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Post by jjw on Feb 18, 2006 20:53:59 GMT -5
I was thinking of how I can add to the survival kit that I some times bring with me when afoot hunting. One new thing I had thought may be a good idea was to add a bit of the firestarter that I use when I start my wood stove. What do others use in survival kits? What do they think are essentials to have? What size and container is their kit, pack or whatever..., and have you ever had to use it in a real situation?
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Feb 19, 2006 8:12:25 GMT -5
This is going to be a great topic for me because I'm always looking to update our "fishing trip" kit.
This kit is not carried on our person but stashed in a locker in our boat. We fish the Gouin Reservoir for Walleyes each spring. This is way up in Quebec and we drive the whole way. The last leg of the trip is 120 mile logging road where you DO NOT want to break down. Then, for a week, we motor 12-15 miles each way, each day from the fish camp. It's an adventurous, and possibly dangerous week. Phones do not work, majot help is a long way away. By the way, if you love Walleye fishing and solitude..........
The kit:
First Aid
All the bandage types you can imagine Several different size tapes/wraps Stitching kit including litacane/needles/scalpel Alcohol & Peroxide Advil/aleve/motrin/asprin/tylonol (bought new each year) Sunscreen/aloe Benedryl tablets and creams Water proof matches in several different containers nailclippers/tweezers Antiacids/smelling salt/Ben-gay Salt & Pepper Airhorn Mace/Bugspray
Miscellaneous
Flare gun pistol with several flares & Ground flares too Single burner collapsable stove-2 bottles gas a small grate with folding legs a 4 quart dutch oven - cast iron (we use this each day for shore lunches) Everyone carries their own flashlight/headlight/2 way radio with spare batteries. Rope and brand new 10 X 12 tarp Folding corona bladed limb saw
Food
10 pkgs of freeze dried meals with enough 16 oz bottles of water to make them all. Two boxes of energy bars. 2 extra gallons of water in 20 oz bottles for drinking.
This entire collection of things stows away in one locker on the 19ft boat we drag up. Obviously, the weight is considerable when you add the water.
I should add that this collection is meant to serve 10 people. Our group has 3-4 boats and 8-12 people each year. We fish close enough to be in radio contact at all times with each other.
We have to cross a very large body of water to get to our spots we like. Sometimes the wind kicks up enough where you can't (Or shouldn't try) to cross it. You can damage you're motor on rocks or submerged driftwood. You can have a malfunction.
Anyhow, a night spent 12 miles from camp will SUCK....especially when the bugs find you....or a hungry bear. You will be hungry, maybe cold, hopefully not injured, maybe soaking wet. Someone may look for you after a while.....if the weather is good enough to fly....if visability allows.
I'm sure I forgot many of the things in the first aid part and I look forward to seeing what others do on large or small scales.
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billc
Eight Pointer
Posts: 164
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Post by billc on Feb 19, 2006 15:05:45 GMT -5
I try to backpack a hundred miles or so on the Appalachian Trail every year so I try to use the same gear for hunting and I want as light as possible. For "routine" day hunts (couple of miles in and out on the same day) I cary a few first aid supplies (Eppi-pen for bee stings), mylar space blanket, a votive candle, and a couple of military surplus Trioxane compressed fuel tablets. The Trioxane is foil wraped and waterproof. You can use them to heat a can of food or start a fire. When I can find them I also like to melt paraffin and fill paper shotshell hulls. The brass makes for a good base as a candle and you can cut a 1/2" off for a fire starter.
For water on longer hunts I carry a Sweethingyer Guardian water filter and anti-viral drops. That and a 2 liter collapsable water bottle weighs 8-9 oz and will pump a liter of water in a minute.
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Post by E.T. on Feb 20, 2006 22:56:53 GMT -5
Survival kit is an interesting topic for sure as many have different approaches. Not being a stranger to Northern Canadian Wilderness, as I love to moose hunt I try to keep my kit/pack small & light when tracking many miles from camp. My Kit usually consists of : A) GPS and spare batteries along with a good quality compass and topographical map. B) Small first aid kit with essentials. C) Flashlight and spare batteries. D) 2-way radio and spare batteries. All my electronics uses AA batteries. E) 100 feet of parachute cord. F) Fluorescent tape or string for marking a pathway. Always tie knot with streamer facing the direction of the outward path (usually 200yd spacing). For traveling logging roads I make an arrow with larger stones showing the direction I am taking on the right shoulder. G) Carry a few chocolate bars and supply of beef jerky. H) Wooden stick matches in a waterproof container and a pack of waterproof matches as well. Lots of birch-bark around for a fire accelerant/starter. I) Small hatchet with carrying case attached to belt.
