Personal and Family Preparedness.

Personal and Family Preparedness.

Personally I don’t see one thing as being more important than another. There is no point in prioritising shelter if you are unable to protect & defend. But for the purpose of this article, I will start with my home & work my way through other priorities.

We have two dwellings, a main house & an old cottage. Both are situated in a forest that we own. We do have fire breaks, but this winter we will be widening those breaks because of the new threat posed by global warming. On the main house we have two 5000 gallon cement water tanks, plus another 1000 gallons in a polly tank for the garden. We have two fire pumps, one on the lower cement tank, & one down at Cattail Pond. The Cattail Pond pump can pump water up to the main house & the cottage for gardens & fire fighting. The gardens supply us with all our vegetable needs for the house & the chooks, but we also keep on hand a good supply of dried, bottled & canned foods. The chooks are kept mainly for eggs.

The main house & the cottage are both off grid & self-sustainable with grey water systems & composting toilets. The cottage has two 1000 gallon water tanks but we will be adding another larger tank soon. Heating of both houses & hot water is provided by wood burning stoves, plus a wood heater in the main house & a large open fire in the cottage. Cooking of course is also done on the wood burning stoves & the forest supplies all our firewood. 240 volt Electricity is supplied by solar panels & batteries.

We have four 4WDs, The Lada is only used on the property, but the Hilux & Triton diesels are registered for the road, as is the X-Trail SUV. If we ever have to leave here, the whole family can just fit in the Hilux & the two Tritons with all our equipment. Every family member that is able to carry has their own pack & arms. I am a primitive skills instructor & I have passed my skills on to my three sons. Arms are a mixture of modern breech-loaders, muzzle-loaders & traditional bows. Our equipment is all 18^th century except for medical supplies & some of the water containers. We do not expect to have to leave our forest home as we have plenty of people & arms to protect what we have, but we are prepared to leave if we consider it necessary.

Individual equipment is much the same for everyone with a few exceptions including arms, types of packs, clothing. & personal items.

Equipment List:

.62 cal/20 gauge flintlock fusil. 42 inch barrel.

.70 caliber smoothbore flintlock pistol.

Gun tools and spare lock parts.

Shot pouch and contents.

Leather drawstring pouch of .60 caliber ball (in knapsack).

Powder horn.

Ball mould and swan shot mould.

5 Gunpowder wallets

Lead ladle.

Butcher/Hunting knife.

Legging knife.

Clasp knife.

Tomahawk.

Fire bag.

Tinderbox.

Belt pouch.

Fishing tackle in brass container.

Two brass snares.

Roll of brass snare wire.

Knapsack.

Scrip.

Market Wallet.

Tin Cup.

Kettle.

Water filter bags (cotton & linen bags).

Medical pouch.

Housewife.

Piece of soap and a broken ivory comb.

Dried foods in bags.

Wooden spoon.

Compass.

Whet stone.

Small metal file.

Oilcloth.

One blanket (Monmouth cap, spare wool waistcoat and wool shirt rolled inside blanket).

Two glass saddle flasks.

Length of hemp rope.

Bottle of rum.

Basic list of what I carry. This list is made up from items that we know were carried, from items that my research has shown were available, & from items that have been found, such as the brass snare wire. I am not saying every woodsrunner carried all these items, but I am saying that some woodsrunners may have carried all these items. From experimental archaeology results in historical trekking, I think the items I have chosen are a reasonable choice for any woodsrunner that is going to live in the wilderness for a year or more.

Skills: All adult male family members have these skills. The only reason the women don’t have these skills is because they have not shown any interest. Two of the women can use a gun & one of the girls has her own bow. One of our family is a trained nurse & others have skills such as cooking, clothing manufacture, weaving & gardening.

Skills List:

Fire-bow Flint & steel fire lighting

Wet weather fire lighting

fire lighting

Flintlock fire lighting

Flintlock use, service & repair

Marksmanship with either gun or bow.

Field dressing & butchering game

Blade sharpening

Tomahawk throwing

Making rawhide

Brain tanning

Primitive shelter construction

How to stay warm in winter with only one blanket

Cordage manufacture

Moccasin construction and repair

Sewing

Axe and tomahawk helve making

Fishing

Hunting

Evasion

Tracking

Reading sign

Woods lore

Navigation

Primitive trap construction & trapping

Open fire cooking

Fireplace construction

Clothing manufacture

Drying meat & other foods

Knowledge of plant tinders & preparation

Knowledge of native foods & preparation

Knowledge of native plants in the area and their uses for other than tinder and food.

Scouting/Ranging.

Basic first aid.

Finding and treating water.

General leather work.

