Real survival

[KGunner]

We talk a lot of SHTF situations and what we would do if the government tried to take our guns and all that stuff, but what about real survival? I'm talking about being out in the woods with little more than clothes and a pocket knife, how would you all do then?

Who here can start a fire with sticks in a damp environment?
Or build a shelter out of snow, or pine boughs, or other natural sources?
What about snares and trapping, do you know where to put them and how big to make them?
Could you catch a fish with rocks?
What about finding clean water?
How many people can identify and track animals?
Would anybody be able to navigate their way out of a situation or somehow lead rescuers to them?

I've found a bunch of nice websites and resources that are great for this sort of thing, because lets face it, this is a little more likely than zombies. On top of this list, Tom Brown has great books on wilderness survival that are worth a read and to have on hand.

Wilderness Survival Skills
Wilderness Survival Guide: Basic Wilderness Survival Skills
SurvivalIQ - Wilderness Survival Handbook
Captain Dave's Survival Guide

[andrew cochran]

Really survival with the Goverment on your tail is impossible.

[sell33]

I would probably be toast after a couple days....my best bet would probably be finding some wild plants...berries, etc. Other than that i am not really sure what i would do. Probably my best be would be use my shoe strings and knife and make a bow and some arrows and try for small game....fire would be tough, i would look for flint.

[KGunner]

Not necessarily if you are in the right state. There is tons of open space real close to me in Colorado that would be easy to hide in for a long period of time. Finding one man in a hundreds of thousands of acres of land inaccessible to vehicles and hidden from the air by thick trees is perfect.

But I was talking more of you are hiking and get separated from the group or get caught in a bad storm. More like that kind of survival that actually happens to people.

Originally Posted by sell33

I would probably be toast after a couple days....my best bet would probably be finding some wild plants...berries, etc. Other than that i am not really sure what i would do. Probably my best be would be use my shoe strings and knife and make a bow and some arrows and try for small game....fire would be tough, i would look for flint.

Actually, making a fire bow out of your shoe string would be a much more useful thing. You find a bowed stick, usually naturally bowed and dead because it will have much less give, and make notches for your shoe string, you tie it loose so you can fit a straight stick in the shoe string and basically what you have is a bow drill that is much faster than hand drilling a fire. If you can stay warm and have water you can live for 20 or more days without much food if any at all.

[Mike Franklin]

If you're talking about staying alive for 3 or 4 days, unless the weather gets real bad going without water or food for a couple of days wouldn't kill anyone. You're best bet is to set out signal markers of some kind and stay put.
The term 'Survival' means a lot of different things.

[Silent Shooter]

I would use my Glock for food, my knife for anything that needed cut, and my lighter for fire. At NO TIME do I not have all three.

Any idiot that would go into the woods without basic survival gear deserves what they get.

[Cyrano]

KGunner, I can do all of the things on your list except snares and traps. I know how to set traps, but not how to build survival traps. I'd like to learn, but I don't know who or where to go to learn these.

Something else that needs to be pointed out in the hiking/lost situation you postulated: Keeping your head when you realize you are lost. According to the National Park Service, what often happens is the lost individual panics and starts dumping whatever gear they have with them and running in blind panic. By the time they calm down, they've lost all their gear and usually can't backtrack to recover it, with the result they die of exposure. Remaining calm and not panicking is key to survival, no matter what the survival situation is.

[SwedeSteve]

Silent Shooter makes a valid point. I wouls have more than that too ANY time I go into the woods. Probably the best survival manual I have ever owned was the Air Force Survival Manual for Pilots. It's huge, but has a ton of great information. It has a huge section on traps and snares. Anyone ever set an Ojibway Bird Snare? Don't ask me why I remember that one after 20+ years, LOL!

[KGunner]

I just picked up the US Army Survival Manual at Barnes and Knoble for $9 bucks...ounce for ounce one of the better all-encompassing manuals. Very much a basics and to the point book, but all you really need.

[mitch_mckee]

Originally Posted by KGunner

We talk a lot of SHTF situations and what we would do if the government tried to take our guns and all that stuff, but what about real survival? I'm talking about being out in the woods with little more than clothes and a pocket knife, how would you all do then?

Who here can start a fire with sticks in a damp environment? YES
Or build a shelter out of snow, or pine boughs, or other natural sources? YES
What about snares and trapping, do you know where to put them and how big to make them? YES
Could you catch a fish with rocks? NO
What about finding clean water? YES
How many people can identify and track animals? YES
Would anybody be able to navigate their way out of a situation or somehow lead rescuers to them? YES

I've found a bunch of nice websites and resources that are great for this sort of thing, because lets face it, this is a little more likely than zombies. On top of this list, Tom Brown has great books on wilderness survival that are worth a read and to have on hand.

