A Look At What Sustainable Survival Means. Or, Learning From History.

A Look At What Sustainable Survival Means. Or, Learning From History.

The fur trade in America’s west lasted just 15 years, from 1825 to 1840. Why do I choose to use this place for this article? Because this event in this time period better explains the point I am trying to make.

These Rocky Mountain trappers did not travel on foot unless for some reason they had no choice. They needed a horse to get around & they needed more horses to carry the beaver pelts that they trapped & the steel traps themselves. The Rocky Mountains were & probably still are a formidable place. The biggest danger to the trapper’s survival was unfriendly Indians such as the Blackfoot, & the grizzly bear.

In this period of time the percussion gun became available, but the Mountain Men refused to use these more efficient guns because in the wilderness situation they were in, they were not reliable. Once a year traders would travel to the Rocky Mountains with supplies to trade for beaver skins, but they could not sell the percussion gun, there were simply too many things that could go wrong with this newer gun, & they were isolated for 12 months at a time. The flintlock however was reliable; it was one way or another sustainable. That flintlock was the only gun or rifle they carried although some may also have been carrying flintlock pistols.

The rest of their equipment also needed to be sustainable; they could not afford to carry anything that was not of the best quality. The ordinary butcher knife was their hunting knife, the tomahawk along with the hunting knife served as a working tool & for defence. The trade kettle served for the cooking of stews as a change from roasted meat. They carried flint & steel for making fire because again it was the most reliable & sustainable method available to them. They could also make fire using the lock of their flintlock gun.

So perhaps you might think about what equipment you have at the moment, or if you have not yet purchased any survival equipment intended for long term survival, you might consider purchasing the older style more sustainable items instead of the modern gadgetry that is not sustainable & will eventually let you down.

Difficult to say how many trappers actually survived until the end of this western fur trade, but we do know that some decided to stay in the mountains, & that others returned to the cities. History records that some of the notable trappers died in a very short time from catching a virus after returning to the city!

Keith.

Bugging Out. Something to think about.

Bugging Out. Something to think about.

For the purpose of explaining things in this article, let us assume that this shtf situation is going to last for at least 5 years. Let us also say that bugging out in this article means not living in the city. You could be living at a country retreat in a house, in a house somewhere out of town, possibly even in a small town or you could be camped out in a wilderness/country area.

1) There are many ways/choices/methods in which you could opt to survive. One would be to go into the country/wilderness with nothing at all, in which case you would have to make your own tools from stone, wood or bone, make fire by a friction method, & construct a primitive shelter from wood, stone or earth. Now this would mean a lot of hard work, & this work would be for the most part continuous. Comforts would be at a minimum. Your defenses would be very primitive, & your best defense would be to stay unseen; hidden from view.

2) You could go bush carrying a lot of modern gear, some modern gear is good, but all modern gear has its limitations & is rarely sustainable. Two modern items that are worth considering are 1) medical supplies, which I consider vital, & 2) a modern firearm. The modern firearm is not really sustainable, although a .22 rimfire rifle or an air rifle would allow you to carry quite a lot of ammunition without adding too much weight. The larger the modern caliber, the more weight you carry & therefore the less ammo you can afford to carry. Reloading equipment, primers & lead would add even more weight. Modern gadgets for the most part are not sustainable or vital to your survival. Torches, solar chargers, multi tools, compound bows, radios, walkie talkies, satellite navigation, fuel stoves, heated gloves, night vision goggles, cigarette lighters, matches, ferocerium rod, etc, etc, are not vital additions to your equipment & they are not sustainable or they will add weight & take up room in your pack that could be better served by carrying more important vital items such as water, food, medical supplies & ammunition.

If you were to opt for carrying all modern gear that was not sustainable, then sooner or later you could end up living a stone age lifestyle such as in the first option of going bush with nothing.

http://www.pakguns.com/showthread.php?8458-Bug-Out-Weapons-Bag;

3) You could equip yourself with sustainable equipment that will not run down, break or wear out. This type of equipment is dated, by that I mean it is hundreds of years old in its function & technology. Your comfort will not be the same as lying on an inflatable bed in a tent cocooned in a sleeping bag, but there would be a certain amount of comfort that can be maintained/sustained! Flint & steel fire lighting will mean that you are never without fire. Your tools are unlikely to break if you look after them. The moccasins on your feet can be repaired by yourself & even replaced when needs be. A long bow or a muzzle-loading flintlock will supply your meat as well as the traps you have made to set up your trap line.  In short you will have a more comfortable lifestyle than the stone age option.

