posted
The only downside to wall tents here in Idaho are the mountain mice.
I once trapped 19 mice in one night in my tent----with one mouse trap.
Didn't sleep a wink, just kept listening to the mice getting closer and closer to the trap, then WHACK! Reload the trap and wait for the next one.
I've had many camps with similar mouse problems, but 19 in one night still stands as my record.
Of course, if you are not packing deep into the back country and don't need to go light, you can have a tent with a floor.
Posts: 603 | From: Horseshoe Bend, Idaho | Registered: Nov 2003
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Rik, Mountain Mice no problem, try coming back to camp after dark to find a Pine Marten in your tent in the dark.!! I was wearing a different pair of pants the next morning...
-------------------- Colorado Traditional Archers Society Compton Traditional Bowhunters Charter/Life Member PBS Associate Colorado Bowhunters Assn. Big Thompson Bowhunters
TGMM Family of the Bow Posts: 2168 | From: Colorado | Registered: Apr 2005
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Rik, how did those mice grill up? Any good with eggs for breakfast? Man at truckstop sees all the camo and asks "How was your hunting trip?" hunter replies "Got 19, best trip ever!"
There is a story among a small group of guys I know up in Alaska. A guy up there, a bush version of a bum would squat in old cabins but the guy was a real cockroach, you know the type that could survive a nuclear bomb at ground zero. He disappeared for months one winter then showed back up with the nicest parky anyone had ever seen. It was shiny and slick like sheered mink. The story that's told is he killed voles all winter in a cabin he was froze into, that he skinned, ate, and tanned every single one then made the coat out of the fur. His story finishes when he was dragged off to town by the guys in the white coats.
Even if you have a floor mice will eat through the wall. Depending on what your hunting a dog in the tent might stink up your hunt. In that case I might try to spray a little fox urine or something predatory to mice around the edges of the wall.
Posts: 95 | From: Little Rock | Registered: Jun 2009
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I've got a Herder Tent, from Davis. Love it. Set up is easy for one person. Have side windows, back door, and a slot for an a/c, for summer use. Also have one of their big Boy cots. Great folks to deal with. Kep hinting about a sponsorship. Johnny/JAG
-------------------- IBEP - Chairman Alabama "May The Good Lord Keep Your Bow Arm Strong and Your Heart and Arrows True!" TGMM Family of the Bow PBS Associate Member Compton Member Posts: 1962 | From: Elberta, Alabama | Registered: Jul 2004
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posted
OK, Typing from wall tent now. The tent and cots arrived a couple days ago so I promptly set up the tent at my shop and refuse to sleep indoors sleeping well on the cot too, very well.
If your packing in the light weight poles are good if you don't want to have deal with cutting poles on location. I plan to order their fittings and cut conduit for a quick easy and portable set up. Here at the shop I wanted to experiment a bit and go for a more heavy duty set up. I had a bunch of 2'x4's laying around so I made a top rail by splicing them to 16' making a 4'4' beam with 2 4'x4' poles. I hand chiseled out holes in the top of the pole and holes into the beam so a 3/4 inch piece of pipe will fit so you can get it up. Like that its pretty tight then I just climbed up and used a drill to screw another piece of board to both pieces. Barring a tornado, knock on a stave, it seems pretty bomb proof. We have already had some pretty good wind and it was quite steady. My only serious concern with this type set up is sustained rain which would soften the earth and let my stakes slide out which would let the beam collapse. The nails supplied by Davis are great but being I can do a little blacksmithing I will hammer out some serious stakes later, something you would see used on a circus tent.
For side poles I just grabbed some conduit and large nails with washers. Stick the pole up to the hole and then slide the nail including washer through a knot in the rope, put the nail through the grommet and into the pipe and your good. Later I will make some more camp looking side poles, I have a few ideas in my head already.
Of course the guys over around my shop think I'm a complete nutt, lol. I was trying to explain to one guy that Im getting ready for the fall hunting season now, he kept agreeing with me like you see on those comedy movies where the guys are talking to a shrink, shrink keeps agreeing. IMHO its much better to learn about this tent here and now where if anything happens I can just go in out of the weather than to be a unhappy hunter learning about new equipment during hunting season.
I will try to get up some pics and more notes pretty quick. A couple points, I plan to use this tent for the entire hunting season set up on a wooden platform, that's why Im experimenting with dimensional lumber like 2'x4's. One thing that was fairly simple and warned from Davis is all tents are unique, meaning you will need to fit poles to each individual tent. In this case slightly longer poles were fixed by digging down a couple inches, problem fixed so now all the grommets are touching the ground. I set up on a nice pad of gravel too, no floor, and I will round up some more gravel to lay on the sod cloth to seal up the tent. Time for a couple hours sleep, weather is calling for rain in a few hours, FUN!
Posts: 95 | From: Little Rock | Registered: Jun 2009
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Yea, i need pics to go along with your descriptions. I'm not picturing the beams or your side pole attachments. Sounds like your "livin' the dream" though!
-------------------- Schafer Silvertip 66#-"In memory", Green Mountain Longbow 60#, Hill Country Harvest Master TD 59#
"Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible." - Doug Lawson. Posts: 1262 | From: Essex Junction, Vermont | Registered: Jan 2005
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How is it we have 2 pages of wall tent discussion, and not 1 single picture????
There is nothing more cozy that residing a a canvas tent, with the wood stove cranked up.
-------------------- ...stood alone on a montaintop, starin out at a great divide, I could go east, I could go West, it was all up to me to decide, just then I saw a young hawk flyin and my soul began to rise...... Posts: 1370 | From: North Branch, Michigan | Registered: Sep 2003
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because we often camp on river rock, our tent stakes are 12" heavy spikes w/washers welded 1" below the head. need claw hammer to pull.
Posts: 749 | From: Wasilla, Alaska | Registered: Jan 2008
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posted
A very good feture to have on your wall tent is double zippers on both the door and bug screen. Also, instead of reloading the mouse trap there is an automatic type. Get a 5 gal pail and put 3 to 4 inches water in the bottom. Put a hole in the bottom of a pop or beer can. Put an arrow through the can then put the thing across the top of the bucket. Lastly, put some peanut butter on the side of the can. Put a ramp up to the can. The mice jump out on the can and revolve around and fall in the water. I caught 8 in one night in the back of a pickup box that a friend was sleeping in.
Posts: 65 | From: Nanaimo BC | Registered: Nov 2004
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Another way to do the mousetrap is to fill it with water to a couple inches from the top, and then pour sunflower seeds in it. They float on top, the mice think they can walk on them. They jump in for the seeds, and game over. Same ramp do they can get up to the bucket. Works great.
-------------------- ...stood alone on a montaintop, starin out at a great divide, I could go east, I could go West, it was all up to me to decide, just then I saw a young hawk flyin and my soul began to rise...... Posts: 1370 | From: North Branch, Michigan | Registered: Sep 2003
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