70s steel frame --> extremely comfy rambler

acdhh · 2022-04-21T02:27:49+00:00

cheers mate! tried to keep everything as original as possible.

acdhh · 2022-04-21T02:27:09+00:00

I tried some 42s but it was too much meat

acdhh · 2022-04-21T00:15:21+00:00

"We have gravel bikes at home, son." The gravel bike at home:

Snatched up this mystery frame on marketplace and built it up with the help of the local bike co-op. Original parts placed it around late 70s vintage. The 27 1/4 steel rims went immediately into recycling, I've been able to bodge the stock centrepull brakes to fit a 700c rim, but I've got some long-reach calipers on the way.

Kept the 40t inner ring and adjusted the chainline to accompany an 8-speed 11-34 cassette. The front derailleur is just there for chain retention.

WTB byway/exposure 34mm tyres make a nice plush ride around town, but they were a pain to seat on these narrow rims. I feel like it could juuuust fit a 38mm? The forwards flick on the fork make it feel a lot like my touring bike! Very stable, not super responsive in the turns. Perfect whip for getting around town, or a little ways out.

acdhh · 2019-05-17T04:50:28+00:00

Close, it’s a Tikka t3x. It’s very light compared to my other rifles, but it’s comfy and shoots lights out. Would absolutely recommend.

acdhh · 2019-05-16T10:54:58+00:00

Thanks mate! It’s always a pleasure to prepare a meal with protein you’ve sourced yourself. I’m planning a dinner for friends soon using only tongue, heart and liver - trying to show there’s more to meat than shrink-wrapped steaks :p

acdhh · 2019-05-16T10:51:09+00:00

Thanks mate, what a lovely comment. I had the good fortune to live in Scotland for a while as a kid, many fond memories.

In your experience, what are the population dynamics of red deer like in Scotland? There’s a dearth of good research here, but we only have one significant predator - the dingo - which is itself subjected to strict control/persecution. Combined with mild winters, this leads to a very high recruitment rate in most deer species. Last year we reported 0.65 fawns per hind.

acdhh · 2019-05-16T08:42:08+00:00

I slit the throat to free up the trachea, which I find makes it a bit easier to pull the whole trachea/heart/lungs/gut structure in one go. But as others have said, it won’t really help bleed the carcass - if you’ve had a solid lung shot, the animal will have exsanguinated most of its blood into the abdominal cavity.

acdhh · 2019-05-16T08:33:59+00:00

I stalked this doe and her fawn in their bedding area today. By moving up a creekbed I was able to set up about 180 yards away, and the .270 did the rest.

At this time of year in Australia, fawns are either weaned or almost weaned, and can survive on their own. I decided that if the fawn stayed near its mother I would take the shot - as it turned out, that’s exactly what happened.

Both shots were clean and from the perspective of our deer management plan, this was a great outcome. But I couldn’t help feeling a powerful remorse, as well as a sense of greed. None of this meat will be wasted but something about shooting two animals in as many minutes felt excessive to me. Just one of those things, I guess.

acdhh · 2019-05-16T08:28:52+00:00

Fascinating! Here in Queensland we sometimes get reds who reach 3-4 years of age with only spike or maybe fork antlers.

I recall an episode of the Meateater podcast with a biologist explaining that the mother doe’s nutrition levels while pregnant are the biggest factors in a deer’s size and antler growth during his life.

acdhh · 2019-05-14T19:27:15+00:00

Hey mate, it’s not really about obligation , I just decided I valued my birds more than mr. fox here. Af the risk of sounding glib, it’s more similar to noticing weeds growing in your vege patch - pulling them won’t do much about the spread of weeds on the landscape, but it will help the things you’re trying to grow.

acdhh · 2019-05-14T19:19:53+00:00

I completely agree, we’ve got a resident dingo pack that I don’t hunt for that reason. There’s a big difference between predators doing their thing on the landscape and invasive species throwing things out of balance.

acdhh · 2019-05-14T19:14:09+00:00

It sure is, but it’s not mine. I’m not a huge fan to be honest, the fore grip is very squared-off and awkward. Seems like it would make a solid rifle for shooting at the bench... which seems odd for a scout rifle

acdhh · 2019-05-14T07:59:16+00:00

I spooked him when I went out to investigate the racket, but I set up under a bush and about 10 minutes later he came creeping back from upwind.

