left field

“Is this Buck Missers Anonymous? Great. Hi, my name is left field and I’ve yet to kill a buck.”

I've been thinking about this a lot as I just missed a grouse at 10 yards. Twice. I thought I was an okay shot and can do this at 20 yards instinctively -- I was calm and took my time but there you have it. I clearly need less "backyard target time" and more "target in the woods time".

I used it pretty hard last weekend and I have to admit I'm pretty impressed. The attention to detail is great and the warmth is surprisingly good even when I only had few layers under the Kutana jacket. Hate to be a fanboi, but I think I'll invest in more. For those interested, try and get a catalogue as it makes it easy to compare one item to another. The website can be a bitch to navigate.

Almost too embarrassed to tell this tale. Decided to sit in a ground blind. Hit it at 6:15 and settled in. 30 minutes later, a grouse comes pecking through at 10 yards, perpendicular to me. He’s behind some saplings but there’s a 2’ “window” he’s heading toward which will give me a perfect shot. I shift and he spots me. Now we stare each other down. 10, 15, 20 minutes. I’m a little underdressed so the cold is starting to seep in but I don’t feel I can move or shiver. Finally after a full 30 minutes, I have to move so I half stand and slide behind a tree. This doesn’t really phase him and he starts to walk back the other way which will give me a good shot on the other side of the saplings! I wait for him to come around the tree, then nick, draw and loose. Miss him by an inch. He jumps but keeps walking. Oh man, another opportunity! I draw and let the second arrow fly. Another miss! Closer though. At this point he’s had enough and flies up a tree to watch me search the leaves for my arrows. Found one, lost the other. I’m sure he’s writing this up on a grouse only forum laughing about the idiot hunter.

Yes, not answering texts is the best camo of all. I went out with the Kuiu this morning - thermal base, fleece and Kutana jacket at mid 40s and it was surprisingly comfortable. Little chilly when I sat for 45 minutes, but great when I moved. Like this stuff more and more.

Nyet. I tried to but every time we stopped he disappeared from my sight. Verde 2.0 for the win.

Today I went pheasant hunting with a friend I haven’t seen in a few months and he showed up with a couple of layers of Kuiu.

More on fabric (with fewer words!). Basically, under the best comparable conditions it's a difference of a few degrees. Buy what you like for the price you can live with.

Imagine Gore-Tex was named Jesus Quintana.

Did some research into the Toray fabric and came across this-- Fabric Wars!

Is there a muzzleloader specific gun shop a little closer to NYC? There is a place in PA (Dixon's) that specializes but they are two hours away. Prefer a smaller shop to a big box. Thanks.

Now you tell me. That my be an issue of too much heat in a dryer. I'll report back.

Just picked up a Smartwool top and bottom from Sierra for $40 each. Will wear with Terramor base, an old Uniqlo down and the Kuiu shell this weekend.

Notice the licenses pinned to their hats. Clearly I'm not the only one who doesn't want to poke holes in fine gear.

Going through all the layering options makes me wish I started hunting in the blue jeans and red plaid era.

Great advice. I prefer moving to sitting in a stand and take advantage of every rain to get out. I've set up a few ground blinds around my property that I use to pause and consider my next move. So far, only minimal luck but hope that changes soon. This is worth a read.

There's no way I'm piercing my backpack.

I was good on size though I doubt I could get heavy layers underneath. I’ve used it over a base layer, thermal fleece, and light down jacket and there was plenty of freedom to move. Just got back from a two hour stalk in a light then heavy rain. The gear performed well. Water beaded all over the jacket but no penetration as I could tell. Busting through the brush pushed the water into the pants, but still no penetration to the inner fleece. I stayed dry. Went through a few bramble patches and the pants and jacket didn’t snag at all. Still unsure about the Verde 2.0, specifically the amount of green. While there’s still green in the ground when I look up all I see is grey and brown. Could be overthinking that. As I mentioned earlier, I would love an inner waist tab for extra support, larger pants pocket openings and a tab in the yoke where I could attach a back tag holder. This is my first hunting specific gear so I can’t really compare it to anything else but I’m happy with the purchase.

I tend to keep it in my pocket as I’m only hunting my own land but still, they should have thought of this. I wonder if they’ll allow a non five star review.

Used the soft shell and pants this morning. All worked well but definitely needs a few more layers if it gets colder. What to do about back tag? There no way I’m piercing the back of this jacket with that huge pin. Back of cap seems ridiculous. A built-in tab to hang a tag from would be a nice addition.

Received my Kutana jacket and Talus Hybrid pants in Verde 2.0. Man, this stuff is light. I hope the jacket is warm as it is thinner than a fleece. Will try this weekend. Fit for this 6' 185lb guy is good with an L jacket and 36" pants. The pants have some room at the waist which I appreciate, and the arms of the jacket are long enough to cover bow wrist at full extension. Construction, zippers, material, etc seem top notch. I would have liked an extra button with an inside tab to close the waist as that is a weak-point in a pant that you're always bending over in. And the sewn flaps for the pants pockets are a little bit of a pain. I appreciate the reasoning but it's hard to get your hands in and out. As I like to stalk, I'm sure I'll appreciate the kneepads. Jacket has many pockets, though not one on the inside. Maybe it's from years of wearing suits, but I like to keep my wallet in a breast pocket. I wish the hood was removable as for me it's just something to get in the way. Still up in the air on the camo. I like the looks of the Vias, but that really seems more for the mountains. The Verde look like it should work. I will try it this weekend. Big question - wash before or not?

Was busted by a couple of deer walking in this morning. Should have taken the other route. Other than those two, no deer. Lot's of grouse. At any given point in my life I probably have a phone in my hand, a computer open, the radio in the background (possibly a TV) and someone in the room demanding my attention. But this morning I only had a chipmunk almost in hand, crows in the open sky, grouse in the background, and nearby squirrels demanding my attention. Learned a few things: Chipmunks don’t need an audience to show off, that’s just the way they are. A crow’s wings boom off the top of the trees as they fly over. It sounds like death coming. Murder of Crows, indeed. The grouse are eating my beech nuts which is good to know for next weekend And squirrels are the assholes of the woods. Seriously. They just sit in a tree and scold you for 20 minutes. “Yes, I know I woke you up ... I’m sorry ... could you keep your voice down please, everyone can hear you ... I didn't know you this is your tree, I’m just trying to sit quietly ... okay, I’ll move on.” Seriously.

That was literally my first time stalking. Happy that I saw them before they saw me and that I got 10 yards on them before I was busted.

Decided to take advantage of the wet and try my hand at stalking. After 45 minutes of step, step stop, I saw a deer about 40 yards away through the dense brush. I started to parallel her movement when I picked up another larger doe behind her. She raised up and eyed me straight off. I froze midstep and we began what seemed like a 20 minute staring contest. There was a large black cherry between us and when she finally turned I sidestepped and put the tree between our sight lines. Took a breath. Unfortunately, there were a lot of small trees between me and the cherry so I couldn’t inch straight toward it. After five minutes I tried to go ever so slightly around a sapling and she blew and took off. Best day ever.

As a Canadian I learned early to never underestimate the many and varied uses of hockey tape. The real question is: does he sharpen his broadheads?