Put some serious thought into the gear that you choose, if you do not have the experience, then use your imagination! Some people say that you cannot learn anything worthwhile from watching movies, I disagree. Some old movies did in fact foresee the future, & many modern dramas are based on real life, based on the fact that there are bad people out there & it only needs you to be in the wrong place at the wrong time to get yourself in a heap of trouble!

Primitive skills are important, good equipment is vital but A) you need to know how to use that equipment to the best of its advantage, & B) with the skills comes knowledge & understanding.

People on forums have often commented that with all their modern equipment, including powerful telescopic rifle sights mounted on a powerful super accurate rifle that people like me will not live long post shtf. But what these people fail to comprehend is that they do not have the skills that I have, & they, unlike me are not a part of my environment. I can smell things they don’t smell, I hear things they don’t hear, & I sense things that they cannot.

You will not become a part of a wilderness environment overnight, it takes time, patience, experience, & a willingness to learn. Don’t rely on modern gadgets, rely on good proven tools & above all rely on yourself, your abilities & your skills.

Keith.

Long Term Wilderness Living/Survival Fire lighting Methods.

Authors, historical, living history, authenticity, flint and steel, burning glass, reading glass, fire-bow, Mountain men, woodsmen, woodsrunners, books, reading, experimental archaeology, plant tinder, fungi tinder, tinderbox, fire lighting, 18th century, 17th century, 19th century, survival, Indians, primitive, fur trade, French and Indian War, Revolution, historical trekking, long term wilderness living, colonial, Australia, North America, cooking, heating, Reenacting, Reenactment, Preppers, Prepping, Survivalists, Bugging Out, Camping, Hiking, Bush Walking, Lost survival, TEOTWAWKI, SHTF, Primitive Skills, sustainable, self reliance, Off Grid, Bushcraft, Woodslore,  

Primitive Fire Lighting-Flint & Steel & Fire Bow.

Title: Primitive Fire Lighting
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

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Survival, Camping or Bushcraft?

Survival, Camping or Bushcraft?

If survival is what you are interested in & preparing for, then that is what you need to concentrate on. Camping is not survival, unless it is primitive camping, in which case there are skills to be learnt there. Bushcraft in the main is not about survival, it is about inventing new so called “skills” that you can practice & share but have no real practicle survival value. Modern camping & bushcraft is about gadgetry, new gadgets & tents are being produced all the time to lure the gadget oriented person into spending more money on stuff that has no real practicle value. Camping used to be about practicle skills & basic equipment, now it is an industry.

Lost survival is different from shtf survival. Lost survival involves people who fail to notify anyone where they are going & how long they will be, or they change their plans without telling anyone. SHTF survival is about surviving a major catastrophe, surviving an event that endangers your life & your living standards. If you are in the city you will have to leave & find somewhere safer in the country. If you are living in the country already you will need to step up your security measures. In both cases you will need to know primitive skills, & you will need basic tools to help you survive long term. Modern gadgets & modern tents won’t cut it. They will not last or stand up to the rigors of primitive living conditions & once they are gone you are left with nothing.

The author's .62 caliber flintlock smoothbore fusil.

You need to choose a period pre 19^th century & equip yourself with the tools & equipment of that period. Why? Because these tools will last, these tools were designed with a specific purpose in mind, survival, & once you are equipped in this fashion you will never drop below that level of comfort. Some 20^th century tools will be very useful if you are already living in the country or are intending to move to a retreat. We are talking “hand tools” here, basic hand tools that do not rely on electricity or fuel to operate. You may well be living off grid using solar power electricity, but there is no guarantee that this will last. One of our batteries now has a dead cell, the system is still holding up, but for how long we can not tell.

So, think long & hard & seriously about how you equip yourself. Think about what will be required of the tools that you choose. A short bladed bushcraft knife will not kill as quickly as a longer bladed hunting knife if used for stabbing. Modern methods of fire lighting may not be the best, get a real flint, steel & tinderbox. This will last a lifetime & using it will teach you more fire lighting skills than using a ferrocerium rod. 

12 gauge Black Powder breechloader shotgun with brass cartridges.

When it comes to guns modern firearms are best for defence at your home in the bush, but if you have to “bug-out” with no dwelling to go to, then I recommend you carry a flintlock muzzleloading gun & a bow. Modern ammunition is heavy & bulky & if a modern firearm malfunctions, you are left with a fancy club or a goat stake! People are for ever rubbishing the flintlock muzzleloading gun, in favour of a more modern firearm. Yes having a 9mm Glock on your belt would be very reassuring, IF you can obtain one! My argument is that I can have a flintlock pistol right now, & I would sooner have a flintlock pistol than no handgun at all. Besides which there are many advantages to using a flintlock that are not available to you if you are using a modern breechloader.

