Newly Expanded Australian Survival Forum.

The Survival Connection.

This is a survival board on our groups forum. Many of our members joined our 18th century Living History forum because they had a strong interest in survival & prepping, so we also added The Survival Connection board.
This board is like a separate forum, it is not just for primitive gear & primitive skills, it covers anything & everything in regards to survival.

The Survival Connection Forum: http://neclhg.freeforums.net/board/18/survival-connection

Bush shelter saved dad and son lost in Tasmanian wilderness for days

ALWAYS A GOOD IDEA TO CARRY SURVIVAL GEAR IN YOUR VEHICLE IF YOU ARE GOING BUSH, BUT THERE IS NO POINT IN LEAVING THAT GEAR IN THE VEHICLE IF YOU ARE GOING TO LEAVE THE VEHICLE!

Learn primitive skills & equip yourself with suitable equipment before going bush.

Full story here: http://www.9news.com.au/national/2017/04/27/08/35/father-son-still-lost-in-tas-wilderness/?ocid=nann170428

Help Stop The Tax Hike On Solar Power. PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION.

Government ministers are about to approve a huge tax hike on solar panels that will have a devastating impact on the industry. Sign the petition to push back.

https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/page/s/no-new-solar-taxes-v3?source=em&subsource=20170301egem01&utm_source=gpeace&utm_medium=em&utm_campaign=20170301egem01

Troubled Waters.

Photo Credit: Getty Images.

Is it safe to drink from fast flowing pristine looking waters in the bush?

http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/science-environment/2016/09/waterborne-illnesses

Snakes Are Out & About. Take Care!!!

A coastal taipan. Photo: Richie Gilbert

Toddler 'dies for six minutes' before being revived by paramedics after being bitten by taipan snake three times.

More here:

https://au.news.yahoo.com/a/32784225/toddler-dies-for-six-minutes-before-being-revived-by-paramedics-after-being-bitten-by-taipan-snake-three-times/#page1

Long Term Wilderness Living/Survival.

Long Term Wilderness Living/Survival.

After the dust has settled & the survivors have left the cities to live in the bush, they will have to get down to some serious work in order to continue to survive. This also applies to those of us who already live in the bush, because our ties to the city will also be severed. Then, the equipment we have is all we have. There will be no new supplies of anything available to us. If the equipment we have chosen is not sustainable, then we will be in trouble in a very short period of time.

The same can be said of the skills we have at that time. Sure we can learn new skills, but just how much discomfort do you think you will suffer whilst you try to learn these skills? Whether it be making fire or making your own footwear, these skills are not learnt & certainly not mastered overnight, & one of the problems with using modern gear is that it does not teach you anything worthwhile.

My wife & I lived for over 20 years in the bush without electricity or any modern gadgets. We washed our clothes by boiling them in a copper. For light we made tallow candles & grease lamps. We grew our own food & I hunted meat for the table with a flintlock muzzle-loading gun. We started off this way living an 18^th century lifestyle & our level of comfort never dropped. IF we had started off using modern equipment, we would have finished up living a Stone Age lifestyle! Yes I have the ability to live a Stone Age lifestyle, I have the primitive skills & it is a very secure feeling knowing this, but I do not want to have to live that way, I like a certain level of comfort.

So my advice is, if you are really serious about being able to survive in the future should it all go pear shaped, take a good long hard look at the gear you have, & ask yourself “is it sustainable”? DO NOT defend your choices of equipment to save face, DO NOT defend your choices because of its monetary cost. We are talking about survival here, our ability to keep living, & our quality of life. Going camping for a weekend or a month is not a good way of reviewing your gear. It is fun, but it is nothing but just that. Fuel stoves, matches, ferocerium rods, canned foods, torches, radios, Bowie type survival knives, etc will not last or will not do a satisfactory job in keeping you alive & within your comfort zone. So start learning the skills that will keep you alive & enable you to live with a certain amount of comfort. Acquire the tools & equipment that will support you through long term wilderness living.

Now having said that, I would like to make it quite clear that I have nothing against modern firearms or modern medical supplies, & I think those life straws for purifying water sound great. BUT, if you are going to carry a modern firearm, keep it for defence only or your limited supply of ammunition is not going to last long if you use it for hunting as well. If you are travelling alone I suggest you carry a bow as well, & not a compound bow. Or if you are only going to carry one gun & no bow, get yourself a flintlock muzzle-loading gun.

If it all hits the fan before my next post (can’t see that happening), best of luck.
Keith.

If or When TSHTF. Part Six. Going Bush. Gardening & Construction Tools.

Gardening and Construction Tools.

When moving out bush with a view to long term living you need to have some idea in your head as to the type of area you are looking for. You will need permanent water if possible, a creek or a river. This may also supply reeds for shelter construction & other items. A cave would make a great shelter or even a rock shelter, but if these are not available at your water source then you will have to construct shelters.

These types of tools are generally bulky & heavy, but they can also double as weapons if you have people to carry them. Helves, handles & stails can be removed from the heads & the heads can be carried in a pack if this is easier than carrying the complete tool. Think carefully about the tools you will need. In a long term wilderness living situation you will need to produce gardens & construct shelters.

Here is a list of tools that I have collected for this purpose:

·    Felling axe

·    Small shovel

·    Small mattock/pick

·    Sickle or sword

·    Hoe

·    Auger

·    Gimlet

·    Pruning saw

This is what we call Cattail Pond. It is large & deep & is fed from a header stream. Cattails/Cumbungi provide food & materials for roofing, mat making, mulch for gardens & arrow shafts.

