Survival Equipment for Beginners.

Survival Equipment for Beginners.

Advice based on experience.

1)      When packing a back pack for the trail, there must be a compromise between two principles; Minimum weight, & Maximum self reliance.

2)    Don’t waste money on modern gadgets that are NOT sustainable. Most of these gadgets are designed & sold for one purpose only, to make money for the designer & the seller.

3)    When purchasing survival gear, think practically, what are the items you actually NEED.

4)   Blades: Bowie knives & stilettos are all very nice, but think about what you blades will be actually mostly used for. Second hand blades in good order are just as good as modern blades if not better. 19^th century & early 20^th century butcher knives can often be found in second hand & junk shops. A tomahawk with a round or oval tapered eye is more versatile than a hatchet or a machete, but if you can’t find or afford a tomahawk, then pick up a light hatchet to get you by. I carry three knives & a tomahawk.

5)    A bird in the hand is worth more than two in the bush. You will need a hunting, defence tool(s).  You are better off with a flintlock pistol in your hand than a 9mm Glock still in the gun shop! Personally I carry a flintlock longarm & pistol from choice, but get what you can afford for now, even if it is only a single shot .22 rifle.

6)   When planning your equipment always think long term. We can’t possibly know what is going to happen in the future.

7)    Your survival kit should be your back pack/knapsack; all of your gear should be your survival kit, no fancy extras, just the basic needs that will keep you alive & in reasonable comfort.

8)    Learn primitive living skills. The more skills you have, the better chance you have of surviving.

9)   Practice makes perfect: Or at least as perfect as an individual can get. Use your gear, trek & camp & get used to using your equipment out bush.

10)Fire: Being able to make fire under all conditions is very important, so learn all you can about kindling, plant & fungi tinders & making fire. Learn how to char tinders directly in the fire & use the tinderbox to smother the glowing embers. I suggest you purchase or make yourself a flint & steel kit; fire steel/striker, tinderbox, & a piece of siliceous rock to strike the sparks from the steel. A good back up skill is being able to make fire with a fire-bow which you can make in the bush.

11)   Don’t rely on finding natural shelters, & don’t waste money on a modern tent. Get yourself a piece of canvas or oil cloth, it is more versatile than a tent, easier to erect, & you can take advantage of a fire for warmth & cooking without having to go out in the rain or snow.

12) A good pure wool blanket(s) is better than a sleeping bag. Sleeping bags in general will not keep you warm if they get wet, & they are difficult to get out of in an emergency. A good new blanket will always be better than a good old blanket, but two second hand wool blankets work just fine. You can also cut a blanket to make a “half-blanket” to use as a cape around your shoulders in winter, just as any blanket can also be used as a Matchcoat or a Great coat without any cutting or sewing.

13) Footwear: Hiking boots are good, but they can be noisy in the woods, difficult to repair & impossible to replace in the bush. If you make yourself a couple of pairs of center seam Woodland Indian moccasins (one pair to wear & the other pair to carry spare), then you will have the pattern to make new ones on your feet. They are light, leave less sign than a modern boot, easy to make a makeshift sole repair on the trail, easy to repair & replace. If you want to use your hiking boots, do so, but I suggest you make at least one pair of moccasins & carry them with you tied to your pack.

14) A good way to carry extra warmth with you is to roll up some spare warm clothing in your blanket roll. I carry a spare wool shirt & wool waistcoat which I put on over my other clothing on cold nights.

15) Make sure you carry a good modern medical/first aid kit. This is the only piece of modern equipment that I carry with me. Learn how to use it, learn first aid. There are first aid courses available in all cities.

16)Running a trap line. This is the most efficient way to make meat, carry your hunting tool with you & check the line every morning. Don’t carry any traps with you except small game snares & perhaps a rope for a large game snare. Learn how to make cordage from plant fibers’ & make your own traps.

17) Water is probably the heaviest thing you will be carrying, but always carry a water bottle/flask or canteen. I try to follow a water course when I can to make sure I always have water, but you never know when you may not be able to find any water.

18) Trail foods: Dry foods are lighter than canned foods. Always carry some foods that do not require cooking just in case it is not safe to make a fire.