Wilderness Survival Skills
Wilderness Survival Guide: Basic Wilderness Survival Skills
SurvivalIQ - Wilderness Survival Handbook
Captain Dave's Survival Guide

NOTE: All these answers are predicated on my knowledge of the Southern Appalachians. I am relatively ignorant of other environments. This is an important consideration. The stuff I know is not of much value in, say, the SW USA.

Who here can start a fire with sticks in a damp environment? YES
Or build a shelter out of snow, or pine boughs, or other natural sources? YES
What about snares and trapping, do you know where to put them and how big to make them? YES
Could you catch a fish with rocks? NO
What about finding clean water? YES
How many people can identify and track animals? YES
Would anybody be able to navigate their way out of a situation or somehow lead rescuers to them? YES

[338RemUltraMag]

Well anyone who goes in the woods w/o the propper Equiptment is just plain stupid but if all there was is the clothes on yer back then yeah I could do it, but like Silent Shooter said I am ALWAYS prepared when I go in the woods, Acouple friends and I went in the woods to actually try our survival skills one week, didn't do bad coulda been better but it showed us what skills we were lacking... if ya got the time I suggest it!

[chewy4480]

Staying dry and warm are the most important things. You can go weeks without food, days without water, but you can die in hours of hypothermia. If I just got lost hunting or something like that I would try to find my way out. If I was in a plane crash and had no idea where I was I would plane on staying for awhile. Make a fire, build a shelter, find water, and food.

[Big Tool]

I would not last 2 minutes in CO, but in South MS I'm right at home in the woods. Been camping, killing critter, fishing, building forts, etc. My whole younger life.

It would be much, much harder to survive in a northern area where snow was a problem.

[billy]

i dont carry a glock every second of every day but.
yes to all but catching fish with a rock.

i live in the woods and grew up in them.

[Capt'n Mil Coll]

Yes to all except getting fish with a rock. I just cant get the darn rock on that hook.

Try bowing a fire once. A faster way is if you have glasses. Put a drop of water on the lens to concentrate the sunlight at or about noon and use it as a magnifying glass. It is a lot faster.

[Mooseman684]

The first thing I am going to do is sit down, Light a cigarette, and assess the situation !

[billy]

Originally Posted by Mooseman684

The first thing I am going to do is sit down, Light a cigarette, and assess the situation !

yessir!
smoking as a survival tool.
while the others are screwing around with drops of water and bows and such.
i'll be burning a camel and gathering firewood!

[Rambo]

I hunt in the mountains and always carry a few items that I feel would get me through a bad situation. When I hunt here, I don't feel the need for extra items as I'm only 1/2 mile or so from any road. When I work in the inner city, I carry even less items as I am only a few blocks from a Git-N-Go. Always be prepared for the situation you're going to be in. The Boy Scouts taught me that.

[ezearln]

I don't go anywhere afield without basic survival equipment, in the event of a plane crash or boat sinking or vehicle breakdown depending upon what actually has occured chances are good most peole would have adequate resources that can be adapted to greatly enhance their probability of survival. I am a graduate of a couple of formal military survival schools as well as a couple of civilian ones. Basic skills such as local edible plant identification is critical as there are many mimics to familiar edibles in the wild. One notorius one that immediately comes to mind is death camas. This plant quite effectively mimics wild onions in all but three important respects. It doesn't have an onion scent (wild onions have and intense scent), it always displays an even number of leaves (wild onions always have an odd number) and lastly death camas contains a powerful alkaloid poison similiar to hemlock while Wild onions are edible raw or cooked. Both are found in similiar enviroments so careful identification is critical. Another fallacy I'd like to debunk is the one about observing what is being eaten by the local animals and doing the same unless you are observing hogs or javalina don't do it, it can get you dead or sick quick as a wink. Swine anatomy and function is the most similiar to mans of any other known animal. There are other hazards that exist when snaring or trapping game as well, for instance ground squirrels throughout the southwest especially in california have been known to carry bubonic plauge. Cooking the meat does destroy the pathogen but extreme care must be taken in handling the carcass prior to cooking. There are others but you get my point. Knowledge is power in any situation even more so in a survival one.

[teenagegunwacho]

[quote=Capt'n Mil Coll;499237]Yes to all except getting fish with a rock. I just cant get the darn rock on that hook.

I think it is refering to the way some people over the years(i dunno were bouts at) would block a small stream or tributary with rocks so you could get to them easey, kinda like a fish snare