I recently got an email from the website that had a few questions from a new pilgrim (beginner) who was interested in buckskinning. The below were her questions and my answers about getting started in the hobby.
This is just my perspective on things and like any other hobby I am sure if you asked 25 different people, you’d get 25 different answers. 🙂
My husband and I have talked about coming to an event. What about women in this game? What parts do they play? I saw 1 woman in camp and 1 holding a rifle. What percentage of the players are women?
Great to hear from you. My wife and I go to rendezvous together and have been involved for the past 5 years or so. Most of the events are family-focused, so you do see a lot of different folks there. It’s a lot of fun and like any hobby everyone takes it to a different level – depending on what they want to get out of it.
Though I would say there are probably more men then women in buckskinning, it’s probably really closely divided – like maybe 60% men and 40% women. Here is a link to info on a women’s group:
http://www.buckskinning.org/groups_hanta_yowin.htm
There are also links to other groups down the left-hand side of the web pages, so you can take a look and see what they offer.
No arts and crafts were mentioned. Do you have arts and crafts contest? What percentage of items are made by the people? From what I saw most were store bought.
There are not arts and crafts contests per say, but a lot of the gear is hand made by people who attend events. Each event will have a “trader’s row” where folks come and sell their wares – and a lot of stuff comes from these traders. I do blacksmithing and leatherwork, so a lot of that stuff is handmade and then I’ll trade for clothes from folks that do that. There aren’t really a whole lot of stores that sell stuff, so a lot of it has to be ordered from specialty places.
What part does real research and documentation play in theses groups?
Some of the events have very, very strict rules on what you can and can’t bring and most items have to be documented to the Western Fur Trade period. However there are general rules for what works and doesn’t – most things must adhere to items that would have been in the fur trade, pre-1840, no blue jeans, no zippers, no nylon or plastic, etc. You would check in with the booshway (person that runs an event) prior to showing up. Most folks are really nice and love to help point new pilgrims in the right direction.
To get started in the hobby, I would really recommend reading either The Book of Buckskinning I or Buckskins and Blackpowder to get a good perspective on rendezvous and events. Both of these are great books. The Book of Buckskinning I can be had at Scurlock Press (same folks that put out Muzzleloader Magazine – http://www.muzzleloadermag.com/) and though Buckskins and Blackpowder is out of print, it can be found sometimes on eBay or through http://www.alibris.com/ – which is a good source for out-of-print books.
I have heard that you (the group organizers) give the people their names, how can this be?
Names come from experience and time spent at events. Usually there will be something that happen more than once or a really wild experience and that will earn you a name. Names are not given right away and are always given in fun. You usually have to earn a name.
My name – Many Rifles (or 50 Rifles depending on who you ask) – comes from a few things:
1) I usually show up to events with various different rifles
2) Some of my skinner friends tried to trade my wife for a rifle and I told them it would take “50 Rifles” 🙂
I don’t have experience with all of the groups, but TAB (Texas Association of Buckskinners) and Fritztown Freetrappers are great groups for folks who are new to the hobby.
You can find their info here:
http://www.buckskinning.org/texas_listing.htm
– Many Rifles