Survival, Then and Now.

Survival, Then and Now.

What do you think has changed  in the last 300 years regarding our survival needs? Anything? Whether it be long term wilderness living as it was for the New World settlers in the 17^th and 18^th centuries or whether it be a lost in the bush survival situation, I don’t see as though anything has changed. Our requirements are still the same, sensible tools, good survival provisions and primitive survival skills. Yet here we are in 2016, and people are obsessed with using dryer lint. stubby so called “bushcraft knives”, camo clothing, ferrocerium rods, pop-up nylon tents, RAT packs and freeze dried foods, special hiking boots, fuel stoves, battery operated equipment and no skills to speak of except invented ones like “battening”, making Vaseline cotton balls and other “homemade” fire starters and inventing new ways to lay a fire so they can take photos of it for their favourite forum!

300 years ago the main tools you needed to survive were the gun, the axe, the knife and flint and steel for making fire. You could even survive without the flint and steel if you had to because you could use the lock on your flintlock gun to make fire. You needed skills such as trap making and the knowledge of trapping. You packed only the essential equipment and provisions, and if you made mistakes in packing too much useless gear, then you ditched it along the track and learnt a hard lesson. Generally you asked experienced people for their advice, some ignored that advice to their own peril, and others profited by it. Today many so called survivalists and preppers also seek advice on internet forums, or at least they appear to. Most though have already made up their minds, and really all they want to do is share on the forum what they have chosen and carry. Giving correctional advice to these people is usually a waste of time, and in some cases you will be answered with rudeness and ridicule. Most of us, who have been there and done that, had a lot of experience in long term wilderness living simply ignore this and perhaps go to the persons profile and click the “Ignore” button. After all, we don’t have to put up with abuse, and the less people that survive after tshtf the better for us, less hunting and foraging competition.

For those of you that are serious about survival, and genuinely think that a shtf situation could arise in the future, here is my advice, take it or leave it: Think about your needs, think about the tasks you will be faced with if you have to survive in a wilderness situation. Choose you tools carefully. You will need a tool or tools for hunting, you will need an axe for cutting wood for shelter construction and trap making, you will need blades for skinning and butchering, camp chores and trap making, and perhaps a spare just in case. You need a hunting knife with a blade long enough to be used in self defence. You do NOT need a tool for skinning and butchering that was designed to cut wood, and you don’t want to have to cut saplings down with a knife! Each tool should have a specific purpose, don’t skimp on tools to save weight, you need the right tool for the specific job in hand.

Think sustainable, if you purchase something that is going to break, wear out or run out and you are unable to repair it, then it is just extra weight in your pack you don’t need, and it is going to compromise your safety. Carrying good sustainable gear may mean that you are carrying extra weight, and may mean that you will have to travel slower and take more breaks, but long term it will pay off.

Learn the skills you will need now. Having a good pair of hiking boots may help you initially, but what happens if they break or wear out? Do you know how to make a moccasin pattern? Do you know how to make moccasins? Do you know how to tan an animal skin to make leather? If you make a pair of moccasins now, then you will not only have learnt the skill, but you will have the moccasins and the pattern for another pair. This is the way you need to think. A modern firearm is great providing it remains functional, but what if it ceases to work? Can you fix it? How much weight in ammunition can you afford to carry? How much ammo do you use on an average hunting trip? You may shun primitive hunting tools such as the traditional bow, the crossbow and the muzzle-loading gun or rifle, but these tools have certain advantages over the modern firearm for long term wilderness living. By all means if you are travelling in company have someone carry a modern firearm, but make sure it is not the only hunting tool you are taking with you.

Keith.

http://eighteenthcenturylivinghistory.freeforums.org/

http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/

What Skills Will Allow You To Do & Not Do.

Medical Kit.

Medications.

Food bags & containers.

Water bottles or flasks.

Tools for hunting & defence.

Shelter & bedding.

What Skills Will Allow You To Do & Not Do.

The debate regarding equipment versus skills is ongoing, in my personal opinion, both are of equal importance. We are not just talking about survival; we must also be concerned with our quality of life. Yes learning primitive skills for long term survival are very important, but you have to think about what these skills can provide you with & what they can’t. For instance, if you need to cook a stew, then you need a fireproof container. You could experiment making clay vessels, you can also use animal skins & use the hot rock method. But how much easier is it to carry a metal kettle with you?

