

Cheyenne will not wear the new hat.

To quote from Zaboly’s excellent Osprey book on the American Colonial Ranger:

Noted one British officer, “Leather caps are much more convenient, & less troublesome than Hats, in our Excursions thro’ the Woods, and by Water.” Another remarked that it was “better adapted to the Hood of the cloake than a Hatt.”

I really did like the tricorn, but I guess this was a sign that I needed to modify the hat for my ranger kit.

All’s well that ends well. 🙂

– Many Rifles

Annoying Reenactor Types

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Ok – so buckskinners aren’t exactly “reenactors” per se, but there sure is a fine line between the two hobbies. We both have a passion for history. We both love to dress-up in funny clothes.

Jonah Begone is the nom de plume of a Civil War reenactor who first published Seven Annoying Reenacting Types back in 1993. A sequel was written by Jeff Hendershott later that added even more personas to this list of annoying folks we see from time to time at our camps.

We all know some of these folks and have even been one from time to time. Not everything fits exactly into our version of living history, but I thought this one was great:

The Authenticity Guru
This is the type who writes very well-researched, very detailed and horribly unreadable articles about minor historical issues. His (or her – can’t let the women off on this one!) interest ranges from “Color, Type and Efficacy of Seam Threads Used in Federal Issue Trowsers of the Trans Mississippi from May 1862 – August 1863” to the somewhat more gut-wrenching “Nineteenth Century Midwifery of the Moosehead River Valley.” Discussions about muskets and edged weapons seem to bring out the most crazed of this type. No matter how boring, however, the Guru’s articles are inexplicably praised to the hilt and almost always introduced in gushing prose by editors who recommend a reading because it will “…help us serious Living Historians perfect our impressions so that we may better educate the public.” Some Gurus have become celebrated for their arcane knowledge, but my interrogation of other reenactors has revealed that as a practical matter they skip the article entirely once they read the author’s name!

Surely we’ve never been guilty of that have we? 🙂

A Tent with Walls

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When I first got into the hobby, I – like many other single ‘skinners – did most of my camping with a diamond fly. If the weather was bad, the diamond fly was set-up like a lean-to, helping to keep the rain off of ‘skinner and gear. If the weather was good – sometimes the fly just acted like a regular tarp – something more or less like a sleeping bag cover.

The first time I brought Otter Woman with me to rendezvous, we did our camping in that same diamond fly. We went through a few camps, a serious thunderstorm, and the usual hassle of changing clothes in such a privacy-challenged set-up. It was after she had been coming out for about a year that she looked around at the other camps and asked the question that strikes fear into the heart of ‘skinners everywhere . . .

Why does their tent have walls?

It was an innocent enough question, and the one that got us into our first wedge tent. Being a stickler for authenticity, there is nothing easier to prove then the ubiquitous wedge tent. I went to my Panther Primitives catalog and ordered the smallest one they had – 6′ x 6′ x 4′.

To Otter Woman, this tent was a huge improvement over our previous lodge. Not only could she change in privacy (even if comfort left something to be desired), it would also keep all of our gear hidden and dry, and could almost fit two cots – almost.

Everything was fine and dandy until a few camps down the trail when again I found her looking into my eyes with longing and desire. Then she spoke those fateful words to me . . .

Why is their tent so much bigger?

Not to be undone by the size of another man’s lodge, I begrudgingly went back to the Panther catalog looking at their bigger wedge tents. There was the Monster Wedge, surely the Cadillac of lodges, but way too big for any event I could imagine – short of actually having all of those folks you are constantly inviting to rendezvous actually show-up. I finally settled on a wedge tent a few sizes up – 7’x8’x6′. Now we could actually stand up inside the lodge (better for changing) and could have a camp bed (canvas mattress on the ground) – which was much better for those colder nights during winter camps.

It’s been a few years now and the larger wedge has worked out fine. I still use the diamond fly when I am packing-in or set-up as a “gear shed” or an extra lodge when I have the occasional pilgrim come out and camp with us. We now have a camp box, a few chairs, and a table – which Otter Woman assured me she needed for making meals. I was hesitant to buy one, but since she won ours in a shooting contest – what can I do? But I truly am all about supporting what keeps us well-fed in the woods. It’s a hell of a lot better than the hard tack and jerky I used to bring out when I packed-in to all of my rendezvous.

So our camp is definitely a little heavier, but certainly no worse than some other camps I have seen. I thought that we were more or less settled until last April when Otter Woman was sitting in our camp, introspectively looking across at the other camps at the event. She looked me straight in the eyes and asked innocently enough . . .

Why does their tent have an awning?

Oh, here we go again.

– Many Rifles

Southwestern Regional Rendezvous

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In between new jobs, moving to New Braunfels, and packing our covered wagon(s), we decided to take a break last weekend and run up to Southwestern Regional Rendezvous for the day. It was pretty close – Hearne, TX – and knowing full-well that it would certainly not be in Texas next year (it’s been here for the past two), we wanted to take our niece out to see a bigger event.

The location was just outside of Hearne, on a place we’d camped before with TAB. That event was one of those October events where it was cold at night (capotes), hot during the day (breechclouts and cotton clothes) and of course – rained the last morning. That was also the first event where we used a tent with walls (a story for another time), but I digress . . .