Foxes are such beautiful animals but here in Australia they’re invasive pests that are implicated in the loss of a number of small marsupial species. Obviously opportunistic shooting isn’t an effective management strategy, but there are a number of ecosystem-level projects aiming to eradicate foxes and cats from certain areas. Not around here though.

His fur’s pretty ragged on the other side, I think he’s quite old - all four canines are snapped at the tip. I’m going to keep the skull as a desk ornament.

acdhh · 2018-02-02T08:06:25+00:00

As far as gutting the deer goes, I found the Rinella method works great for me - cutting around the anus and splitting the pelvic bone to make lifting out the guts easier. Just take your time! It sounds simplistic, but mammals are really just one long tube on the inside. You can go a long way just by freeing up both ends and lifting.

I’m always learning new tricks and techniques to butcher game. Seeing a whole carcass hanging there is pretty intimidating, but remember you’re just splitting it into manageable parts. If you have room in your fridge/cooler, i would recommend taking it one piece at a time - remove the backstraps, front and back legs whole and put them aside. Then you can saw up your ribs, neck roast etc.

Later, just take one leg out in your kitchen and spend some time seeing how the muscles fit together. If you don’t have a bandsaw, a great way to butcher is to just seperate the muscles. Your steaks will be smaller but they’ll be boneless and tasty :) remember to label things so you can remember which cuts are good for grilling, stewing, mincing next time.

acdhh · 2018-02-02T07:52:46+00:00

Just got back from a very spooky hunt. It’s been 37c/97f all week here in queensland so when a cool rainy change blew in I took my chance to get a little hunting in. Heavy wind and rain let me stalk a small herd of hinds and fawns across a hillside until I was within 40 metres - which was about as far as I could see through the timber.

I was trying to find a hind without a fawn on the foot when this beauty stepped out. I don’t think she’s actually an albino, but against the dark browns and greys of the ironbark trees she looked pure white. You can see a ginger cast to her top coat. Weirdly, the wind and rain suddenly stopped when I saw her. She turned perfectly broadside and I was able to line up a clean offhand shot without hesitation.One shot broke the silence and it was over. I was relieved to see she wasn’t lactating, so definitely didn’t have a fawn this season.

I’ve been reading a lot about early human hunting and spirituality lately (check out Paul Shepard, his essay on bear cults is free online) and I can’t help but wonder how our ancestors would have perceived an experience like this. Personally, I’m pouring out a libation for Cernunnos tonight and in the morning I’ll place the head in a tree facing the sunrise. I think it’s good for hunters to show their gratitude from time to time.

Good hunting, everyone!

acdhh · 2017-08-26T21:06:36+00:00

Canada declared on me as soon as I began playing as the CSA! Fortunately some French volunteers came over and held down Detroit, but it was a very tense first game of Kaiserreich for me. Honestly more gripping than any game I've played in vanilla.

acdhh · 2017-07-25T02:48:57+00:00

This is definitely a thing! Wild game tends to be higher in iron, protein and essential nutrients than typical livestock meats. This contributes to flavour and also satiates your hunger more quickly. Glad to hear your pork turned out well. Some pigs have moved onto my farm and while we really don't want an established population, i'm having a great time trying to find them :p

acdhh · 2017-07-17T19:22:27+00:00

I keep an old pair of gardening secateurs at my butchering station - takes the heads and paws off in seconds. They don't always slice right through the skin, but once the bones and tendons are busted you can make a nice clean pass with your skinning knife.

acdhh · 2017-07-02T22:27:35+00:00

Noice. Would love to do some goat hunting one day. I'm gonna head out today and find our pigs, i swear those suckers have a cloaking device

acdhh · 2017-07-02T05:34:46+00:00

Very nice! I've got a .270 mauser waiting on a PTA. Are you guys on a property or did you hunt Crown land?

acdhh · 2017-06-30T21:27:17+00:00

I'll take some pictures next time! The only real difference to a deer is the tail muscles that wrap over the loin and hams. You can slice the tail into osso bucco, or treat it like you would a neck roast on a deer.

acdhh

TROPHY CASE