I have camped in the wilderness but never had to spend a night out during a hunt. But if one has too a rule to remember PANIC kills by destroying all reasoning/assessing a bad situation. Also never head out unless someone is aware of your intended path for the day. So far have always made it back to camp by designated suppertime. ;D
Ed
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Post by youp50 on Feb 21, 2006 9:10:59 GMT -5
I have spent an unplanned night in the woods while hunting. My Dad wounded a buck and I tracked and finished it. There was a time when I made a decision to spend the night rather than lose the buck.
I made two mistakes. The first was when I took the track and realized he had merely broken a front leg, I took off my setting coveralls and forgot my flashlight. The second was I left the deer. The first was a bad oversight that caused me to not walk out that night and the second meant no blanket and a root beer barrel for supper.
I hunt in the Western Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The land is not huge, but big enough to be fun. The land is primarily maple, birch, and aspen (we can em popples). The birch bark is an excellent tinder. If you pick a spot there is a good amount of standing dead pole maple and ironwood (hop horn beam ash). There is also a good bit of balsam. The balsam branches snap of easily and make a good bough bed and lean-to cover.
I learned a valuable lesson not widely discussed in survival discussions, if you build a bed make it long enough. If things are done correctly you will get comfortable and stretch out. When your legs stretch out onto the snow you will wake up with tremendous Charley horse cramps.
I made good decisions in my selection of a camp sight and the speed at which I made camp. I worked very slowly and methodically, I was exhausted and sweat soaked. I made a good decision to stay put. A person can get hurt floundering around in the dark.
My survival gear at the time was a Green Bay Packer Bic lighter and a 10' length of cord.
Now I carry a day pack. The first day of deer season I pack four sandwiches. Two of which are not eaten and become unpleasing to the eye. They are in my pack all season. Spoilage is not a factor up here during rifle deer season. If I need sustenance they are there, but are not snacked on.
I carry a length of cord,
A match safe with strike any where matches (if you own some hoard them).
A couple of those little candles in the aluminum cup (I know they have a name please help me remember what it is, they go on buffets to keep food warm).
Two flashlights. a 3 D mag light and a 3 AAA LED light. Extra batteries for the LED and fresh batteries for the mag light at the start of the season. I will replace them if they get used.
Water bottle, I was seriously thirsty that night. I have found a collapse-able water bag that does not glug as I wonder through the woods.
GPS and spare batteries.
A spare compass. I usually have two on my person. I used to need to compare two of them when I knew that I was right and the compass wrong, don't do that anymore.
I always have a sheath knife on my belt.
A spare new bic lighter or two double zip lock bagged.
This suits my current needs as a day hunter.
If I have a guest that wants to wander I still have some radio telemetry gear left from when I followed bear hounds. I ask they carry a transmitter in their pack. I have never needed to use it, but it offers me peace of mind.
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Post by jjw on Feb 22, 2006 23:40:32 GMT -5
I have recently been watching a show on Discovery Channel called "Survivorman." I have watched it the last few weeks on Tuesday nights at 9:30pm central time in MN. It is a very interesting show. The premise of the show is that the host is put in very different areas, regions, climates, etc...such as swamps, mountains, deserts etc... and expected to survive for 7 days with very little. Very little being a knife, clothing (nothing that I have been able to obviously say would be a comfort measure for the given environment), and a few very simple other things at most and then left to make due. This show has given me some good ideas around starting fires in various ways that I had not known, other natural things to look for to use for sustenance and shelter, etc...Check it out if you get a chance.
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Post by Blue-Dot-37.5 on Feb 26, 2006 8:33:13 GMT -5
After reading about the strike anywnere match problem, I did some research. It looks like the only company in the U.S. that still makes them is the Diamond Match Company. Since I work near an Amish community, the grocery stores in their community carry them. I bought a 3 box cellophane wrapped package of them (250 per box) for $2.89..
It seems that they can be found on e-bay too.
Blue-Dot-37.5
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Post by stumpy on May 14, 2006 11:18:58 GMT -5
Something I recently learned was they actually make super glue for use in place of stiches...thus I have since added a small tube of it to my kit. Another item which takes little or no room and wieghs nothing is the wallet size magnifiers ( for people like me who cannot see ) which can be used as a fire starter. Along with this a small amount of steel wool which work great as a fire starting kindling but aslo can be used with a battery to actually start a fire. One other TIP if you donat have any sort of fire starter cut do have a qun is to tear out a pocket and place small pieces of cloth in the bottom and hold it over the muzzel and fire a round. Instant fire...non pun intended.
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