Antelope and Cactus?

[smalls]

Anyone got any brilliant ideas on how to protect your knees and hands from cactus when crawling after goats?

I think I am going to try a pair of those hard plastic knee pads like rollerbladers wear. I am not sure if thin leather glover will be enough to protect my hands or not.?

[mtmiller]

Get some flooring knee pads from your local hardward store. I woud guess the roller blade pads will have slots that may still allow spines to reach your skin.

[1_pointer]

miller- Don't forget those for next month! ;) Unless, FinalShot is REALLY sawed off you may be permanently stuck with the short straw!! :D

[imported_Delw]

Smalls those work or the ones the carpet guys work.
Also get something for your hands, they take a toll when running around on all fours.
cactus still goes through leather hard plastic is best.

Delw

[wyomingtim]

Ummmm, the obvious......crawl around them. Actually, I can't give any advice here. I always end up crawling across them myself. I would worry about noise with teh hard plastic ones.

[smalls]

Yeah, when's the last time you saw a buck coming over the ridge and first did a thorough inspection of the ground below you before you dropped ot all fours?

The reason I asked this question is cuz I dropped right into a large pear last year w/ my knee. It became VERY swollen and made it hard to walk the next several days.

For noise, I could put some of that self-adhesive moleskin on them so there would be a layer between the ground/rocks/etc. and my knee pads.

[wyomingtim]

Come on, you should know I was joking....I have done the same thing. Needles were in my lower knee and upper shin...

some of them got infected and I had to lance the swollen areas to drain the puss. not a pretty sight, and it didn't feel too good either.

The moleskin may work. The rocks I was hunting/crawling over I would worry about the lasting power, but anything is worth a try.

Good luck.

[D4570]

graemlins/hump.gif Don't bother with knee pads just go out an get a 50cal and shoot them from the road!! : graemlins/shhh.gif

[supersider34]

Get the knee pads they use for Volleyball or sports. They are soft and put some sheepskin on them for noise. I have used them and they have gotten very hot. I just wear them on my ankles and when a stalk comes on then I pull them up to my knee's. They work great. But the sheepskin makes no noise when crawling on hard ground. I even used the elbow pads when belly crawling.

[BuzzH]

If you arent picking stickers after a day of antelope hunting, you arent hunting antelope.

[supersider34]

I tried the ol'socking feet a couple years ago once I closed to within 100 yds and I will never do it again. If I can't get close enough on any animal it will live another day. I had thorns in my feet for days. They got infected and popped like zits to get most of them.

[MarvB]

smalls- these are the ones I use (mine have been piss canned O.D.). They are the carpet layers type but the hard plastic can make a little noise at times.

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p4ccb5677978db23692b9fb5f36590a49/f74e365f.jpg

My goat huntin' pard uses these which he got from a fellow LEO on the swat team. The tops are rubberized, tough as hell, and quiet to boot- they are what I'll be getting next time out!

http://www.imagestation.com/picture/sraid136/p2f4b6ca38473c954669c888af9bfa322/f74e3662.jpg


Gotta agree with Buzz...if ya ain't pulling spines- your not huntin' goats!

[smalls]

Buzz, I don't think they willbe eliminated all together, I just want to get around without crutches on day three.

I like the idea of the rubberized knee pads, I will definitely have a pair by the weekend. Now I just gotta figure out how to protect my hands a bit.