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 17th and 18th 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.
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