I am sure some of you have things you take hunting that are reminders of those who have passed on. It would be interesting to hear what some of these items are for fellow Tradgangers.
For me, this year I had 2 items with me hunting that came from fellow Tradgangers who have passed on.
First one for me is a well used Bateman tab. I received it from a good friend, Kevin Brady. We were talking about shooting tabs one day several years ago. Kevin really liked the Bateman tabs. He let me try his and I thought it was a great tab. The next time I saw Kevin he handed me a brand new one as a gift! Kevin was an awesome shot with his Blacktail bows. He had a great sense of humor. All of us trad shooters who knew him really miss him. We lost him several years ago to cancer.
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The second item is the 43# Holm Made static River Runner made by Chad Holm. Looking at it while in my deer stand, I can picture Chad doing the shaping of the grip, the sanding, and spraying on the finish. I own 4 of Chad's bows and try to honor his memory by hunting with them each season. Chad was a fine bowyer and a fine gentleman.
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It's not my grandfathers , but one of the reasons I like using a haversack is it reminds me of him. He used to always carry a bag , usually made from a burlap feed sack with a shoulder strap attached. He carried it to put rabbits and squirrels in.
Not sure if this counts but I still carry my grandpa's hunting backpack with me during gun season. I've also hunted with his rifle every year since he's passed away and its continued to put meat in the freezer every year.
My uncles bow is one I've carried recently. Didn't get a buck with it this year but we had some fun. First two days with it we took two does.
My mom just told me she has my deceased brothers bow she's gonna give me. I'm sure that'll come along next year some as well.
A Marbles knife that was Grandad's and then dad's. And a waterproof match container from my Son.
I have carried my Dad's pocket knife, was my Grandfather's, every day since he gave it to me when I was 8, and while hunting, since Dad ascended 6 years ago, I bring along his KABAR, which has to be over 50 years old. The stacked leather handle is old, worn, and dry, but every time I think about reaching out and asking who can replace it, I simply cannot bring myself to let it out of my grasp for fear of never getting it back. For the record, it is shaving sharp and has seen the insides of dozens of deer.
My brothers compass. A Buck Model 102 woodsman knife my Dad bought me in 1971, and a Ideal hunting knife my father-in-law gave me. All three have passed away.
Used to carry my Dad's Solingen steel bone handled knife, until it disappeared from my truck in a backpack with a bunch of other stuff. Now I'm hunting a Big River recurve that was my first custom bow. John has not passed but has stopped making bows at 92.
:campfire: :coffee: :archer2:
Mostly memories...they are easy to pack, easily accessed, no one gets left out and they stay fresh with use :campfire:
I've lost at least a dozen friends I bowhunted with. I used to carry items for remembrance but they generally made me feel sad and I stopped doing it.
This is a great thread idea btw. Fun to read of all the fellows ideas.
Dads wool pants either his hunting knife or the one my grandpa made me. The antler tips and antler on the limb bolts of my new bow are from my dad and grandpas rattling antlers. My finger tab was my dads even though he shot wheels with it. During gun season either carry dads 30-06 or grandpa pre '64 30-30
I carry a knife used by Dale Dye. Although I don't own any of his bows, I respect his contributions to our sport each time I go out.
My best friend and hunting partner gave me a nice Ferrell Rod to carry in my hunting gear just before he died.
I carry it and have never used it. Just a keep sake.
:archer:
I carry my Dad's Western sheath knife in my pack. We both have field dressed many deer with it. I keep it in my pack so I won't lose it.
A Chad Holm Bow, and my Dads small trout and bird knife !!!
Quote from: durp on December 31, 2021, 11:24:25 AM
Mostly memories...they are easy to pack, easily accessed, no one gets left out and they stay fresh with use :campfire:
Amen.
My uncle was more of a dad to me than his brother. Took me fishing and small game hunting. When my grandfather passed I was given his old .44 mag Marlin. I didn't care for the gun and traded Uncle Roland for his 6mm Remington 600 Mohawk. Every now and then it escapes the safe and ends up in a tree. This year it took my best buck ever in Missouri.
I sent a pic to his son (whom I saw for the first time in over 20 years just 2 weeks earlier) and remembered those years growing up in the woods around good folks.
But no, I don't on a regular basis. Just the memories as stated before.
Quote from: ronp on December 31, 2021, 03:54:07 PM
I carry my Dad's Western sheath knife in my pack. We both have field dressed many deer with it. I keep it in my pack so I won't lose it.
I also just recently acquired a Buck 110 that belonged to a friend. Carried it a couple times this fall. And I occasionally carry a buck call made by another friend who passed a few years ago.
My friend and hunting buddy Tom from Ohio, passed last fall. I have a deerhide hip quiver that he made for me that I carry on 3d shoots. For turkey hunting, I have a turkey tote and a cedar box call that Tom made as well. I want to ask his wife for one of his hunting knives so I can carry a part of him on deer and moose hunts.