19)Carry a light trade kettle or billy kettle. These are easy to make from a tin can & a piece of wire for a bail. These are good for cooking in, boiling water for sterilizing or making a hot drink, & for collecting rain water to top up your water bottle.

20)                       Carry some form of water filter. I carry linen & cotton water filter bags for straining dirty river water into my kettle for boiling.

21) Fishing Tackle: Carry a couple of lines & some spare hooks. You never know when you might get a chance to do some fishing.

22)                        A sewing kit is a must & it is pretty inexpensive to put together. This will be needed for repairs to your clothing, footwear & perhaps your shelter & back pack.

23)                        Whetstone for sharpening your blades. You can often find these second hand, but you can also find suitable stones in a creek or river bed.

24)                       Eating utensils.  You already have a knife, so all you need is a light wooden spoon.

Keith.

When can you carry a knife - The Loose Cannon

http://www.sportingshootermag.com.au/gun-law/when-can-you-carry-a-knife-the-loose-cannon?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2028%20April%202017&utm_content=Newsletter%2028%20April%202017+CID_1cf5de6f24c86c7db68643a88369f8e3&utm_source=Email%20marketing%20software&utm_term=When%20can%20you%20carry%20a%20knife

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 is Apocalyptic Survival?

There are many terms used for serious survival, apocalyptic, SHTF,TEOTWAWKI, in my book all mean the same thing; something big has gone down that seriously changes the way we live and the way we look at things around us (I do not include a nuclear strike in our vicinity that most people could not survive). It could be an invasion from another country; it could be an Alien invasion. It could mean that the grid is down from a terrorist strike. What it is not is a normal temporary black out. It is not a chemical truck turning over in your neighbourhood. So let’s get this straight, a real serious survival situation is not for hobby survivalists. A hobby survivalist can go bush for a weekend or even a weeks camp-out and they will probably be okay providing no natural disasters occur or the camp is attacked by feral humans.

Now I must say that there is nothing wrong with being a hobby prepper, providing you stay within the limits of your expertise, you should be fine. Enjoy yourself. I do not mean this to sound demeaning, but facts are facts. If someone’s main fire making tools are a ferrocerium rod, some bic lighters and a box of matches, then they are not thinking long term. They are only prepared for a short term survival situation. Anyone who carries only one knife and that knife is used for multiple bushcraft tasks is not thinking long term survival. Now a lot of these people will defend their choices of gear, and that is fine. I see no point in arguing the point. But the fact is that in a major survival situation, these people will not survive.

If you are a serious prepper/survivalist you will be using flint, steel and tinderbox as your main fire lighting tool, and you will have learnt at least one other primitive method of fire lighting as a back-up. Your main knife will be for skinning, butchering and defence, and your choice of blade will reflect this. You will have at least one other blade which will be for camp chores and general usage. You will also be carrying a belt axe/hatchet or tomahawk for the heavier cutting chores and for defence, and you will know how to use these tools to their best advantage.

My hunting knife.

My legging knife.

My friction blade clasp knife.

The serious survivalist will have some form of hunting tool suited to long term wilderness living, be it a traditional bow or a firearm. If it is a firearm then you need to think very carefully before making your choice. You know what sort of game you may encounter, and you know that you may also have to depend on this tool for defence. Do not compromise other important survival needs in your pack by carrying too much weight in ammunition. I choose to carry flintlock guns. A flintlock gun has many advantages over a modern firearm and some advantages over the use of a bow. But having said that I am still very much in favour of carrying a bow, both the bow and the flintlock gun are long term sustainable tools for wilderness living. They may have a disadvantage in a fire fight compared to a modern firearm, but I firmly believe that both are better than a modern firearm regarding their versatility and long term sustainability.

.62 caliber flintlock fusil.

.32 caliber flintlock rifle.

.70 caliber flintlock pistol.

