My Views On Carrying Modern Gadgets.

Something I posted on a UK survival forum recently after receiving so much negative feed back & comments. 

Keith.

My Views On Carrying Modern Gadgets.

Okay, this is my take on the carry situation, or your Bug Out bag contents for long term wilderness/country living.

People are for ever saying that they will rely of modern gear because it is easier to use & when it is used up or broken they will simply discard it. Many state that they carry multiple items for making fire. Maybe they do the same with other gear as well, I don't know.

Personally I have gone to a lot of research & experimentation to arrive at the best kit I can possibly carry that will last me a lifetime in the wilderness. This equipment is backed up with the skills needed to use this gear.

Now if I were to take advice from many people who advocate the carrying of modern gear & extras for insurance, then some of the items I already have in my pack would have to be taken out to (a) make room, & (b) lighten the load.

Putting it another way, when one has to discard a modern gadget, there is nothing to replace it unless you can make a primitive item to replace it. You were carrying this gadget at the expense of carrying something more suitable. You have compromised your safety & security by leaving important items out of your pack to make room for your gadgets. Does this make any sense to you?

Okay so you do know how to use a flint, steel & tinderbox & you carry one with you. You know all about plant & fungi tinders & where to find dry kindling in the pouring rain & snow. But you still want to carry a cigarette lighter, a ferocerium rod & magnesium block because? I can probably make fire faster with a tinderbox than many people can with a lighter, so why would I want to carry a lighter? I would sooner carry that extra weight & bulk in gunpowder, water, food, modern medical supplies. These items are far more important than carrying battery operated torches, magnesium blocks, ferocerium rods, cigarette lighters, plastic or tin plates, fold away solar panels, eating utensils, fuel stove, multi-tool, or the myriad of other modern gadgets that are on the market today.

A ferocerium rod is NOT a good substitute for a tinderbox. So why have one? Why are you not practicing with a real flint steel & tinderbox? If this is just a hobby for you, just a game or something you like to do when camping out, fine, I am not saying that is NOT a legitimate thing to do, but do NOT try to convince me or anyone else that this is what you should do if you seriously want to survive should it all hit the fan.

I have been doing this stuff since before it became known as prepping, I have been doing this for most of my life in all weathers. I have survived attacks from people & wild animals, I survived cyclone Tracey in 74. I have lived off grid in the bush for most of my life. I try to pass on my findings, my knowledge & my experience because I am an old man & the things that I know are rarely practiced these days. And yet I am for ever finding people getting upset by what I say & am immediately put on someone's hit list. Is it jealousy? Is it because these people were used to being top dog on the forum until I came along & upset their ratings? Or is it because I no longer live in the UK & therefore can't be considered a reliable source of information?

Yes I am out of touch with matters in the UK, I would imagine things are far worse there now than they were when I was living there. I saw my old forest & field haunts being cut down, leveled & built on. I was running out of room to "play". So I got out, came here & bought myself a forest that no one can destroy. But that does not mean that you can't take what is of use to you & discard the rest. Basic survival needs are still the same no matter where you are in the world. Even some of the plants here are the same as in the UK & other countries. Before climate change took a hold it was the same weather conditions here in New England NSW as it was in parts of the UK.

There is different equipment to suit the individual, & there is the WRONG equipment to carry. No matter how big & strong you are, no matter that you can carry a child plus your backpack, it still comes down to carrying the right gear & NOT compromising your safety. There will already be a need for some compromise when packing for a trip between two principles : minimum weight & maximum self-reliance.
Keith.

New Survival Forum.

A new survival forum has started up, you may wish to check it out.

http://ausprepforum.proboards.com/

18th Century Survival Food.

Portable soup was devised in the 18th century by boiling seasoned meat until a thick, resinous syrup was left that could be dried and stored for months at a time.
http://www.eatoutzone.com/Soup.htm

Bug out areas to look for.

Bug out areas to look for.

Whether you scout out an area to survive in first or whether you have to find somewhere on the run, you need to know what to look for. Anywhere with cover will do for a temporary camp, but if you are looking for a permanent camp site, then there are specific things to look for.

Water is life, where you find water you will find food. A permanent water source attracts game, and with any luck you may find edible plants there as well. Ideally what you are looking for is water where cattail/Cumbungi is growing. This will give you a food supply as well as tinder and shelter material.

Trees are essential for constructing decent shelters, but a cave would make an even better dwelling. So keep these two areas in mind.

Cattail Pond on the author's property. This is the sort of area you should be looking for.

What Do You Need To Survive. Part 2 Wilderness Living.

