Improvised A Buck Saw And Saw An Improvised Buck

   This past Saturday started out warm, with the temperature around 34°F, and there was even a warm breeze, so it felt good to get out. Although the forecast said it was going to be getting colder, it was not expected until the afternoon.
   The previous Saturday saw the temperature and wind chills around -8°F. Minnesota is so weird when it comes to weather. Go figure.
   I went to the local state park for a regular meetup of Minnesota BushcraftUSA members and after waiting a half hour or so, I headed out to enjoy some well deserved bush time. It felt so good to get out and to get away from it all. I was determined to try a few fun things.
   I wanted to complete the bucksaw portion of the Intermediate BushclassUSA lesson "Student Practice to Improvise A Bowsaw & Bucksaw". After reviewing the instructor Croatoan's fine video on making the bucksaw on my smart phone, I thought I had it figured out. But it wasn't until I got home, that I found out I also had to split wood with it as well, to complete that part of the lesson for the buck saw.
   Oh well, it was still fun and I will do it again, (and again and again and again).
   After getting the bucksaw improvised, and using it for awhile, I felt inspired to try a couple of projects.
   The first one was to make a flat surface for the cutting station at the camp. I really needed a more stable platform for batoning wood and using the Cold Steel Trail Hawk. That was an easy task with the newly improvised buck saw.
   The second project was inspired by a post on the BushcraftUSA forum site by member Bushtramp, entitled "Bushcrafty Christmas Prank." This was a very interesting project that he undertook to put several bushcrafted fake "deer" out in a field beside his fathers country property. It was very funny and I have dubbed the fake deer "Cervus Bushtrampus" in honor of this famous stunt.
   I decided to fieldcraft a fake deer, just like the ones in Bushtramp's herd.
   I have found that having a few pieces of kit that can be used to improvise tools with, has put a little more "craft" in my bushraft.
   So here is the video of this last Saturday's adventure. It is a little long, because it shows three projects involving a lot of field work, but I hope you enjoy it. Feel free to skip ahead.

 

   The day out and all the dirt time was a lot of fun. It was also nice to not deal with any firecraft or meal prep. As the day grew longer and it started to get colder. The wind chill by 3pm was approaching 0°F.
    I decided to call it a day and head home.
   But I will be returning to make even more "deer" and "woods chairs" and "mallots" and many other things. I hope you can get familiar with a few good improvised tools and put a little more "craft" into your bushcraft. Until next time, Happy Exploring.