The Ultimate Guide to Making Outdoor Gear and Accessories: Complete, Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Knives, Bows and Arrows, Fishing Tackle, Decoys, Gun Cabinets, and Much More [Hardcover]

Monte Burch (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

When the weather is bad or it's the off-season, when their favorite sports are ruled out for whatever reason, many outdoorsmen turn their attention to making and repairing the staples of their sports. Whether it is a new gun stock, a specialized fishing lure, a duck or goose decoy, a backpack, or even a canoe, there is both pleasure and economy in fashioning it yourself. The pleasure is not only in the craftsmanship, but in actually using the gear in the field.
In THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO MAKING OUTDOOR GEAR AND ACCESSORIES, Monte Burch has included instructions, diagrams, and photographs for a variety of projects of interest to outdoorsmen, including guns and gun accessories, knives, archery tackle, bird and animal calls, waterfowl blinds of various sorts, tents, quail return pens, waterproof camera boxes, shooting benches, and gun and fishing tackle cabinets. Anyone with a rudimentary grasp of carpentry and handcrafting will find something here to his taste. Whether simply taking a couple of pieces of yardstick, a rubber band, and some household tape to make a varmint call, constructing a complicated recurve bow from a kit, or installing a fiberglass deck on a johnboat, there is something here for every outdoorsman who wants to say of a piece of sporting equipment: "I made it myself."

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Making your own outdoor equipment is one of the most enjoyable indoor activities, and has many advantages. First, of course, you can make items for much less cost than buying them. You can also custom make items so they fit your particular needs and activities. Handmade articles are treasured and are often handed down from generation to generation. Perhaps most important of all, however, is the satisfaction of hunting or fishing with a piece of equipment you have made yourself, knowing that it is a quality item that will last a long time. The projects in this book range from the simple to the complex. Included within these pages, you will find hands-on information on: restocking guns; muzzleloaders and accessories; knives and accessories; archery tackle; fishing rods; fishing lures and tackle; sportsmen's storage and workbenches; decoys; bird and animal calls; blinds; tents and shelters; backpacks, frames, and rucksacks; moccasins and other leather crafting; deer hunting stands and houses; shooting tables; floating fish boxes; and much more.

About the Author

MONTE BURCH has been writing about the outdoors for four decades, and is the author of thousands of magazine articles and more than fifty books, including Field Dressing and Butchering Upland Birds, Waterfowl, and Wild Turkeys (page 185), Field Dressing and Butchering Deer (page 185), and Field Dressing and Butchering Rabbits, Squirrels, and Other Small Game (page 185). He lives in Humansville, Missouri.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Lyons Press; 1st edition (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585748218
• ISBN-13: 978-1585748211
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 7.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673,431 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Professional & Technical > Transportation > Ships > Boat Building

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the Ultimate Guide..., February 3, 2011

By 

Brian J. Perkins "Shawnee1756" (Baltic, OH) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ultimate Guide to Making Outdoor Gear and Accessories: Complete, Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Knives, Bows and Arrows, Fishing Tackle, Decoys, Gun Cabinets, and Much More (Hardcover)

I was so excited to find a book that covered everything I was interested in. Luckily, I was able to get mine from the Library. First, when I saw the pictures and started reading, I though the book was a reprint of some 1970's articles. The pictures were dark, often not informative or even in sync with the page they were on. The sketches were crude and many lacked basic information like dimensions, materials, etc. Second, devoting 7 pages to building a muzzleloader, then 30 pages to making fishing lures does not complete instructions make. I couldn't write an article on making a pop gun under 7 pages. At best this book is a basic guide to outdoor gear. I found it to be inspirational, supplemental to other better constructed books. Definitely not for the novice or to pack in the survivalist bag unless you need tinder or TP.