What Do You Need To Survive. Wilderness Living.

If you do not have a retreat to go to, then when you leave the city you will have to go to the most remote part of the bush you can find. No matter if you are travelling by water or by car, you do not want to take with you any more gear than you can carry on your back. It is doubtful that you will be able to go all the way by vehicle, and if you have to ditch the vehicle at any time, then there is no point in leaving equipment behind.

What will you need to survive? You will need to survive the wilderness; it is not a home away from home. Living will not be easy. You do not need modern gadgets and “Rambo” survival knives. You need to carry practicle tools designed to perform the tasks of wilderness living. Yes you may need to use these tools for self defence, but their main purpose will be to serve you in the performance of living skills. You need a good butcher knife to skin and dress game. This knife is designed to perform this function, a “Rambo” knife is not. You will need more than one knife, and you will need a tomahawk, because no one tool can perform all duties easily and efficiently.

When you are packing your “bug-out” bag for the trail, there must be some compromise made between maximum self-reliance, and minimum weight. You may love your solar torch, but at the end of the day, would you rather have one more round left for your gun, or would you rather have that torch?

No matter how much you like the thought of being able to carry your modern breach-loading firearm, the reality is that it is going to cost you a lot of weight in ammunition, regardless of whether or not you intend to reload your own ammo, there are other important items you need to carry with you. A self-bow or a muzzle-loading gun is a far better choice for long term wilderness survival. If you have enough people going with you, then by all means have someone carry a modern firearm. But they can not afford to be laden down carrying a lot of ammo. You are just as dead if you are hit by a .22 as you are if you are hit with a .308, so if you are carrying a firearm for self defence, then go for a .22 with light ammo, or a 12 gauge and carry less ammo.

The muzzle-loading gun has many advantages over the breach-loader for hunting, the main one being that you can easily retrieve the spent lead from shot game and remould it. This means that you can afford to carry more weight in gunpowder than in lead, and your ammo will last longer.

Tents and hammocks are restrictive when you are survival camping. They restrict your movement, and it means that you have to carry extra bedding or a sleeping bag to stay warm on cold nights as you can not gain any warmth from a fire. If your camp is raided in the night, you will be at a disadvantage. So I recommend that you choose a simple canvas or oil cloth lean-to shelter. You can see more and hear more, you can gain heat from a reflector fire if it is safe to make a fire. You do not need poles or rods to hold this shelter up. In actual fact you are better off in dry weather sleeping without any shelter or fire at all.

Cooking utensils are many, but all you need is a kettle/billy. Do not add more weight or bulk by carrying anything else, it is just not needed. Don’t carry a camp stove and fuel, it is not needed. Instead make sure you are carrying trail foods that do not require cooking.

Fire lighting tools need to be as basic as you can make them. Fire lighting must be sustainable, this means learning some fire lighting skills beyond the use of matches, lighter or ferrocerium rod. The ferrocerium rod relies on everything being right, and if this rod is dropped and breaks, you are stuffed. Learn to use a flint, steel & tinderbox, and learn how to make and use the fire-bow. You can’t keep up a steady supply of Vaseline cotton balls or “charcloth” in the wilderness, so learn how it is really done and you will never be without fire.

The author's blades.

Tomahawk. Making trap and shelter stakes, hammering in stakes, pounding plant materials, shelter construction, throwing for recreation, throwing for hunting, butchering game, self-defence, trap making, making pegs, hammering in pegs, dispatching game, debarking timber.

Hunting Knife. Skinning and butchering game, hunting, self-defence, eating.
Clasp Knife. Camp chores, making trap triggers, cutting cordage, harvesting plants, making fire-bow parts, back-up for other tasks.
Legging Knife. Self-defence, back-up for skinning and dressing game.

Benefits of the flintlock over the modern firearm. Copyright Keith H. Burgess.