This is a small mattock/pick head made to be used with a short helve for one handed use. But you can make & fit a longer helve (handle).

Full sized 18th century style garden hoe.

Large auger for cutting holes & hammering in wooden pegs for securing beams together or just installing pegs.

An original 18th or 19th century pick.

Pruning saw. These are very efficient for cutting off tree limbs & for construction work. Easily carried if you construct a sheath, or just wrap & place in a pack.

18th century sickle for cutting reeds.

This is a small shovel head that I can easily carry in my pack & make & fit a handle when I reach my destination.

My hunting sword. A weapon & a useful tool for cutting reeds.

Left to right: My felling axe with a light head & a straight helve; two fascine knives or bill hooks; an adze; my half-axe which I occasionally carry tied to my pack, & my tomahawk which I carry in my belt at all times.

These are a small auger & gimlet that I made from two brace bits.

Above you can see how I hammered the ends with a ball peen hammer to secure the bits in the handles that I made.

Two original gimlets. In the 18th century these were used to make holes for nails so that the nails would not split the wood. Later they were still in use for making holes for wood screws. These can also be used to make holes for wooden pegs or for inserting wire for repairs or construction.

Seeds

You will need to take seeds with you so now is probably a good time to be collecting them. If they go out of date before use, replace them. You should have some idea of the area you will be travelling to, so purchase seeds for that climate. Following is a list of what we grow in the New England area:

·    Pumpkin/squash

·    Zucchini marrow

·    Silverbeet

·    Chard

·    Sunflowers

·    Corn

·    Potatoes

·    Tomatoes

·    Jerusalem Artichokes

You will never starve if you are growing Jerusalem Artichokes. These are a root crop which last through winter & continue to grow when warmer weather comes. They are related to the sunflower .

Jerusalem Artichoke tubers

This image showing my half-axe secured to my blanket roll by simply sliding the helve under the ties. I can carry the large auger in the same manner.

If or When TSHTF Part Four. Primitive living/survival skills.

This is a basic list of skills for woodsrunners in our group. These are long term wilderness living/survival skills.

Woodsrunner’s Skills.

This is a list of basic skills in which I personally would expect an 18^th century woodsman or woods-woman to have some experience with in our group.

·      Flint & steel fire lighting

·      Wet weather fire lighting

·      Fire-bow 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.

Black Hole. Environmental Video.

Police release 4 new photos of William Tyrrell as they continue to investigate his disappearance.

Police release 4 new photos of William Tyrrell as they continue to investigate his disappearance.

Please circulate these photos in your newsfeed. Someone, somewhere knows something.

Call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

I have edited these photographs to make them larger & clearer. This last image may or may NOT be of William Tyrrell, but the boy is similar in apearance & has a different hair cut. Have you seen this boy? If you even THINK you may have seen William, please phone 

1800 333 000.

Primitive Living

Post by Films For Action.

Surviving Out Of Town. Green Valley Farm Part 1.

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.

Primitive V Modern. Primitive is an attitude.

Primitive V Modern. Primitive is an attitude.

Primitive survival is a matter of attitude. Instead of thinking what else can I add to my pack, we think “what is there in my pack that I don’t need”. Instead of thinking what is the best gun for long range & maximum damage, we think “what is the best firearm for long term wilderness survival”. We do not rely on bows or firearms for getting meat, we rely more on a trap line. But we don’t think what traps can I purchase, we make our own animal traps out of natural materials found in the bush.

We don’t say what tanning materials can I carry with me, because again, we have no need to carry anything for tanning animal skins. We use natural methods. Instead of asking what is the best hiking boot for survival in the bush, we make our own. Because further down the track when those expensive hiking boots wear out, they are going to need to know how to make their own moccasins.

Cooking is not about carrying a camping stove, cooking is about making a natural fire and using its heat to keep you warm in winter and dry your clothes when they are wet. Fire is about knowing how to make fire in all weather conditions and being prepared. It is not about carrying a Ferrocerium rod that will not work when all the tinder and kindling is wet. Fire is not about carrying Vaseline cotton balls, it is about having the knowledge to find and prepare your own natural tinder found in the bush, and where to find dry kindling in the pouring rain.

Primitive survival is not about preventing wet feet and purchasing the best sleeping bag. It is about knowing what to do when you get wet moccasins and learning how to stay warm with only one wool blanket. It is about learning how to think differently about comfort and being resigned to the fact that you will not be as comfortable as you would be in a modern house.

Wilderness living is about having the right tools for the tasks in hand, it is not about carrying a Rambo knife. Modern so called survival knives are for those that only carry one knife and nothing else. A woodsman on the other hand carries more than one knife, and he/she carries an axe. Extra weight? Yes of course it is, but having the right tools is something that should not be compromised. You don’t carry a jungle machete into an eastern forest. Wilderness survival is about choosing the right tool for its versatility and worth, it is not about purchasing a tool because it looks formidable and might be good for fighting.

Primitive long term wilderness survival is about thinking out of the box, it is about thinking beyond the main purpose of a particular piece of equipment. By all means if there are enough of you in your group then carry a modern firearm, but DO NOT totally rely on modern equipment. Sooner or later it will wear out or break down, and then you will find yourself back in the stone age. Better to use methods that are natural and sustainable, and equipment that is practical and serviceable.

Think about it.

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.