So why am I mentioning this? I am mentioning this because weight matters if you have to carry it on your back when travelling on foot. There has to be some compromise between two principles, minimum weight & maximum self-reliance. When people are asked about the hunting tools/weapons, top of the list is usually high powered breech-loading firearms. These are fine for self-defence, but how practicle are they for long term survival? The larger the caliber, the more the ammunition weighs, & the more space in your pack it takes up. We need to prioritise, is it more important to carry a lot of weight in modern ammunition? Or is it more important to carry more medical equipment & supplies, vitamin supplements, more food & more water? If we are travelling alone, we can not carry both.

If we are only carrying a modern firearm & we intend to use it for hunting & defence, then the ammunition will not last long. We can of course avoid a fire fight by keeping a low profile, & we can save on ammunition by setting up a trap line for meat. But how secure will you feel knowing that when your ammunition runs out, you will be left with nothing with which to defend yourself or procure game? Your alternatives are: carrying an air rifle, carrying a traditional bow & arrows, or carrying a flintlock muzzle-loading gun/rifle & pistol. Another alternative for those in America might be to carry a modern sidearm in combination with one of the aforementioned hunting tools, or carry a bow & a modern firearm.

Weight is the all important factor, that & sustainability. Solid form medications have a long shelf life, so we need to take advantage of this. Dry foods too have a long storage capability & it is important that we carry as much food as we can. Eventually we hope to be able to take the time to forage for edible flora & hunt & trap game, but until that time comes, we are on the move & we need to keep a low profile.

Can primitive skills supply you with medications? Yes of course they can, but finding the herbs you need will not be easy, & especially so if you are already feeling ill. We need to think about our well being, our comfort. Any item that is sustainable & will make life easier is worth carrying, within reason. Skills will enable you to make a survival bow & arrows, but if you should ever come up against someone with a gun, you may have some difficulty surviving. Something that people often fail to take into account is the shock factor of a firearm, the noise & the impact of the missile. A bow against a firearm can not deliver this.

Anyway, the purpose of this article is to make you think before you leap. Think about the equipment you are going to carry & how it will best benefit your survival physically & mentally. Learn all you can about primitive skills, & if you plan to survive on your own retreat, then think about the living skills you will need to keep things in good repair.

When it comes to transporting equipment on foot, you can use a hiking trolley, but like all forms of transport from vehicles to animals, there will always be a negative side. The tracks you will leave to be followed, the places you can’t go, the noise you will make.

Are You Really Serious About Surviving TEOTWAWKI ?

(Foreword: This article is not supposed to be a blow for blow account of what I think you should carry, it is simply an article to make you think seriously about what it is you are trying to prepare for. To make you think about the items that you may NEED, rather than the items you would LIKE to carry but are not really necessary. If you seriously think that I am wrong, and you think that what you are doing is right, then there is no argument from me, each to their own. This is my personal perspective of the fraternity in general, having read many forums, Australian English and American).

Only A Matter Of Time, By Robert Griffing.

Are You Really Serious About Surviving TEOTWAWKI ?

I ask this question because no matter how much I write, no matter how many questions I answer, people keep coming back with the same questions. So called preppers and survivalists , at least the majority of them, are more interested in modern gadgetry, modern firearms, freeze dried foods, military webbing and camo clothing than they are about actual survival. If TEOTWAWKI actually happens, for the average household, the average family, couples and singles, this is not going to be a walk in the park, nor is it going to be a military exercise where there will be frequent supply drops of food and ammunition.

You will be on your own ; No more food supplies, no more modern ammunition, no more medical supplies, no more batteries. Some say well I have a solar charger and it does not weigh much and takes up hardly any room. Well fine, but what do you need the batteries for? A radio? A torch? Are they really that important to you? You are having to “Bug-Out” into an unknown wilderness where food and water may be in short supply, and you think that a radio and a torch are important items to carry to help in your survival?

If you want to join a survival/prepping forum so you can talk about your favourite interest, fine, but don’t kid yourself that all that gear you are showing everyone is going to save your life. Your clothes will wear out, your footwear will wear out. If you use a modern firearm for hunting and self-defence, your ammo will run out. That Rambo knife you purchased will eventually break if you keep battening it to split wood, and when you try to skin and butcher game, you may find it is blunt. Do you have a back-up blade? Is it any better suited to the task in hand than the survival Rambo knife?

When packing your Bug-out bag or knapsack or whatever, you will have to compromise between two principles, minimum weight, and maximum self-reliance. I will say that again so you fully understand it’s importance; MINIMUM WEIGHT, and MAXIMUM SELF-RELIANCE. Do you know what you will be looking for in your new home? Do you know what tools you will need to make your shelter, gardens, toilet area, drying racks for clothes and meat?