1. Spent lead can be retrieved from shot game & easily remoulded into swan shot or round ball by using a simple ball mould & a light lead ladle. This means you can carry less weight in lead, & more weight in gunpowder, which means your ammo will last longer.
2. You are not carrying the extra weight of brass shells & do not have to worry about moisture damage to primers. You are not carrying heavy reloading gear.
3. Flintlocks are easy to repair, especially if you are carrying a few spare springs. Flintlocks rarely break, but if the lock did break, & you had no spare parts, you can easily turn it into a matchlock or a tinderlock & continue using it.
4. A flintlock smoothbore can digest round ball, swan shot, or light bird shot, or any combination of two of these in one load. IF you were eventually to run out of lead, there are other projectiles that can be used.
5. The lock on a flintlock can be used to make fire without the use of gunpowder.
6. A .32 caliber flintlock rifle will take any game a .22 will. It will also take larger game. It uses only about 14 grains of black powder so ammo is light & it lasts a very long time. With another mould, you can also use minnies (conical) which are heavier & have even more killing power. They are very accurate.
7. Paper cartridges are easy to make for the smoothbore, & makes for much faster reloading.
8. The fact that you are carrying black powder, means that you can use it to make fire even if you have no prepared tinder.
9. You can carry a flintlock pistol in a matching caliber  For instance, a 20 gauge fusil & pistol. The pistol can digest exactly the same ammunition, swan shot (buckshot) & ball is devastating.
10. Ignition is supplied be a piece of hard sharp rock. You can of course carry spare flints, but should you run out, you can find suitable rocks in the bush.
11. You can if you are careful, make your own gunpowder. I have read that you can make suitable gunpowder by using just charcoal & Potassium Nitrate, but I have not tried this yet. Both of these elements can be made in the bush.
12. Anything hit with a large caliber ball from a flintlock will not get away, regardless of where it is hit.

http://woodsrunnersdiary.blogspot.com.au/2012/11/the-flintlock-gun-in-18th-century-and.html

http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=Primitive+Fire+Lighting&categoryId=100501

Making Camp.

I don't like tents that completely surround me. I can't see outside, and getting out in a hurry is not easy. I can't gain any heat from a fire so I would need to carry extra bedding, and if I want to cook I have to go outside whatever the weather.
So I only use an oilcloth. I can use a reflector fire for heat and I can reach the fire to cook from my bedroll. I can roll out of bed fast if I need to, and can see everywhere but behind me. Sounds though I can hear very well.

$7,000.00 to move to the country.

The Australian government is offering $7,000.00 to anyone who is prepared to move from the city to a rural location. A good offer for some preppers.
Keith.

Primitive Skills DVDs.

FIRE.

MOCCASINS and MORE.

MUZZLE-LOADING and MORE.

OFF THE GRID ONE.

Order from here, or the BUY NOW button in the column to the left of this post:

https://www.trepstar.com/purchase.asp?idpub=30560&mode=all

My Primitive Fire Lighting Book.

Primitive Fire Lighting-Flint & Steel & Fire Bow.

Title: Primitive Firelighting
ID: 9784776
Category: History
Description: “Primitive Fire Lighting”, is a hands on guide to how to make fire with flint and steel and fire bow. This includes some history, a variety of methods, tinder plants identification, and tinder production, tips on fire place construction and use, how to prepare and lay a fire, wet weather fire lighting and magnifying glass fire lighting. The skills and methods in this book will be of interest to a wider range of readers including survivalists, historical re-enactors, bush-walkers and campers, historical–trekkers and even historical novel writers. Although the plant identifications list is mainly Australian it also has some information for England, Europe and America.
Publisher: Keith H. Burgess
Copyright Year: © 2010
Language: English
Country: Australia

Table of Contents
Illustrations. 4
FOREWORD. 6
FLINT AND STEEL FIRE LIGHTING. 8
PLANT FIBRE TINDERS: 11
TINDER PREPARATION. 15
Tinder preparation-charring: 15
OTHER FLINT and STEEL FIRE LIGHTING METHODS: 16
Emergency methods: 17
A WORD ABOUT BLACK POWDER: 17
THE CAMPFIRE FIREPLACE: 18
READING GLASS/MAGNIFYING GLASS FIRE LIGHTING 20
WET WEATHER FIRE LIGHTING. 21
A FINAL WORD OF CAUTION. 23
FIRE-BOW FIRE LIGHTING. 24
Introduction 24
FIRE-BOW FIRE LIGHTING. 25
A Brief Overview. 25
The Parts of the Fire-bow. 26
The Bow. 26
The Drill Piece. 27
The Fireboard. 29
The Tinder-board. 30
The Bearing Block. 31
The Bowstring. 32
Tinder. 32
Making Fire. 32
Making Cordage. 37
The Step for making Cordage. 38
AFTERWORD. 40
Fire steel suppliers. 45
About the author. 45

5.83" x 8.26", saddle-stitch binding, white interior paper (60# weight), black and white interior ink, white exterior paper (100# weight), full-colour exterior ink.
Cost: Book $11.00 US. Plus P&P. Download $7.00 US

: http://www.lulu.com/shop/search.ep?keyWords=Primitive+Fire+Lighting&categoryId=100501