The old days...at least for me.

[Rutbuck]

This is deer and bear camp from 1982. We continued hunting like this into the early 90's in the mountains of PA. Correct me if I'm wrong Dad, but I believe this tradition started in the 40's or 50's.

[jerseyhunter]

Hey neat thats what i call a hunting camp.

[michihunter]

Sounds as though you had a great Dad Rutbuck!! Kudos to both you and your dad (Scott)..

[admin]

Reminds me of my Army days. Although I think our tents drooped a little more. ;D

Great pic

[stilllearning]

I like it. Were do I get one? ;D

[sidewinder]

now that is deer camp.......... walled tent ole cook stove in the middle ;D..........and yeah hunter mike..........army tents did droop more ;D

[bigskyscott]

That tent was custom made by a local "big rig" truck tarp maker. all the framing poles outside boards and rope rigging was custom made also by the original owner and us. The person who did all the canvas work swore after making it that he would not make another one.
As our camp grew with new members wanting to join us, we had to expand ,so we added an old Army squad tent set up next to it for our kitchen and supply tent. If I can find the pic's, I'll post them.I know Olebuck has some too. (Come on O.B. join in)
That same location was used for many ,many years by hunters who also hunted out of tents. I can recall being visited by some oldtimers back then already in their 80's over the years during bear and deer seasons while we had our camp set-up to say "hello" and they would sit at the table with us and tell stories for hours about the "Old days" of deer and bear hunting in the area, the weather conditions back then and about their camp set-ups. Those old guys claimed that as far as THEY could remember,hunters used that spot for their tents too . They said that as far back as the early 1900's and maybe earlier than that. They would arrive in Emporium,Pa. by train with all their gear, buy whatever provisions they needed in town including coal for their stoves and load it all into mule drawn wagons and haul everything back into the mountains to this location which is named Bobby's Run(Bobby Lewis, early settler) . In those days, they sometimes would stay up there for up to a month. When it was time to "break camp", whatever coal was left over, they would dig holes in the ground and burry it to be used again the next hunting season. To this day, you have to be careful where you walk for fear of walking on one of those soft, semi-hollow coal stached spots in the ground.
At least once while the "boys" were out hunting, the tent burned to the ground because of sparks from the coal stove accidently igniting the canvas !
Here is the best story IMO, that was told to us:
One time in the old days, one of the camp's older members died of a heart attack. Since it was early in the hunting season, the weather was brutely cold and no one killed any game at that point, the boys thought "What the He##," might as well stick to our original schedule .Just keep the body with us till the season is over and bring his body out with us when were done". Supposidly the body was wrapped up in a tarp and placed outside the tent in the "deep freeze"!

[Rutbuck]

That bugger was a lot of work setting up and taking down. And we had our share of guys who wouldn't help.I think thats why hunting like that just petered out for us. I knew about the tent burning down but not about the dead guy.

[Rutbuck]

And the little blue tent was the out house.

[4pointer]

Great pic & story, Thanks fer sharing ;D

[bigskyscott]

I found these .

This one was taken in 1983 at our camp. Olebuck is standing on the far left . The young fella with the 243 is Olebuck's Son with his bear. What a rough lookin bunch !

This is a much" improved " Locked Horns Camp..... squad tent and a knock- appart, insulated wooden outhouse.. for a joke, I installed a telephone on the outside.
We had two old parlor-sized kero. stoves for heat.... sometimes it got too hot in there ! Many great memories.

[4pointer]

Hey buddy, I know I need sleep, But I don't see olebuck , his son
or bear,,,,,,,,,, Great day's back than..Keep postin them pic's. ;D

[bigskyscott]

4pointer said:

Hey buddy, I know I need sleep, But I don't see olebuck , his son
or bear,,,,,,,,,, Great day's back than..Keep postin them pic's. ;D

Wow 4pointer ! you were working some brutal hours
O.K., here are a few of the deer we took from our camp over the years.