I also have an old 16 gauge side by side that was my Grandfather's. My Dad hunted with it for years and when we had to register our guns, he told me to put it in my name.
The memories are a big part of why I love hunting.
Dave.
My friend Bruno from Kingsport TN passed away earlier this year and he gave me a knife and a hunting umbrella that mounts to a tree. I keep the knife in my bow box and it goes with me for any hunting trip I'm on. He was a great guy and friend.
My dad was a fisherman but not a hunter or target archer. None of my current gear came from him, but he gave me several firearms as gifts, though. I inherited a bunch of fishing tackle. What I do have are great memories that regularly come to mind while sitting on the stand.
My kids had this Primos custom box call made for me in remembrance of my dad. Indiana's turkey season always came in on a Wednesday so dad would pull me and my younger brother out of school Wednesday through Friday to hunt. This call brought me to tears when my kids presented it to me on Father's Day, needless to say it goes with me whenever I'm in the turkey woods.[attachment=1][attachment=2][attachment=3]
I gave my Dad a small fixed blade and a folder that I had gotten for him at the NY Custom knife show many years ago. When he died at 88, I found them in his desk drawer. I carry the folder from time to time and the fixed blade into the field occasionally. I have an unusual pattern bandana that I bought on a trip with my long gone and only hunting partner when we had toured Arizona. I kept it at the bottom of my hunting pack for years, but it would make me really sad every time that I realized that it was there. I have retired it and try not to think about losing him to cancer at 65 years of age. He fought hard for 5 years, including a bear hunt in Alberta and a moose hunt in Newfoundland. Sometimes thing like this do not make you feel closer, only sad and old
GREAT thread. Fifteen or more years ago, I bought my dad a Dwyer longbow for his birthday. It is inscribed with his name and the year it was purchased. The year after he died, I killed a deer with it. It was quite possibly the smallest deer that I have ever killed, but is certainly one of my fondest deer hunting memories. I was flat choked up over it. I think that I will make it a point to knock the dust off of it and take it afield again soon. I also have a few other trinkets of his that have made their way into my daypack including an old pocket knife and a grunt call. They help me remember the literal hundreds of times that we hunted together over the years.
The first time I went deer hunting (I was 27) my dad asked what knife I was taking. I pulled out the 16" "Rambo" style survival knife and showed him. He laughed, took the Schrade folder off his belt, and handed it to me saying this will work much better. He was right, I have been carrying it on almost every hunt since 1985.
My brother Gary passed away, I have been taking his Buck 110 on most every hunt since.
When I can get into the field On Gary's birthday, October 5th, I hunt with one of the three selfbows he built...just because.
This wasn't somebody else's personal item, but.... When I got my first recurve, I ordered one from Black Widow. I had the name "Colonel" put on it. That's what everybody called my grandpa. His real name was Cornelius, but I don't think that I ever heard anybody call him anything but Colonel. He wasn't a hunter or a fisherman, but he always teased me and my brothers about our hunting and would laugh about our miscues that we had as young kids trying to bag a deer. He loved to see us have success, and was as good of a grandpa that a kid could ask for. I just figured that since he never hunted with us, this was my way of taking him along with me. I really miss him.
This season I carried one of Richard Jackson's self-nocked arrows in my quiver. Early season I wore a Mossy Oak jacket that belonged to Roger Rothhaar.
A compass given to me by George Kennedy
I sometimes carry a sheath knife that my grandfather bought in Germany ( pre wwII). The original sheath has rotted but if I can find another Pop will stroll with me again. He bird hunted and fly fished but gave it up before I was old enough to hunt. He did give me my first shotgun and .22- L.C.Smith and Winchester 1906 pump. prized gifts.
A Cross.
Family guns
Family knives
My main bow has antler on it from one of my most mature bucks on public land with a family hunt
Arrows from components that were gifts from my wife
Knives that were gifts from my wife
Game calls handmade by a buddy of mine
Binoculars that were a 30th birthday gift from the whole family
Lots of my gear has sentimental value
I shot this doe on October 26th of 2021. I shot it with an Easton 2219 that was my grandfather's. It is the last of the arrows that were his that I acquired after he passed. I shot her with a recurve that I built myself. I am more proud of this doe than any of the bucks on my wall. It meant everything to me and I'm sure he helped guide that arrow where it needed to go. This is a fantastic thread and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting choked up reading through these stories. [attachment=1]
I take my Dad with me (his ashes in a little leather pouch). If I harvest something, I'll leave his ashes in the woods...tippit
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Loving this thread.
I started Trad hunting three seasons ago, the year after my dad passed. I killed my first (and only so far) Trad buck with his old Ben Pearson Raider that I inherited from him. The bow limb gave out the next season just before the opener...I guess it was telling me it had done what it was meant to do.
Dad and I were the same height and I'm now about the weight he was for most of his adult life, so I often wear his hunting clothes.