By David Maccar

A hunter determined to track down a deer got separated from his friends on Saturday morning in Trinity County, CA. He finally found his way back to his truck…after 86 hours.

From this AP story via mercurynews.com:
Twenty-five-year-old Evan Cutting was hunting with a group of friends when he got separated from them while pursuing a deer around 11 a.m. Saturday.

Trinity County sheriff's deputies unsuccessfully searched for Cutting for two days, then suspended the search Monday night.

Sheriff's officials say Cutting somehow managed to return to his truck Tuesday night and called family and friends.
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By David Maccar

Two hunters going after black bears along the Idaho-Montana border mistakenly shot a grizzly and one of the men paid with his life. Steve Stevenson, 39, of Nevada yelled to draw the wounded, 400-pound grizzly away from his hunting partner when it charged them and was mauled to death.

From this story on Missoulan.com:
"They both shot it and it kept coming," Steve Stevenson's mom, Janet Price, said on Saturday. "Steve yelled at it to try and distract it, and it swung around and took him down. It's what my son would have done automatically, for anybody."

The Lincoln County Sheriff's Office in Montana said Stevenson, of Winnemucca, Nev., died Friday after 20-year-old Ty Bell wounded what he thought was a black bear and the two men tracked it into thick cover along the Idaho-Montana border where it attacked at about 10 a.m. Friday.
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By Jim Baird

It’s the Big Question: How much gas do we need? Too much gas is definitely better than to little gas—to a point. If you carry way too much, you will stress your machine and you are more likely to run into mechanical problems. Good jerry cans are key, or you may have to deal with spillages and leaks, which will definitely knock back the miles you travel. At the end of the day you will have to narrow it down as much as possible until you have to make an educated guess.

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By Philip Bourjaily

This week on The Gun Nuts, Eddie Nickens talks about trail guns, using my two .22 handguns as examples. As Eddie points out, .22's are fun and inexpensive to shoot and can be loaded with a wide range of ammo. Nevertheless, they may not fit the bill as everyone’s trail gun.

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By David E. Petzal

The world is positively awash in survival knives these days, and some of them, I’m sad to say, appear to have been cooked up by people who never got farther outdoors than the parking lot at industrial arts school. The SK-5 does not come under this heading. It’s designed by a fellow named Paul Scheiter, and while I’m not familiar with his credentials, he knows his s**t.

This is a knife that is not too big while being big enough, made of 154-CM steel, has a terrific and more or less indestructible canvas micarta handle held in place by three stainless-steel bolts, and an excellent MOLLE-compatible sheath that’s made of coyote-colored Cordura nylon. The blade is 5” long, spear-pointed, and tempered to Rc58-60. Mine came just short of razor-edged, and once I put a shaving edge on it (30 seconds on the Crock Stick) it held that edge like Grim Death.

A more useful, simple, and well-designed all-around knife you will not find. If I were taking one to the Sand Box, I might want to have the blade bead-blasted to kill the shine, but aside from that, it’s perfect.

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By Jim Baird

We knew there was a cabin somewhere around. Well, we were pretty sure. Actually I was pretty sure there was one around, but Ted was doubtful at best. The clouds were dark and low. The light was retreating. Night was almost upon us. We were headed for a sheltered bay where we thought we could gain protection if there was a blizzard on the way.
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