Kim du Toit is at it again- another chance to let your mind wander with the delightful proposition of being transported back in time to the east coast of America circa 1650- and to then traverse the continent solo. It's a thought exercise that appeals to me greatly.
The restrictions are: one long gun, one handgun, two knives, a "tool knife", an axe and a dog. You'll also have a horse, mule and some supplies. This time though there's a catch- no multi barrel/calibre options. Which kind of throws a spanner in the works. Figuring that hostile natives would be my main concern I was going to choose the venerable 1911 (Kimber Warrior most likely) as my handgun- and tuck away a .22 upper for it so that it could also be used to take small game as the need arose.
The rest of my choices are like this- Garand rifle, khukuri (complete with chakmak and karda- so we get to sneak in a skinning knife), a Chris Reeve Sable I, Leatherman Wave and a Bear Mountain Rogers' Ranger tomahawk. My choice of dog would be a Belgian Shepard. A bayonet for the Garand might accidentally find its way into my gear too...
Dangerous game- especially bear- is also a concern but I'm hesitant to alter the choice of the 1911 for, say, a Ruger Redhawk custom job- specifically a Bowen Kodiak in .45 Colt. There is the possibility that my rifle might be lost/stolen/damaged on the trip and a big bore handgun would then be a primacy source of obtaining game. And therein lies the frustrating hell of this exercise- one gun cannot do everything well. There are numerous possibilities to contemplate and no one choice of firearms will suit them all. In fact, it's perfectly possibly to waste hours considering different types of set up that you might take with you.
How about emulating WDM Bell and packing a Lee Enfield .303 and a Broomhandle Mauser? Actually, that's pretty a tempting combo. Or you could go all modern and take a 6.5mm Grendel AR and an FN Five-Seven?
I'm going to stop now. Well, stop writing about it, I'm actually off to ponder what my exact list of supplies will look like...
BTW, can anyone recommend any good books on the general period in question?
No comments:
Post a Comment