.32 caliber flintlock rifle. Accurate, more power than a .22 rimfire & practicle for long term wilderness living.

So make up your mind now if you are really serious about shtf survival. If you genuinely think that something major could go down in the future that could threaten you (& your family);your life & your way of living, then stop wasting your time & money on modern gadgets & tents. Learn primitive skills & equip yourselves with primitive gear that will last long term. You will find that it is less expensive in the long run anyway.

Belt axe/tomahawk. Far more practicle than a machete.

Hunting knife for skinning, butchering & self-defence.

.70 caliber smoothbore flintlock pistol for defence.

Exceptions? Possibly water filters, these could be useful if you have to leave the city & go bush. Maybe not of long term use, but they may help in your escape. Medical. You can’t beat good modern medical supplies. By all means use herbal remedies, but do not rely solely on herbs for your survival.

Medical supplies are very important.

The author's hunting sword. A good basic self-defence tool to carry after the fall.

Bugging Out. Carrying all that weight.

You can travel light and carry all you need for long term wilderness living/survival, all that is accept perhaps enough water and food! If there are water holes on your route then there is no problem. If you are able to hunt & forage on the way then there is no problem. But what if you get diverted have to by-pass those water holes? What if you are trekking in winter and there are few edible plants to find and the game is scarce? Then you have a problem. You can survive for three days without water, but this also depends on how hard you are working. You can survive three weeks without food, but again, this is dependent on your exertion level. You probably know as well as I that when you are working hard your need for water and food increases. You are drinking all the time to stay hydrated and come lunch time you are very hungry. To go without water and food is dangerous, because the lack of water and food effects how you perform, mentally and physically. One minute you think you are doing fine, the next minute you are feeling sick. Keep going and you will collapse.

Sharing the load with a partner is fine, you can carry the shelter, kettle, arms and ammunition, your partner can carry the water. But water is heavy, and to be safe and practicle your partner also needs to carry at least some of her/his own equipment. Simply put, you can never really carry enough water for a long trek unless you can find a water source along the way to refill your water bottles. Even then to be safe you will need to stop and boil that water before you can drink it.

So what is a simple and practicle alternative? Using a trekking trolley. A trekking trolley can carry a lot of weight, and there is a wide variety of different trolleys to suit your needs. On a level surface pulling a trolley is easier that carrying a heavy load, but going uphill you will need to pace yourself. Even so, when you stop for a rest on the trail and take a drink of water, you are not still bearing that load. If you are travelling with a partner or a group, you can use a rope to link you to another trekker who can help pull the load up steep inclines. If you can afford it, you can purchase a trekking trolley, if you don't have the funds, then you can make your own without too much trouble.

An Australian made trekking trolley.

http://www.prohikeaustralia.com.au/

A trekking trolley that the author made from old wheelbarrow parts and bush timber. This one only has one wheel, but the author plans to make another one from an old golf trolley.

When you reach your destination this trolley will still be of use, and can be used for: transporting game, transporting water from a water source, carrying firewood, transporting rocks for a fireplace, moving camp if needs be. Perhaps you can think of further uses?
Keith.

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/

A Correlation Between The Equipment You Choose and The Skills You Learn.

I believe that when choosing equipment for survival use in the bush, there is more to consider than just ease of use and sustainability. Obviously when preparing for long term wilderness living, you need to choose equipment that will survive the years of use, but what about a correlation between the equipment & the skills you learn from using this equipment?

As an example, anyone can learn primitive fire lighting skills, they can learn about native plant tinders & the difference between tinder & kindling. They can learn about wet weather fire lighting & where to find dry kindling in the rain, but how many people do you think will actually learn these skills if they are using a BIC lighter or a ferrocerium rod & Vaseline cotton balls to make fire? Let us take another example; using bow & arrows for hunting. If you are using a bow for hunting, or even a muzzle-loader, you need to know how to stalk your game in close. You may only get the one shot, plus you need a clean kill or at the very least a disabling shot. But how does this compare to someone using a long range modern breech-loading rifle?

Now for those of you that now ask the question what does it matter? I say this, IF you are unable to get a fire going with your BIC lighter or if you should take a fall & break your lighter, how are you going to make fire? If you run out of ammo or your modern rifle malfunctions, how are you going to be able to hunt for food? Yes I know, you may have learnt how to make traps & learnt about trapping, you may also have more BIC lighters on your person, but you can surely see where I am coming from. I believe that a person who is primitive oriented & chooses to carry primitive equipment (pre 19^th century), is likely to be more knowledgeable regarding primitive survival skills than someone who uses modern equipment.

What equipment do you use? What primitive survival skills have you learnt? Think about it!
Keith.

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.