Hot Outdoor Recreation Posts

How To: Field dress a deer using only a knife

So you shot a deer, now what? Time to field dress the animal and make the most of your prize. Throughout the process it is important to keep your incisions precise, so as to avoid any messy mistakes. This instructional video will also teach you how to tell the age of the deer by the condition of its teeth.

How To: Prepare for sushi and sashimi grade bluefin tuna

To prepare the tuna, start by cutting the jugular to bleed the tuna out. Cut right at the top of the gill plate and cut up toward the eyes. Do this on both sides of the tuna. Then, cut a circle around the anus to free up the guts. Go back to the gill plate and cut the membrane in the gut cavity on both sides and, with one swift pull, the head and guts come out of the tuna. Then, you will pack the core very tightly with ice to keep the core cool. It is now ready to go on the table for sushi.

How To: Make a homemade predator decoy

Hunting predators can be difficult. As their entire lives are based on being stealthy enough to make a kill, while expending minimal energy, finding your prey can prove to be quite time-consuming. One hunter has made a homemade predator decoy for less than $20. Watch the video to find out how.

How To: Tie a marlin spike hitch

Pull the line towards yourself, applying tension. Form a bite. having the working end towards the standing part. Fold the line away from the direction of pull, weave the marlin spike through the hole and then pull the line tight.

News: Supersonic Space Diver With Death Wish

Felix Baumgartner plans to leap a record 120,000 feet, breaking four world records. If all goes well, Baumgartner will set records for highest altitude freefall, longest distance freefall, highest manned balloon fight, and fastest speed freefall (he will actually break the sound of speed!). 

Wake-Skate: Winch Madness

Amazing footage shot of some highly skilled wakeboarders, entitled "Winch Madness". According to Wikipedia, Wakeskate winching involves "an engine, spool, rope, handle, frame, and some sort of simple transmission. The person being towed walks (or swims) away from the winch and pulls out all of the rope." When the winch lets loose, the boarder can go 15-25 mph.

How To: Play shuffleboard

Getting an outdoor itch to start something new? How about the ever-so-fun game of shuffleboard? Begun more than 500 years ago as a game for European royalty, shuffleboard is becoming more popular with Americans who see it as a less expensive alternative to golf.

How To: Deflesh the skull & antlers of a deer to make a mount

Looking to stick your winning game on your wall? In this two part tutorial, learn how to deflesh the skull and antlers of a deer and make it into what is commonly known as a Dry Skull, Desert, European, Texas, or Western Mount. Part one covers starting with the harvested animal, a typical plaque, discussing set-up and basic methods, the bone overview and the processes' start. Part two continues the defleshing of the skull base, tightening of the nasal bones, whitening, detailing, antler base ...

How To: Ollie with Tony Hawk

The title says it all. The worlds best skater, Tony Hawk, teaching you how to do the most basic and important skating trick: the ollie. The most important tricks you are going to learn in skating are ollies. The ollie is the act of jumping up using only your feet and the bringing the board up with you without grabbing it. The key elements of the ollie are timing, timing, timing, timing, timing… and your weight distribution and foot placement. Kris Markovich also helps out Tony in this video H...

How To: Toss a boomerang

This is a short but thorough guide to how to throw and catch a boomerang. We focus on boomerang grip, throwing technique, and more. The presentation is no-frills but informative, featuring a lot of diagrams and a brief demonstration at the end.

How To: Throw a boomerang

In this segment from Lonely Planet, we learn how to throw a boomerang. It's not just a question of getting the boomerang to come back to you. Throw the boomerang the wrong way, and it just might come back to you like a heat-seeking missle! The host in this clip has trouble getting the boomerang to return, calling to mind the old joke: "What do you call a boomerang that won't come back? A stick." Throw a boomerang.

How To: Fix a broken bike chain

In this video tutorial from the Mountain Equipment Co-Op, we learn how to repair a broken bike chain. Jeff has broken his bike chain on his way to work, and he needs to make a hasty repair. He breaks the process down into three quick steps.

How To: Do a slant gainer/cheat gainer

In this video tutorial the performer demonstrates the slant gainer, also known as the cheat gainer. Basically, it involves hurling yourself away from the ground, spinning in the air for a while and then trying to land without busting your ankles and/or head. If accomplished successfully, it looks extremely cool. If it ends in failure, at least you might get a hit YouTube clip out of it.