Knowing how to make and use traps is important, their use on a trap line will save on ammunition, and they are working for you day and night. Learning primitive skills is very important; they will help keep long term, as will primitive equipment. Modern equipment will eventually run out or break down, and the hobby prepper who only carries modern gear will gradually find themselves living a Stone Age lifestyle. Those people who invest in pre 19^th century equipment will not likely ever have to drop below that level of comfort, be it 18^th century or 12^th century because again, it is sustainable.

A quick word about so called 24 and 72 hour survival packs. As a get home pack I think these are a good idea, but as a survival pack to take bush, I personally would not advise it. None of us can predict how long we may have to survive in any given situation. Limiting your pack to mere hours instead of a lifetime in my opinion is pointless. Use your main survival pack all the time, whether it is just for a weekend camp or longer. This will make sure you are well prepared and it will make you more familiar with your gear.

Here below is a list of skills our group members learn and practice; also there is a list of benefits of using a flintlock muzzle-loading firearm. If you are serious about being able to survive in the future should anything major happen to affect our quality of living, then I urge you to be honest with yourself and evaluate the skills you have and the equipment you carry.

New England Colonial Living History Group 1680-1760.

This is a list of basic skills in which we expect an 18^th century woodsman or woods-woman to have some experience with in our group. There is no time limit set, learn in your own time & if we can help just ask.
Keith.

·      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.

Advantages of a Flintlock Muzzle-loader.

1)   Ammo is less expensive than a modern equivalent caliber firearm.

2)  The smoothbore is very versatile, being able to digest round ball, bird shot, & buckshot, or any combination of two of these (can also use minies).

3)  The fusil is lighter to carry than a modern equivalent sized gun.

4)  You can vary the load if needs be.

5)  The smoothbore will digest other projectiles besides lead.

6)  Lead can be retrieved from downed game & remoulded with a simple mould & lead ladle. This means that you can carry less lead, & more of the lighter gunpowder.

7)  You can make your own gunpowder.

8)  You can use the lock to make fire without the need for gunpowder.

9)  You can use gunpowder for gunpowder tinder fire lighting if needs be.

10)        IF the lock should malfunction (these are very robust & it is not likely) you can easily repair it if you are carrying a few spare springs & a few simple tools.

11) If you do not have any spare parts & the lock malfunctions, you can easily convert it to a tinderlock or matchlock & continue using it.

12)        You do not need a reloader, brass shells, caps, or primers. The latter have been known to break down in damp conditions or if they are stored for too long.

13)         Wadding for ball or shot is available from natural plant materials or homemade leather or rawhide.

14)       Less chance of being affected by future ammunition control legislation.

15)        Gunpowder is easily obtainable providing you have a muzzle-loader registered in your name regardless of caliber (NSW)

16)        A .32 caliber flintlock rifle is more powerful than a .22 rimfire, less expensive to feed, more accurate over a greater distance, able to take small & medium sized game, & other than not being able to use shot (unless it is smoothbore), it has all the attributes of the other flintlocks.

17)        Damage from a .62 caliber-.75 caliber pistol or long arm is in the extreme. Wounded prey is unlikely to escape.

18)         By using buck & ball you are unlikely to miss your target. This load is capable of taking out more than one target.

19)        There is less kick-back to a muzzle-loading gun.

20)       Antique Flintlock muzzle-loading guns do not require a license, registration, or a permit to purchase in NSW Australia.

Here is a list of the equipment that I carry. As in everything, equipment is a personal choice based on experience.

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.

3 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 Kit.

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.

If or When TSHTF Part Three. Equipment & Tools.

This is a list of equipment I carry, not just for 18th century Historical Trekking, but also for long term wilderness living/survival.

The wigwam shelter I built for winter trekking activities.

Equipment List.

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

·      .70 caliber smoothbore flintlock pistol.

·      Shot pouch and contents.

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

·      Powder horn.

·      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.

·      3 Gunpowder wallets

·      Knapsack.

·      Scrip.

·      Ball mould and swan shot mould.

·      Lead ladle.

·      Tin Cup.

·      Water filter bags (cotton & linen bags).

·      Medical pouch.

·      Housewife.

·      Piece of soap and a broken ivory comb.

·      Dried foods in bags.

·      Wooden spoon.

·      Gun tools and spare springs.

·      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.