I recently decided to start making my own arrows(and tips). I've never knapped, but have watched it first hand, and really want to put in the time. There is something to be said for learning the skills that developed over the millennia before metals and plastics were utilized. What if we find ourselves in another depression where resources are scarce and those things that we take for granted suddenly become unavailable? Doubtful, but I want to be prepared for any situation just in case.
I've been thinking about making my own tools to get started, and woke up with the motivation to go out looking for materials. I went to the only place where I've found multiple sheds in one day by complete accident in the past. It's pretty isolated, hard to navigate, and fortified with poison oak forests so I don't think many people get back there. I have spent hours looking in other places that must not have been the right type of environment. Apparently, deer tend to lose their antlers in the same places every year. I also think when deer congregate during the winter/fall, they usually lose their antlers together in the same area.
This would help explain why I find many in one large area, and none in another.
Spent a good hour just hiking in, and wasted some time looking in the meadow between bedding areas. I have found antlers there before, but the grass was too tall to see anything today. After a while, I almost called it quits when I found my first(last picture). There it was underneath an oak tree totally camouflaged. Who knows how many I walked past? After looking a little more around the same tree, I miraculously found its' brother(first picture). I fount 2 more singles, with only 1/4 being from last year. All the others were found still brown and smooth. Not sure about the goat/deer/sheep skull, but it was interesting enough to pick up.
I've been thinking about making my own tools to get started, and woke up with the motivation to go out looking for materials. I went to the only place where I've found multiple sheds in one day by complete accident in the past. It's pretty isolated, hard to navigate, and fortified with poison oak forests so I don't think many people get back there. I have spent hours looking in other places that must not have been the right type of environment. Apparently, deer tend to lose their antlers in the same places every year. I also think when deer congregate during the winter/fall, they usually lose their antlers together in the same area.
This would help explain why I find many in one large area, and none in another.
Spent a good hour just hiking in, and wasted some time looking in the meadow between bedding areas. I have found antlers there before, but the grass was too tall to see anything today. After a while, I almost called it quits when I found my first(last picture). There it was underneath an oak tree totally camouflaged. Who knows how many I walked past? After looking a little more around the same tree, I miraculously found its' brother(first picture). I fount 2 more singles, with only 1/4 being from last year. All the others were found still brown and smooth. Not sure about the goat/deer/sheep skull, but it was interesting enough to pick up.
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