How To: Do a wall flip

A performer from the UK street stunt team 3Run demonstrates the wall flip. It's a simple but always impressive parkour move. The performer vaults off the wall and goes spinning back over himself, landing on his feet. The performer offers a lot of advice for how to do the trick, making it (almost) look easy.

How To: Do a front flip

In this video, one of the gentlemen from the London stunt team 3Run shows us how to do a front flip. This is a very impressive trick that sends the performer spinning forward over the ground. Common sense would lead you to think that this trick requires a lot of strong, fast movements, but as the performer demonstrates, it's all about a light, delicate touch.

How To: Do a speed vault

A member of the London stunt team 3Run demonstrates the speed vault. The speed vault is one of the more basic parkour moves, but in this case basic doesn't mean easy. The speed vault sends you hurtling over a wall at great speed, and it takes practice to do this right. It only looks easy here because the performer really knows what he's doing.

How To: Do a standing back flip

In this tutorial, a young Englishman demonstrates how to do a backflip from a standing position (and on hard ground). As he explains, you want to resist the impulse to throw your head back. You keep your head and torso straight as you jump, curling your legs up to provide the momentum that will send you spinning.

How To: Do the 'wall flip' parkour move

There's nothing natural about doing a parkour-style wall flip. The voice in your head telling you not to run at a wall and flip yourself away so you're spinning through the air high above the ground, that's your common sense talking. But like the old saying says, no guts, no glory. In this pretty thorough introduction to the basic wall flip, you'll learn how to do this trick like a pro.

How To: Do a parkour wall flip

Sadly, you can't really slow down time and dodge bullets like Neo. But the wall flip is one "Matrix"-style parkour trick you can do in real life. All it takes is a lot of practice... And the willingness to risk slipping up and landing in the hospital with a busted skull.

How To: Do G-turn variations on your skateboard

A tutorial from the folks at Loaded Boards, demonstrating G-turn variations on a steep hillside. The video assumes you already have experience with G-turns. If you're a beginner, it's definitely not suggested you try these moves. In fact, the guy in the video notes at the beginning that the hill he's on is way too steep to be doing this stuff.

How To: Do big stand up slides on your skateboard

Loaded Boards presents this video where skater "Chinchilla" demonstrates how to do big stand up slides on your board. The video assumes you already have a fair amount of experience skateboarding. This definitely isn't something for beginners to try, but if you know what you're doing on your board you can wow the crowds with these moves.

How To: Geocache as a beginner

In this tutorial, you're introduced to Geocaching, the high tech treasure hunt. This is a pretty thorough intro, presented without a lot of flash but with some solid info. By the time you're done, you'll be ready to go out there into the wild, seeking those hidden goodies.

How To: Go Geocaching safely

Geocaching can be a fun hobby for outdoorsy types of all ages. But it also presents its share of dangers, especially for kids. In this short video, Prospector Pete offers up tips to keep kids safe when they are Geocaching in the wild.

How To: Build a coyote trap

If you're going to build a coyote trap, you want to make absolutely sure you get it right. After all, the last thing you need to deal with is a furious coyote getting loose after you've trapped him! In this video you'll learn how to make a cheap and effective coyote trap.

How To: Skimboard as a level one beginner

In this video shot on the shores of Long Beach in 1999, a little boy guides you through the basics of beginning skimboarding. Obviously these tips are fairly basic, but he's pretty well-informed for his age. He even demonstrates a few tricks, including the 360, the sit-down style, and the flip.

How To: Do a skimboard no-comply

The no-comply is a very tricky skimboard move. It's definitely not for beginners, it can take a lot of time and practice to pick it up. This video will get you started with the basics, offering up a video demonstration with a text breakdown.

How To: Make a carbon fiber skimboard

A cool skimboard can really set you back. What's more, you're only buying designs off the shelf. In this video, you'll see how to make your own skimboard out of carbon fiber. It will be a lot cheaper than the store-bought kind, and you'll be able to design the graphics yourself.

How To: Make char cloth to start your fire

In this weekend project, MAKE and KipKay show you how to make a char cloth to start a campfire in a hurry. Char cloth is cheap and effective stuff. You need a metal container, an old t-shirt, and a can of Sterno, and then you're pretty much good to go.