Have you ever been in this situation before? You will have to sleep light, listening for any unusual sounds. A radio playing will mask those sounds and may cost you your life, or someone else’s life. Shining a torch around at night could bring unwelcome company, get used to seeing in the dark. What are you going to use your multi-tool for? Think about it. All that you need are some very basic tools IF you are serious about survival. Don’t carry items that are likely to breakdown and can not be repaired. A bow is a good hunting tool, but you don’t need a compound bow that requires special arrows and a special string.

Woodsmen and woods-women survived in the 18^th century wilderness long term, and generations did this for hundreds of years. Think about that. What did they carry? A flintlock gun, a good hunting/butcher knife, maybe a legging knife for a back-up, and a clasp knife for camp chores and making traps. A tomahawk did the heavier cutting work when making shelters, and it was/is a good tool for self-defence. Learn how to throw your tomahawk and it also becomes a tool for recreation, and hunting if needs be. A few simple tools and spare parts will keep your flintlock serviceable for a life time. Flint, steel and tinderbox are also reliable methods of renewable fire lighting in all weather conditions.

I am not saying don’t take a modern firearm, I am saying don’t take a modern firearm at the expense of carrying a better hunting tool. If you have a partner that can afford to carry a modern firearm and ammo, fine. It will make a good tool for self-defence. Take a good modern medical kit too, and remember to carry plenty of vitamins and any personal medications. Think about what will be most useful to you in a long term wilderness situation. Gun or bow, ammunition, gun tools, water, food, flint and steel, knives, tomahawk, moccasins that you can make yourself, the knowledge to tan hides and make simple clothing items, clothing with no stress points that will last a long time, fishing tackle, a kettle for cooking food and sterilizing water, rope for trail snares, brass picture wire for small game snares, copper wire for gun repairs, a wooden spoon for cooking and eating, soap, hair comb, sewing kit, water filtration bags, a solar still, a canvas for shelter, a good wool blanket, extra clothing for cold nights, gunpowder, lead, ball and shot moulds, lead ladle. Is there anything here that you are prepared to sacrifice for the sake of carrying some modern gadget that is not renewable, that is not really NEEDED?

If I should find that I still have room to carry more, and I can handle the weight, I can think of far more important things to carry than a multi-tool or radio or torch or any number of fancy gadgets. I would be carrying more water, more dried foods, more gunpowder and more lead. IF you are serious about survival, don’t waste this opportunity to choose the right gear for the job in hand. If you are making a b.o.b for your teenager, explain to them why it is important that they carry more food instead of that radio or their mobile phone. Walking along a trail with ear phones blaring music is a sure way to get yourself killed, you won’t hear the warning, you won’t hear what’s coming, use your head.

Now spread out all the gear you have, and give it an honest appraisal. Do you NEED it? Will it help save your life? Is there anything that you should be carrying more of instead of that item? Anyone can make excuses for carrying certain items that are not really needed, but the fact is that they all add up. They all take up room and together they add weight. How many early pioneers finished up ditching furniture, clocks and luggage trunks along the trail? Many of them. Because the trail was long, and at every mile the weight seemed to increase for the horses carrying or pulling this load, it increased for every person carrying too much on their backs. This survival scenario is serious stuff. If you genuinely believe, that in your lifetime TEOTWAWKI situation may arise, then get serious, ditch the rubbish now, don’t wait for the trail so you can leave items behind to help other people follow your trail.

DO NOT assume that you will be driving your vehicle all the way to your destination, you can’t possible know or guarantee this. You may have to ditch your vehicle along the way to your retreat, and if you were to drive your vehicle all the way into the virgin bush, you will be leaving a trail for unwanted company to follow all the way to your hideout. Only take what you can carry on your backs. It may have to be heavy, you may have to take frequent rest stops even if you have kept everything not needed out of your pack.

If you are in company, in a group, then think about what people can carry. Lead scouts need to be able to defend themselves and the group, same with the rear guard and the flankers. Some may need to carry a few personal items, such as a knife, a bow, and a tomahawk. Other than that they will be carrying; food supplies, medical supplies, gunpowder, lead, water. If you are carrying a muzzle-loading gun, then less lead is needed, and you can carry more gunpowder instead. Make sure you have a good mix of archers, muzzleloaders and modern firearms in your group. The bows and muzzle-loading guns are mainly for hunting and back-up defence if required. The modern firearms are purely for defence, nothing else, and long term they are not to be relied upon. You simply can not carry enough ammo for a modern firearm, and you can’t afford the weight of reloaders, nor can you rely on the continued good condition of primers.

So which is it to be, an activity that you enjoy doing but are not seriously expecting to have to face TEOTWAWKI in your lifetime, or if you believe that a SHTF situation could arise for real, are you going to get serious about your survival and the survival of your family?
Keith.