Snowy Day Activity

Putting together/updating Get Home bags, and hiking day packs has been on our to-do list for quite a while, so it seemed appropriate for us to do it while a big storm was raging outside. Nothing like inclement weather to provide incentive to get other "preps" done. 

We've spent the last couple of weeks making a list and assembling everything we wanted in our Get Home bags and hiking day packs. Not surprisingly, a lot of the items overlapped.

I had a little Get Home bag in my car that had a boo-boo kit, an oh shit kit, extra magazines, utility knife, flashlights, extra mags, etc. I found I've been stealing that bag out of my car when I was overseeing students at the range, because it was easier to carry around than my range bag.

I also had a Go Bag with stuff in it for my Posse duties. The contents were much less: my slicker, hazard vest, blanket, some snacks, flashlights, and the like. Both of my bags got an overhaul.

Jay got to build his Get Home bag from scratch, which is always fun. It's tempting to try to think of every scenario you might come across and try to pack for those, but then your bag gets incredibly heavy, so we tried to go bare-bones.

Our Get Home bags have first aid kits and medication (Stop the Bleed kits are on order), supplies for fire making, extra magazines, assorted knives, food, collapsible water containers and life straws, lights, pens/paper, a small solar panel for charging devices, and the most important thing - TP! There are a few other lightweight things in there that I forgot to list, I'm sure. We tried to keep in mind that these are not Bug Out Bags, they're Get Home bags. We might have to walk quite a way to get home, so we had to balance the equipment we wanted against how much weight we could carry for extended distances.

Even keeping that in mind, our bags weigh in at right about 12#. There are a couple of other things we're waiting to have delivered, but I think we'll manage to stay less than 15#. To make sure we can haul them around when we need to, we'll start wearing them on walks around the farm road. That way, we can address any rubbing or weight distribution issues in advance (in addition to building the muscle strength required to carry that weight for extended distances).

Our hiking day packs were a lot easier to pack, but had some very similar supplies: first aid kit and meds, Stop the Bleed kit, blister care, food, toilet paper, plus cheap rain ponchos, and a water bladder.  We don't expect to spend more than a few hours on the trails, so we cut back on the "survival" gear, though we do each have solar blankets in case we have to hunker down. The water is going to be the heaviest part of our hiking packs, so just like with our Get Home bags, we'll wear those around the farm roads to check for rubbing and to make sure we can carry them easily.

The little Get Home bag I mentioned earlier got stripped down and will be my dedicated range emergency kit. I moved a lot of supplies to my "big" bag, and kept just the boo-boo and oh shit kits, along with extra magazines, and a "get back" knife. With its decreased weight, it'll be a lot more comfortable to wear for extended periods of time on the range. It'll still live slung over the passenger seat in my car, within easy reach, but its primary job is now for the range.

Baloo Update

 I decided my new bow needed a name, so Baloo Bear it is. Now let's see if I can manage to not sing "Bear Necessities" every time I take him out for a range trip.

Just being generous and sharing the ear worm. Enjoy :)

Anyway ... let's get back on track.

Before the storm arrived over the weekend, Jay and I went to the archery range. I wanted to get Baloo sighted in, and Jay wanted to dress his bow up. While his bow was getting his accoutrements, I did my best to get my bow sighted in.

It's opposite of sighting in a rifle, so I had to think a bit each time. I was told to "chase the arrow", so after my first three shots were down and to the right, I had to move my sight to the right. Still seems backward to me. 

It didn't take too long to get the windage correct, by just moving the sight a bit at a time. As long as I paid attention to my form and release, I did okay, but there were times when I screwed something up and had a flyer.

Bottom left arrow? Flyer.
Holes in the black and blue? Flyers.

I'd like to say that the ones in the yellow were intentional, but I think that was dumb luck, as I was just beginning to adjust elevation. I didn't do a ton of shooting, only about 20 at this point, but shoulder fatigue was starting to set in.

I wanted to dial in elevation just a touch more, so let fly another few sets of three. One set was freaking awesome! Unfortunately, it highlighted that I might be consistent, but not accurate (yet). 

I couldn't duplicate this if I tried! Love me some beginner's luck. About that time, Jay's bow was ready and my arms were shaking, so I thought it'd be a good time to wind up. I'm not sure if my elevation is correct or not. There are some decent shots in the yellow, and I felt like I was pretty steady on those three, but could have been dropping them due to muscle fatigue.

One more trip to the range with fresh shoulders should get us dialed in. 

I'm excited to join Jay at some of the nearby outdoor ranges this summer!