Martin “Short Bear” Hayes was booshway, with Rick “Smoke-In-Face” Quinn and Andrea “Blushing Ankle” Raum as co-Segundos. Arriving the last weekend with the rest of the riff-raff and non-combatants, I made my way over to rowdy camp, where I knew I’d find one or more of my crowd. I was stopped mid-way having spotted Smoke across the camp and taking down the recent smoothbore shoot. We made our way back to camp, taking turns with pulling the small handcart of firewood. Immediately accosted by the boisterous presence of Rick “Screaming Cloud” O’Shea, I felt at home with my brothers of the rifle and hawk.

It’s spring in Central Texas and the first tendrils of heat were making their way through the sparse tree cover of the rendezvous site. Everything was lush and green – a testament to the harsh rains and summer storms the early campers had experienced the week before. Otter Woman and I walked around the camps with our niece, Devin, seeing a lot of old friends and catching them up on our recent updates. Being visibly pregnant, everyone was excited and looking forward to the coming of our most recent addition to our camp. The hassle of our previous year – as evidenced by our lack of attendance at the last two TAB rendezvous (something I had told myself years ago I would never let happen) – were quickly forgotten as we received the warm embraces and good tidings of our fellow campmates.

Otterwoman and Devin made their way through the trader’s tents, jewelry makers, and also sampled some of the great period fare – including homemade ice cream. I walked trader’s row – proudly carrying my new Jackie Brown rifle – and spotted a hunting hat I had seen the year before. It was in the style of the mountain men as drawn by Alfred Jacob Miller: wool construction with the distinctive “wolf ears” sticking up from the top of the hat. I am always going back and forth with the longhunter (1700s) vs. mountain man (1800s) look and the more period-correct items I am finding for the later, the more and more I want to head in that direction.

On the way out, we met Tejas – his name earned by his buckskinning family who rendezvous together in New Mexico and Arizona – and talked to him about the upcoming events. Tejas lamented about the lack of longer rendezvous – “it’s not worth setting up a camp for only a weekend” – and Otter Woman and I were both impressed by his fortitude and his accouterments – all made by his family members.

Reluctantly, we headed out later in the afternoon – looking forward to the next TAB rendezvous in April – and hoping that future events wouldn’t be suffered by our crazy schedules.

– Many Rifles

Who were you?

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While browsing around the ‘net, I found this great site that gives advice for folks on choosing a persona for the buckskinning hobby.

Here are some highlights:

One of the most popular characters in the U.S. is the American Mountain Man or ‘buckskinner’. Such a look is characterized by a complete wardrobe made from buckskin, usually in an Indian style—war shirt, breech-clout, leggings, moccasins, etc., with a fur hat and lots of quillwork or beadwork.

This look tends to be what people can drift into when they first get into living history, especially since we get much our information from the States.

There is nothing wrong with depicting a mountain man. Just remember that mountain men were American free trappers, (not traders, part of the reason the Indians hated them so much), and they date to the 1830’s. Any mountain man who successfully evaded the Blackfoot and their allies and made it as far north as Rocky Mountain House or Fort Augustus with his load of furs would doubtless become a major celebrity — as far as I know, none of them even tried.

In general, traders in the Northwest did not ‘go native’ or even wear native dress, as this quotation from the Mandan journal of Mr. Charles McKenzie (July, 1806) illustrates :

‘I heard my name called at the door of the lodge by a voice which was familiar, and enquiring if I was within. I hastened to the door, dressed as I was in the Indian costume, and was much surprised at seeing Mr. Charles Chabollez, [Jr.], Mr. Alexander Henry [the younger], and Mr. Allen Macdonel [sic], accompanied by three men. Their first salutation was a reproach at my dress…’ (cited in Henry, 346)

Now granted, this site is geared towards Canadian reenactors, but what a great resource.

Check it out

Time to change direction

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A lot has happened since I first decided to put this blog together. To be honest, it’s really been sitting unused for a few months while I decided which direction to go. Do I write about hard-core tips and tricks and our trials and tribulations in the woods? Do I talk about events, what happened, who was there?

There are all kinds of folks who get into the buckskinning hobby. Some folks are really into the history. Some get into it because they love to shoot blackpowder rifles and pistols. Everyone needs a place to drink beer and some folks are there because it was either this or the bowling league. 🙂

Some folks do treks and pack-in their gear, some wouldn’t do it without the ability to drive-in and drop off their equipment. Whether you are a hard-core purist or are happy to wear a borrowed shirt and some off-the-shelf mocs, buckskinning is a hobby that you can take as far as you want. It is really about the individual. There are groups to meet everyone’s particular interests and needs.

The most important thing to remember about buckskinning is to get out there and do it. You can only learn so much about yourself from the quiet of your living room or library. The smell of woodsmoke is contagious and the fun you’ll have can’t be matched anywhere else.

So I’ll be here in our little camp in the far corner of the Internet. This won’t be a blog about problems with groups or any sort of organizational rants – Lord knows there are enough of those out there already. I have a group of folks who will be writing with me and this will be our take on what is happening with the world of buckskinning – online and in the wilds.

If you like the direction this blog is going, write me and let me know. If you don’t like it, let me know that, too. And if you have a lot of opinions and suggestions on a lot of things, let’s talk about getting you added into the blog team as a writer.

So to all the buckskinners out there who never wanted to take it to the next level, to all of you who wear your yellow chrome-tanned buckskins with pride, to those who don’t understand why you should take the modern, adjustable sight off of your Cabela’s Hawken rifle for the shooting contest, for those who are in this hobby to blow off steam on the weekends and get away from house and job – this post is for you.

Thanks for coming out to the events and having a good time. 🙂

– Many Rifles